Events

• 758 – Guangzhou is sacked by Arab and Persian pirates.
• 1137 – Battle of Rignano between Ranulf of Apulia and Roger II of Sicily.
• 1270 – The Eighth Crusade and siege of Tunis end by an agreement between Charles I of Sicily (brother to King Louis IX of France, who had died months earlier) and the sultan of Tunis.
• 1340 – Battle of Rio Salado.
• 1470 – Henry VI of England returns to the English throne after Earl of Warwick defeats the Yorkists in battle.
• 1485 – King Henry VII of England is crowned.
• 1501 – Ballet of Chestnuts – a banquet held by Cesare Borgia in the Papal Palace where fifty prostitutes or courtesans are in attendance for the entertainment of the guests.
• 1831 – In Southampton County, Virginia, escaped slave Nat Turner is captured and arrested for leading the bloodiest slave rebellion in United States history.
• 1863 – Danish Prince Wilhelm arrives in Athens to assume his throne as George I, King of the Hellenes.
• 1864 – Second war of Schleswig ends. Denmark renounces all claim to Schleswig, Holstein and Lauenburg, which come under Prussian and Austrian administration.
• 1864 – Helena, Montana is founded after four prospector discover gold at "Last Chance Gulch".
• 1894 – Domenico Melegatti obtains a patent for a procedure to be applied in producing pandoro industrially.
• 1905 – Czar Nicholas II of Russia grants Russia's first constitution, creating a legislative assembly.
• 1918 – The Ottoman Empire signs an armistice with the Allies, ending the First World War in the Middle East.
• 1920 – The Communist Party of Australia is founded in Sydney.
• 1922 – Benito Mussolini is made Prime Minister of Italy.
• 1925 – John Logie Baird creates Britain's first television transmitter.
• 1929 – The Stuttgart Cable Car is constructed in Stuttgart, Germany.
• 1938 – Orson Welles broadcasts his radio play of H. G. Wells's The War of the Worlds, causing anxiety in some of the audience in the United States.
• 1941 – World War II: Franklin Delano Roosevelt approves U.S. $1 billion in Lend-Lease aid to the Allied nations.
• 1941 – 1,500 Jews from Pidhaytsi (in western Ukraine) are sent by Nazis to Belzec extermination camp.
• 1944 – Anne Frank and sister Margot Frank are deported from Auschwitz to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.
• 1945 – Jackie Robinson of the Kansas City Monarchs signs a contract for the Brooklyn Dodgers to break the baseball color barrier.
• 1947 – The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which is the foundation of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), is founded.
• 1950 – Pope Pius XII witnesses "The Miracle of the Sun" while at the Vatican.
• 1953 – Cold War: U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower formally approves the top secret document National Security Council Paper No. 162/2, which states that the United States' arsenal of nuclear weapons must be maintained and expanded to counter the communist threat.
• 1960 – Michael Woodruff performs the first successful kidney transplant in the United Kingdom at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.
• 1961 – Nuclear testing: The Soviet Union detonates the hydrogen bomb Tsar Bomba over Novaya Zemlya; at 58 megatons of yield, it is still the largest explosive device ever detonated, nuclear or otherwise.
• 1961 – Because of "violations of Lenin's precepts", it is decreed that Joseph Stalin's body be removed from its place of honour inside Lenin's tomb and buried near the Kremlin wall with a plain granite marker instead.
• 1965 – Vietnam War: Just miles from Da Nang, United States Marines repel an intense attack by wave after wave of Viet Cong forces, killing 56 guerrillas. Among the dead, a sketch of Marine positions is found on the body of a 13-year-old Vietnamese boy who sold drinks to the Marines the day before.
• 1970 – In Vietnam, the worst monsoon to hit the area in six years causes large floods, kills 293, leaves 200,000 homeless and virtually halts the Vietnam War.
• 1972 – A collision between two commuter trains in Chicago, Illinois kills 45 and injures 332.
• 1973 – The Bosporus Bridge in Istanbul, Turkey is completed, connecting the continents of Europe and Asia over the Bosporus for the first time.
• 1974 – The Rumble in the Jungle boxing match between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman takes place in Kinshasa, Zaire.
• 1974 – Nolan Ryan throws the fastest baseball pitch ever. It was recorded at 100.9 mph.
• 1975 – Prince Juan Carlos becomes Spain's acting head of state, taking over for the country's ailing dictator, Gen. Francisco Franco.
• 1975 – The New York Daily News runs the “Ford to City: Drop Dead” headline.
• 1980 – El Salvador and Honduras sign a peace treaty to put the border dispute fought over in 1969's Football War before the International Court of Justice.
• 1983 – The first democratic elections in Argentina after seven years of military rule are held.
• 1985 – Space Shuttle Challenger lifts off for mission STS-61-A, its final successful mission.
• 1987 – In Japan, NEC releases the first 16-bit home entertainment system, the TurboGrafx-16, known as PC Engine.
• 1991 – The Madrid Conference for Middle East peace talks opens.
• 1993 – Greysteel massacre: The Ulster Freedom Fighters, a loyalist terrorist group, open fire on a crowded bar in Greysteel, Northern Ireland. Eight civilians are killed and thirteen wounded.
• 1995 – Quebec sovereignists narrowly lose a referendum for a mandate to negotiate independence from Canada (vote is 50.6% to 49.4%).
• 1996 – Odwalla company officials withdrew their products from over 4,600 stores after an outbreak of E. Coli in their apple juice, which in the end sickened over 60 people and killed one.
• 2000 – The last Multics machine is shut down.
• 2002 – British Digital terrestrial television (DTT) Service Freeview begins transmitting in parts of the United Kingdom.
• 2005 – The rebuilt Dresden Frauenkirche (destroyed in the firebombing of Dresden during World War II) is reconsecrated after a thirteen-year rebuilding project.

