thumb|200px| October 4: The InterCity 125 high-speed train is introduced in the UK; services begin two days later. October 4 – The InterCity 125 high-speed train is introduced in the United Kingdom. October 6 Cubana de Aviación Flight 455 crashes due to a bomb placed by anti-Fidel Castro terrorists, after taking off from Bridgetown, Barbados; all 73 people on board are killed. Students gathering at Thammasat University in Bangkok, Thailand are massacred, while protesting the return of ex-dictator Thanom Kittikachorn by a coalition of right-wing paramilitary and government forces, triggering the return of the military to government. In San Francisco, during his second televised debate with Jimmy Carter, U.S. President Gerald Ford incorrectly declares that "there is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe" (there is at the time). The Cultural Revolution in China concludes upon the capture of the Gang of Four. October 8 – Thorbjörn Fälldin replaces Olof Palme as Prime Minister of Sweden. October 10 – Taiwan Governor Hsieh Tung-min is injured by a letter bomb from a pro-independence activist. October 12 – The People's Republic of China announces that Hua Guofeng is the successor to Mao Zedong as Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party following the latter's death on September 9 from a heart attack. October 13 – The United States Commission on Civil Rights releases the report, Puerto Ricans in the Continental United States: An Uncertain Future, that documents that Puerto Ricans in the United States have a poverty rate of 33 percent in 1974 (up from 29 percent in 1970), the highest of all major racial-ethnic groups in the country (not including Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory). October 19 The Battle of Aishiya is fought in Lebanon. The Copyright Act of 1976 extends copyright duration for an additional 19 years in the United States. The Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) is placed on the list of endangered species. October 20 – The Mississippi River ferry MV George Prince is struck by a ship while crossing from Destrehan, Louisiana to Luling, Louisiana, killing 78 passengers and crew. October 22 – Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh, the 5th President of Ireland, resigns after being publicly insulted by the Minister for Defense. October 26 – Transkei gains "independence" from South Africa.
thumb|200px| October 4: The InterCity 125 high-speed train is introduced in the UK; services begin two days later. October 4 – The InterCity 125 high-speed train is introduced in the United Kingdom. October 6 Cubana de Aviación Flight 455 crashes due to a bomb placed by anti-Fidel Castro terrorists, after taking off from Bridgetown, Barbados; all 73 people on board are killed. Students gathering at Thammasat University in Bangkok, Thailand are massacred, while protesting the return of ex-dictator Thanom Kittikachorn by a coalition of right-wing paramilitary and government forces, triggering the return of the military to government. In San Francisco, during his second televised debate with Jimmy Carter, U.S. President Gerald Ford incorrectly declares that "there is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe" (there is at the time). The Cultural Revolution in China concludes upon the capture of the Gang of Four. October 8 – Thorbjörn Fälldin replaces Olof Palme as Prime Minister of Sweden. October 10 – Taiwan Governor Hsieh Tung-min is injured by a letter bomb from a pro-independence activist. October 12 – The People's Republic of China announces that Hua Guofeng is the successor to Mao Zedong as Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party following the latter's death on September 9 from a heart attack. October 13 – The United States Commission on Civil Rights releases the report, Puerto Ricans in the Continental United States: An Uncertain Future that documents that Puerto Ricans in the United States have a poverty rate of 33 percent in 1974 (up from 29 percent in 1970), the highest of all major racial-ethnic groups in the country (not including Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory). October 19 The Battle of Aishiya is fought in Lebanon. The Copyright Act of 1976 extends copyright duration for an additional 19 years in the United States. The Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) is placed on the list of endangered species. October 20 – The Mississippi River ferry MV George Prince is struck by a ship while crossing from Destrehan, Louisiana to Luling, Louisiana, killing 78 passengers and crew. October 22 – Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh, the 5th President of Ireland, resigns after being publicly insulted by the Minister for Defense. October 26 – Transkei gains "independence" from South Africa.