Today in history
Today is Sunday, Nov. 4, the 308th day of 2018. There are 57 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On Nov. 4, 1979, the Iran hostage crisis began as militants stormed the United States Embassy in Tehran, seizing its occupants; for some of them, it was the start of 444 days of captivity. On this date:
In 1879, humorist Will Rogers was born in Oologah, Oklahoma.
In 1922, the entrance to King Tutankhamen’s tomb was discovered in Egypt.
In 1939, the United States modified its neutrality stance in World War II, allowing “cash and carry” purchases of arms by belligerents, a policy favoring Britain and France.
In 1942, during World War II, Axis forces retreated from El Alamein in North Africa in a major victory for British forces commanded by Lt. Gen. Bernard Montgomery.
In 1956, Soviet troops moved in to crush the Hungarian Revolution.
In 1964, comedian Lenny Bruce was convicted by a three-judge panel in New York of obscenity charges stemming from his performances at the Cafe Au Go Go in Greenwich Village. (Bruce received a posthumous pardon in 2003 from New York Gov. George Pataki.)
In 1980, Republican Ronald Reagan won the White House as he defeated President Jimmy Carter by a strong margin.
In 1985, to the shock and dismay of U-S officials, Soviet defector Vitaly Yurchenko announced he was returning to the Soviet Union, charging he had been kidnapped by the C-I-A.
In 1991, Ronald Reagan opened his presidential library in Simi Valley, California; attending were President George H.W. Bush and former Presidents Jimmy Carter, Gerald R. Ford and Richard Nixon — the first-ever gathering of five past and present U.S. chief executives.
In 1995, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated by a right-wing Israeli minutes after attending a festive peace rally.
In 2001, Hurricane Michelle roared across Cuba, forcing the government to shut down power for much of the communist island and evacuate 750,000 people. The Arizona Diamondbacks won their first World Series by beating the New York Yankees 3-2 in Game 7.
In 2007, King Tutankhamen’s face was unveiled for the first time to the public more than 3,000 years after the pharaoh was buried in his Egyptian tomb.
Ten years ago: Democrat Barack Obama was elected the first black president of the United States, defeating Republican John McCain. California voters approved Proposition 8, a constitutional amendment outlawing samesex marriage, overturning a state Supreme Court decision that gave gay couples the right to wed just months earlier. Author Michael Crichton died in Los Angeles at age 66.
Five years ago: In Tehran’s largest anti-U.S. rally in years, tens of thousands of demonstrators joined in chants of “death to America” as hard-liners directed a major show of resolve against President Hassan Rouhani’s outreach to Washington.
One year ago: China’s rubber-stamp legislature made it a criminal offense to disrespect the country’s national anthem, punishable by up to three years in prison; the move came amid rising nationalist appeals from the ruling Communist Party. Saudi Arabian authorities began a wave of arrests of dozens of the country’s most powerful princes, military officers, businessmen and government ministers in a purported anticorruption sweep; they included potential rivals or critics of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.