Today in History

Today in History

Today is Thursday, Nov. 3, the 308th day of 2016. There are 58 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Nov. 3, 1986, the Iran-Contra affair came to light as Ash-Shiraa, a pro-Syrian Lebanese magazine, first broke the story of U.S. arms sales to Iran.

On this date:

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

In 1903, Panama proclaimed its independence from Colombia.

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 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 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 1976, the horror movie "Carrie," adapted from the Stephen King novel and starring Sissy Spacek, was released by United Artists.

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, North Carolina.

In 1991, Israeli and Palestinian representatives held their first-ever face-to-face talks in Madrid, Spain; in another milestone, Syria opened its first one-on-one meeting with Israel in 43 years.

Ten years ago: U.S. Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, who pleaded guilty in the Jack Abramoff influence-peddling investigation, resigned from Congress. French conductor Paul Mauriat, whose arrangement of "Love is Blue" topped U.S. charts in the 1960s, died in Perpignan, France, at age 81.

Five years ago: Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou abandoned his plan to put a European rescue deal to a popular vote. Former San Francisco Giants outfielder Matty Alou died in his native Dominican Republic at age 72.

One year ago: Ohio voters rejected a ballot proposal that would have legalized both recreational and medical marijuana. U.S. auto safety regulators fined Japan's Takata Corp. $70 million for concealing evidence for years that its air bags were prone to explode with potentially deadly consequences. Online retail giant Amazon opened its first brick-and-mortar bookstore, located in Seattle, two decades after it began selling books over the Internet. Ahmad Chalabi, a prominent Iraqi politician who helped persuade the Bush administration to invade Iraq and overthrow Saddam Hussein in 2003, died in Baghdad.

Today's Birthdays: Actress Peggy McCay is 89. Actress Lois Smith is 86. Actress Monica Vitti is 85. Former Massachusetts Gov. Michael S. Dukakis is 83. Actor-dancer Ken Berry is 83. Actor Shadoe Stevens is 70. Singer Lulu is 68. Comedian-actress Roseanne Barr is 64. Actress Kate Capshaw is 63. Comedian Dennis Miller is 63. Actress Kathy Kinney is 63. Singer Adam Ant is 62. Director/screenwriter Gary Ross (Film: "The Hunger Games") is 60. Actor Dolph Lundgren is 59. Rock musician C.J. Pierce (Drowning Pool) is 44. Olympic gold medal figure skater Evgeni Plushenko is 34. Actress Julie Berman is 33. Alternative rock singer/songwriter Courtney Barnett is 29.

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).