Today in History: October 30

Alien Invasion, Rumble in the Jungle, Biggest Bomb in History, & More

Author

Cameron Bartkoski
October 30, 2023

Good morning and welcome to Today In History. Your daily dose of history and nostalgia.

Read time ~ 5 min

  • Mass Hysteria

  • Sports

  • Shaping the World

  • Just For Fun

  • Birthdays & Deaths

“The War of the Worlds” (1938)

Orson Welles (arms up) rehearses “The War of the Worlds” broadcast

Setting The Scene

Today, we’re going back to the year just before the start of World War II, 1938. At this time, Franklin Roosevelt serves as the US President and his New Deal is reshaping the economy. On the other side of the pond, Hitler has annexed Austria, heightening political tensions around the globe. Japan has invaded China and Spain is still recovering from a devastating civil war.

Now that you’re here in 1938, let’s settle in on the The Mercury Theatre in New York City. At this time, radios are the main form of communication in the US. Airing on the CBS radio network is The Mercury Theatre on the Air, narrated by Orson Welles. Once a week, Welles presents hour-long shows on classic literary pieces, including music composed for each show.

What Happened?

It’s your typical Sunday evening in NYC, you turn on the radio just before 8pm to listen to Orson Welles give his adaptation of a classic novel. You’re excited because last week he covered Around the World in Eighty Days, a French classic from the early 1870s. However, tonight will prove a little different.

Welles puts on a true Halloween special, performing an adaptation of The War of the Worlds, a fiction novel detailing the invasion of Earth by Martians. Welles reads off fake news bulletins describing the Martian invasion of New Jersey. The broadcast, designed to sound like a live news report, adds to the realism and leads listeners to believe the alien invasion is real.

Impact

After the radio broadcast, mass panic and hysteria flooded the Northeast and the story eventually found its way at the heart of national media coverage. One of the main problems is that many listeners arrived late, missing the fiction disclaimer at the beginning. This would be one of the first times in history that the power and influence media yields is called into question. On the radio side, regulations changed leading to the clear separation of news and entertainment.

What else happened?

Sports

Muhammad Ali knocking out George Foreman

  • Jackie Robinson signs with the Montreal Royals for $600 a month, equal to just over $10,000 today. (1945)

  • Muhammad Ali knocks out George Foreman in the “Rumble in the Jungle”. (1974)

  • LeBron James makes his NBA Debut with the Cleveland Cavaliers, scoring 25 points. (2003)

Shaping The World

Tsar Bomba aka Big Ivan

  • Henri Farman of France completes the first cross-country flight over Europe. (1908)

  • “Big Ivan”, the biggest bomb in history is detonated by the Soviet Union in the Arctic Circle. (1961)

  • Bosphorous Bridge opens in Istanbul, connecting Asia with Europe. (1973)

Just For Fun

Clarence Birdseye and his trucks

  • Clarence Birdseye, the father of the frozen food industry, sells the first frozen peas. (1952)

  • “Faith”, the debut album by pop superstar George Michael is released. (1987)

  • Disney purchases Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion, and consequently the rights to the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises. (2012)

Birthdays

Deaths