Thursday, November 05th
The 309th day of 2009.
There are 56 days left in the year.
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Today's Highlights in History
On Nov. 5, 1968, Republican Richard M. Nixon won the presidency, defeating Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey and third-party candidate George C. Wallace. (Go to article.)
On Nov. 5, 1857, Ida Tarbell, the American journalist best known for her study of the Standard Oil Company, was born. Following her death on Jan. 6, 1944, her obituary appeared in The Times. (Go to obit. | Other Birthdays)
Editorial Cartoon of the Day
On November 5, 1864, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about the proposed arming and emancipation of black slaves by the Confederate government. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.)
On this date in:
1605 The Gunpowder Plot failed when Guy Fawkes was seized before he could blow up the English Parliament.
1872 Suffragist Susan B. Anthony was fined $100 for attempting to vote in a presidential election.
1895 George B. Selden of Rochester, N.Y., received the first U.S. patent for an automobile.
1912 Woodrow Wilson was elected president, defeating incumbent William Howard Taft and former President Theodore Roosevelt.
1940 President Franklin D. Roosevelt won an unprecedented third term in office, beating Republican challenger Wendell L. Willkie.
1956 Britain and France landed troops in Egypt during fighting between Egyptian and Israeli forces around the Suez Canal.
1974 Ella Grasso of Connecticut became the first woman elected governor in the United States without succeeding her husband.
1989 Pianist Vladimir Horowitz died at age 85.
1994 Former President Ronald Reagan disclosed he had Alzheimer's disease.
1994 George Foreman became boxing's oldest heavyweight champion at age 45 by knocking out Michael Moorer in the 10th round of their WBA fight in Las Vegas.
1996 President Bill Clinton won a second term over former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole.
1998 A study showed strong genetic evidence that Thomas Jefferson fathered at least one child by his slave, Sally Hemings.
1999 U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson declared Microsoft Corp. a monopoly, saying the software giant's aggressive actions were "stifling innovation" and hurting consumers.
2006 Saddam Hussein was convicted and sentenced by the Iraqi High Tribunal to hang for crimes against humanity. (He was executed the following month.)
Current Birthdays
Tilda Swinton turns 49 years old today.
AP Photo/Joel Ryan Actress Tilda Swinton turns 49 years old today.
71 Chris Robinson
Actor
69 Elke Sommer
Actress
69 Ted Kulongoski
Governor of Oregon
68 Art Garfunkel
Singer
66 Sam Shepard
Actor, playwright
62 Peter Noone
Singer (Herman's Hermits)
57 Bill Walton
Basketball Hall of Famer
54 Nestor Serrano
Actor ("24")
52 Kellen Winslow
Football Hall of Famer
51 Mo Gaffney
Actress, comedian
51 Robert Patrick
Actor
50 Bryan Adams
Rock singer
46 Andrea McArdle
Actress
46 Tatum O'Neal
Actress
44 Angelo Moore
Rock singer (Fishbone)
42 Judy Reyes
Actress ("Scrubs")
41 Mark Hunter
Rock musician (James)
41 Sam Rockwell
Actor
39 Heather Kinley
Country singer (The Kinleys)
39 Jennifer Kinley
Country singer (The Kinleys)
38 Jonny Greenwood
Rock musician (Radiohead)
38 Corin Nemec
Actor
35 Ryan Adams
Country musician
33 Sam Page
Actor
27 Jeremy Lelliott
Actor
22 Kevin Jonas
Rock musician (The Jonas Brothers)
Historic Birthdays
Ida Tarbell
11/5/1857 - 1/6/1944
American journalist
(Go to obit.)
79 Anna Leonowens
11/5/1834 - 1/19/1914
English writer and governess to children of king Mongkut of Siam
86 Paul Sabatier
11/5/1854 - 8/14/1941
French chemist
70 Eugene V. Debs
11/5/1855 - 10/20/1926
American socialist labor leader
74 Will Hays
11/5/1879 - 3/7/1954
American politician and president of Motion Picture Producers and Distributors Association (1922-45)
96 Will Durant
11/5/1885 - 11/7/1981
American writer
92 Raymond Loewy
11/5/1893 - 7/14/1986
French-born American industrial designer
71 Martin Dies
11/5/1901 - 11/14/1972
American politician; first chairman of House Committee on Un-American Activities
53 Vivien Leigh
11/5/1913 - 7/8/1967
British film and stage actress
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SOURCE: The Associated Press
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