1. The Battle of Chestnut Neck began on October 30, 1778, in Atlantic County, New Jersey. This battle was fought during the American Revolutionary War, with the Continental Army and New Jersey militia fighting against the Loyalists and British Navy.

2. On October 30, 1923, the game-changing Leroy Satchel Paige made his professional baseball debut for the Birmingham Black Barons in a game against the Chattanooga Lookouts at Rickwood Field, in Birmingham, Alabama. Paige, who grew up in Mobile, Alabama, would go on to become one of the most legendary pitchers in baseball history and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1971.

3. In 1938, the Orson Welles radio drama, "The War of the Worlds," caused panic in the United States as listeners mistook the fictional radio broadcast as a news report of a real alien invasion. Although not set in New Jersey, the radio broadcast's realistic depiction of events happening in real-time had a significant impact on the United States.

4. October 30, 1973, witnessed the opening of the Newark Museum's 100 Ton Di Suvero exhibit. The exhibit featured seven giant steel sculptures created by the celebrated artist, Mark di Suvero.

5. In 1991, on the eve of October 30, the NBA's New Jersey Nets played their first home game in New Jersey. The game was held at the Brendan Byrne Arena, which later became the Continental Airlines Arena, and is now known as the Izod Center. The Nets went on to win that particular game against the Chicago Bulls.