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 1892, former President Grover Cleveland defeated incumbent Benjamin Harrison, becoming the first (and, to date, only) chief executive to win non-consecutive terms to the White House.
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 1932, New York Democratic Gov. Franklin D. Roosevelt defeated incumbent Republican Herbert Hoover for the presidency.
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, Edward W. Brooke (R-Mass.) became the first black candidate to be elected to the U.S. Senate by popular vote.
In 1972, the premium cable TV network HBO (Home Box Office) made its debut with a showing of the movie “Sometimes a Great Notion.”
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 1987, 11 people were killed when an Irish Republican Army bomb exploded as crowds gathered in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, for a ceremony honoring Britain’s war dead.
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. 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. Waco special counsel John C. Danforth released his final report absolving the government of wrongdoing in the 1993 siege at the Branch Davidian compound in Texas.
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.”
Ten years ago: Indonesia executed three Islamic militants for helping to plan and carry out the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people, many of them foreign tourists. An accident on a Russian nuclear submarine undergoing a test in the Sea of Japan asphyxiated 20 people on board. Florence Wald, a former Yale nursing dean whose interest in compassionate care led her to launch the first U.S. hospice program, died in Branford, Conn. at age 91.
Five years ago: Typhoon Haiyan (HY’-ahn), one of the strongest storms on record, slammed into the central Philippines, it left more than 7,300 people dead or missing, flattened villages and displaced more than 5 million.
One year ago: In a speech to South Korean lawmakers in Seoul, President Donald Trump warned North Korea, “Do not underestimate us.” Director Ridley Scott decided to cut Kevin Spacey out of the already-completed movie “All the Money in the World” because of the sexual misconduct allegations against Spacey and reshoot his many scenes using Christopher Plummer, just six weeks ahead of the film’s release date. Garth Brooks continued his winning streak as entertainer of the year at the Country Music Association Awards; Carrie Underwood broke down while singing during the “in Memoriam” section after photos of the 58 people who died in a shooting at a country music festival in Las Vegas were shown.