October 30 is the 303rd day of the year (304th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 62 days remaining until the end of the year.
Events
Up to 1900
1901 – 2000
- 1905 – Tsar 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.
- 1921 - The Argentina national football team wins the Campeonato Sudamericana for the first time. The competition later becomes the Copa America.
- 1922 - Victor Emmanuel III of Italy names Benito Mussolini as Prime Minister.
- 1925 - John Logie Baird creates the United Kingdom's first television transmitter.
- 1929 - The Stuttgart cable car is built in Stuttgart, Germany.
- 1938 – Orson Welles broadcasts his radio play of H. G. Wells's The War of the Worlds, causing a nationwide panic.
- 1941 – World War II: Franklin Delano Roosevelt approves US$1 billion in Lend-Lease aid to the Soviet Union.
- 1944 – Anne Frank is deported from Auschwitz to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.
- 1945 - Baseball player Jackie Robinson of the Kansas City Monarchs signs a contract with the Brooklyn Dodgers, leading to the breaking of the color barrier in the sport.
- 1953 - George Marshall wins the Nobel Peace Prize.
- 1960 - Michael Woodruff performs his first successful kidney transplant in the United Kingdom at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.
- 1961 – The Soviet Union detonates the hydrogen bomb Tsar Bomba. It is the largest nuclear device ever detonated. Nikita Khrushchev says that the scientists had planned to make it larger, but had reduced the yield to prevent breaking all the windows in Moscow.
- 1961 – Due to "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 stop an large attack of NLF forces, killing 56 guerrillas. Among the dead, a sketch of Marine positions was 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 - Two commuter trains collide in Chicago, Illinois, kills 45 people.
- 1973 - The Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul is completed.
- 1974 – "The Rumble in the Jungle": Muhammad Ali knocks out George Foreman in Kinshasa, Zaire to regain the World Heavyweight Boxing championship.
- 1975 – Prince Juan Carlos becomes Spain's acting head of state, taking over for the country's ailing dictator, Gen. Francisco Franco.
- 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.
- 1983 – An earthquake in eastern Turkey, near Erzurum, kills around 1,300 people.
- 1985 - The Space Shuttle Challenger lifts off on what would become its final successful mission.
- 1988 - Ayrton Senna wins his first Formula One title.
- 1991 – The Madrid Conference for Middle East peace talks opens.
- 1995 – Quebec independence referendum: Voters in Quebec narrowly choose to stay part of Canada.
- 1997 - Mary McAleese is elected President of Ireland.
- 1998 - 5,500 people are killed by Hurricane Mitch in Honduras.
- 2000 – The Somoni replaces the Rouble as the currency of Tajikistan.
From 2001
Births
Up to 1850
- 39 BC - Julia the Elder, daughter of Augustus Caesar (d. 14)
- 1218 – Emperor Chukyo of Japan (d. 1234)
- 1513 - Jacques Amyot, French writer (d. 1593)
- 1580 – Dirk Hartog, Dutch explorer (d. 1621)
- 1624 - Paul Pellisson, French writer (d. 1693)
- 1632 – Christopher Wren, English architect (d. 1723)
- 1668 – Sophia Charlotte of Hanover, Queen of Prussia (d. 1705)
- 1735 – John Adams, 1st Vice President and 2nd President of the United States (d. 1826)
- 1741 – Angelica Kauffman, Swiss-Austrian painter (d. 1807)
- 1748 - Martha Jefferson, first wife of Thomas Jefferson (d. 1782)
- 1763 - Heinrich Cotta, German forester (d. 1844)
- 1776 - George M. Bibb, American politician (d. 1859)
- 1778 - Benjamin Ames, Governor of Maine (d. 1835)
- 1785 - Heinrich von Pückler-Muskau, Prussian lieutenant (d. 1871)
- 1789 - Princess Louise Charlotte of Denmark (d. 1864)
- 1804 - Charles II, Duke of Brunswick (d. 1873)
- 1816 - Henry L. Dawes, American politician (d. 1903)
- 1829 - Suzanne Manet, wife and model of the painter Edouard Manet (d. 1906)
- 1836 - Camillo Boito, Italian writer and architect (d. 1914)
- 1839 – Alfred Sisley, Anglo-French painter (d. 1899)
- 1844 - Harvey W. Wiley, American chemist (d. 1930)
- 1847 - Galileo Ferraris, Italian physicist (d. 1897)
1851 – 1900
- 1853 - Louise Abbéma, French painter (d. 1927)
