DAILY ALMANAC
Today is Sunday, Nov. 8, the 313th day of 2020. There are 53 days left in the year.
On this date in:
1793: The Louvre began admitting the public, even though the French museum had been officially open since August.
1861: During the Civil War, the USS San Jacinto intercepted a British mail steamer, the Trent, and detained a pair of Confederate diplomats who were enroute to Europe to seek support for the Southern cause. (Although the Trent Affair strained relations between the United States and Britain, the matter was quietly resolved with the release of the diplomats the following January.)
1864: President Abraham Lincoln won re-election as he defeated Democratic challenger George B. Mcclellan.
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.”
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.
1960: Massachusetts Sen. John F. Kennedy defeated Vice President Richard M. Nixon for the presidency.
1966: Edward W. Brooke, R-mass., became the first Black candidate to be elected to the U.S. Senate by popular vote. President Lyndon B. Johnson signed a measure allowing the merger of the American Football League and the National Football League.
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.
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.
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.”
2016: Republican Donald Trump was elected America’s 45th president, defeating Democrat Hillary Clinton in an astonishing victory for a celebrity businessman and political novice. Republicans kept their majorities in the Senate and House.
Actor Norman Lloyd (“St. Elsewhere”) is 106. Singer Bonnie Bramlett is 76. Singer Bonnie Raitt is 71. Former “Entertainment Tonight” host Mary Hart is 70. Former Playboy CEO Christie Hefner is 68. Actor Alfre Woodard is 68. Singer-songwriter Rickie Lee Jones is 66. Guitarist Pearl Thompson (formerly Porl Thompson) of The Cure is 63. Singer-actor Leif Garrett is 59. TV chef Gordon Ramsay is 54. Actor Courtney Thorne-smith is 53. Actor Parker Posey is 52. Singer Diana King is 50. Bassist Scott Devendorf of The National is 48. Actor Gretchen Mol is 48. Actor Tara Reid (“Sharknado”) is 45. Singer Bucky Covington (“American Idol”) is 43. Actor Dania Ramirez (“Devious Maids”) is 41.