Today in History

Today’s highlight:

On Nov. 5, 2017, a gunman armed with an assault rifle opened fire in a small South Texas church, killing more than two dozen people; the shooter, Devin Patrick Kelley, was later found dead in a vehicle after he was shot and chased by two men who heard the gunfire. (An autopsy revealed that he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.)

On this date:

In 1605, the “Gunpowder Plot” failed as Guy Fawkes was seized before he could blow up the English Parliament.

In 1781, the Continental Congress elected John Hanson of Maryland its chairman, giving him the title of “President of the United States in Congress Assembled.”

In 1911, singing cowboy star Roy Rogers was born Leonard Slye in Cincinnati, Ohio.

In 1940, President Franklin D. Roosevelt won an unprecedented third term in office as he defeated Republican challenger Wendell L. Willkie.

In 1968, Republican Richard M. Nixon won the presidency, defeating Democratic Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey and American Independent candidate George C. Wallace.

In 1974, Democrat Ella T. Grasso was elected governor of Connecticut, becoming the first woman to win a gubernatorial office without succeeding her husband.

In 1987, Supreme Court nominee Douglas H. Ginsburg admitted using marijuana several times in the 1960s and 70s, calling it a mistake. (Ginsburg ended up withdrawing his nomination.)

In 1990, Rabbi Meir Kahane, the Brooklyn-born Israeli extremist, was shot to death at a New York hotel. (Egyptian native El Sayyed Nosair was convicted of the slaying in federal court.)

In 1992, Malice Green, a black motorist, died after he was struck in the head 14 times with a flashlight by a Detroit police officer, Larry Nevers, outside a suspected crack house. (Nevers and his partner, Walter Budzyn, were found guilty of second-degree murder, but the convictions were overturned; they were later convicted of involuntary manslaughter.)

In 1994, former President Ronald Reagan disclosed he had Alzheimer’s disease.

In 2003, President Bush signed a bill outlawing the procedure known by its critics as “partial-birth abortion”; less than an hour later, a federal judge in Nebraska issued a temporary restraining order against the ban. (In 2007, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act.)

In 2006, Saddam Hussein was convicted and sentenced by the Iraqi High Tribunal to hang for crimes against humanity.

Ten years ago: A shooting rampage at the Fort Hood Army post in Texas left 13 people dead; Maj. Nidal Hasan, an Army psychiatrist, was later convicted of murder and sentenced to death.

Five years ago: A day after sweeping Republican election gains, President Barack Obama and incoming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell pledged to try to turn divided government into a force for good rather than gridlock, yet warned of veto showdowns as well.

One year ago: The U.S. re-imposed all sanctions on Iran that had been lifted under its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. Fox News Channel personality Sean Hannity spoke from the stage of President Donald Trump’s last midterm election rally, after insisting all day that he wouldn’t. Facebook said it had shut down 30 Facebook accounts and 85 Instagram accounts for suspected “coordinated inauthentic” behavior on the eve of the U.S. midterm elections. NBC, Fox News Channel and Facebook all said they would stop airing President Donald Trump’s campaign ad featuring an immigrant convicted of killing two police officers; CNN had earlier rejected the same ad as racist.

Today’s Birthdays: Actor Harris Yulin is 82. Actor Chris Robinson is 81. Actress Elke Sommer is 79. Singer Art Garfunkel is 78. Singer Peter Noone is 72. TV personality Kris Jenner is 64. Actor Nestor Serrano is 64. Actress-comedian Mo Gaffney is 61. Actor Robert Patrick is 61. Singer Bryan Adams is 60. Actress Tilda Swinton is 59. Actor Michael Gaston is 57. Actress Tatum O’Neal is 56. Actress Andrea McArdle is 56. Rock singer Angelo Moore (Fishbone) is 54. Actress Judy Reyes is 52. Actor Seth Gilliam is 51. Rock musician Mark Hunter (James) is 51. Actor Sam Rockwell is 51. Country singers Heather and Jennifer Kinley (The Kinleys) are 49. Actor Corin Nemec is 48. Rock musician Jonny Greenwood (Radiohead) is 48. Country singer-musician Ryan Adams is 45. Actor Sebastian Arcelus is 43. Actor Sam Page is 43. Actor Luke Hemsworth is 39. Actor Jeremy Lelliott is 37. Actress Annet Mahendru is 34. Rock musician Kevin Jonas (The Jonas Brothers) is 32. Actor Landon Gimenez is 16.

Thought for Today: “Imagination is the only key to the future. Without it none exists — with it all things are possible.” — Ida M. Tarbell, American journalist (1857-1944).

Associated Press