This day in history

[November 07, 2008]  (AP)  Today is Friday, Nov. 7, the 312th day of 2008. There are 54 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On Nov. 7, 1917, Russia's Bolshevik Revolution took place as forces led by Vladimir Ilyich Lenin overthrew the provisional government of Alexander Kerensky.

On this date:

In 1874, the Republican Party was symbolized as an elephant in a cartoon drawn by Thomas Nast in Harper's Weekly.

In 1893, the state of Colorado granted women there the right to vote.

In 1916, Republican Jeannette Rankin of Montana became the first woman elected to Congress.

In 1918, during World War I, an erroneous report that an armistice had been signed set off celebrations across the country.

In 1940, in Washington state, the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, nicknamed "Galloping Gertie," collapsed during a windstorm.

In 1944, President Roosevelt won an unprecedented fourth term in office, defeating Thomas E. Dewey.

In 1962, Richard M. Nixon, having lost California's gubernatorial race, held what he called his "last press conference," telling reporters, "You won't have Nixon to kick around anymore."

In 1967, President Johnson signed a bill establishing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

In 1972, President Nixon was re-elected in a landslide over Democrat George McGovern.

In 1973, Congress overrode President Nixon's veto of the War Powers Act, which limits a chief executive's power to wage war without congressional approval.

Ten years ago: John Glenn returned to Earth aboard the space shuttle Discovery, visibly weak but elated after a nine-day mission. A scant four years after leading Republicans to glory, House Speaker Newt Gingrich announced he would resign not just his speakership but also his seat in the House.

Five years ago: Six U.S. soldiers were killed in the crash of their Black Hawk helicopter in Tikrit, Iraq. The defending champion U.S. baseball team failed to qualify for the 2004 Athens Olympics, losing to Mexico 2-1 in the quarterfinals of a qualifying tournament in Panama City, Panama.

One year ago: An 18-year-old gunman opened fire at his high school in Tuusula, Finland, killing seven other students and the principal before taking his own life. A cargo ship struck the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, causing the San Francisco Bay's worst oil spill in nearly two decades. Space shuttle Discovery and its crew returned to Earth, concluding a 15-day space station build-and-repair mission. At the Country Music Association Awards, Kenny Chesney won his second straight entertainer of the year award, while Carrie Underwood made it back-to-back trophies as female vocalist of the year.

Today's birthdays: Evangelist Billy Graham is 90. Opera singer Dame Joan Sutherland is 82. Actor Barry Newman is 70. Singer Johnny Rivers is 66. Singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell is 65. Singer Nick Gilder is 57. Actor Christopher Knight ("The Brady Bunch") is 51. Actress Julie Pinson is 41. Rock musician Greg Tribbett (Mudvayne) is 40. Actor Christopher Daniel Barnes is 36. Actors Jeremy and Jason London are 36. Actress Yunjin Kim ("Lost") is 35. Rock musician Zach Myers (Shinedown) is 25.

Thought for today: "Vanity is as ill at ease under indifference, as tenderness is under the love which it cannot return." -- George Eliot, English author (1819-1880)

[Associated Press]

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