On this day in history, October 30
Muhammad Ali lands a blow on George Foreman during the Rumble in the Jungle in Zaire on October 30, 1974.
Image: Archives
Did You Know
The average age of the world’s population is around 30 years
On this day, October 30
1772 Captain Cook and his ships Resolution and Adventure drop anchor in Table Bay, having set out from England on a voyage of discovery. They restock and prepare for the long voyage ahead. ‘Every body here (in Cape Town) strove as much as possible to contribute to our happyness (sic),’ writes Richard Pickersgill, Resolution’s third lieutenant.
1888 Ndebele king Lobengula grants Cecil Rhodes – in pursuit of the dream of the British Empire in Africa stretching from the Cape to Cairo – Mashonaland for £100 per month.
1899 The Boers defeat the British at the Battle of Ladysmith, leading to the siege of the town.1899 At the Battle of Modderspruit, Boer Commandant General Piet Joubert’s men force the British to fall back. He is urged to order a pursuit, but refuses on religious grounds.
1938 A US radio broadcast of The War Of The Worlds, convincingly narrated by Orson Welles, causes mass panic with listeners certain that earth is under attack from aliens.
1961 The USSR detonates the Tsar Bomba (The King of Bombs), a thermonuclear bomb – the most powerful explosive ever detonated.
1974 The Rumble in the Jungle between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman takes place in Zaire. The historic boxing match sees Ali win the fight with a knock-out in the eighth round. It is regarded as one of the greatest sporting events of the 20th century.
1996 Former Vlakplaas police assassin Eugene de Kock is jailed for 200 years.
2020 A DNA study of dogs suggests they were mankind's first domesticated animal, 11 000 years ago, at the end of the Bronze Age.
2022 A pedestrian bridge collapses into a river in Gujarat, India, killing 135 people.
2023 Argentina forward Lionel Messi wins his record 8th Fifa Ballon d’Or award.
2023 Former basketball player Magic Johnson is the fourth athlete to become a billionaire (after Michael Jordan, Lebron James, and Tiger Woods), according to Forbes.
2024 E.coli cases in the US linked to McDonald’s Quarter Pounders now affect 90 people, with one fatality and 27 hospitalizations, likely due to slivered onion according to the Centres for Disease Control.
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