This day in history

[October 30, 2010]  (AP)  Today is Saturday, Oct. 30, the 303rd day of 2010. There are 62 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On Oct. 30, 1938, the radio play "The War of the Worlds," starring Orson Welles, aired on CBS. (The live drama, which employed fake breaking news reports, panicked some listeners who thought the portrayal of a Martian invasion was real.)

On this date:

In 1735, the second president of the United States, John Adams, was born in Braintree, Mass.

In 1885, poet Ezra Pound was born in Hailey, Idaho.

In 1893, the U.S. Senate gave final congressional approval to repealing the Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890.

In 1944, the Martha Graham ballet "Appalachian Spring," with music by Aaron Copland, premiered at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., with Graham in a leading role.

In 1945, the U.S. government announced the end of shoe rationing, effective at midnight.

In 1961, the Soviet Union tested a hydrogen bomb, the "Tsar Bomba," with a force estimated at about 50 megatons. The Soviet Party Congress unanimously approved a resolution ordering the removal of Josef Stalin's body from Lenin's tomb.

In 1974, Muhammad Ali knocked out George Foreman in the eighth round of a 15-round bout in Kinshasa, Zaire (zah-EER'), known as the "Rumble in the Jungle" to regain his world heavyweight title.

In 1979, President Jimmy Carter announced his choice of federal appeals judge Shirley Hufstedler to head the newly created Department of Education.

In 1984, police in Poland found the body of kidnapped pro-Solidarity priest Father Jerzy Popieluszko (YEHR'-zee pah-pee-WOOSH'-goh), whose death was blamed on security officers.

In 1985, schoolteacher-astronaut Christa McAuliffe witnessed the launch of the space shuttle Challenger, the same craft that carried her and six other crew members to their deaths in Jan. 1986.

Ten years ago: Comedian, television host, author and composer Steve Allen died in Encino, Calif. at age 78.

Five years ago: The body of Rosa Parks arrived at the U.S. Capitol, where the civil rights pioneer became the first woman to lie in honor in the Rotunda; President George W. Bush and congressional leaders paused to lay wreaths by her casket. Baseball Hall of Fame catcher and manager Al Lopez died in Tampa, Fla. at age 97.

One year ago: A Coast Guard C-130 plane and a Marine Cobra helicopter collided off the Southern California coast, killing seven Coast Guard members and two Marines. Michelle Triola Marvin, who'd fought a landmark "palimony" case in the 1970s against former lover Lee Marvin, died in Malibu, Calif. at age 76.

Today's birthdays: Actor Dick Gautier is 73. Movie director Claude Lelouch is 73. Rock singer Grace Slick is 71. Songwriter Eddie Holland is 71. Actor Ed Lauter is 70. Rhythm-and-blues singer Otis Williams (The Temptations) is 69. Actor Henry Winkler is 65. Rock musician Chris Slade (Asia) is 64. Country/rock musician Timothy B. Schmit (The Eagles) is 63. Actor Leon Rippy is 61. Actor Harry Hamlin is 59. Actor Charles Martin Smith is 57. Country singer T. Graham Brown is 56. Actor Kevin Pollak is 53. Actor Michael Beach is 47. Rock singer-musician Gavin Rossdale (Bush) is 43. Actor Jack Plotnick is 42. Comedian Ben Bailey is 40. Actress Nia Long is 40. Country singer Kassidy Osborn (SHeDAISY) (sh-DAY'-zee) is 34. Actor Gael Garcia Bernal is 32. Actor Matthew Morrison is 32. Actor Shaun Sipos (SEE'-pohs) is 29. Actor Tequan Richmond ("Everybody Hates Chris") is 18.

Thought for today: "When love is not madness, it is not love." -- Pedro Calderon de la Barca, Spanish dramatist (1600-1681)

[Associated Press]

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