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1605: ‘Gunpowder Plot’ fails as Guy Fawkes is seized before blowing up the English Parliament

By The Associated Press

Today is Sunday, Nov. 5, the 309th day of 2017. There are 56 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On Nov. 5, 1942, American showman and songwriter George M. Cohan died in New York at age 64.

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 cast a vote for President Ulysses S. Grant. (Anthony was convicted by a judge and fined $100, but she never paid the penalty.)

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

In 1916, a dockside confrontation in Everett, Washington, between members of the Industrial Workers of the World and citizen-deputies erupted into gunfire that left at least five “Wobblies” and two deputies dead.

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

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

In 1956, Britain and France started landing forces in Egypt during fighting between Egyptian and Israeli forces around the Suez Canal. (A cease-fire was declared two days later.)

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

In 1974, Democrat 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 1994, former President Ronald Reagan disclosed he had Alzheimer’s disease.

In 2009, a shooting rampage at the Fort Hood Army post in Texas left 13 people dead; Maj. Nidal Hasan, an Army psychiatrist, was later convicted of murder and sentenced to death.

Ten years ago: Hollywood writers began a three-month strike, forcing late-night talk shows to immediately start airing reruns. Police in major Pakistani cities fired tear gas and clubbed lawyers protesting President Gen. Pervez Musharraf’s emergency rule. Joe Torre was introduced as the new manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, less than three weeks after walking away from the New York Yankees.

Five years ago: On the eve of the presidential election, President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney held rallies seven miles apart in Columbus, Ohio. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled a South Carolina sheriff’s office could be held liable for attorneys’ fees for stopping abortion protesters who wanted to hold up signs showing aborted fetuses.

One year ago: Republican Donald Trump vowed to press into Democratic strongholds over the campaign’s final days as Hillary Clinton looked to an army of A-list celebrities and politicos to defend her narrowing path to the presidency. Arrogate overhauled pacesetter California Chrome in the final 100 yards in an upset half-length victory in the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic.

Today’s Birthdays: Actor Chris Robinson is 79. Actress Elke Sommer is 77. Singer Art Garfunkel is 76. Singer Peter Noone is 70. TV personality Kris Jenner is 62. Actor Nestor Serrano is 62. Actress-comedian Mo Gaffney is 59. Actor Robert Patrick is 59. Singer Bryan Adams is 58. Actress Tilda Swinton is 57. Actor Michael Gaston is 55. Actress Tatum O’Neal is 54. Actress Andrea McArdle is 54. Rock singer Angelo Moore (Fishbone) is 52. Actress Judy Reyes is 50. Actor Seth Gilliam is 49. Rock musician Mark Hunter (James) is 49. Actor Sam Rockwell is 49. Country singers Heather and Jennifer Kinley (The Kinleys) are 47. Actor Corin Nemec is 46. Rock musician Jonny (cq) Greenwood (Radiohead) is 46. Country singer-musician Ryan Adams is 43. Actor Sebastian Arcelus is 41. Actor Sam Page is 41. Actor Luke Hemsworth is 37. Actor Jeremy Lelliott is 35. Actress Annet Mahendru is 32. Rock musician Kevin Jonas (The Jonas Brothers) is 30. Actor Landon Gimenez is 14.

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).

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