On This Day, Oct. 30: 'War of the Worlds' broadcast panics listeners

Oct. 30 (UPI) -- On this date in history:

In 1534, the Act of Supremacy, making King Henry VIII head of the Church of England, is passed by Parliament.

In 1817, Simon Bolivar established the independent government of Venezuela.

In 1864, "Last Chance Gulch" delivers gold for four prospectors in Montana and the town of Helena is born.

In 1918, the Ottoman Empire signs an armistice with the Allies, ending the First World War in the Middle East and bringing about the dismantling of the more than 600-year-old kingdom.

In 1938, Orson Welles triggered some radio listeners to panic with a realistic dramatization of a martian invasion, based on H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds.

In 1953, National Security Council Paper No. 162/2 is signed by President Dwight Eisenhower. The top secret document affirmed that the nuclear arsenal of the United States was to be maintained and expanded in an effort to counter the Soviet Union.

In 1961, the massive, 50 megaton hydrogen bomb Tsar Bomba is detonated by the Soviet Union over Novaya Zemlya.

In 1974, Muhammad Ali and George Foreman slug it out in Kinshasa, Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo), in The Rumble in the Jungle.

Muhammad Ali (R) rocks George Foreman with a hard right during their heavyweight title bout on October 30, 1974, in Kinshasa, Zaire. Ali knocked Foreman out in the 8th round to regain his heavyweight crown. File Photo by Mike Feldman/UPI

In 1975, with dictator Francisco Franco near death, Prince Juan Carlos assumed power in Spain. Franco died three weeks later.

In 1983, the Rev. Jesse Jackson announced plans to become the first African American to mount a full-scale campaign for the Democratic Party presidential nomination in the United States.

File Photo by Joe Mahoney/UPI

In 1995, by a narrow margin, Quebec voters decided to remain a part of Canada.

In 2005, Indian authorities sent army divers to look for people trapped in a derailed train near Veligonda during massive flooding. Officials said 112 died in the train wreck and another 100 in floods.

In 2008, the U.S. gross domestic product dropped 0.3 percent, government officials said. It was the first decrease in the GDP in 17 years.

In 2009, U.S. President Barack Obama announced he would end the U.S. travel and immigration restrictions on people infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

In 2010, security screening of cargo and air passengers in the United States, Britain and Canada was stepped up after bombs were found in packages from Yemen to two Chicago synagogues.

In 2012, Walt Disney Co. announced plans to purchase Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion. As part of the deal, the company revealed plans to make new live-action Star Wars movies.

In 2013, the Boston Red Sox defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 6-1 at Fenway Park in Boston to win the World Series, four games to two.