The Soviet Union announced diplomatic recognition of the People's Republic of China and termination of diplomatic relations with the Nationalist Chinese government.[2]
On the last day of major league baseball's regular season, the New York Yankees and Brooklyn Dodgers captured the pennants of their respective leagues, each by one game.[3]
President Truman signed the Mutual Defense Assistance Act, the first US military foreign aid legislation of the Cold War era.
"Tokyo Rose" Iva Toguri D'Aquino was sentenced to ten years in prison and fined $10,000 for broadcasting Japanese propaganda to American troops during World War II.[9]
Communist authorities in Shanghai banned news dispatches by reporters from countries which did not recognize the PRC.[10]
Wilhelm Pieck became 1st State President of East Germany.
At the United Nations, Soviet diplomat Yakov Malik proposed that each of the 39 member countries release a full account of atomic bombs and other weapons they possessed. American delegate Warren Austin dismissed the idea as meaningless if there were no means of verification.[15]
Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru addressed both houses of US Congress with a speech assuring Americans that his country would not stay neutral "where freedom is menaced, or justice threatened," but stopped short of pledging military assistance.[18]
The French National Assembly approved Socialist Jules Moch as the next prime minister of France by just one vote over the minimum required. 311 votes were cast in Moch's favour with 223 against; he needed 310.[19]
Communist troops were reported to be in full control of Guangzhou.[23]
President Truman nominated nineteen new federal judges, including Virgin Islands Governor William H. Hastie, the first African-American to be named to the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals.[24]
Died:Elmer Clifton, 59, American writer, film director and actor; Fritz Leiber, 67, American actor; László Rajk, 40, Hungarian Communist politician (executed)
Communist Chinese forces captured the port city of Xiamen.[31]
Exiled King Leopold III of Belgium agreed to a referendum on his return to Belgium, promising to remain in Switzerland if he received less than 55% support.[32]
Sentencing was handed down in the Smith Act trial of Communist Party leaders, with ten of the eleven defendants getting five years in prison. The eleventh, Robert G. Thompson, got only three years because of his distinguished war record. All were additionally fined $10,000.[37]
German Field Marshal Erich von Manstein testified in his own defense for two-and-a-half hours at his war crimes trial in Hamburg, saying that Hitler "lacked in many respects the qualities to make him a good commander" and describing the Nazi persecution of the Jews and other groups as "very repulsive."[38]
West German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer claimed that the German Democratic Republic was illegal and that West Germany had "responsibility" for all Germans.[39]
In further testimony at his war crimes trial, Erich von Manstein said he could have held the Soviets to a stalemate on the Eastern Front if Hitler had not interfered with his plan.[46]
In Edinburgh, James Graham, 6th Duke of Montrose put the first signature on a national covenant demanding self-rule for Scotland while remaining under the British crown. Another 600 delegates lined up behind him to also sign the document, with the goal of collecting 1 million signatures.[50]
The month-old Bethlehem Steel strike ended with an agreement to provide the 80,000 workers with a non-contributory pension plan and a contributory insurance program.[52]
^Waggoner, Walter H. (October 14, 1949). "Nehru Bars Neutrality in Injustice; Talk Suggests India as Conciliator". The New York Times. p. 1.
^Shevlin, Maurice (October 14, 1949). "Socialist Moch OK'd As Premier in a Close Vote". Chicago Daily Tribune. Chicago. p. 1.
^Porter, Russell (October 15, 1949). "11 Communists Convicted of Plot; Medina To Sentence Them Friday; 6 Of Counsel Jailed in Contempt". The New York Times. p. 1.
^"Reds Seize Amoy; Canton Blockaded". The New York Times. October 18, 1949. p. 1.
^"King Leopold to Abdicate If Vote Falls Under 55%". The New York Times. October 19, 1949. p. 15.
^"Guatemalan Flood Toll Is 4,0000; Damage Is Placed at $40,000,000". The New York Times. October 20, 1949. pp. 1, 7.
^"U. S. Ends Trials of Japanese". The New York Times. October 20, 1949. p. 14.
^Warren, Lansing (October 21, 1949). "French Assembly Accepts Mayer, Liberal, as Premier". The New York Times. p. 1.
^"Seamen's Strike Off; Union Hits At Canada". The New York Times. October 21, 1949. p. 49.
^Porter, Russell (October 22, 1949). "10 Top Communists Gets 5 Years, One Gets 3, All Are Fined $10,000; U. S. Indicts Amtorg, 5 Heads Held". The New York Times. p. 1.
^"Hitler a Poor General, Says Von Manstein". Chicago Daily Tribune. Chicago. October 22, 1949. p. 8.
^Middleton, Drew (October 22, 1949). "West Germans Bid For Voice In East". The New York Times. p. 1.
^Leonard, Thomas M. (1977). Day By Day: The Forties. New York: Facts On File, Inc. p. 934. ISBN0-87196-375-2.
^"Pre-Election Fight In Colombia Kills 20". The New York Times. October 21, 1949. p. 3.
^Warren, Lansing (October 24, 1949). "Bidault Is Named Premier As French Crisis Deepens". The New York Times. p. 1.
^Rosenthal, A. M. (October 25, 1949). "Lie Says Only U. N. Can Prevent War". The New York Times. p. 9.
^ abYust, Walter, ed. (1950). 1950 Britannica Book of the Year. Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc. p. 13.
^"British Jet Airliner Averages 450 M.P.H.". The New York Times. October 26, 1949. p. 5.
^"Mannstein Says He Could Have Stopped Russia". Chicago Daily Tribune. Chicago. October 26, 1949. p. 12.
