Today in History

Today is Sunday, Nov. 8, the 312th day of 2015. There are 53 days left in the year.

Today's Highlights in History:

On Nov. 8, 1965, newspaper columnist Dorothy Kilgallen was found dead in her Manhattan home the morning after appearing as a regular panelist on the CBS game show "What's My Line?" The TV soap opera "Days of Our Lives" premiered on NBC.

On this date:

In 1793, the Louvre began admitting the public, even though the French museum had been officially open since August. Madame Roland, 39, an influential figure of the French Revolution, was convicted of treason during the Reign of Terror and sent to the guillotine.

In 1864, President Abraham Lincoln won re-election as he defeated Democratic challenger George B. McClellan.

In 1889, Montana became the 41st state.

In 1923, Adolf Hitler launched his first attempt at seizing power in Germany with a failed coup in Munich that came to be known as the "Beer-Hall Putsch."

In 1932, New York Democratic Gov. Franklin D. Roosevelt defeated incumbent Republican Herbert Hoover for the presidency.

In 1935, the movies "Mutiny on the Bounty," starring Clark Gable and Charles Laughton, and "A Night at the Opera," starring the Marx Brothers, premiered in New York.

In 1942, Operation Torch, resulting in an Allied victory, began during World War II as U.S. and British forces landed in French North Africa.

In 1950, during the Korean War, the first jet-plane battle took place as U.S. Air Force Lt. Russell J. Brown shot down a North Korean MiG-15.

In 1960, Massachusetts Sen. John F. Kennedy defeated Vice President Richard M. Nixon for the presidency.

In 1974, a federal judge in Cleveland dismissed charges against eight Ohio National Guardsmen accused of violating the civil rights of students who were killed or wounded in the 1970 Kent State shootings.

In 1988, Vice President George H.W. Bush won the presidential election, defeating the Democratic nominee, Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis.

In 1994, midterm elections resulted in Republicans winning a majority in the Senate while at the same time gaining control of the House for the first time in 40 years.

Ten years 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. (Student Kenneth Bartley later pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and attempted murder and was sentenced to 45 years in prison, with a chance for parole in 25.) Bartolo Colon won the American League Cy Young Award.

Five years ago: On the third and final day of his trip to India, President Barack Obama endorsed the country's bid to become a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council. A jury in New Haven, Connecticut, condemned Steven Hayes to death for a home invasion that left Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her two daughters, Michaela and Hayley, dead. (The sentence was later commuted to life in prison.) Former kidnap victim Elizabeth Smart took the stand in Salt Lake City on the first day of testimony in the trial of Brian David Mitchell, the man accused of abducting her in June 2002 when she was 14. An engine fire aboard the Carnival Splendor cruise ship left nearly 4,500 aboard without electricity during a three-day tow to San Diego. Talk show host Conan O'Brien made his debut on TBS.

One year ago: President Barack Obama introduced his choice for U.S. attorney general, Brooklyn federal prosecutor Loretta Lynch, to succeed Eric Holder. Two Americans held by North Korea, Matthew Miller of Bakersfield, California, and Kenneth Bae of Lynnwood, Washington, were released into the custody of James Clapper, the director of U.S. national intelligence.

Today's Birthdays: Actor Norman Lloyd is 101. CBS newsman Morley Safer is 84. Actress Stephane Audran is 83. Actor Alain Delon is 80. Singer-actress Bonnie Bramlett is 71. Singer Bonnie Raitt is 66. TV personality Mary Hart is 65. Former Playboy Enterprises chairman and chief executive Christie Hefner is 63. Actress Alfre Woodard is 63. Singer-songwriter Rickie Lee Jones is 61. Author Kazuo Ishiguro is 61. Rock musician Porl Thompson (The Cure) is 58. Singer-actor Leif Garrett is 54. Chef and TV personality Gordon Ramsay is 49. Actress Courtney Thorne-Smith is 48. Actress Parker Posey is 47. Rock musician Jimmy Chaney is 46. Actress Roxana Zal is 46. Singer Diana King is 45. Actor Gonzalo Menendez is 44. Rock musician Scott Devendorf (The National) is 43. Actress Gretchen Mol is 42. ABC News anchor David Muir is 42. Actor Matthew Rhys is 41. Actress Tara Reid is 40. Country singer Bucky Covington is 38. Actress Dania Ramirez is 36. Actress Azura Skye is 34. Actor Chris Rankin is 32. TV personality Jack Osbourne is 30. Actress Jessica Lowndes is 27. Singer-actor Riker Lynch (TV: "Glee" "Dancing With the Stars") is 24. Country singer Lauren Alaina is 21.

Thought for Today: "Happiness is not a station you arrive at, but a manner of traveling." -- Margaret Lee Runbeck, American author (1905-1956).

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