Today in History

Today is Tuesday, Nov. 6, the 311th day of 2012. There are 55 days left in the year. This is Election Day.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Nov. 6, 1888, Republican Benjamin Harrison won the presidential election, defeating Democratic incumbent Grover Cleveland with an electoral vote count of 233-168, even though Cleveland led in the popular vote.

On this date:

In 1632, King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden was killed in battle.

In 1860, former Illinois congressman Abraham Lincoln defeated three other candidates for the presidency: John Breckinridge, John Bell and Stephen Douglas.

In 1861, Confederate President Jefferson Davis was elected to a six-year term of office.

In 1893, composer Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky died in St. Petersburg, Russia, at age 53.

In 1928, in a first, the results of Republican Herbert Hoover's election victory over Democrat Alfred E. Smith were flashed onto an electric wraparound sign on the New York Times building.

In 1934, Nebraska voters approved dissolving their two-chamber legislature in favor of a nonpartisan, single (or "unicameral") legislative body, which was implemented in 1937.

In 1944, British official Lord Moyne was assassinated in Cairo, Egypt, by members of the Zionist Stern gang.

In 1947, "Meet the Press" made its debut on NBC; the first guest was James A. Farley, former postmaster general and former Democratic National Committee Chair; the host was the show's co-creator, Martha Rountree.

In 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower won re-election, defeating Democrat Adlai E. Stevenson.

In 1962, Democrat Edward M. Kennedy was elected Senator from Massachusetts.

In 1977, 39 people were killed when the Kelly Barnes Dam burst, sending a wall of water through Toccoa Falls College in Georgia.

In 1990, about one-fifth of the Universal Studios backlot in southern California was destroyed in an arson fire.

Ten years ago: A jury in Beverly Hills, Calif., convicted actress Winona Ryder of stealing $5,500 worth of high-fashion merchandise from a Saks Fifth Avenue store (she ended up serving probation).

Five years ago: Six lawmakers were killed by a suicide bomber in northern Afghanistan during a visit to a sugar factory; 61 students also died as a result of the bombing and shots fired by guards. Country singer Hank Thompson died in Keller, Texas, at age 82. George Osmond, father of Donny and Marie Osmond and patriarch to the family's singing group The Osmond Brothers, died in Provo, Utah, at age 90.

One year ago: Greece's embattled prime minister, George Papandreou, and its main opposition leader, Antonis Samaras, agreed to form an interim government to ensure the country's new European debt deal. Geoffrey Mutai of Kenya shattered the course record in the New York City Marathon, winning the men's title in 2:05:06, while Firehiwot Dado of Ethiopia made a stunning comeback for her first major marathon title in 2:23:15.

Today's Birthdays: Director Mike Nichols is 81. Country singer Stonewall Jackson is 80. Singer Eugene Pitt (The Jive Five) is 75. Singer P.J. Proby is 74. Country singer Guy Clark is 71. Actress Sally Field is 66. Pop singer-musician Glenn Frey (The Eagles) is 64. Singer Rory Block is 63. Jazz musician Arturo Sandoval is 63. TV host Catherine Crier is 58. California's former first lady, Maria Shriver, is 57. Actress Lori Singer is 55. Actor Lance Kerwin is 52. Rock musician Paul Brindley (The Sundays) is 49. Education Secretary Arne Duncan is 48. Rock singer Corey Glover is 48. Actor Brad Grunberg is 48. Actor Peter DeLuise is 46. Actress Kelly Rutherford is 44. Actor Ethan Hawke is 42. Actress Thandie Newton is 40. Model-actress Rebecca Romijn is 40. Actress Zoe McLellan is 38. Actress Nicole Dubuc is 34. Actress Taryn Manning is 34. Singer-songwriter Ben Rector is 26. Actress Emma Stone is 24. Actress Mercedes Kastner is 23.

Thought for Today: "I know nothing grander, better exercise, better digestion, more positive proof of the past, the triumphant result of faith in human kind, than a well-contested American national election." -- Walt Whitman, American poet (1819-1892).

Copyright 2012, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.