TODAY IN HISTORY
TODAY IS THURSDAY, NOV. 8, the 312th day of 2018. There are 53 days left in the year. TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN HISTORY: On this date in 2016, Republican Donald Trump was elected America’s 45th president, defeating Democrat Hillary Clinton in an astonishing victory for a celebrity businessman and political novice. Republicans kept their majorities in the Senate and House.
In 1892, former President Grover Cleveland defeated incumbent Benjamin Harrison, becoming the first (and, to date, only) chief executive to win nonconsecutive terms to the White House.
In 1923, Adolf Hitler launched his first attempt at seizing power in Germany with a failed coup in Munich that came to be known as the “Beer-Hall Putsch.”
In 1932, New York Democratic Gov. Franklin D. Roosevelt defeated incumbent Republican Herbert Hoover for the presidency.
In 1950, during the Korean War, the first jet-plane battle took place as U.S. Air Force Lt. Russell J. Brown shot down a North Korean MiG-15.
In 1960, Massachusetts Sen. John F. Kennedy defeated Vice President Richard M. Nixon for the presidency.
In 1966, Edward W. Brooke, R-Mass., became the first black candidate to be elected to the U.S. Senate by popular vote. In 1972, the premium cable TV network HBO (Home Box Office) made its debut with a showing of the movie “Sometimes a Great Notion.” In 1974, a federal judge in Cleveland dismissed charges against eight Ohio National Guardsmen accused of violating the civil rights of students who were killed or wounded in the 1970 Kent State shootings.
In 1987, 11 people were killed when an Irish Republican Army bomb exploded as crowds gathered in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, for a ceremony honoring Britain’s war dead.
In 1994, midterm elections resulted in Republicans winning a majority in the Senate while at the same time gaining control of the House for the first time in 40 years.
In 2000, a statewide recount began in Florida, which emerged as critical in deciding the winner of the 2000 presidential election. Earlier that day, Vice President Al Gore had telephoned Texas Gov. George W. Bush to concede, but called back about an hour later to retract his concession. Waco special counsel John C. Danforth released his final report absolving the government of wrongdoing in the 1993 siege at the Branch Davidian compound in Texas.
In 2002, the U.N. Security Council unanimously approved Resolution 1441, aimed at forcing Saddam Hussein to disarm or face “serious consequences.” President George W. Bush said the new resolution presented the Iraqi regime “with a final test.”
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Actor Norman Lloyd is 104. Actor Alain Delon is 83. Singer-actress Bonnie Bramlett is 74. Singer Bonnie Raitt is 69. TV personality Mary Hart is 68. Former Playboy Enterprises chairman and chief executive Christie Hefner, and actress Alfre Woodard are 66. Singer-songwriter Rickie Lee Jones and Nobel Prizewinning author Kazuo Ishiguro are 64. Rock musician Pearl Thompson (The Cure) is 61. Singer-actor Leif Garrett is 57. Chef and TV personality Gordon Ramsay is 52. Actress Courtney ThorneSmith is 51. Actress Parker Posey is 50. Rock musician Jimmy Chaney and actress Roxana Zal are 49. Singer Diana King is 48. Actor Gonzalo Menendez is 47. Rock musician Scott Devendorf (The National) is 46. Actress Gretchen Mol and ABC News anchor David Muir are 45. Actor Matthew Rhys is 44. Actress Tara Reid is 43. Country singer Bucky Covington is 41. Actress Dania Ramirez is 39. Actress Azura Skye is 37. Actor Chris Rankin is 35. TV personality Jack Osbourne is 33. Actress Jessica Lowndes is 30. R&B singer SZA is 29. Singer-actor Riker Lynch is 27. Country singer Lauren Alaina is 24. Actor Van Crosby (TV: “Splitting Up Together”) is 16.