As October draws to a close, the month marks several defining moments in world history — from Muhammad Ali’s legendary victory in the “Rumble in the Jungle” to the Soviet Union’s detonation of the most powerful nuclear bomb ever tested, and Rosa Parks’ historic recognition in the U.S. Capitol.
On this day, Oct. 30, 1974 — Muhammad Ali, 32, knocked out George Foreman, 25, in the eighth round of their heavyweight title bout in Kinshasa, Congo (then Zaire), reclaiming his world crown in a fight remembered as one of the greatest in boxing history.
Throughout October:
1912 — U.S. Vice President James S. Sherman, running for re-election with President William Howard Taft, died six days before Election Day. Taft went on to lose to Democrat Woodrow Wilson.
1938 — Orson Welles’ radio drama “The War of the Worlds” aired on CBS, convincing some listeners that an actual Martian invasion was underway.
1961 — The Soviet Union tested the “Tsar Bomba,” a hydrogen bomb estimated at 50 megatons — more than 3,500 times the force of the Hiroshima bomb — making it the most powerful nuclear explosion in history.
1972 — A deadly train collision on Chicago’s South Side claimed 45 lives and injured hundreds when two Illinois Central Gulf commuter trains collided.
1975 — The New York Daily News published its iconic headline “Ford to City: Drop Dead,” after President Gerald Ford refused to support a federal bailout for a financially desperate New York City.
1995 — Quebec voters narrowly rejected a referendum calling for independence from Canada and the creation of a new partnership with the rest of the country.
2005 — Civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks became the first woman to lie in honor in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda, a tribute to her pivotal role in sparking the Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1955.
2018 — Infamous Boston mob boss James “Whitey” Bulger was found beaten to death at a federal prison in West Virginia, just hours after being transferred there.
2023 — The United Auto Workers reached a tentative deal with General Motors, concluding a wave of strikes that also involved Ford and Stellantis. The new contracts were later ratified by union members.
October birthdays:
Author Robert Caro turns 90. Rock legend Grace Slick is 86. R&B icon Otis Williams (The Temptations) is 84. Actor Henry Winkler celebrates 80. Journalist Andrea Mitchell is 79. Musician Timothy B. Schmit (The Eagles) is 78. Actor Harry Hamlin is 74. Country singer T. Graham Brown is 71. Actor Kevin Pollak is 68. Business executive Ivanka Trump is 44. Gymnast Nastia Liukin is 36. NBA star Devin Booker is 29, and NHL defenseman Cale Makar is 27.