Today Is November 5th 2007

Today is Monday, Nov. 5, the 309th day of 2007. 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 1857, muckraking journalist Ida M. Tarbell was born in Erie County, Pa.

In 1872, suffragist Susan B. Anthony defied the law by attempting to vote for President Ulysses S. Grant. (She 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 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 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.)

Ten years ago: The House overwhelmingly approved a bill calling for the most far-reaching changes at the Internal Revenue Service in 45 years.

Five years ago: In midterm elections, Republicans won control of both houses of Congress and claimed a majority of the governors' races. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Harvey Pitt resigned under pressure after a series of political missteps that had embarrassed the White House. Randy Johnson won his record-tying fourth straight National League Cy Young Award.

One year ago: Saddam Hussein was convicted and sentenced by the Iraqi High Tribunal to hang for crimes against humanity. Saying that he was a "deceiver and liar" who had given in to his dark side, the Rev. Ted Haggard confessed to sexual immorality in a letter read from the pulpit of the New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colo. Rockwall County, Texas, prosecutor Louis "Bill" Conradt Jr. killed himself as police tried to serve him with an arrest warrant alleging he had solicited sex with a minor online. Marilson Gomes dos Santos of Brazil became the first South American to win the New York City Marathon, finishing in 2:09.59; defending champion Jelena Prokopcuka of Latvia won the women's race in 2:25:05. Former Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit died in Ankara at age 81.

Today's Birthdays: Singer-songwriter Ike Turner is 76. Actor Chris Robinson is 69. Actress Elke Sommer is 67. Singer Art Garfunkel is 66. Actor-playwright Sam Shepard is 64. Singer Peter Noone is 60. Actor Nestor Serrano ("24") is 52. Actor Robert Patrick is 49. Singer Bryan Adams is 48. Actress Tilda Swinton is 47. Actress Tatum O'Neal is 44. Actress Andrea McArdle is 44. Rock singer Angelo Moore (Fishbone) is 42. Actress Judy Reyes is 40. Rock musician Mark Hunter (James) is 39. Actor Sam Rockwell is 39. Country singers Jennifer and Heather Kinley (The Kinleys) are 37. Actor Corin Nemec is 36. Rock musician Jonny Greenwood (Radiohead) is 36. Country singer-musician Ryan Adams is 33. Actor Sam Page is 31. Actor Jeremy Lelliott is 25.

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).

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