This day in history
Today is Friday, Nov. 3, the 307 th day of 2023. There are 58 days left in the year.
Birthdays: Actor Lois Smith is 93. Former Massachusetts governor Michael S. Dukakis is 90. Actor Shadoe Stevens is 77. Singer Lulu is 75. “Vogue” editor-inchief Anna Wintour is 74. Comedian-actor Roseanne Barr is 71. Actor Kate Capshaw is 70. Comedian Dennis Miller is 70. Actor Kathy Kinney is 70. Singer Adam Ant is 69. Sports commentator and former quarterback Phil Simms is 68. Director Gary Ross is 67. Actor Dolph Lundgren is 66. Actor Antonia Thomas is 37. Alternative singer/songwriter Courtney Barnett is 36. TV personality Kendall Jenner is 28.
► In 1839, the first Opium War between China and Britain broke out.
► In 1861, the Quincy-built Maritana struck rocks in a violent gale near the Boston Light house, killing 13 passengers and 11 crew members.
► In 1911, the Chevrolet Motor Car Co. was founded in Detroit by Louis Chevrolet and William C. Durant.
► In 1961, President Kennedy established the US Agency for International Development.
► In 1970, Salvador Allende was inaugurated as president of Chile.
► In 1976, the horror movie “Carrie,” adapted from the Stephen King novel and starring Sissy Spacek, was released by United Artists.
► In 1979, five Communist Workers Party members were killed in a clash with heavily armed Ku Klux Klansmen and neo-Nazis during an anti-Klan protest in Greensboro, N.C.
► In 1986, the Iran-Contra affair came to light as Ash-Shiraa, a pro-Syrian Lebanese magazine, first broke the story of US arms sales to Iran.
► In 1992, Democrat Bill Clinton was elected the 42nd president, defeating President George H.W. Bush.
► In 1994, Susan Smith of Union, South Carolina, was arrested for drowning her two young sons, Michael and Alex, nine days after claiming the children had been abducted by a Black carjacker.
► In 1997, the Supreme Court let stand California’s groundbreaking Proposition 209, which banned race and gender preference in hiring and school admissions.
► In 2012, the lights went back on in Lower Manhattan to the relief of residents who had been plunged into darkness for nearly five days by Sandy storm.
► In 2014, 13 years after the 9/11 terrorist attack, a new 1,776-foot skyscraper at the World Trade Center site opened for business, marking an emotional milestone for both New Yorkers and the nation.
► In 2017, Netflix said it was cutting all ties with Kevin Spacey after a series of allegations of sexual harassment and assault, and it would not be a part of any further production of “House of Cards” that included him.
► In 2020, Democrat Joe Biden won the presidency, though his victory would not be known for three days as counting continued in battleground states; President Trump would refuse to concede, claiming he was a victim of widespread voter fraud but providing no proof.
ºLast year, a Manhattan judge said he would appoint an independent monitor “to ensure there is no further fraud” at former president Trump’s company.