Today in history

On Nov. 2, 1947, Howard Hughes piloted his huge wooden flying boat, the Hughes H-4 Hercules (derisively dubbed the “Spruce Goose” by detractors), on its only flight, which lasted about a minute over Long Beach Harbor in California.

In 1795, the 11th president of the United States, James Knox Polk, was born in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina.

In 1865, the 29th president of the United States, Warren Gamaliel Harding, was born near Marion, Ohio.

In 1867, Harper’s Bazaar magazine was first published under the title “Harper’s Bazar.”

In 1889, North Dakota and South Dakota became the 39th and 40th states with the signing of proclamations by President Benjamin Harrison.

In 1917, British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour issued a declaration expressing support for a “national home” for the Jews in Palestine.

In 1936, the British Broadcasting Corp. inaugurated “high-definition” television service from Alexandra Palace in London.

In 1948, President Harry S. Truman surprised the experts by winning a narrow upset over Republican challenger Thomas E. Dewey.

In 1950, playwright George Bernard Shaw, 94, died in Ayot St. Lawrence, Hertfordshire, England.

In 1976, former Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter became the first candidate from the Deep South since the Civil War to be elected president as he defeated incumbent Gerald R. Ford.

In 1986, kidnappers in Lebanon released American hospital administrator David Jacobsen after holding him for 17 months.

In 1992, movie producer Hal Roach died in Los Angeles at age 100.

In 2000, American astronaut Bill Shepherd and two Russian cosmonauts, Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei Krikalev, became the first residents of the international space station.

Ten years ago: British college student Meredith Kercher, 21, was found slain in her bedroom in Perugia, Italy; her roommate, American Amanda Knox and Knox’s Italian boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito (rah-fy-EHL’-ay soh-LEH’-chee-toh), were later convicted of killing Kercher, but both were later exonerated. (Rudy Guede (GAY’-day), a petty criminal who was convicted separately in the case, remains imprisoned.) Choreographer Igor Moiseyev, who transformed folk dance into a legitimate art, died in Moscow at age 101.

“If I have done any deed worthy of remembrance, that deed will be my monument. If not, no monument can preserve my memory.” — Agesilaus (uh-JEHS’uh-LAY’-uhs) II, King of Sparta (c. 444-360 B.C.)