- 1857 – Georges Gilles de la Tourette, French neurologist (d. 1904)
- 1859 - Karl von Stürgkh, Austrian politician (d. 1916)
- 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)
- 1877 - Hugo Celmins, Prime Minister of Latvia (d. 1941)
- 1881 - Elizabeth Roberts, American poet and writer (d. 1941)
- 1882 - Oldrich Duras, Czech chess player (d. 1957)
- 1882 - William F. Halsey, Jr., American naval commander (d. 1959)
- 1885 – Ezra Pound, American poet (d. 1972)
- 1886 - Zoe Akins, American playwright (d. 1958)
- 1887 - Sukumar Ray, Bengali writer (d. 1923)
- 1887 - Georg Heym, German writer (d. 1912)
- 1888 - Louis Menges, American soccer player (d. 1969)
- 1888 - Konstantinos Tsiklitiras, Greek Olympic champion (d. 1913)
- 1893 - Charles Atlas, Italian bodybuilder (d. 1972)
- 1893 - Roland Freisler, German Nazi judge (d. 1945)
- 1894 - Jean Rostand, French biologist (d. 1977)
- 1895 – Gerhard Domagk, German doctor, won the 1939 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1964)
- 1895 – Dickinson W. Richards, American physician (d. 1973)
- 1896 – Harry Randall Truman, Guardian of Mt. St. Helens (d. 1980)
- 1896 - Ruth Gordon, American actress (d. 1985)
- 1896 - Kostas Karyotakis, Greek poet (d. 1928)
- 1897 - Agustin Lara, Mexican composer (d. 1970)
- 1900 – Ragnar Granit, Finnish neuroscientist (d. 1991)
1901 – 1950
- 1905 - Johnny Miles, Canadian marathon runner (d. 2003)
- 1906 – Giuseppe Farina, Italian racing driver (d. 1966)
- 1906 – Alexander Gode, German-American linguist (d. 1970)
- 1908 - U. Muthuramalingam Thevar, Indian politician (d. 1963)
- 1908 - Patsy Montana, American country music singer-songwriter (d. 1996)
- 1909 - Homi J. Bhabha, Indian physicist (d. 1966)
- 1910 - Luciano Sgrizzi, Italian harpsichordist and composer (d. 1994)
- 1911 – Ruth Hussey, American actress (d. 2005)
- 1914 - Anna Wing, British actress (d. 2013)
- 1914 - Leabua Jonathan, 2nd Prime Minister of Lesotho (d. 1987)
- 1915 - Jane Randolph, American actress (d. 2009)
- 1915 - Fred Friendly, American journalist (d. 1998)
- 1917 - Maurice Trintignant, French racing driver (d. 2005)
- 1926 - Tommy Ridgley, American singer
- 1928 – Daniel Nathans, American microbiologist (d. 1999)
- 1930 – Clifford Brown, American musician (d. 1956)
- 1931 - Vince Callahan, American politician (d. 2014)
- 1932 - Louis Malle, French movie director (d. 1995)
- 1934 - Frans Brüggen, Dutch conductor and flautist (d. 2014)
- 1935 – Agota Kristof, Hungarian writer (d. 2011)
- 1935 – Michael Winner, English movie director (d. 2013)
- 1937 – Claude Lelouch, French director
- 1938 - Ed Lauter, American actor (d. 2013)
- 1939 – Leland H. Hartwell, American scientist
- 1939 - Eddie Holland, American songwriter
- 1939 - Grace Slick, American rock music singer
- 1941 - Theodor W. Haensch, German physicist
- 1941 - Otis Williams, American singer
- 1943 - David Triesman, Baron Triesman, English politician
- 1944 - Ahmed Chalabi, Iraqi politician (d. 2015)
- 1945 – Henry Winkler, American actor, director and producer
- 1946 - William Thurston, American mathematician (d. 2012)
- 1946 - Robert L. Gibson, American astronaut
- 1946 - Chris L. Slade, Welsh drummer
- 1947 - Timothy B. Schmit, American rock musician
1951 – 1975
- 1951 - Harry Hamlin, American actor
- 1952 - Ana Paula Ribeiro Tavares, Angolan historian and poet
- 1953 - Pete Hoekstra, United States Congressman
- 1954 – Mario Testino, Peruvian-born fashion photographer
- 1954 - Mahmoud El Khatib, Egyptian footballer
- 1955 - Heidi Heitkamp, American politician
- 1956 - Juliet Stevenson, English actress
- 1957 - Kevin Pollak, American actor and director
- 1960 – Diego Armando Maradona, Argentine footballer
- 1961 - Giorgos Papakonstantinou, Greek economist and politician
- 1962 - Courtney Walsh, Jamaican cricketer
- 1962 – Stefan Kuntz, German footballer
- 1964 – Jean-Marc Bosman, Belgian footballer
- 1965 - Gavin Rossdale, British musician
- 1966 - Scott Innes, American voice actor
- 1966 - Zoran Milanovic, 10th Prime Minister of Croatia
- 1967 - Brad Aitken, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1969 - Stanislav Gross, 5th Prime Minister of the Czech Republic (d. 2015)
- 1969 - Snow, Canadian musician
- 1970 - Xie Jun, Chinese chess player
