This day in history

[November 05, 2009]  (AP)  Today is Thursday, Nov. 5, the 309th day of 2009. There are 56 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On Nov. 5, 1605, the "Gunpowder Plot" failed as Guy Fawkes was seized before he could blow up the English Parliament.

On this date:

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 1895, George B. Selden of Rochester, N.Y., received the first U.S. patent for an "improved Road Engine."

In 1912, Woodrow Wilson was elected president, defeating Progressive Party candidate Theodore Roosevelt and incumbent Republican William Howard Taft.

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

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

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 1989, death claimed pianist Vladimir Horowitz in New York at age 86 and singer-songwriter Barry Sadler in Murfreesboro, Tenn., at age 49.

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.)

Ten years ago: 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. (Jackson later ordered Microsoft broken up into two companies, but the Justice Department subsequently said it was no longer seeking a breakup.) Pope John Paul II began his first visit to India in 13 years.

Five years ago: The Kremlin announced that Russia had given final approval to the Kyoto Protocol on global warming. In a surprise reversal, the Chilean army for the first time assumed institutional responsibility for widespread human rights violations during the dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet.

One year ago: President-elect Barack Obama pivoted quickly to begin filling out his new administration, selecting hard-charging Illinois Rep. Rahm Emanuel to be White House chief of staff. A case of postelection nerves on Wall Street sent the Dow industrials plunging nearly 500 points. Two men were shot to death in St. Johns, Ariz.; the 8-year-old son of one of the victims was arrested. (The boy later pleaded guilty to negligent homicide in the death of his father's roommate; prosecutors dropped charges in the father's death as part of a plea deal.) Literary critic John Leonard died in New York at age 69. Bollywood movie director B.R. Chopra died in Mumbai at age 94.

Today's birthdays: Actor Chris Robinson is 71. Actress Elke Sommer is 69. Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski is 69. Singer Art Garfunkel is 68. Actor-playwright Sam Shepard is 66. Singer Peter Noone is 62. Actor Nestor Serrano ("24") is 54. Actress-comedian Mo Gaffney is 51. Actor Robert Patrick is 51. Singer Bryan Adams is 50. Actress Tilda Swinton is 49. Actress Tatum O'Neal is 46. Actress Andrea McArdle is 46. Rock singer Angelo Moore (Fishbone) is 44. Actress Judy Reyes is 42. Rock musician Mark Hunter (James) is 41. Actor Sam Rockwell is 41. Country singers Jennifer and Heather Kinley (The Kinleys) are 39. Actor Corin Nemec is 38. Rock musician Jonny Greenwood (Radiohead) is 38. Country singer-musician Ryan Adams is 35. Actor Sam Page is 33. Actor Jeremy Lelliott is 27. Rock musician Kevin Jonas (The Jonas Brothers) is 22.

Thought for today: "Good taste is better than bad taste, but bad taste is better than no taste at all." -- Arnold Bennett, English poet, author and critic (1867-1931)

[Associated Press]

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