Today in History

Today is Thursday, Nov. 5, the 309th day of 2015. There are 56 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Nov. 5, 1940, President Franklin D. Roosevelt won an unprecedented third term in office as he defeated Republican challenger Wendell L. Willkie.

On this date:

In 1605, the "Gunpowder Plot" failed as Guy Fawkes was seized before he could blow up the English Parliament.

In 1781, the Continental Congress elected John Hanson of Maryland its chairman, giving him the title of "President of the United States in Congress Assembled."

In 1872, suffragist Susan B. Anthony defied the law by attempting to cast a vote for President Ulysses S. Grant. (Anthony was convicted by a judge and fined $100, but she never paid the penalty.)

In 1912, Democrat Woodrow Wilson was elected president, defeating Progressive Party candidate Theodore Roosevelt, incumbent Republican William Howard Taft and Socialist Eugene V. Debs.

In 1935, Parker Brothers began marketing the board game "Monopoly."

In 1942, American showman George M. Cohan died in New York at age 64.

In 1968, Republican Richard M. Nixon won the presidency, defeating Democratic Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey and American Independent candidate George C. Wallace.

In 1974, Democrat Ella T. Grasso was elected governor of Connecticut, becoming the first woman to win a gubernatorial office without succeeding her husband.

In 1985, Spencer W. Kimball, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, died at age 90; he was succeeded by Ezra Taft Benson.

In 1990, Rabbi Meir Kahane, the Brooklyn-born Israeli extremist, was shot to death at a New York hotel. (Egyptian native El Sayyed Nosair was convicted of the slaying in federal court.)

In 1994, former President Ronald Reagan disclosed he had Alzheimer's disease.

In 2009, a shooting rampage at the Fort Hood Army post in Texas left 13 people dead; Maj. Nidal Hasan, an Army psychiatrist, was later convicted of murder and sentenced to death.

Ten years ago: Leaders from across the Americas ended their two-day summit in Argentina without agreeing on whether to restart talks on a free trade zone stretching from Alaska to Chile. Pirates attacked a cruise ship off the coast of Somalia, but the ship changed course and sped away to escape. British author John Fowles died in Lyme Regis, Dorset, England, at age 79. Guitar master Link Wray died in Copenhagen at age 76.

Five years ago: President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, boarded Air Force One to fly to Mumbai, India, the first stop of a 10-day tour through India, Indonesia, South Korea and Japan. A judge in Los Angeles sentenced Johannes Mehserle, a white former transit officer, to two years in prison in the shooting death of Oscar Grant, an unarmed black man, on an Oakland train platform; the minimal sentence provoked angry protests. (Mehserle ended up serving 11 months.) Cable channel MSNBC suspended host Keith Olbermann for two shows for making unapproved political donations. Actress Jill Clayburgh died in Lakeville, Connecticut, at age 66. Opera singer Shirley Verrett, 79, died in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

One year ago: A day after sweeping Republican election gains, President Barack Obama and incoming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell pledged to try to turn divided government into a force for good rather than gridlock, yet warned of veto showdowns as well.

Today's Birthdays: Actor Chris Robinson is 77. Actress Elke Sommer is 75. Singer Art Garfunkel is 74. Actor-playwright Sam Shepard is 72. Singer Peter Noone is 68. TV personality Kris Jenner is 60. Actor Nestor Serrano is 60. Actress-comedian Mo Gaffney is 57. Actor Robert Patrick is 57. Singer Bryan Adams is 56. Actress Tilda Swinton is 55. Actor Michael Gaston is 53. Actress Tatum O'Neal is 52. Actress Andrea McArdle is 52. Rock singer Angelo Moore (Fishbone) is 50. Actress Judy Reyes is 48. Actor Seth Gilliam is 47. Rock musician Mark Hunter (James) is 47. Actor Sam Rockwell is 47. Country singers Heather and Jennifer Kinley (The Kinleys) are 45. Actor Corin Nemec is 44. Rock musician Jonny Greenwood (Radiohead) is 44. Country singer-musician Ryan Adams is 41. Actor Sam Page is 39. Actor Jeremy Lelliott is 33. Actress Annet Mahendru is 30. Rock musician Kevin Jonas (The Jonas Brothers) is 28. Actor Landon Gimenez is 12.

Thought for Today: "Imagination is the only key to the future. Without it none exists -- with it all things are possible." -- Ida M. Tarbell, American journalist (1857-1944).

Copyright 2015, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.