Which event does this 1938 photograph show?

A radio drama about an invasion is mistaken by some listeners for the real thing (1938). Orson Welles broadcast a version of The War of the Worlds as a series of fake news bulletins on 30 October 1938. Some listeners who tuned in late took it for real, and newspapers, which disliked radio as a rival for advertising, hugely inflated the panic. The scale of the hysteria has been picked apart by historians ever since.

Which event does this 1905 photograph show?

A tsar grants a parliament and civil liberties to end a general strike (1905). Nicholas II signed the October Manifesto on 30 October 1905, promising a legislative assembly, freedom of conscience, speech and assembly. It split the opposition and ended the general strike, which was its purpose. Within months he was rewriting the rules to limit what the new Duma could actually do.

Which event does this 1973 photograph show?

A bridge opens that lets a car drive from Europe into Asia for the first time (1973). The Bosphorus Bridge opened on 30 October 1973, on the fiftieth anniversary of the Turkish Republic, and was the first fixed crossing between Europe and Asia since Xerxes lashed boats together in 480 BC. Traffic projections were exceeded almost immediately and a second bridge was under way within fifteen years.

Which event does this 1961 photograph show?

The largest explosion ever made by people is set off over an Arctic island (1961). The Soviet Union detonated a 50 megaton bomb over Novaya Zemlya on 30 October 1961, roughly 1,500 times the combined yield of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The aircraft that dropped it was given a parachute-retarded weapon and still only just escaped. It was never a usable weapon; it was a statement, and everyone understood it as one.

Which event does this 1485 photograph show?

A claimant with a thin bloodline is crowned and founds a dynasty by winning one battle (1485). Henry Tudor was crowned on 30 October 1485, ten weeks after killing Richard III at Bosworth. His hereditary claim was weak enough that he dated his reign from the day before the battle, making everyone who fought against him a traitor. He then married Elizabeth of York and spent the rest of his life making the throne solvent and secure.

What happened on October 30? the War of the Worlds broadcast, the October Manifesto and 3 more

What happened on October 30

All 5 specimens from this file, spanning 1485 to 1973, with the story behind each photograph.

Reveal the full answer key

Media · 1938

A radio drama about an invasion is mistaken by some listeners for the real thing

Orson Welles broadcast a version of The War of the Worlds as a series of fake news bulletins on 30 October 1938. Some listeners who tuned in late took it for real, and newspapers, which disliked radio as a rival for advertising, hugely inflated the panic. The scale of the hysteria has been picked apart by historians ever since.
Politics · 1905

A tsar grants a parliament and civil liberties to end a general strike

Nicholas II signed the October Manifesto on 30 October 1905, promising a legislative assembly, freedom of conscience, speech and assembly. It split the opposition and ended the general strike, which was its purpose. Within months he was rewriting the rules to limit what the new Duma could actually do.
Engineering · 1973

A bridge opens that lets a car drive from Europe into Asia for the first time

The Bosphorus Bridge opened on 30 October 1973, on the fiftieth anniversary of the Turkish Republic, and was the first fixed crossing between Europe and Asia since Xerxes lashed boats together in 480 BC. Traffic projections were exceeded almost immediately and a second bridge was under way within fifteen years.
Science · 1961

The largest explosion ever made by people is set off over an Arctic island

The Soviet Union detonated a 50 megaton bomb over Novaya Zemlya on 30 October 1961, roughly 1,500 times the combined yield of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The aircraft that dropped it was given a parachute-retarded weapon and still only just escaped. It was never a usable weapon; it was a statement, and everyone understood it as one.
Monarchy · 1485

A claimant with a thin bloodline is crowned and founds a dynasty by winning one battle

Henry Tudor was crowned on 30 October 1485, ten weeks after killing Richard III at Bosworth. His hereditary claim was weak enough that he dated his reign from the day before the battle, making everyone who fought against him a traitor. He then married Elizabeth of York and spent the rest of his life making the throne solvent and secure.