Monday, November 02nd
The 306th day of 2009.
There are 59 days left in the year.
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Today's Highlights in History
On Nov. 2, 1976, former Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter defeated Republican incumbent Gerald R. Ford, becoming the first U.S. president from the Deep South since the Civil War. (Go to article.)
On Nov. 2, 1865, Warren G. Harding, the 29th president of the United States, was born. Following his death on Aug. 2, 1923, his obituary appeared in The Times. (Go to obit. | Other Birthdays)
Editorial Cartoon of the Day
On November 2, 1878, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about a Congressional investigation of vote fraud in the Electoral College Controversy of 1876-1877. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.)
On this date in:
1783 Gen. George Washington issued his farewell address to the Army near Princeton, N.J.
1795 James K. Polk, the 11th president of the United States, was born in Mecklenburg County, N.C.
1865 Warren G. Harding, the 29th president of the United States, was born near Corsica, Ohio.
1889 North Dakota and South Dakota became the 39th and 40th states.
1917 British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour expressed support for a national home for the Jews of Palestine in what became known as the Balfour Declaration.
1947 Howard Hughes piloted his huge wooden airplane, the Spruce Goose, on its only flight, which lasted about a minute over Long Beach Harbor in California.
1948 President Harry S. Truman narrowly won re-election over Republican challenger Thomas E. Dewey.
1959 Charles Van Doren admitted to a House subcommittee that he had the questions and answers in advance of his appearances on the TV game show "Twenty-One."
1963 South Vietnamese President Ngo Dihn Diem was assassinated in a military coup.
1976 Former Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter defeated Republican incumbent Gerald R. Ford, becoming the first U.S. president from the Deep South since the Civil War.
1983 President Ronald Reagan signed a bill establishing a federal holiday on the third Monday of January in honor of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
2004 President George W. Bush was elected to a second term as Republicans strengthened their grip on Congress.
2006 The Rev. Ted Haggard resigned as president of the National Association of Evangelicals after a man said they had had sexual trysts together.
Current Birthdays
Chris Walla turns 34 years old today.
AP Photo/Chris Pizzello Rock musician Chris Walla (Death Cab for Cutie) turns 34 years old today.
72 Earl "Speedo" Carroll
R&B singer (The Cadillacs, The Coasters)
71 Jay Black
Singer (Jay and the Americans)
71 Patrick J. Buchanan
Political commentator
67 Stefanie Powers
Actress ("Hart to Hart")
67 Shere Hite
Author
65 Keith Emerson
Rock musician (Emerson, Lake and Palmer)
64 J.D. Souther
Country singer, songwriter
62 Kate Linder
Actress ("The Young and the Restless")
52 Carter Beauford
Rock musician (The Dave Matthews Band)
48 k.d. lang
Singer
46 Bobby Dall
Rock musician (Poison)
45 Lynn Nottage
Playwright ("Ruined")
45 Lauren Velez
Actress ("Dexter," "Oz")
43 David Schwimmer
Actor ("Friends")
42 Alvin Chea
R&B singer (Take 6)
40 Fieldy
Rock musician (Korn)
38 John Hampson
Rock musician (Nine Days)
35 Nelly
Rapper
35 Prodigy
Rapper (Mobb Deep)
35 Timothy Christian Riley
R&B singer (Tony Toni Tone)
34 Danny Cooksey
Actor
23 Erika Jo
Country singer ("Nashville Star")
Historic Birthdays
Warren Gamaliel Harding
11/2/1865 - 8/2/1923
29th president of the United States (1921-3)
(Go to obit.)
80 Jean-Baptiste Chardin
11/2/1699 - 12/6/1779
French painter
59 Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf
11/2/1739 - 10/24/1799
German composer
37 Marie-Antoinette
11/2/1755 - 10/16/1793
French queen consort to Louis VXI
53 James Knox Polk
11/2/1795 - 6/15/1849
11th president of the United States (1845-9)
74 Georges Sorel
11/2/1847 - 8/30/1922
French social theorist and socialist revolutionary
87 Maurice Blondel
11/2/1861 - 6/4/1949
French philosopher
69 Luchino Visconti
11/2/1906 - 3/17/1976
Italian film director
80 Burt Lancaster
11/2/1913 - 10/20/1994
American actor
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SOURCE: The Associated Press
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