TODAY IN HISTORY

Today is Thursday, Nov. 8, the 312th day of 2018. There are 53 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History: On Nov. 8, 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.

On this date:

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 1972, the premium cable TV network HBO (Home Box Office) made its debut.

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 1994, midterm elections resulted in Republicans winning a majority in the Senate while at the same time gaining control of the House for the first time in 40 years.

In 2000, a statewide recount began in Florida, which emerged as critical in deciding the winner of the 2000 presidential election.

Today’s Birthdays: Singer Bonnie Raitt is 69. TV personality Mary Hart is 68. Former Playboy Enterprises chairman and chief executive Christie Hefner is 66. Actress Alfre Woodard is 66. Singer-songwriter Rickie Lee Jones is 64. Singer-actor Leif Garrett is 57. Chef and TV personality Gordon Ramsay is 52. Actress Courtney Thorne-Smith is 51. Actress Parker Posey is 50. Actress Gretchen Mol is 45. ABC News anchor David Muir is 45. Actor Matthew Rhys is 44. Actress Tara Reid is 43. TV personality Jack Osbourne is 33.

Thought for Today: “Man is born to live, not to prepare for life.” — Boris Pasternak, Russian author (1890-1960).