Today in History

Today is Sunday, Nov. 1, the 306th day of 2020. There are 60 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Nov. 1, 1950, two Puerto Rican nationalists tried to force their way into Blair House in Washington, D.C., in a failed attempt to assassinate President Harry S. Truman. (One of the pair was killed, along with a White House police officer.)

On this date:

In 1478, the Spanish Inquisition was established.

In 1512, Michelangelo's just-completed paintings on the ceiling of the Vatican's Sistine Chapel were publicly unveiled by the artist's patron, Pope Julius II.

In 1765, the Stamp Act, passed by the British Parliament, went into effect, prompting stiff resistance from American colonists.

In 1861, during the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln named Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan General-in-Chief of the Union armies, succeeding Lt. Gen. Winfield Scott.

In 1870, the United States Weather Bureau made its first meteorological observations.

In 1936, in a speech in Milan, Italy, Benito Mussolini described the alliance between his country and Nazi Germany as an "axis" running between Rome and Berlin.

In 1945, Ebony, a magazine geared toward Black readers, was first published.

In 1952, the United States exploded the first hydrogen bomb, code-named "Ivy Mike," at Enewetak Atoll in the Marshall Islands.

In 1973, following the "Saturday Night Massacre," Acting Attorney General Robert H. Bork appointed Leon Jaworski to be the new Watergate special prosecutor, succeeding Archibald Cox.

In 1989, East Germany reopened its border with Czechoslovakia, prompting tens of thousands of refugees to flee to the West.

In 1991, Clarence Thomas took his place as the newest justice on the Supreme Court.

In 2003, Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean stirred controversy within his party by telling the Des Moines Register he wanted to be "the candidate for guys with Confederate flags in their pickup trucks." (The former Vermont governor explained that he intended to encourage the return of Southern voters who had abandoned the Democrats for decades but were disaffected with the Republicans.)

Ten years ago: Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong, 61, was convicted by a jury in Erie, Pennsylvania, of participating in a bizarre plot in which a pizza delivery driver was forced to rob a bank wearing a metal bomb collar that later exploded, killing him. (Diehl-Armstrong was later sentenced to life in prison.) The San Francisco Giants won the World Series with a 3-1 victory over the Texas Rangers in Game 5.

Five years ago: Turkey's ruling party secured a stunning victory in a snap parliamentary election, sweeping back into single-party rule only five months after losing it. Presiding Bishop Michael Curry was installed as the first Black leader of the U.S. Episcopal Church during a ceremony at the Washington National Cathedral. Fred Thompson, 73, a folksy former Republican U.S. senator from Tennessee who appeared in feature films and on television, died in Nashville. The Kansas City Royals won their first World Series crown since 1985, beating the New York Mets 7-2 in Game 5, which lasted 12 innings, ending after midnight.

One year ago: Former Texas congressman Beto O'Rourke announced that he was ending his Democratic presidential campaign, which had failed to recapture the enthusiasm and fundraising prowess of his 2018 Senate bid. House investigators called Energy Secretary Rick Perry to testify in the impeachment inquiry; he was the first member of the Trump Cabinet asked to appear before the House. (Perry failed to appear for the closed-door hearing.) President Donald Trump said longtime Homeland Security official Chad Wolf would be the department's next acting head; he would be the fifth person to lead the agency. Chicago teachers and more than 300,000 students returned to classrooms following an 11-day strike. The New York Mets named Carlos Beltran as the team's new manager. (Beltran parted ways with the Mets less than three months later; he had been the only Astros player mentioned by name when Major League Baseball issued its findings from a probe into that team's sign-stealing.) Google jumped into the fitness tracker business, buying Fitbit for about $2.1 billion.

Today's Birthdays: World Golf Hall of Famer Gary Player is 85. Country singer Bill Anderson is 83. Actor Barbara Bosson is 81. Actor Robert Foxworth is 79. Magazine publisher Larry Flynt is 78. Country singer-humorist Kinky Friedman is 76. Actor Jeannie Berlin is 71. Music producer David Foster is 71. Actor Belita Moreno is 71. Country singer-songwriter-producer Keith Stegall is 66. Country singer Lyle Lovett is 63. Actor Rachel Ticotin is 62. Rock musician Eddie MacDonald (Smalltown Glory, The Alarm) is 61. Apple CEO Tim Cook is 60. Actor Helene Udy is 59. Pop singer-musician Mags Furuholmen (a-ha) 58. Rock singer Anthony Kiedis (Red Hot Chili Peppers) is 58. Rock musician Rick Allen (Def Leppard) is 57. Country singer "Big Kenny" Alphin (Big and Rich) is 57. Singer Sophie B. Hawkins is 56. Rapper Willie D (Geto Boys) is 54. Country musician Dale Wallace (Emerson Drive) is 51. Actor Toni Collette is 48. Rock musician Andrew Gonzales is 48. Actor-talk show host Jenny McCarthy is 48. Actor David Berman is 47. Actor Aishwarya Rai is 47. Rock singer Bo Bice is 45. Actor Matt Jones is 39. Actor Natalia Tena is 36. Actor Penn Badgley is 34. Actor Max Burkholder is 23. Actor-musician Alex Wolff is 23.