30 October 1888

A Tuesday in history

Weekday

Tuesday

Season

Autumn (N. Hemisphere)

Century

19th century

Records

406

  1. 2020

    A magnitude-7.0 earthquake occurred in the Aegean Sea between Greece and Turkey, triggering a tsunami and causing 119 deaths.

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  2. 2010

    American comedians Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert hosted the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear in Washington, D.C.

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  3. 2002

    After his terminal-cancer diagnosis, Warren Zevon made his last public appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman, giving the advice to "enjoy every sandwich".

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  4. 2001

    Michael Jackson released Invincible, his final studio album and the most expensive album ever produced.

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  5. 1993

    The Troubles: Three members of the Ulster Defence Association opened fire in a crowded pub during a Halloween party, killing eight people and wounding nineteen others.

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  6. 1991

    The Madrid Conference, an attempt by the international community to revive the Israeli–Palestinian peace process through negotiations, convened.

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  7. 1983

    As the military dictatorship came to an end, Argentina's first democratic election in a decade resulted in Raúl Alfonsín being elected president.

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  8. 1968

    A squad of 120 North Korean Army commandos landed in boats along a 25-mile long section of the eastern coast of South Korea in a failed attempt to overthrow the dictatorship of Park Chung Hee and reunify Korea.

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  9. 1965

    English model Jean Shrimpton wore a controversially short minidress to Derby Day at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, Australia – a pivotal moment of the introduction of the miniskirt to women's fashion.

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  10. 1960

    At the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, Michael Woodruff performed the first successful kidney transplantation in the United Kingdom.

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  11. 1948

    A luzzu (Maltese fishing boat) overloaded with passengers capsized and sank in the Gozo Channel off Qala, killing 23 of the 27 people on board (monument pictured).

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  12. 1938

    CBS Radio broadcast "The War of the Worlds", a radio drama that newspapers accused of tricking Americans into believing there was an actual Martian invasion.

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  13. 1888

    Lobengula, King of Matabeleland, granted the Rudd Concession (pictured) to agents of Cecil Rhodes, leading to the creation of the British South Africa Company.

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  14. 1863

    Seventeen-year-old Vilhelm, Prince of Denmark, arrived in Athens to become King George I of Greece (pictured).

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  15. 1806

    War of the Fourth Coalition: Believing that they were outnumbered, the German garrison at Stettin surrendered to a much smaller French force without a fight.

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Photo archive

24 historic images from this day — tap to open the gallery.

What was life like?

Prices, jobs, food, music and everyday routine — the world as it felt to live in.

Sources & fact check

Every claim is traced to primary sources, archives, universities and the press — with an explicit confidence rating. Dossiers are generated once and cached permanently.