Today in History

Today is Tuesday, Nov. 7, the 311th day of 2017. There are 54 days left in the year. This is Election Day.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Nov. 7, 1917, Russia's Bolshevik Revolution took place as forces led by Vladimir Ilyich Lenin overthrew the provisional government of Alexander Kerensky.

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 1867, Nobel Prize-winning scientist Marie Curie was born in Warsaw.

In 1916, Republican Jeannette Rankin of Montana became the first woman elected to Congress, winning a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

In 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.

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 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.

In 1991, basketball star Magic Johnson announced that he had tested positive for HIV, and was retiring. (Despite his HIV status, Johnson has been able to sustain himself with medication.)

In 1996, the U.S. liquor industry voted to drop its decades-old voluntary ban on broadcast advertising. A Nigerian Boeing 727 jetliner crashed en route to Lagos, killing 144 people. NASA's Mars Global Surveyor blasted off on a mission to map the surface of the red planet. (It went into orbit around Mars the next year.)

Ten years ago: An 18-year-old gunman opened fire at his high school in Tuusula, Finland, killing seven other students and the principal before taking his own life. A cargo ship struck the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, causing the San Francisco Bay's worst oil spill in nearly two decades. Space shuttle Discovery and its crew returned to Earth, concluding a 15-day space station build-and-repair mission. At the Country Music Association Awards, Kenny Chesney won his second straight entertainer of the year award, while Carrie Underwood made it back-to-back trophies as female vocalist of the year; Brad Paisley was named male vocalist.

Five years ago: One day after a bruising election, President Barack Obama and Republican House Speaker John Boehner both pledged to seek a compromise to avert looming spending cuts and tax increases that threatened to plunge the economy back into recession. A 7.4-magnitude earthquake killed at least 52 people in western Guatemala.

One year ago: In Philadelphia, with tens of thousands shivering in the cold, Barack and Michelle Obama passed the torch to Hillary Clinton in an emotional but anxious plea to elect her president. Meanwhile, Donald Trump accused Clinton of being protected by a "totally rigged system" and urged voters to "beat the corrupt system and deliver justice." Dozens of buildings sustained "substantial damage" after a 5.0 magnitude earthquake struck Cushing, Oklahoma, home to one of the world's key oil hubs, but officials said no damage was reported at the terminal. Former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno, 78, died in Miami. Singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen, 82, died in Los Angeles.

Today's Birthdays: Evangelist Billy Graham is 99. Former U.S. Sen. Rudy Boschwitz, R-Minn., is 87. Actor Barry Newman is 79. Singer Johnny Rivers is 75. Former supermodel Jean Shrimpton is 75. Singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell is 74. Former CIA Director David Petraeus is 65. Jazz singer Rene Marie is 62. Actor Christopher Knight (TV: "The Brady Bunch") is 60. Rock musician Tommy Thayer (KISS) is 57. Actress Julie Pinson is 50. Rock musician Greg Tribbett (Mudvayne) is 49. Actress Michelle Clunie is 48. Actor Christopher Daniel Barnes is 45. Actors Jeremy and Jason London are 45. Actress Yunjin Kim is 44. Actor Adam DeVine is 34. Rock musician Zach Myers (Shinedown) is 34. Actor Lucas Neff is 32. Rapper Tinie (TY'-nee) Tempah is 29. Rock singer Lorde is 21.

Thought for Today: "History is simply a piece of paper covered with print; the main thing is still to make history, not to write it." -- Otto von Bismarck, German statesman (1815-1898).