Today in History

Today is Saturday, Nov. 7, the 311th day of 2015. There are 54 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Nov. 7, 1940, Washington state's original Tacoma Narrows Bridge, nicknamed "Galloping Gertie," collapsed into Puget Sound during a windstorm just four months after opening to traffic.

On this date:

In 1861, former U.S. President John Tyler was elected to the Confederate House of Representatives (however, Tyler died before he could take his seat).

In 1914, the first issue of The New Republic magazine was published.

In 1916, Republican Jeannette Rankin of Montana became the first woman elected to Congress.

In 1917, Russia's Bolshevik Revolution took place as forces led by Vladimir Ilyich Lenin overthrew the provisional government of Alexander Kerensky.

In 1944, President Franklin D. Roosevelt won an unprecedented fourth term in office, defeating Republican Thomas E. Dewey.

In 1954, the CBS News program "Face the Nation" premiered with Ted Koop as host; the guest was Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy, R-Wis.

In 1962, Republican Richard Nixon, having lost California's gubernatorial race, held what he called his "last press conference," telling reporters, "You won't have Nixon to kick around anymore." Former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt, 78, died in New York City.

In 1972, President Richard Nixon was re-elected in a landslide over Democrat George McGovern.

In 1973, Congress overrode President Richard Nixon's veto of the War Powers Act, which limits a chief executive's power to wage war without congressional approval.

In 1974, British peer Richard John Bingham, 7th Earl of Lucan, disappeared after his children's nanny, Sandra Rivett, was bludgeoned to death at his family's London home; he has not been seen since.

In 1980, actor Steve McQueen died in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico, at age 50.

In 1989, L. Douglas Wilder won the governor's race in Virginia, becoming the first elected black governor in U.S. history; David N. Dinkins was elected New York City's first black mayor.

Ten years ago: President George W. Bush, in Panama, defended U.S. interrogation practices and called the treatment of terrorism suspects lawful, saying, "We do not torture." A suicide bomber blew up his vehicle at a checkpoint south of Baghdad, killing four American soldiers.

Five years ago: Scientists at the world's largest atom smasher, the Large Hadron Collider near Geneva, recreated the state of matter shortly after the Big Bang using collisions of lead ions. Gebre Gebremariam of Ethiopia won the men's title at the New York City Marathon in 2:08:14 in his debut at the distance. Kenya's Edna Kiplagat won the women's race in 2:28:20 for her first major marathon championship.

One year ago: President Barack Obama authorized a broad expansion of the U.S. military mission in Iraq that called for boosting the total number of American troops there to about 3,100.

Today's Birthdays: Evangelist Billy Graham is 97. Former U.S. Sen. Rudy Boschwitz, R-Minn., is 85. Actor Barry Newman is 77. Singer Johnny Rivers is 73. Former supermodel Jean Shrimpton is 73. Singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell is 72. Former CIA Director David Petraeus is 63. Actor Christopher Knight (TV: "The Brady Bunch") is 58. Rock musician Tommy Thayer (KISS) is 55. Actress Julie Pinson is 48. Rock musician Greg Tribbett (Mudvayne) is 47. Actress Michelle Clunie is 46. Actor Christopher Daniel Barnes is 43. Actors Jeremy and Jason London are 43. Actress Yunjin Kim is 42. Actor Adam DeVine is 32. Rock musician Zach Myers (Shinedown) is 32. Actor Lucas Neff is 30. Rapper Tinie Tempah is 27. Rock singer Lorde is 19.

Thought for Today: "All forms of totalitarianism try to avoid the strange, the problematic, the critical, the rational. To do so, they must deny the metropolitan spirit, equalize everything in city and country, and retain a center which is not the center of anything because everything else is swallowed up by it." -- Paul Tillich, American theologian (1886-1965).

Copyright 2015, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.