Births

• 1218 – Emperor Chukyo of Japan (d. 1234)
• 1513 – Jacques Amyot, French writer (d. 1593)
• 1624 – Paul Pellisson, French writer (d. 1693)
• 1668 – Sophia Charlotte of Hanover, queen in Prussia (d. 1705)
• 1735 – John Adams, second President of the United States (d. 1826)
• 1751 – Richard Sheridan, Irish playwright (d. 1816)
• 1762 – André Chénier, French writer (d. 1794)
• 1786 – Philippe-Joseph Aubert de Gaspé, French Canadian writer (d. 1871)
• 1799 – Ignace Bourget, bishop of Montreal (d. 1885)
• 1821 – Fyodor Dostoevsky, Russian writer (d. 1881)
• 1839 – Alfred Sisley, Anglo-French artist (d. 1899)
• 1844 – Harvey W. Wiley, American chemist (d. 1930)
• 1847 – Galileo Ferraris, Italian physicist (d. 1897)
• 1857 – Georges Gilles de la Tourette, French neurologist (d. 1904)
• 1861 – Antoine Bourdelle, French sculptor (d. 1929)
• 1871 – Paul Valéry, French poet (d. 1945)
• 1871 – Buck Freeman, American baseball player (d. 1949)
• 1873 – Francisco I. Madero, President of Mexico (d. 1913)
• 1881 – Elizabeth Madox Roberts, American poet and author (d. 1941)
• 1882 – William Halsey, Jr, American admiral (d. 1959)
• 1882 – Günther von Kluge, German field marshal (d. 1944)
• 1885 – Ezra Pound, American poet (d. 1972)
• 1886 – Zoe Akins, American playwright (d. 1958)
• 1887 – Sukumar Ray, Bengali Writer (d. 1923)
• 1888 – Konstantinos Tsiklitiras, Greek Olympic champion (d. 1913)
• 1893 – Charles Atlas, Italian-born bodybuilder (d. 1972)
• 1893 – Roland Freisler, German Nazi politician (d. 1945)
• 1894 – Jean Rostand, French biologist (d. 1977)
• 1895 – Gerhard Domagk, German bacteriologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (declined) (d. 1964)
• 1895 – Dickinson W. Richards, American physician, Nobel laureate (d. 1973)
• 1896 – Ruth Gordon, American actress (d. 1985)
• 1896 – Kostas Karyotakis, Greek poet (d. 1928)
• 1897 – Rex Cherryman, American actor (d. 1928)
• 1898 – Bill Terry, baseball player (d. 1989)
• 1900 – Ragnar Granit Finnish neuroscientist, Nobel laureate (d. 1991)
• 1906 – Alexander Gode, German-American linguist (d. 1970)
• 1906 – Giuseppe Farina, Italian race car driver and one-time F1 world champion (d. 1966)
• 1907 – Sol Tax, American anthropologist (d. 1995)
• 1908 – U. Muthuramalingam Thevar, An Indian politician (d. 1963)
• 1908 – Patsy Montana, American country music singer and songwriter (d. 1996)
• 1909 – Homi J. Bhabha, Indian physicist (d. 1966)
• 1911 – Ruth Hussey, American actress (d. 2005)
• 1914 – Richard E Holz, American composer (d. 1986)
• 1914 – Anna Wing, English actress
• 1915 – Fred Friendly, American journalist (d. 1998)
• 1916 – Leon Day, American baseball player (d. 1995)
• 1917 – Bobby Bragan, American baseball player
• 1917 – Nikolai Vasilievich Ogarkov, Soviet field marshal (d. 1994)
• 1917 – Maurice Trintignant, French race car driver (d. 2005)
• 1922 – Jane White, American actress and singer
• 1926 – Jacques Swaters, Belgian racing driver
• 1927 – Joe Adcock, American baseball player (d. 1999)
• 1928 – Daniel Nathans, American microbiologist, Nobel laureate (d. 1999)
• 1930 – Nestor Almendros, Spanish cinematographer (d. 1992)
• 1930 – Clifford Brown, American musician (d. 1956)
• 1931 – Vince Callahan, American politician
• 1932 – Louis Malle, French film director (d. 1995)
• 1932 – Barun De, Indian historian
• 1934 – Frans Brüggen, Dutch musician
• 1935 – Agota Kristof, Hungarian writer
• 1935 – Michael Winner, British film director
• 1935 – Jim Perry, American baseball player
• 1935 – Robert Caro, American biographer
• 1936 – Polina Astakhova, Ukrainian gymnast (d. 2005)
• 1936 – Dick Vermeil, American football coach
