Today’s Highlight in History:
On Nov. 2, 2000, American astronaut Bill Shepherd and two Russian cosmonauts, Yuri Gidzenko (gihd-ZEENG’-koh) and Sergei Krikalev (SUR’-gay KREE’-kuh-lev), became the first residents of the international space station.
On this date:
In 1783, General George Washington issued his Farewell Address to the Army near Princeton, New Jersey.
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 1920, white mobs rampaged through the Florida citrus town of Ocoee, setting fire to Black-owned homes and businesses, after a Black man, Mose Norman, showed up at the polls to vote on Election Day; some historians estimate as many as 60 people were killed.
In 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 1963, South Vietnamese President Ngo Dihn Diem (noh ding ZEE’-em) was assassinated in a military coup.
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 1994, a jury in Pensacola, Florida, convicted Paul Hill of murder for the shotgun slayings of an abortion provider and his escort; Hill was executed in September 2003.
In 2003, in Iraq, insurgents shot down a Chinook helicopter carrying dozens of U.S. soldiers, killing 16. In Durham, New Hampshire, V. Gene Robinson was consecrated as the first openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church.
In 2004, President George W. Bush was elected to a second term as Republicans strengthened their grip on Congress. Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh was slain in Amsterdam after receiving death threats over his movie “Submission,” which criticized the treatment of women under Islam.
In 2007, 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 convicted of killing Kercher, but both were later exonerated. (Rudy Guede (GAY’-day), a petty criminal who was convicted separately in the case, is serving a 16-year sentence.)
In 2010, Republicans won control of the House of Representatives, picking up 63 seats in midterm elections, while Democrats retained a majority in the Senate; Republican governors outnumbered Democrats after gaining six states. Californians rejected a ballot measure that would have made their state the first to legalize marijuana for recreational use.
Ten years ago: The Congressional Gold Medal was awarded to some 19,000 Japanese-Americans who’d served in the 100th Infantry Battalion, the 442nd Regimental Combat Team and the Military Intelligence Service.
Five years ago: Ending a championship drought that had lasted since 1908, the Chicago Cubs won the World Series, defeating the Cleveland Indians 8-7 in extra innings. In Iowa, Des Moines Police Sgt. Anthony Beminio and Urbandale Officer Justin Martin were shot and killed while sitting in their patrol cars in separate attacks about 2 miles apart; suspect Scott Michael Greene later pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder and was sentenced to consecutive life prison terms. Garth Brooks was named entertainer of the year at the Country Music Association Awards.
One year ago: In the closing hours of the presidential campaign, President Donald Trump charged across the nation delivering an incendiary but false allegation that the election was rigged, while Democrat Joe Biden pushed to claim states that were once seen as safely Republican. Even as Trump insisted that the nation was “rounding the turn” on the coronavirus, Dr. Deborah Birx, the coordinator of the White House coronavirus task force, broke with the president and joined a chorus of Trump administration scientists sounding alarm about a spike in infections.
Today’s Birthdays: Political commentator Patrick Buchanan is 83. Actor Stefanie Powers is 79. Country-rock singer-songwriter J.D. Souther is 76. Actor Kate Linder is 74. Rock musician Carter Beauford (The Dave Matthews Band) is 63. Actor Peter Mullan is 62.
Singer-songwriter k.d. lang is 60. Rock musician Bobby Dall (Poison) is 58. Actor Jenny Robertson (“Bull Durham”) is 58. Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage is 57. Actor Lauren Velez is 57. Actor Sean Kanan is 55. Actor David Schwimmer is 55. Christian/jazz singer Alvin Chea (Take 6) is 54. Jazz singer Kurt Elling is 54. Former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is 54. Rock musician Fieldy is 52. Actor Meta Golding is 50. Rock singer-musician John Hampson (Nine Days) is 50. Actor Marisol Nichols is 50. Rapper Nelly is 47. Actor Danny Cooksey is 46. Rock musician Chris Walla is 46. Actor Reshma Shetty is 44. TV personality Karamo Brown (“Queer Eye,” “Dancing With the Stars”) is 41. Country singer Erika Jo is 35. Actor-singer Kendall Schmidt is 31.
