This Day in History

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November 3rd

Today is not celebrated for any particular reason in the United States.

There are 4 days until the 2016 Presidential election.

There are 58 days remaining in 2016.

There 51 days until Christmas.

Events

361 – Emperor Constantius II dies of a fever at Mopsuestia in Cilicia, on his deathbed he is baptised and declares his cousin Julian rightful successor.

1333 – The flooding River Arno causes massive damage in Florence as recorded by the Florentine chronicler Giovanni Villani.

1493 – Christopher Columbus first sights the island of Dominica in the Caribbean Sea.

1783 – The American Continental Army is disbanded.

1793 – French playwright, journalist and feminist Olympe de Gouges is guillotined.

1812 – Napoleon's armies are defeated at the Battle of Vyazma.

1868 – John Willis Menard was the first African American elected to the United States Congress. Because of an electoral challenge, he was never seated.

1883 – American Old West: Self-described "Black Bart the poet" gets away with his last stagecoach robbery, but leaves a clue that eventually leads to his capture.

1911 – Chevrolet officially enters the automobile market in competition with the Ford Model T.

1918 – The German Revolution of 1918–19 begins when 40,000 sailors take over the port in Kiel.

1943 – World War II: Five hundred aircraft of the U.S. 8th Air Force devastate Wilhelmshaven harbor in Germany, destroying two thirds of the town's buildings.

1954 – The first Godzilla film is released and marks the first appearance of the creature.

1957 – The Soviet Union launches Sputnik 2. On board is the first animal to enter orbit, a dog, named Laika.

1960 - Elvis Presley had his fifth UK No.1 single with 'It's Now Or Never', it stayed at No.1 for eight weeks. The song which was based on the Italian song, 'O Sole Mio', gave Presley his first post-army service No.1.

1964 – Washington D.C. residents are able to vote in a presidential election for the first time.

1969 – Vietnam War: U.S. President Richard M. Nixon addresses the nation on television and radio, asking the "silent majority" to join him in solidarity on the Vietnam War effort and to support his policies.

1973 – Mariner program: NASA launches the Mariner 10 toward Mercury. On March 29, 1974, it becomes the first space probe to reach that planet.

1986 – Iran–Contra affair: The Lebanese magazine Ash-Shiraa reports that the United States has been secretly selling weapons to Iran in order to secure the release of seven American hostages held by pro-Iranian groups in Lebanon.

1990 - 25 years after their version was recorded, The Righteous Brothers went to No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Unchained Melody'. The track had been featured in the Patrick Swayze film 'Ghost.' Written by Alex North and Hy Zaret, Unchained Melody is one of the most recorded songs of the 20th century, with over 500 versions in hundreds of different languages.

2014 – One World Trade Center officially opens.

Births

39 – Lucan; 1793 – Stephen F. Austin "The Father Of Texas"; 1794 – William Cullen Bryant; 1816 – Jubal Early; 1852 – Emperor Meiji; 1918 – Elizabeth P. Hoisington; 1921 – Charles Bronson; 1930 – William H. Dana; 1933 – Ken Berry (Andy Griffith Show, Mayberry R.F.D.); 1933 – Aneta Corsaut ('Helen Crump' on Andy Griffith Show); 1933 – Michael Dukakis; 1936 – Takao Saito (created Golgo 13); 1948 – Lulu♪ ♫(sang "To Sir, With Love", and "The Man With The Golden Gun"); 1949 – Larry Holmes; 1949 – Anna Wintour; 1952 – Roseanne Barr (crotch-grabbing anthem-mangler); 1953 – Kate Capshaw; 1953 – Dennis Miller (SNL); 1954 – Adam Ant♪ ♫; 1955 – Phil Simms; 1957 – Dolph Lundgren (Rocky V, The Expendables 1, 2, 3, & 4); 1962 – Gabe Newell (co-founded Valve Corp. video game developers); 1987 – Colon Kaepernick; 1987 – Gemma Ward; 1995 – Kendall Jenner

Deaths

361 – Constantius II; 1793 – Olympe de Gouges; 1926 – Annie "Little Sure Shot" Oakley; 1949 – Solomon R. Guggenheim; 1954 – Henri Matisse; 1990 – Mary Martin (Peter Pan, mother of Larry Hagman); 1993 – Léon Theremin (invented the Theremin); 1998 – Bob Kane (co-created Batman); 2002 – Lonnie Donegan♪ ♫; 2002 – Jonathan Harris (Lost In Space); 2006 – Paul Mauriat; 2013 – William J. Coyne

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Originally Posted by Gravdigr

Colon Kaepernick