On October 30th...

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1534 The English Parliament passed the Act of Supremacy, making King Henry VIII head of the English church.

1735 John Adams, 2nd President of the United States, was born.

1803 The United States Senate ratified the purchase of Louisiana Territory from France.

1821 Novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky was born.

1873 Francisco Indalecio Madero, leader of the Mexican Revolution of 1910-11, was born.

1882 U.S. Navy Admiral William F. Halsey, Jr. was born.

1885 Poet Ezra Loomis Pound was born.

1888 John J. Loud patented the ballpoint pen.

1892 Fitness guru Charles Atlas was born.

1893 The World's Columbian Exposition, in Chicago, closed.

1894 Daniel Cooper patented the time clock.

1896 Actress Ruth Gordon was born.

1910 Jean Henri Dunant, founder of the Red Cross, died.

1915 Radio and television news producer Fred Friendly was born.

1922 Benito Mussolini became Premier of Italy.

1937 Actor Dick Gautier was born.
1937 Movie director Claude Lelouch was born.

1938 The radio play "The War of the Worlds" aired on CBS.

1939 Grace Slick, lead singer of the rock group Jefferson Airplane, was born.
1939 Songwriter Eddie Holland was born.

1940 Actor Ed Lauter was born.

1941 Rhythm-and-blues singer Otis Williams was born.

1944 The Martha Graham ballet "Appalachian Spring," with music by Aaron Copland, premiered at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.

1945 The United States government announced the end of shoe rationing, effective at midnight.
1945 Actor/director Henry Winkler was born.

1946 Rock musician Chris Slad was born.

1947 Musician Timothy B. Schmit was born.

1951 Actor Harry Hamlin was born.

1953 Actor Charles Martin Smith was born.

1954 Country singer T. Graham Brown was born.

1957 Actor Kevin Pollak was born.

1958 The Burlington Bay Bridge was dedicated.

1961 The Soviet Union tested the "Tsar Bomb," a hydrogen bomb with a force estimated at about 50 megatons.
1961 The Soviet Party Congress unanimously approved a resolution ordering the removal of Josef Stalin's body from Lenin's tomb.

1963 Actor Michael Beach was born.

1965 Historian Arthur M. Schlesinger died.

1967 Rock singer-musician Gavin Rossdale was born.

1970 Comedian Ben Bailey was born.
1970 Actress Nia Long was born.

1976 Country singer Kassidy Osborn was born.

1978 Actor Gael Garcia Bernal was born.

1992 Actor Tequan Richmond was born.

1993 Film director Federico Fellini died.

1995 Federalists prevailed over separatists in a Quebec secession referendum.

1997 Independent film director Samuel Fuller died.

2000 Talk show host Steve Allen died.

2002 Jazon Mizell, rap artist better known as Jam Master Jay, died.

2007 Singer Robert Goulet died.

2016 Actress Tammy Grimes died.

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This page was last updated on October 29, 2017.