This day in history

[November 05, 2010]  (AP)  Today is Friday, Nov. 5, the 309th day of 2010. There are 56 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On Nov. 5, 1940, President Franklin D. Roosevelt won an unprecedented third term in office as he defeated Republican challenger Wendell L. Willkie.

On this date:

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

In 1872, suffragist Susan B. Anthony defied the law by attempting to vote for President Ulysses S. Grant. (Anthony was convicted by a judge and fined $100, but never paid the fine.)

In 1935, Parker Brothers began marketing the board game "Monopoly."

In 1946, Republicans captured control of both the Senate and the House in midterm elections.

In 1960, silent film producer Mack Sennett, best known for his "Keystone Kops" comedies and introducing Charlie Chaplin to the screen, died in Los Angeles at age 80.

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

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

In 1985, Spencer W. Kimball, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, died at age 90; he was succeeded by Ezra Taft Benson.

In 1990, Rabbi Meir Kahane (meh-EER' kah-HAH'-nuh), the Brooklyn-born Israeli extremist, was shot to death at a New York hotel. (Egyptian native El Sayyed Nosair (el sah-EED' no-sah-EER') was convicted of the slaying in federal court.)

In 1999, U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson declared Microsoft Corp. a monopoly. (Jackson later ordered Microsoft broken up into two companies, but the Justice Department subsequently said it was no longer seeking a breakup.)

Ten years ago: Abdelkhader El Mouaziz (AHB'-del-KAH'-dur el mwah-ZEEZ') won the New York City Marathon, finishing in 2:10:09 and becoming the first Moroccan champion. Ludmila Petrova became the first Russian champion, winning the women's division in 2:25:45. Jimmie Davis, Louisiana's "singing governor," died in Baton Rouge; he was believed to be 101.

Five years ago: Leaders from across the Americas ended their two-day summit in Argentina without agreeing on whether to restart talks on a free trade zone stretching from Alaska to Chile. Pirates attacked a cruise ship off the coast of Somalia, but the ship changed course and sped away to escape. British author John Fowles died in Lyme Regis, Dorset, England, at age 79. Guitar master Link Wray died in Copenhagen at age 76.

One year ago: A shooting rampage at the Fort Hood Army post in Texas left 13 people dead; Maj. Nidal Hasan, an Army psychiatrist, was charged with premeditated murder and attempted murder for the worst mass killing on a U.S. military base.

Today's birthdays: Actor Chris Robinson is 72. Actress Elke Sommer is 70. Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski is 70. Singer Art Garfunkel is 69. Actor-playwright Sam Shepard is 67. Singer Peter Noone is 63. Actor Nestor Serrano ("24") is 55. Actress-comedian Mo Gaffney is 52. Actor Robert Patrick is 52. Singer Bryan Adams is 51. Actress Tilda Swinton is 50. Actress Tatum O'Neal is 47. Actress Andrea McArdle is 47. Rock singer Angelo Moore (Fishbone) is 45. Actress Judy Reyes is 43. Rock musician Mark Hunter (James) is 42. Actor Sam Rockwell is 42. Country singers Heather and Jennifer Kinley (The Kinleys) are 40. Actor Corin Nemec is 39. Rock musician Jonny (cq) Greenwood (Radiohead) is 39. Country singer-musician Ryan Adams is 36. Actor Sam Page is 34. Actor Jeremy Lelliott is 28. Rock musician Kevin Jonas (The Jonas Brothers) is 23.

Thought for today: "Pioneers are seldom from the nobility. There were no dukes on the Mayflower." -- Mack Sennett, Canadian-born American movie producer (1880-1960)

[Associated Press]

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