• 1937 – Claude Lelouch, French film director
• 1939 – Leland H. Hartwell, American scientist, Nobel laureate
• 1939 – Grace Slick, American singer (Jefferson Airplane)
• 1939 – Edward Holland, Jr., American singer
• 1940 – Ed Lauter, American actor
• 1941 – Theodor W. Hänsch, German physicist, Nobel laureate
• 1941 – Otis Williams, American singer
• 1943 – Joanna Shimkus, Canadian actress
• 1945 – Henry Winkler, American actor
• 1946 – Chris Slade, Welsh drummer (Asia)
• 1947 – Timothy B. Schmit, American musician (Eagles)
• 1948 – Rusty Goffe, British actor
• 1951 – Harry Hamlin, American actor
• 1953 – Charles Martin Smith, American actor
• 1954 – Mario Testino, Peruvian-born English fashion photographer
• 1956 – Juliet Stevenson, English actress
• 1957 – Kevin Pollak, American actor
• 1958 – Joe Delaney, American football player (d. 1983)
• 1958 – Stefan Dennis, Australian actor
• 1958 – Ramona d'Viola, American cyclist
• 1960 – Diego Maradona, Argentine footballer
• 1961 – Scott Garrelts, American baseball player
• 1961 – Giorgos Papakonstantinou, Greek economist and politician
• 1962 – Courtney Walsh, Jamaican West Indies cricketer
• 1963 – Michael Beach, American actor
• 1963 – Rebecca Heineman, Computer game programmer
• 1963 – Kristina Wagner, American actress
• 1964 – Howard Lederer, American poker player
• 1964 – Humayun Kabir Dhali, Bangladeshi Writer & Journalist
• 1966 – Scott Innes, American voice actor
• 1967 – Brad Aitken, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1967 – Gavin Rossdale, English musician
• 1968 – Jack Plotnick, American actor
• 1969 – Masanori Hikichi, Japanese composer
• 1970 – Maja Tatic, Bosnia singer
• 1970 – Tory Belleci, American TV Mythbuster
• 1970 – Nia Long, American actress
• 1970 – Ekaterini Voggoli, Greek discus thrower
• 1970 – Ben Bailey, American host of the game show Cash Cab
• 1971 – Ahn Jae Wook, South Korean actor and singer
• 1971 – Suzan van der Wielen, Dutch hockey-international
• 1973 – Adam "Edge" Copeland, Canadian wrestler
• 1973 – Silvia Corzo, Colombian newscaster
• 1973 – Michael Oakes, English footballer
• 1975 – Ian D'Sa, Guitarist/Vocalist for Canadian rock band Billy Talent
• 1975 – Maria Thayer, American actress
• 1976 – Stern John, Trinidadian footballer
• 1976 – Ümit Özat, Turkish footballer
• 1976 – Maurice Taylor, American Basketball Player
• 1977 – Jason Adelman, American actor
• 1977 – Eefke Mulder, Dutch hockey-international
• 1978 – Martin Dossett, American football player
• 1978 – Amanda Swafford, American model
• 1978 – Matthew Morrison, American actor
• 1979 – Jason Bartlett, American baseball player
• 1979 – Yukie Nakama, Japanese actress
• 1980 – Sarah Carter, Canadian actress
• 1980 – Kareem Rush, American basketball player
• 1980 – Choi Hong-man, South Korean kickboxer
• 1980 – John Foo, Irish martial artist and actor
• 1981 – Ayaka Kimura, Japanese actress
• 1981 – Ivanka Trump, American model
• 1981 – Jun Ji-hyun, South Korean actress
• 1981 – Ian Snell, American baseball player
• 1982 – Andy Greene, American ice hockey player
• 1982 – Manny Parra, American baseball player
• 1983 – Iain Hume, Canadian footballer
• 1983 – Trent Edwards, American football player
• 1984 – Eva Marcille, American model and actress
• 1984 – Tyson Strachan, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1986 – Thomas Morgenstern, Austrian ski jumper
• 1987 – Junaid Siddique, Bangladeshi cricketer
• 1988 – Janel Parrish, American actress
• 1989 – Seth Adkins, American actor
• 1989 – Nastia Liukin, Russian/American gymnast
• 1989 – Vanessa White, British singer (The Saturdays)
• 1992 – Tequan Richmond, American actor

