Oct. 30
1938: The radio play “The War of the Worlds,” starring Orson Welles, aired on the CBS Radio Network, panicking some listeners with its realistic portrayal of a Martian invasion.
1974: Muhammad Ali, 32, knocked out George Foreman, 25, in the eighth round of the “Rumble in the Jungle” in Kinshasa, Congo (then Zaire).
1975: The New York Daily News headlined “Ford to City: Drop Dead” after President Gerald Ford said he would veto a federal bailout for near-bankrupt New York City.
Oct. 31
1864: President Abraham Lincoln signed a proclamation making Nevada the 36th state.
1913: The Lincoln Highway, the first automobile highway across the United States, was dedicated.
1941: Work was completed on the Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota.
1984: Indira Gandhi, India’s prime minister for more than 15 years, was assassinated.
Nov. 1
1765: The Stamp Act, passed by the British Parliament, went into effect, prompting strong resistance from American colonists.
1936: In a speech in Milan, Benito Mussolini described the alliance between Italy and Nazi Germany as an “axis” running between Rome and Berlin.
1938: In a two-horse match race, Seabiscuit defeated Triple Crown winner War Admiral by four lengths in what was dubbed the “Race of the Century” at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore.
Nov. 2
1783: Gen. George Washington issued his Farewell Address to the Army.
1947: Howard Hughes piloted his H-4 Hercules, nicknamed the “Spruce Goose,” on its only flight. The massive wooden seaplane, with a wingspan longer than a football field, remained airborne for 26 seconds.
1959: Charles Van Doren testified before a congressional committee that he had conspired with television producers to cheat on the quiz show “Twenty-One.”
Nov. 3
1908: Republican William Howard Taft was elected president, defeating Democrat William Jennings Bryan.
1911: The Chevrolet Motor Car Co. was founded in Detroit by Louis Chevrolet and William C. Durant.
1957: The Soviet Union launched Sputnik 2, carrying the first animal into orbit — a dog named Laika.
1964: Lyndon B. Johnson, who became president after John F. Kennedy’s assassination in 1963, won election to a full term, defeating Republican Sen. Barry Goldwater.
Nov. 4
1922: The entrance to King Tutankhamen’s tomb was discovered in Egypt.
1979: The Iran hostage crisis began as militant students stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, seizing its occupants. Fifty-two hostages were held for 444 days and released on Jan. 20, 1981.
1980: Republican Ronald Reagan won election to the White House, defeating Democratic President Jimmy Carter.
2008: Democratic Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois was elected the first Black president of the United States, defeating Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona.
Nov. 5
1605: The “Gunpowder Plot” failed as Guy Fawkes was seized before he could blow up the English Parliament.
1872: Suffragist Susan B. Anthony was arrested for illegally voting in the presidential election and fined $100, which she refused to pay.
1930: Novelist Sinclair Lewis became the first American to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.
1940: Democratic incumbent Franklin D. Roosevelt won an unprecedented third term as president.
