By james art Today is Saturday, November 2, the 307th day of 2024. There are 59 days left in the year.
Today in History:
On November 2, 1948, in one of the most unexpected results in US election history, incumbent Democrat Harry S. Truman won the presidential election against the heavily favored Republican governor of New York, Thomas E. Dewey.
Also on this date:
In 1783, General George Washington issued his farewell address to the army.
In 1861, during the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln relieved Major General John C. Fremont of his command of the Western Department of the Army, following Fremont’s unsuccessful efforts to free the slaves in Missouri.
In 1947, Howard Hughes piloted his Hughes H-4 Hercules, nicknamed the “Spruce Goose”, on its only flight; a massive wooden seaplane with a wingspan longer than a football field, it stays in the air for 26 seconds.
In 1959, Charles Van Doren testified before a congressional committee that he conspired with television producers to cheat on the television quiz show Twenty-One.
In 1976, former Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter became the first candidate from the Deep South to be elected president since the Civil War, defeating incumbent Gerald R. Ford.
In 2000, American astronaut Bill Shepard and two Russian cosmonauts, Yuri Gidzenko and Sergey Krikalev, became the first crew to reside aboard the International Space Station; they spent a total of 136 days on the International Space Station before returning to Earth on the Space Shuttle Discovery.
In 2003 in Iraq, insurgents shot down a Chinook helicopter carrying dozens of American soldiers, killing 16.
In 2004, President George W. Bush was elected to a second term, defeating Senator John Kerry, and Republicans strengthened their control of Congress.
In 2007, British student Meredith Kercher, 21, was found murdered in her bedroom in Perugia, Italy; her roommate, American Amanda Knox, and Knox’s Italian boyfriend, Raffaele Solecito, were convicted of Kercher’s murder, but both were later acquitted.
In 2016, ending a championship drought dating back to 1908, the Chicago Cubs won the World Series, defeating the Cleveland Indians 8-7 in extra innings.
In 2021, the Atlanta Braves won their first World Series title since 1995, defeating the Houston Astros in Game 6.
Today’s Birthdays: Tennis Hall of Famer Ken Rosewall is 90. Political commentator Pat Buchanan is 86. Olympic gold medalist wrestler Bruce Baumgartner is 65. Singer-songwriter kd lang is 63. Playwright Lynn Nottage is 60. Actor David Schwimmer is 58. Jazz singer Kurt Elling is 57. Rapper Nelly is 50. Filmmaker John Chu is 45. TV personality Karamo Brown (“Queer Eye”) is 44. NFL quarterback Jordan Love is 26. .