Today in History: The Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul, Turkey connecting Europe and Asia is completed

The following are some of the major events to have occurred on October 30:

1938 – Millions of Americans panicked when the radio play of the H G Wells book “The War of the Worlds” was broadcast by Orson Welles. Many believed a Martian invasion of Earth was actually taking place.

1973 - The Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul, Turkey is completed, connecting the continents of Europe and Asia over the Bosporus for the first time.

1974 – Muhammad Ali accomplished one of the most remarkable comebacks in boxing when, at 32, he knocked out George Foreman to regain the world heavyweight boxing title.

1995 – Voters in Canada’s Quebec province voted by a narrow margin in a referendum to remain part of Canada.

1996 – A South African judge jailed the former state assassin Eugene de Kock for more than 200 years, describing him as a chilling and revolting agent for apartheid.

2000 – A Spanish Supreme Court judge, his bodyguard and his driver were killed and 66 people were injured in a car bomb attack in Madrid blamed on the Basque separatist group ETA.

2002 – Juan Antonio Bardem, the veteran Spanish film director who wrote and directed “Death of a Cyclist” and “That Happy Pair”, died aged 80.

2003 – An army of 13,000 firefighters struggled to contain the worst wildfires in California in years. Twenty people died and thousands of homes were destroyed.

2006 – Morocco became the first Arab state to join a global initiative led by Russia and the United States to combat nuclear terrorism.

2007 – Robert Goulet, the American singer-actor whose rich baritone voice made him an instant success when he played Lancelot in the original 1960 Broadway hit “Camelot”, died aged 73.

2014 – Sweden becomes first European Union nation to recognise the state of Palestine.

2015 – Nightclub fire in Bucharest kills 25 people, injures at least 88 others.

(Reuters)