Today in History

Today is Sunday, Nov. 7, the 311th day of 2021. There are 54 days left in the year.

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 1944, President Franklin D. Roosevelt won an unprecedented fourth term in office, defeating Republican Thomas E. Dewey.

In 1967, Carl Stokes was elected the first Black mayor of a major city -- Cleveland, Ohio.

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 1980, actor Steve McQueen died in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico, at age 50.

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 2001, the Bush administration targeted Osama bin Laden's multi-million-dollar financial networks, closing businesses in four states, detaining U.S. suspects and urging allies to help choke off money supplies in 40 nations.

In 2013, shares of Twitter went on sale to the public for the first time; by the closing bell, the social network was valued at $31 billion.

In 2015, the leaders of China and Taiwan met for the first time since the formerly bitter Cold War foes split amid civil war 66 years earlier; Chinese President Xi Jinping and Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou hailed the meeting in Singapore as a sign of a new stability in relations.

In 2017, former star baseball pitcher Roy Halladay died when the small private plane he was flying crashed into the Gulf of Mexico; the 40-year-old was an eight-time All-Star for the Blue Jays and Phillies.

In 2018, a gunman killed 12 people at a country music bar in Thousand Oaks, California, before apparently taking his own life as officers closed in; the victims included a man who had survived the mass shooting at a country music concert in Las Vegas.

Ten years ago: A jury in Los Angeles convicted Michael Jackson's doctor, Conrad Murray, of involuntary manslaughter for supplying a powerful anesthetic implicated in the entertainer's 2009 death. (Murray was sentenced to four years in prison; he served two years and was released in October 2013.) Former heavyweight champion boxer Joe Frazier died in Philadelphia at age 67.

Five years 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." Former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno, 78, died in Miami. Singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen, 82, died in Los Angeles.

One year ago: Democrat Joe Biden clinched victory over President Donald Trump as a win in Pennsylvania pushed Biden over the threshold of 270 Electoral College votes; the victory followed more than three days of uncertainty as election officials sorted through a surge of mail-in ballots. Trump refused to concede, threatening further legal action on ballot counting. In a victory speech delivered near his Delaware home, Biden offered himself to the nation as a leader who "seeks not to divide, but to unify." Addressing the nation as the first woman to be elected vice president, Kamala Harris paid tribute to the women -- particularly Black women -- who helped pave the way for her. Chanting "This isn't over!" and "Stop the steal," Trump supporters protested at state capitols across the country, echoing Trump's baseless allegations that the Democrats won by fraud.

Today's Birthdays: Former U.S. Sen. Rudy Boschwitz, R-Minn., is 91. Actor Barry Newman is 83. Actor Dakin Matthews is 81. Singer Johnny Rivers is 79. Former supermodel Jean Shrimpton is 79. Singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell is 78. Former CIA Director David Petraeus is 69. Jazz singer Rene Marie is 66. Actor Christopher Knight (TV: "The Brady Bunch") is 64. Rock musician Tommy Thayer (KISS) is 61. Actor Julie Pinson is 54. Rock musician Greg Tribbett (Mudvayne) is 53. Actor Michelle Clunie is 52. Documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock is 51. Actor Christopher Daniel Barnes is 49. Actors Jeremy and Jason London are 49. Actor Yunjin Kim is 48. Actor Adam DeVine is 38. Rock musician Zach Myers (Shinedown) is 38. Actor Lucas Neff is 36. Rapper Tinie Tempah is 33. Rock singer Lorde is 25.