James Capen Adams was born in Medway, Massachusetts in 1807, went to San Francisco during the 1849 gold-rush and became famous as a hunter and trapper working alone in the California Mountains.  Skilled at capturing and training animals, he returned to the East in 1860 to work as an animal trainer for P.T. Barnum.  He died of complications from a head injury sustained while training a monkey.  He is buried in Charlton, Massachusetts.  (By John Osborne)

Around the British Isles, heavy autumn gales struck the North Sea and north-east Scotland.  Buildings were damaged in Edinburgh and coastal shipping and fishing fleets suffered heavy damage and loss of life from Aberdeen to Newcastle. (By John Osborne) 

A massive late afternoon fire completely destroyed the massive sugar refinery in London's East End. At nine stories and with a 200 foot front it was one of the largest factories in the city but burned to the ground within hours as the highly volatile stores of sugar sent flames high into the air.  All workmen were able to escape, however, and no serious injuries were reported.  (By John Osborne)

The six year old  British-built 34-gun Peruvian frigate Callao capsized and sank in the harbor at San Lorenzo, Peru while being moved into a dry dock.  The warship itself had large numbers of guests aboard and the Peruvian president and other dignitaries were watching from other vessels. Around 100 people died and 88 were injured.  The Callao was raised in 1863, restored to its old name Apurimac, and resumed its career.  (By John Osborne)  

Five gold prospectors reach the summit of the volcanic Mount St. Helens in the Cascade Mountains of Washington Territory.  The party were apparently only the second group of Europeans to ascend the mountain; it had been climbed August 27, 1853 by Thomas J. Dryer and four others.  The next recorded climb was in 1874.  The summit was ten 9,677 feet above sea level; the massive 1980 eruption reduced that to 8,365 feet.  (By John Osborne)

Violence broke out in and around Panama City, then a part of Columbia, and six white residents of the town were killed in the resulting crossfire.  To prevent further bloodshed, sailors and marines from the U.S.S. St Mary's, commanded by Commander William D. Porter, together with men from H.M.S Clio, landed in the town to restore order. They remained in the city for around ten days and re-embarked on October 7, 1860. (By John Osborne)

Major Isaac Lynde, 7th U.S. Infantry, established a small fort four miles south of the present town of Hurley in New Mexico to support operations against  the Apache and Navajo.  He called it Camp Floyd, for the Secretary of War, but following Floyd's resignation, the post was renamed Fort McLane after an officer killed by the Navajo in October 1860.  The post was permanently abandoned on July 3, 1861. (By John Osborne)

After the Battle of Castelfidardo on September 18, 1860, the defeated Papal Army had retreated to the fortress at Ancona on the Adriatic Sea.  Surrounded and suffering bombardment from land and sea, the Papal commander, French General Christophe de Lamoricière, surrendered with all of his men.  Papal rule was largely at an end in central Italy and the unification of modern Italy near to completion.  (By John Osborne)

Senator Seward, campaigning for the Republican ticket across the Midwest, received a hero's welcome in Lawrence, Kansas, the center of free soil Kansas.  In the afternoon, thousands of people heard him give a rousing speech recounting the efforts Kansas was making to reject slavery and enter the Union as a free state.  He left Kansas for Chicago where he gave a major address before a massive crowd at the Wigwam on October 2, 1860.  (By John Osborne)