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Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as stretching from the early 1940s to the late 1950s. Film noir of this era is associated with a low-key black-and-white visual style that has roots in German Expressionist cinematography. Many of the prototypical stories and much of the attitude of classic noir derive from the hardboiled school of crime fiction that emerged in the United States during the Depression. Film noir encompasses a range of plots. Though the noir mode was originally identified with American productions, films now customarily described as noir have been made around the world. Many pictures released from the 1960s onward share attributes with film noirs of the classic period, often treating noir conventions in a self-referential manner. Such latter-day works in a noir mode are often referred to as neo-noirs. The tropes of film noir have inspired parody since the mid-1940s. (more...)

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• American and Yemeni officials report that Anwar al-Awlaki (pictured), described as a senior al-Qaeda member, has been killed in an airstrike in Ma'rib, Yemen.
• China launches its first space station, Tiangong 1, as part of its human spaceflight program.
• Kenyan environmentalist Wangari Maathai, the first African woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, dies at the age of 71.
• King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia announces that Saudi women will be permitted to vote and stand for election.
• Patrick Makau Musyoki of Kenya wins the Berlin Marathon, setting a new world record.
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October 2: Independence Day in Guinea (1958)

• 1535 – French explorer Jacques Cartier (pictured) sailed along the St. Lawrence River and reached the Iroquois fortified village Hochelaga on the island now known as Montreal.
• 1835 – Mexican dragoons dispatched to disarm settlers at Gonzales, Texas, encountered stiff resistance from a Texian militia in the Battle of Gonzales, the first armed engagement of the Texas Revolution.
• 1950 – Peanuts, the syndicated comic strip by Charles M. Schulz, featuring Charlie Brown and his pet Snoopy, was first published in major newspapers.
• 1968 – A peaceful student demonstration in the Tlatelolco area of Mexico City ended when army and police forces began firing into the crowd.
• 2009 – During the 121st Session of the International Olympic Committee, Rio de Janeiro was elected to be the host city of the 2016 Summer Olympics and Paralympics.

More anniversaries: October 1 – October 2 – October 3