Today In History

Today is Friday, Nov. 3, the 307th day of 2017. There are 58 days left in the year.

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT

› 1900: The first major U.S. automobile show opened at New York’s Madison Square Garden under the auspices of the Automobile Club of America.

ON THIS DATE

› 1839: The first Opium War between China and Britain broke out.

› 1911: The Chevrolet Motor Car Co. was founded in Detroit by Louis Chevrolet and William C. Durant. (The company was acquired by General Motors in 1918.)

› 1957: The Soviet Union launched Sputnik 2, the second manmade satellite, into orbit; on board was a dog named Laika, who was sacrificed in the experiment.

› 1960: Meredith Willson musical “The Unsinkable Molly Brown” opened on Broadway with Tammy Grimes in the title role.

› 1964: President Lyndon B. Johnson soundly defeated Republican Barry Goldwater to win a White House term in his own right.

› 1986: The Iran-Contra affair came to light as Ash-Shiraa, a pro-Syrian Lebanese magazine, first broke the story of U.S. arms sales to Iran.

› 1992: Democrat Bill Clinton was elected the 42nd president of the United States, defeating President George H.W. Bush. In Illinois, Democrat Carol Moseley-Braun became the first black woman elected to the U.S. Senate.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS

Actress Peggy McCay is 90. Actress Lois Smith is 87. Actress Monica Vitti is 86. Former Massachusetts Gov. Michael S. Dukakis is 84. Actor-dancer Ken Berry is 84. Actor Shadoe Stevens is 71. Singer Lulu is 69. Comedian-actress Roseanne Barr is 65. Actress Kate Capshaw is 64. Comedian Dennis Miller is 64. Actress Kathy Kinney is 64. Singer Adam Ant is 63. Director-screenwriter Gary Ross is 61. Actor Dolph Lundgren is

60. Rock musician C.J. Pierce (Drowning Pool) is 45. Actor Francois Battiste (TV: “Ten Days in the Valley”) is 41. Olympic gold medal figure skater Evgeni Plushenko is 35. Actress Julie Berman is 34. Actress Antonia Thomas (TV: “The Good Doctor”) is 31. TV personality Kendall Jenner (TV: “Keeping Up with the Kardashians”) is 22.