- 1970 - Nia Long, American actress
- 1970 - Ben Bailey, American comedian and talk show host
- 1970 - Tony Belleci, American visual effects designer and TV host
- 1971 – Fredi Bobic, German footballer
- 1971 - Tzanis Stavrakopoulos, Greek basketball player
- 1972 - Jessica Hynes, British actress and writer
- 1975 - Maria Thayer, American actress
From 1976
- 1976 – Stern John, Trinidadian footballer
- 1978 – Matthew Morrison, American actor and singer
- 1981 - Jun Ji-hyun, South Korean actress
- 1981 - Ayaka Kimura, Japanese actress
- 1981 - Ivanka Trump, American model
- 1982 - Manny Parra, American baseball player
- 1984 - Tyson Strachan, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1984 - Eva Marcille, American actress, TV host and model
- 1986 – Thomas Morgenstern, Austrian skijumper
- 1986 - Margareta Kozuch, German volleyball player
- 1988 - Janel Parrish, American actress and singer
- 1989 - Jay Asforis, British actor, singer and dancer (S Club 7)
- 1989 - Vanessa White, British singer (The Saturdays)
- 1989 – Seth Adkins, American actor
- 1989 – Nastia Liukin, American gymnast
- 1989 - Ashley Barnes, Austrian-English footballer
- 1996 – Mizuki Fukumura, Japanese singer (Morning Musume)
- 1998 - Meimi Tamura, Japanese singer
Deaths
Up to 1900
- 1226 - Ly Hue Tong, Emperor of Vietnam
- 1459 - Gian Francesco Poggio Bracciolini, Italian humanist (b. 1380)
- 1522 - Jean Houton, French composer (b. 1459)
- 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 (b. 1595)
- 1654 – Emperor Go-Komyo of Japan (b. 1633)
- 1685 - Michel le Tellier, French statesman (b. 1603)
- 1757 - Osman III, Ottoman Sultan
- 1802 - Charles Alexandre de Colonna, French statesman (b. 1734)
- 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 author and poet (b. 1784)
- 1853 - Pietro Raimondi, Italian composer (b. 1786)
- 1883 - Robert Volkmann, German composer (b. 1815)
- 1893 – John Abbott, 3rd Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1821)
- 1894 - Honoré Mercier, 9th Premier of Quebec (b. 1840)
1901 – 2000
- 1910 – Jean-Henri Dunant, Swiss founder of the International Red Cross, co-winner of the first Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1828)
- 1912 – James S. Sherman, Vice President of the United States (b. 1855)
- 1915 – Charles Tupper, shortest-serving Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1821)
- 1923 – Andrew Bonar Law, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1858)
- 1951 - Tom Perry, 14th Governor of South Dakota (b. 1879)
- 1956 – Pio Baroja, Spanish writer (b. 1872)
- 1957 - Fred Beebe, American baseball player (b. 1880)
- 1961 – Luigi Einaudi, 2nd President of Italy (b. 1874)
- 1963 - U. Muthuramalingam Thevar, Indian politician (b. 1908)
- 1965 - Arthur M. Schlesinger, Sr., American historian (b. 1888)
- 1968 - Ramon Novarro, Mexican actor, singer and director (b. 1899)
- 1968 - Conrad Richter, American author and playwright (b. 1890)
- 1968 - Rose Wilder Lane, American journalist and writer (b. 1886)
- 1975 – Gustav Ludwig Hertz, German physicist (b. 1887)
- 1979 - Barnes Wallis, English scientist and engineer (b. 1887)
- 1979 - Rachele Mussolini, wife of Benito Mussolini (b. 1890)
- 1985 - Kirby Grant, American actor (b. 1911)
- 1993 - Paul Grégoire, Archbishop of Montreal (b. 1911)
- 1997 – Samuel Fuller, American movie director (b. 1912)
- 2000 – Steve Allen, American comedian, writer, and composer (b. 1921)
From 2001
- 2002 – Juan Antonio Bardem, Spanish director and screenwriter (b. 1922)
- 2004 - Peggy Ryan, American actress (b. 1924)
- 2005 - Shamsher Singh Sheri, Indian Communist leader (b. 1942)
- 2006 - Junji Kinoshita, Japanese playwright (b. 1914)
- 2007 – Robert Goulet, American entertainer (b. 1933)
- 2009 - Juvenal Amarijo, Brazilian footballer (b. 1923)
- 2009 – Claude Lévi-Strauss, French anthropologist (b. 1908)
- 2010 – Harry Mulisch, Dutch writer (b. 1927)
- 2013 - Ralph Tarrant, English supercentenarian (b. 1903)
- 2014 - Thomas Menino, American politician, longest-serving Mayor of Boston, Massachusetts (b. 1942)
- 2014 - Bob Geigel, American wrestling promoter (b. 1924)
- 2015 - Mel Daniels, American basketball player (b. 1944)
- 2015 - Al Molinaro, American actor (b. 1919)
Observances