October 30

A quick look at Today in History, check out some Celebrity Birthdays, and find out what Days of the Year to celebrate.

TODAY IN HISTORY:

1894 – The time clock was patented by Daniel M. Cooper of Rochester, NY.

1938 – Orson Welles broadcast his radio play of H.G. Wells’ “The War of the Worlds” on CBS radio, convincing many listeners that a Martian invasion was really happening.

1945 – Jackie Robinson, of the Kansas City Monarchs, signed a contract with the Brooklyn Dodgers, breaking the baseball color line.

1945 – The U.S. government announced the end of wartime shoe rationing.

1960 – Michael Woodruff performed the first successful kidney transplant in the United Kingdom.

1970 – Jim Morrison was sentenced to 6 months in jail and fined $500 for exposing himself in Miami, FL. He was also sentenced to 60 days of hard labor for using profanity. He was released on $50,000 bond until the appeal could be heard.

1972 – President Richard Nixon approved legislation to increase Social Security spending by $5.3 billion.

1972 – In Illinois, 45 people were killed and 332 were injured when two trains collided on Chicago’s south side.

1974 – The Rumble in the Jungle boxing match between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman took place in Kinshasa, Zaire. Ali won by a knock out in the 8th round, regaining the World Heavyweight Champion title and giving Foreman his first professional defeat.

1974 – The movie “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” premiered.

1975 – The New York Daily News ran the headline “Ford to City: Drop Dead.” The headline came a day after President Gerald R. Ford said he would veto any proposed federal bailout of New York City.

1985 – The Space Shuttle Challenger lifted off for mission STS-61-A, its final successful mission.

1987 – In Japan, NEC released the first 16-bit video game console, the PC Engine. It was later sold in other markets with the name TurboGrafx-16.

1993 – America’s first veterinarian in space, Martin Fettman, performed the world’s first animal dissections in space, while aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia.

2001 – In New York, NY, President George W. Bush threw out the first pitch at Game 3 of the World Series between the New York Yankees and the Arizona Diamondbacks.

2001 – Michael Jordan returned to the NBA with the Washington Wizards after a 3-1/2 year retirement.

BIRTHDAYS:

Robert Caro – 90 years old (1935) – Journalist and author

Jim Perry – 90 years old (1935) – Baseball player

Dick Vermeil – 89 years old (1936) – Football player and coach

Leland H. Hartwell – 86 years old (1939) – Biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate

Eddie Holland – 86 years old (1939) – Singer-songwriter and producer

Grace Slick – 86 years old (1939) – Singer-songwriter and model

Otis Williams – 84 years old (1941) – Singer-songwriter and producer

Henry Winkler – 80 years old (1945) – Actor, comedian, director, and producer

Robert L. Gibson – 79 years old (1946) – Captain, pilot, and astronaut

Andrea Mitchell – 79 years old (1946) – Journalist

Tim Kirk – 78 years old (1947) – Illustrator and designer

Timothy B. Schmit – 78 years old (1947) – Singer-songwriter and bass player

Herschel Weingrod – 78 years old (1947) – Screenwriter and producer

Leon Rippy – 76 years old (1949) – Actor

Phil Chenier – 75 years old (1950) – Basketball player and broadcaster

Harry Hamlin – 74 years old (1951) – Actor

Poncho Sanchez – 74 years old (1951) – Singer and conga player

Pete Hoekstra – 72 years old (1953) – Dutch-American lawyer and politician

Charles Martin Smith – 72 years old (1953) – Actor, director, and screenwriter

T. Graham Brown – 71 years old (1954) – Country singer-songwriter

Jeannie Kendall – 71 years old (1954) – Country singer-songwriter

Heidi Heitkamp – 70 years old (1955) – Lawyer and politician, 28th Attorney General of North Dakota

Kevin Pollak – 68 years old (1957) – Actor, game show host, and producer

Ramona d'Viola – 67 years old (1958) – Cyclist and photographer

Charnele Brown – 65 years old (1960) – Actress and singer

Grayson Hugh – 65 years old (1960) – Singer-songwriter

Scott Garrelts – 64 years old (1961) – Baseball player

Larry Wilmore – 64 years old (1961) – Comedian and television host

Michael Beach – 62 years old (1963) – Actor and producer

Rebecca Heineman – 62 years old (1963) – Video game designer and programmer

Andrew Solomon – 62 years old (1963) – American-English journalist and author

Kristina Wagner – 62 years old (1963) – Actress

Howard Lederer – 61 years old (1964) – Poker player

Jack Plotnick – 57 years old (1968) – Actor, director, and producer

Ken Stringfellow – 57 years old (1968) – Singer-songwriter and guitarist

Ben Bailey – 55 years old (1970) – Comedian and game show host

Tory Belleci – 55 years old (1970) – Visual effects designer and television presenter

Billy Brown – 55 years old (1970) – Actor

Nia Long – 55 years old (1970) – Actress

Maurice Taylor – 49 years old (1976) – Basketball player

Martin Dossett – 47 years old (1978) – Football player

Stephanie Izard – 47 years old (1978) – Chef

Matthew Morrison – 47 years old (1978) – Singer-songwriter and actor

Jason Bartlett – 46 years old (1979) – Baseball player

Kareem Rush – 45 years old (1980) – Basketball player

Fiona Dourif – 44 years old (1981) – Actress

Joshua Jay – 44 years old (1981) – Magician and author

Ian Snell – 44 years old (1981) – Baseball player

Ivanka Trump – 44 years old (1981) – Model and businesswoman

Andy Greene – 43 years old (1982) – Ice hockey player

Manny Parra – 43 years old (1982) – Baseball player

Stalley – 43 years old (1982) – Rapper

Trent Edwards – 42 years old (1983) – Football player

Eva Marcille – 41 years old (1984) – Model and actress

Desmond Jennings – 39 years old (1986) – Baseball player

Tamera Young – 39 years old (1986) – Basketball player

Ashley Graham – 38 years old (1987) – Model

Janel Parrish – 37 years old (1988) – Actress and singer

Nastia Liukin – 36 years old (1989) – Russian-American gymnast and actress

Joe Panik – 35 years old (1990) – Baseball player

Jarell Eddie – 34 years old (1991) – Basketball player

Marcus Mariota – 32 years old (1993) – Football player

Devin Booker – 29 years old (1996) – Basketball player

Dennis Gilbert – 29 years old (1996) – Ice hockey player

Kennedy McMann – 29 years old (1996) – Actress

Tage Thompson – 28 years old (1997) – Ice hockey player

TODAY IS:

Today's special observances are temporarily unavailable. Please check back soon.

For additional information check out websites like: www.on-this-day.com, www.born-today.com, www.famousbirthdays.com, www.daysoftheyear.com, and www.nationaldaycalendar.com.