October 1966

Tuesday 04:

Basutoland becomes independent from the United Kingdom and is renamed Lesotho.

Wednesday 05:

Near Detroit, Michigan, there is a partial core meltdown at the Enrico Fermi demonstration nuclear breeder reactor, killing three workers.

Thursday 06:

LSD is declared illegal in the United States.

Monday 10:

Simon and Garfunkel release the album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme.

Friday 14:

The city of Montreal inaugurates its metro system (see Montreal Metro).

Saturday 15:

US President Lyndon B. Johnson signs a bill creating the United States Department of Transportation.

Monday 17:

A fire at a building in New York, New York kills 12 firefighters.

Friday 21:

Aberfan disaster: A coal tip falls on the village of Aberfan in Wales, killing 144 people, mostly schoolchildren

Saturday 22:

The Supremes become the first all-female music group to attain a No. 1 selling album (The Supremes A' Go-Go).

Sunday 30:

The Zodiac killer kills his first victim, 18-year old Cheri Jo Bates, in Riverside, California.