Deaths

• 1459 – Gian Francesco Poggio Bracciolini, Italian humanist (b. 1380)
• 1522 – Jean Mouton, French composer
• 1553 – Jacob Sturm von Sturmeck, German statesman and reformer (b. 1489)
• 1602 – Jean-Jacques Boissard, French poet (b. 1528)
• 1611 – King Charles IX of Sweden (b. 1550)
• 1626 – Willebrord Snell, Dutch astronomer and mathematician (b. 1580)
• 1632 – Henri II de Montmorency, French naval officer and Governor of Languedoc (b. 1595)
• 1654 – Emperor Go-Komyo of Japan (b. 1633)
• 1680 – Antoinette Bourignon, Flemish mystic (b. 1616)
• 1685 – Michel le Tellier, French statesman (b. 1603)
• 1809 – William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1738)
• 1816 – Frederick I of Württemberg (b. 1754)
• 1842 – Allan Cunningham, Scottish poet and author (b. 1784)
• 1853 – Pietro Raimondi, Italian composer (b. 1786)
• 1883 – Robert Volkmann, German composer (b. 1815)
• 1893 – John Joseph Caldwell Abbott, third Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1821)
• 1894 – Honoré Mercier, politician, Premier of Quebec (b. 1840)
• 1899 – William Henry Webb, American industrialist and philanthropist (b. 1816)
• 1910 – Henry Dunant, Swiss founder of the Red Cross, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1828)
• 1912 – James S. Sherman, Vice President of the United States (b. 1855)
• 1915 – Charles Tupper, sixth Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1821)
• 1917 – Talbot Mercer Papineau, Canadian lawyer and soldier (b. 1883)
• 1923 – Andrew Bonar Law, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1858)
• 1957 – Fred Beebe, baseball player (b. 1880)
• 1961 – Luigi Einaudi, 2nd President of the Italian Republic (b. 1874)
• 1963 – U. Muthuramalingam Thevar, An Indian politician (b. 1908)
• 1966 – Yórgos Theotokás, Greek novelist (b. 1906)
• 1968 – Rose Wilder Lane, American journalist and author (b. 1886)
• 1968 – Ramón Novarro, Mexican actor (b. 1899)
• 1968 – Conrad Richter, American writer (b. 1890)
• 1969 – Pops Foster, American musician (b. 1892)
• 1975 – Gustav Ludwig Hertz, German physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1887)
• 1979 – Sir Barnes Wallis, British scientist, engineer and inventor (b. 1887)
• 1979 – Donna Rachele Mussolini, Italian, wife of Benito Mussolini (b. 1890)
• 1985 – Kirby Grant, American actor (b. 1911)
• 1988 – T. Hee, American animator (b. 1911)
• 1993 – Paul Grégoire, Archbishop of Montreal (b. 1911)
• 1997 – Samuel Fuller, American film director (b. 1912)
• 2000 – Steve Allen, American comedian, author, and composer (b. 1921)
• 2002 – Jam Master Jay, American rapper and musician (Run DMC) (b. 1965)
• 2002 – Juan Antonio Bardem, Spanish director and screenwriter (b. 1922)
• 2004 – Peggy Ryan, American actress (b. 1924)
• 2005 – Al Lopez, American baseball player and manager (b. 1908)
• 2005 – Shamsher Singh Sheri, Indian communist leader (b. 1942)
• 2006 – Junji Kinoshita, Japanese playwright (b. 1914)
• 2006 – Clifford Geertz, American anthropologist (b. 1926)
• 2007 – Robert Goulet, American entertainer (b. 1933)
• 2007 – Linda Stein, Ramones manager and real estate broker (b. 1945)
• 2007 – Washoe, chimpanzee trained in American Sign Language (b. 1965)
• 2007 – John Woodruff, American athlete (b. 1915)
• 2008 – Pedro Pompilio, Argentinian businessman (b. 1950)
• 2009 – Claude Levi-Strauss, French anthropologist (b.1908)

Holidays and observances

• Calendar of Saints – October 30th is the feast day of the following Roman Catholic Saints:
  • Alonso Rodríguez
  • St. Artemas
  • St. Herbert
  • St. Marcellus the Centurion
  • St. Saturninus
  • Serapion of Antioch
• United States – Mischief Night in some areas (known as Devil's Night in Michigan)
• Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Political Repressions in post-Soviet states

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada