On This Day In ...

• Oct 5 1789 – Birth of William Scoresby Jr in Cropton, near Pickering, Yorkshire.

• Oct 5 1838 – His vengeance completed, the Count of Monte Cristo sails away from the island, leaving Maximilian Morrel and his soon-to-be wife Valentine de Villefort in possession of his fortune and secret in the closing scene of Alexandre Dumas' swashbuckling novel The Count of Monte Cristo.
• Oct 5 1949 – Peter Ackroyd, novelist, born in London, England.
• Oct 5 1981 – Publication of Twice Shy, the 20th mystery novel by Dick Francis.
• Oct 5 2000 – Keith Roberts, scifi author, died in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England, at the age of 65.
• Oct 5 2015 – Death of Henning Mankell, writer of crime novels featuring Detective Kurt Wallander, in Goteborg, Sweden, at the age 67.
• Oct 5 2017 – The Nobel Committee announces that Kazuo Ishiguro has been awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for 2017.

• Oct 5 1762 – World première performance of Christoph von Gluck's opera Orfeo ed Euridice, held in Vienna, Austria.
• Oct 5 1880 – Death of Jacques (Jacob) Offenbach, composer especially known for operettas, in Paris, France, at the age of 61.
• Oct 5 1898 – World première performance of Caractacus, a choral work composed by Edward Elgar. The work was commissioned for the Leeds Festival.
• Oct 5 1929 – Simon Streatfeild, conductor, born in Windsor, England.
• Oct 5 1938 – World première performance of Ralph Vaughan Williams' Serenade to Music, at the Royal Albert Hall, at a concert to celebrate the career of Sir Henry Wood.
• Oct 5 1951 – Death of Egisto Tango, conductor, in Copenhagen, Denmark, at the age of 77.
• Oct 5 2011 – Death of Bert Jansch, guitarist, folk musician and member of Pentangle, in Hampstead, London, UK, at the age of 67.

• Oct 5 1836 – After almost five years away, Charles Darwin returns home to The Mount, Shrewsbury, to a warm welcome from his family.
• Oct 5 1858 – Artist William Dyce painted a landscape called Pegwell Bay, Kent: A Recollection of October 5th, 1858. The painting shows the trail of Donati's Comet, which at that time was at its closest approach to earth and was visible in the daytime sky.

• Oct 5 1969 – Animal Behaviour exhibition opens.
• Oct 5 1980 – Australian Aboriginal Art exhibition closes.
• Oct 5 1991 – Alberta Ship Model Society, first day of demonstration event.
• Oct 5 2006 – Time Travellers XIII lecture series, second presentation: "The Amaizing Trace: Discovering Past Aboriginal Use of Maize on the Canadian Plains" given by Sonia Zarrillo.
• Oct 5 2008 – Peter Hide Sculptures, outdoor exhibition closes.
• Oct 5 2008 – Lost Ship, Recovered Voyages: The Empress of Ireland exhibition closes.

This presentation has been compiled and is ©1998-2025 by
Alwynne B. Beaudoin (bluebulrush@gmail.com)
Last updated February 1, 2025