Today in History

Today is Sunday, Oct. 30, the 303rd day of 2011. There are 62 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Oct. 30, 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.

On this date:

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

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

In 1921, the silent film classic "The Sheik," starring Rudolph Valentino, premiered in Los Angeles.

In 1938, the radio play "The War of the Worlds," starring Orson Welles, aired on CBS.

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 1953, Gen. George C. Marshall was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Dr. Albert Schweitzer received the Peace Prize for 1952.

In 1974, Muhammad Ali knocked out George Foreman in the eighth round of a 15-round bout in Kinshasa, Zaire, 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 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 January 1986.

Ten years ago: Ford Motor Co. chairman William Clay Ford Jr. took over as chief executive after the ouster of Jacques Nasser. NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey snapped its first picture of Mars, one week after the spacecraft safely arrived in orbit around the Red Planet. Ukraine destroyed its last nuclear missile silo, fulfilling a pledge to give up the vast nuclear arsenal it had inherited after the breakup of the former Soviet Union. The New York Yankees won Game 3 of the World Series, 2-1, cutting the Arizona Diamondbacks' lead to two games to one.

Five years ago: Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry told a California college audience that young people who didn't study hard might "get stuck in Iraq," prompting harsh Republican criticism; Kerry later said it was a botched joke against President George W. Bush's handling of the war. Larry Nelson and Vijay Singh were among five people inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.

One year ago: President Barack Obama implored voters to resist a Republican tide, warning that if the GOP prevailed in midterm elections, all the progress of his first two years in office "can be rolled back." Comedians Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart headlined a "Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear" in Washington attended by tens of thousands. The Texas Rangers beat San Francisco 4-2, cutting the Giants' World Series edge to 2-1.

Today's Birthdays: Actor Dick Gautier is 74. Movie director Claude Lelouch is 74. Actor Ed Lauter is 73. Rock singer Grace Slick is 72. Songwriter Eddie Holland is 72. Rhythm-and-blues singer Otis Williams (The Temptations) is 70. Actor Henry Winkler is 66. Rock musician Chris Slade (Asia) is 65. Country/rock musician Timothy B. Schmit (The Eagles) is 64. Actor Leon Rippy is 62. Actor Harry Hamlin is 60. Actor Charles Martin Smith is 58. Country singer T. Graham Brown is 57. Actor Kevin Pollak is 54. Actor Michael Beach is 48. Rock singer-musician Gavin Rossdale (Bush) is 44. Actor Jack Plotnick is 43. Comedian Ben Bailey is 41. Actress Nia Long is 41. Country singer Kassidy Osborn is 35. Actor Gael Garcia Bernal is 33. Actor Matthew Morrison is 33. Actor Shaun Sipos is 30. Actress Janel Parrish is 23. Actor Tequan Richmond ("Everybody Hates Chris") is 19.

Thought for Today: "There are things that are known and things that are unknown; in between are doors." -- William Blake (1757-1827)