Today is Wednesday, Nov. 8, the 312th day of 2006. There are 53 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On Nov. 8, 1923, Adolf Hitler launched his first attempt at seizing power with a failed coup in Munich, Germany, the “Beer-Hall Putsch.”
On this date:
In 1837, Mount Holyoke Female Seminary, a college exclusively for women, opened in South Hadley, Mass.
In 1889, Montana became the 41st state.
In 1932, New York Gov. Franklin D. Roosevelt defeated incumbent Herbert Hoover for the presidency.
In 1933, President Roosevelt created the Civil Works Administration, designed to create jobs for more than 4 million unemployed.
In 1942, Operation Torch began during World War II as U.S. and British forces landed in French North Africa.
In 1960, Massachusetts Sen. John F. Kennedy defeated Vice President Richard M. Nixon for the presidency.
In 1966, Ronald Reagan was elected governor of California.
In 1966, Edward W. Brooke of Massachusetts became the first black to be elected to the U.S. Senate by popular vote.
In 1986, former Soviet official Vyacheslav M. Molotov, whose name became attached to the incendiary bottle bomb known as a “Molotov Cocktail,” died at age 96.
In 1988, Vice President George Bush won the presidential election, defeating Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis.
Ten years ago: Three days after his re-election, President Clinton said at a news conference that there always are “a lot of hard feelings” after elections, but he urged Republicans to put aside politically charged investigations and work with him to balance the budget and enact campaign finance reform.
Five years ago: In a prime-time address, President Bush called on Americans to defy acts of terror by strengthening their communities, comforting their neighbors and remaining vigilant in the face of further threats. U.S. jets struck Taliban targets across northern Afghanistan and fierce fighting was reported around the Taliban-held city of Mazar-e-Sharif. Tropical Storm Lingling continued to batter the Philippines; the storm left more than 200 dead.
One year ago: French President Jacques Chirac declared a 12-day state of emergency to halt France’s worst civil unrest in nearly four decades. Gunmen assassinated a second lawyer in the Saddam Hussein trial in Baghdad. At Campbell County Comprehensive High School in Tennessee, Assistant Principal Kent Bruce was shot and killed and two other administrators seriously wounded; a student, Kenneth Bartley, has been charged. Bartolo Colon won the American League Cy Young Award.
Today’s Birthdays: Actress June Havoc is 94. Actor Norman Lloyd is 92. Jazz singer Chris Connor is 79. Singer Patti Page is 79. CBS newsman Morley Safer is 75. Singer-actress Bonnie Bramlett is 62. Singer Bonnie Raitt is 57. TV personality Mary Hart is 56. Playboy Enterprises chairman and chief executive Christie Hefner is 54. Actress Alfre Woodard is 53. Singer-songwriter Rickie Lee Jones is 52. Rock musician Porl Thompson (The Cure) is 49. Singer-actor Leif Garrett is 45. Actress Courtney Thorne-Smith is 39. Actress Parker Posey is 38. Rock musician Jimmy Chaney is 37. Actress Roxana Zal is 37. Singer Diana King is 36. Actress Gretchen Mol is 33. Actress Tara Reid is 31. Actress Azura Skye is 25. Actor Chris Rankin is 23. TV personality Jack Osbourne (“The Osbournes”) is 21.
Thought for Today: “There’s nothing that makes you so aware of the improvisation of human existence as a song unfinished. Or an old address book.” — Carson McCullers, American author (1917-1967).