TODAY IN HISTORY – Nov. 3

Published 6:43 am Tuesday, November 3, 2020

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By The Associated Press

Today is Tuesday, Nov. 3, the 308th day of 2020. There are 58 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On Nov. 3, 1936, President Franklin D. Roosevelt won a landslide election victory over Republican challenger Alfred “Alf” Landon.

On this date:

In 1900, the first automobile show in the United States 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 1960, President John F. Kennedy established the U.S. Agency for International Development.

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 (ah-YEN’-day) was inaugurated as president of Chile.

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.

In 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.

In 1992, Democrat Bill Clinton was elected the 42nd president of the United States, defeating President George H.W. Bush. In Illinois, Democrat Carol Moseley-Braun became the first Black woman elected to the U.S. Senate.

In 1994, Susan Smith of Union, S.C., was arrested for drowning her two young sons, Michael and Alex, nine days after claiming the children had been abducted by a Black carjacker.

In 2004, President George W. Bush claimed a re-election mandate a day after more than 62 million Americans chose him over Democrat John Kerry; Kerry conceded defeat in make-or-break Ohio rather than launch a legal fight reminiscent of the contentious Florida recount of four years earlier.

In 2017, Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who walked away from his post in Afghanistan and triggered a search that left some of his comrades severely wounded, was spared a prison sentence by a military judge in North Carolina; President Donald Trump blasted the decision as a “complete and total disgrace.”

In 2014, 13 years after the 9/11 terrorist attack, the resurrected World Trade Center opened for business, marking an emotional milestone for both New Yorkers and the nation.

Ten years ago: President Barack Obama acknowledged that Democrats had taken “a shellacking” in midterm elections. The Federal Reserve announced a plan to buy $600 billion in Treasury bonds over the next eight months in an attempt to boost lending and stimulate the economy. Former Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin died in Moscow at age 72.

Five years 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.

One year ago: Authorities in Southern California lifted all evacuation orders as firefighters made progress on a large blaze that sent thousands fleeing homes and farms northwest of Los Angeles. Geoffrey Kamworor of Kenya won his second men’s title in three years at the New York City Marathon; in the women’s race, Kenyan Joyciline Jepkosgei powered away from four-time winner Mary Keitany in her first marathon.

Today’s Birthdays: Actor Lois Smith is 90. Actor Monica Vitti is 89. Former Massachusetts Gov. Michael S. Dukakis is 87. Actor Shadoe Stevens is 74. Singer Lulu is 72. “Vogue” editor-in-chief Anna Wintour is 71. Comedian-actor Roseanne Barr is 68. Actor Kate Capshaw is 67. Comedian Dennis Miller is 67. Actor Kathy Kinney is 67. Singer Adam Ant is 66. Sports commentator and former quarterback Phil Simms is 65. Director-screenwriter Gary Ross is 64. Actor Dolph Lundgren is 63. Rock musician C.J. Pierce (Drowning Pool) is 48. Actor Francois Battiste (TV: “Ten Days in the Valley”) is 44. Olympic gold medal figure skater Evgeni Plushenko is 38. Actor Julie Berman is 37. Actor Antonia Thomas (TV: “The Good Doctor”) is 34. Alternative rock singer/songwriter Courtney Barnett is 33. TV personality Kendall Jenner (TV: “Keeping Up with the Kardashians”) is 25.