On October 6

The MESSENGER probe discovered Mercury's Rembrandt (pictured) – the second largest impact crater on the planet.

Al-Qaeda bombed the oil tanker Limburg, causing oil to leak into the Gulf of Aden.

Denouncing corruption in Argentine president Fernando de la Rúa's administration and the Senate, Vice President Carlos Álvarez resigned.

Matthew Shepard, a gay college student, was attacked and fatally wounded near Laramie, Wyoming, U.S., dying six days later.

Astronomers Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz reported the discovery of a planet orbiting 51 Pegasi (depicted) as the first known exoplanet around a main-sequence star.

About 200 members of the San Francisco Police Department instigated a police riot in the Castro following a peaceful protest held by the political group ACT UP.

Police constable Keith Blakelock was killed during rioting in the Broadwater Farm housing estate in Tottenham, London.

Egyptian president Anwar Sadat (pictured) was assassinated while attending a parade in Cairo to mark the eighth anniversary of the Crossing of the Bar Lev Line at the start of the 1973 Arab-Israeli War.

Two bombs placed by the CIA-linked Cuban dissident group Coordination of United Revolutionary Organizations exploded on Cubana Flight 455, killing all 73 people aboard.

The Egyptian Armed Forces crossed the Suez Canal (pictured) to attack occupying Israeli forces at the Bar Lev Line in the Sinai Peninsula, beginning the Yom Kippur War.

Catalonia's autonomous government, led by Lluís Companys (pictured), declared a general strike, an armed insurgency, and the establishment of the Catalan State in reaction to the inclusion of conservatives in the Spanish republican regime.

The Jazz Singer, one of the first feature-length motion pictures with a synchronized recorded music score, was released.

Austria-Hungary announced the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, causing a crisis that permanently damaged the country's relations with the Russian Empire and the Kingdom of Serbia.

American Revolutionary War: Fort Clinton and Fort Montgomery were captured by British forces under Sir Henry Clinton, dismantling the Hudson River Chains.

Seven Years' War: The Battle of Manila concluded with a British victory over Spain, leading to a twenty-month occupation.

Transition from Sui to Tang: Wang Shichong's army defeated Li Mi's forces at the Battle of Yanshi, allowing Wang to consolidate power and soon depose China's Sui dynasty.