Today in History

Today is Sunday, Nov. 3, the 307th day of 2013. There are 58 days left in the year. Daylight saving time ends at 2 a.m. local time. Clocks go back one hour.

Today's Highlights in History:

On Nov. 3, 1992, Democrat Bill Clinton was elected the 42nd president of the United States, defeating President George H.W. Bush. In Illinois, Democrat Carol Moseley-Braun became the first black woman elected to the U.S. Senate.

On this date:

In 1839, the first Opium War between China and Britain broke out.

In 1900, the first major U.S. automobile show opened at New York's Madison Square Garden under the auspices of the Automobile Club of America.

In 1903, Panama proclaimed its independence from Colombia.

In 1911, the Chevrolet Motor Car Co. was founded in Detroit by Louis Chevrolet and William C. Durant. (The company was acquired by General Motors in 1918.)

In 1936, President Franklin D. Roosevelt won a landslide election victory over Republican challenger Alfred M. "Alf" Landon.

In 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 2, the second manmade satellite, into orbit; on board was a dog named Laika who was sacrificed in the experiment.

In 1960, the Meredith Willson musical "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" opened on Broadway with Tammy Grimes in the title role.

In 1961, Burmese diplomat U Thant was appointed acting U.N. Secretary-General following the death of Dag Hammarskjold. President John F. Kennedy established the U.S. Agency for International Development.

In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson soundly defeated Republican Barry Goldwater to win a White House term in his own right.

In 1970, Salvador Allende was inaugurated as president of Chile.

In 1979, five Communist Workers Party members were killed in a clash with heavily armed Ku Klux Klansmen and neo-Nazis during an anti-Klan protest in Greensboro, N.C.

In 1986, the Iran-Contra affair began to come to light as Ash-Shiraa, a pro-Syrian Lebanese magazine, first broke the story of U.S. arms sales to Iran.

Ten years ago: Congress voted its final approval for $87.5 billion for U.S. military operations and aid in Iraq and Afghanistan. Russia's richest man, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, already jailed on fraud and tax evasion charges, resigned as head of the Russian oil giant Yukos.

Five years ago: On the eve of Election Day 2008, Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain wrapped up their two-year campaign for the White House. Ali Hamza al-Bahlul, a video maker for Osama bin Laden, was sentenced at Guantanamo to life in prison for encouraging terrorist attacks. Authorities announced they had positively identified some of Steve Fossett's remains found a half-mile from where the adventurer's plane had crashed in California's Sierra Nevada. Former White House photographer Cecil Stoughton, who took the iconic image of Lyndon Johnson taking the oath of office after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, died on Merritt Island, Fla. at age 88.

One year ago: Drivers flocked to gas stations in New Jersey ahead of the noon start of a rationing system aimed at easing long lines in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, while the Department of Defense set up emergency mobile fuel stations in the New York metro area. New York's newly relocated NBA team, the former New Jersey Nets, hosted the first regular-season game by a major sports team in Brooklyn since the Dodgers left in 1957. The Brooklyn Nets beat the Toronto Raptors 107-100.

Today's Birthdays: Actress Peggy McCay is 86. Actress Lois Smith is 83. Former Massachusetts Gov. Michael S. Dukakis is 80. Actor-dancer Ken Berry is 80. Tony-winning playwright Terrence McNally is 74. Actor Shadoe Stevens is 67. Singer Lulu is 65. Comedian-actress Roseanne Barr is 61. Actress Kate Capshaw is 60. Comedian Dennis Miller is 60. Actress Kathy Kinney is 60. Singer Adam Ant is 59. Actor Dolph Lundgren is 56. Rock musician C.J. Pierce (Drowning Pool) is 41. Olympic gold medal figure skater Evgeni Plushenko is 31. Actress Julie Berman (TV: "General Hospital") is 30.

Thought for Today: "You must be true to yourself. Strong enough to be true to yourself. Brave enough to be strong enough to be true to yourself. Wise enough to be brave enough, to be strong enough to shape yourself from what you actually are." -- Sylvia Constance Ashton-Warner, New Zealander author and educator (1908-1984).

Copyright 2013, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.