TODAY IN HISTORY
Today is Monday, Nov. 8.
Today’s highlight:
On Nov. 8, 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.
On this date:
In 1793, the Louvre began admitting the public, even though the French museum had been officially open since August.
In 1864, President Abraham Lincoln won re-election as he defeated Democratic challenger George B. Mcclellan.
In 1889, Montana became the 41st state.
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 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, Republican Ronald Reagan was elected governor of California, defeating Democratic incumbent Pat Brown.
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 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.”
In 2010, former kidnap victim Elizabeth Smart took the stand in Salt Lake City on the first day of testimony in the trial of Brian David Mitchell, the man accused of abducting her in June 2002 when she was 14.
Ten years ago: An asteroid as big as an aircraft carrier zipped by Earth in the closest encounter by such a massive space rock in more than three decades. Voters re-elected Kentucky’s Democratic governor, Steve Beshear, and picked a new governor in Mississippi, Republican Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant. Bil Keane, 89, creator of the comic strip “Family Circus,” died in Paradise Valley, Arizona. Rapper Heavy D, 44, died in Los Angeles.
Five years ago: Republican Donald Trump was elected America’s 45th president, defeating Democrat Hillary Clinton in an astonishing victory for a celebrity businessman and political novice.
One year ago: Jeopardy!” host Alex Trebek died at his Los Angeles home after battling pancreatic cancer for nearly two years; he was 80. Utah Gov. Gary Herbert declared a state of emergency and ordered a statewide mask mandate in an attempt to stem a surge in coronavirus patient hospitalizations that tested the state’s hospital capacity.