October 5: Clarkson Crolius, the leader of generations of Manhattan stoneware potters, and a member of New York City’s Common Council, died on this date in 1843.

October 4: Jerome Park Racetrack, which was opened in the Bronx by Leonard Jerome (grandfather of Winston Churchill) and August Belmont, and where the Belmont Stakes were first run, closed on this date in 1894.

October 3: On this date in 1853, Cornelius Garrison was elected the fifth mayor of San Francisco, California.

October 2: Charles Pratt, oil merchant and founder of Pratt Institute, was born on this date in 1830.

October 1: Born on this date in 1749, Peter Schermerhorn built Schermerhorn Row (six counting houses in lower Manhattan) in 1811 at what is now South Street Seaport.