Today in History

Today is Friday, Nov. 2, the 306th day of 2018. There are 59 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Nov. 2, 1976, former Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter became the first candidate from the Deep South since the Civil War to be elected president as he defeated incumbent Gerald R. Ford.

On this date:

In 1783, General George Washington issued his Farewell Address to the Army near Princeton, New Jersey.

In 1889, North Dakota and South Dakota became the 39th and 40th states with the signing of proclamations by President Benjamin Harrison.

In 1917, British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour issued a declaration expressing support for a "national home" for the Jews in Palestine.

In 1930, Haile Selassie was crowned emperor of Ethiopia.

In 1947, Howard Hughes piloted his huge wooden flying boat, the Hughes H--4 Hercules (derisively dubbed the "Spruce Goose" by detractors), on its only flight, which lasted about a minute over Long Beach Harbor in California.

In 1948, President Harry S. Truman surprised the experts by winning a narrow upset over Republican challenger Thomas E. Dewey.

In 1950, playwright George Bernard Shaw, 94, died in Ayot St. Lawrence, Hertfordshire, England.

In 1959, game show contestant Charles Van Doren admitted to a House subcommittee that he'd been given questions and answers in advance when he appeared on the N--B--C T--V program "Twenty--One."

In 1986, kidnappers in Lebanon released American hospital administrator David Jacobsen after holding him for 17 months.

In 1992, movie producer Hal Roach died in Los Angeles at age 100.

In 1994, a jury in Pensacola, Florida, convicted Paul Hill of murder for the shotgun slayings of an abortion provider and his bodyguard; Hill was executed in September 2003.

In 2000, American astronaut Bill Shepherd and two Russian cosmonauts, Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei Krikalev, became the first residents of the international space station.

Ten years ago: Barack Obama and John McCain uncorked massive get--out--the--vote operations in more than a dozen battleground states the Sunday before Election Day. Obama's grandmother, Madelyn Payne Dunham, died in Honolulu at age 86. Paula Radcliffe defended her title at the New York City Marathon to become the second woman to win the race three times; Marilson Gomes dos Santos of Brazil won the men's race for the second time in three years.

Five years ago: Gunmen abducted and killed French radio journalists Ghislaine Dupont and Claude Verlon in northern Mali, grabbing the pair as they left the home of a rebel leader.

One year ago: President Donald Trump tapped Jerome Powell to replace Janet Yellen as Federal Reserve chair at the end of her term in February. Authorities in Los Angeles and New York said they had opened new investigations prompted by sexual misconduct allegations against Harvey Weinstein. Twitter reported that a customer support worker who was on his or her last day on the job had deactivated President Donald Trump's Twitter account for a few minutes, resulting in an error message that the user "does not exist."

Today's Birthdays: Singer Jay Black (Jay and the Americans) is 80. Political commentator Patrick Buchanan is 80. Actress Stefanie Powers is 76. Author Shere Hite is 76. Country--rock singer--songwriter J.D. Souther is 73. Actress Kate Linder is 71. Rock musician Carter Beauford (The Dave Matthews Band) is 61. Actor Peter Mullan is 59. Singer--songwriter k.d. lang is 57. Rock musician Bobby Dall (Poison) is 55. Pulitzer Prize--winning playwright Lynn Nottage is 54. Actress Lauren Velez is 54. Actor Sean Kanan is 52. Actor David Schwimmer is 52. Christian/jazz singer Alvin Chea (Take 6) is 51. Jazz singer Kurt Elling is 51. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is 51. Rock singer--musician Neal Casal is 50. Rock musician Fieldy is 49. Actress Meta Golding is 47. Rock singer--musician John Hampson (Nine Days) is 47. Actress Marisol Nichols is 47. Rhythm--and--blues singer Timothy Christian Riley (Tony Toni Tone) is 44. Rapper Nelly is 44. Actor Danny Cooksey is 43. Rock musician Chris Walla is 43. Actress Reshma Shetty is 41. Country singer Erika Jo is 32. Actor--singer Kendall Schmidt is 28.

Thought for Today: "If I have any beliefs about immortality, it is that certain dogs I have known will go to heaven, and very, very few persons." -- James Thurber (1894--1961).