Today in history

On Nov. 8, 1793, the Louvre began admitting the public, even though the French museum had been officially open since August.

In 1837 Mount Holyoke Seminary, a college exclusively for women, opened in South Hadley, Mass.

In 1847 Bram Stoker, the author of “Dracula,” was born in Dublin.

In 1884 Hermann Rorschach, the psychiatrist who developed the inkblot test that bears his name, was born in Zurich.

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 1900 Margaret Mitchell, author of “Gone With the Wind,” was born in Atlanta.

In 1904 President Theodore Roosevelt, who had succeeded the assassinated William McKinley, was elected to a term in his own right as he defeated Democrat Alton Parker.

In 1920 actress Esther Rolle, star of the CBS-TV sitcom “Good Times,” was born in Pompano Beach, Fla.

In 1932 New York Gov. Franklin Roosevelt defeated incumbent Herbert Hoover for the presidency.

In 1942 Operation Torch began during World War II as U.S. and British forces landed in French North Africa.

In 1960 Massachusetts Sen. John F. Kennedy defeated Vice President Richard Nixon for the presidency.

In 1965 the soap opera “Days of Our Lives” premiered on NBC.

In 1966 Ronald Reagan was elected governor of California. Also in 1966 Edward Brooke, of Massachusetts, became the first black to be elected to the U.S. Senate by popular vote. Also in 1966 the Baltimore Orioles’ Frank Robinson was named American League Most Valuable Player, making him the first man so honored in both leagues. (He was National League MVP in 1961 with the Cincinnati Reds.)

In 1978 artist Norman Rockwell, best known for his work on the covers of the Saturday Evening Post, died in Stockbridge, Mass.; he was 84.

In 1981 Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Will Durant died in Los Angeles; he was 96.