Today in history

On Oct. 30, 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 1735 (New Style calendar), the second president of the United States, John Adams, was born in Braintree, Massachusetts.

In 1864, Helena, Montana, was founded.

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 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 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 (zahEER’), known as the “Rumble in the Jungle,” to regain his world heavyweight title.

In 1975, the New York Daily News ran the headline “Ford to City: Drop Dead” a day after President Gerald R. Ford said he would veto any proposed federal bailout of New York City.

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.

In 1997, a jury in Cambridge, Massachusetts, convicted British au pair Louise Woodward of second-degree murder in the death of eight-month-old Matthew Eappen. (The judge, Hiller B. Zobel, later reduced the verdict to manslaughter and set Woodward free.)

In 2002, Jam Master Jay (Jason Mizell), a rapper with the hip-hop group Run-DMC, was killed in a shooting in New York; was 37.

Ten years ago: Barack Obama and John Edwards sharply challenged Hillary Rodham Clinton on her candor, consistency and judgment in a televised Democratic presidential debate in Philadelphia; Clinton largely shrugged off the remarks and defended her positions. Singer-actor Robert Goulet died at a Los Angeles hospital at age 73.

Five years ago: A weakening Superstorm Sandy inched inland across Pennsylvania, leaving behind it a dazed, inundated New York City, a waterlogged Atlantic Coast and a moonscape of disarray and debris; the New York Stock Exchange was closed for a second day from weather, the first time that had happened since the Great Blizzard of 1888. The Walt Disney Co. announced that it would buy Lucasfilm Ltd. for

$4.05 billion, paving the way for a new “Star Wars” trilogy.

One year ago: The third powerful earthquake to hit Italy in two months spared human life but struck at the nation’s cultural identity, destroying a Benedictine cathedral, a medieval tower and other beloved landmarks. The Chicago Cubs held off Cleveland 3-2 in Game

5 of the World Series, cutting the Indians’ lead to 3-2. “We lie loudest when we lie to ourselves.” — Eric Hoffer, American philosopher (19021983).