Today in History

Today is Friday, Nov. 3, the 307th day of 2017. There are 58 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Nov. 3, 1900, the first major U.S. automobile show opened at New York's Madison Square Garden under the auspices of the Automobile Club of America.

On this date:

In 1839, the first Opium War between China and Britain broke out.

In 1903, Panama proclaimed its independence from Colombia.

In 1911, the Chevrolet Motor Car Co. was founded in Detroit by Louis Chevrolet and William C. Durant. (The company was acquired by General Motors in 1918.)

In 1936, President Franklin D. Roosevelt won a landslide election victory over Republican challenger Alfred "Alf" Landon.

In 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 2, the second manmade satellite, into orbit; on board was a dog named Laika (LY'-kah), who was sacrificed in the experiment.

In 1960, the Meredith Willson musical "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" opened on Broadway with Tammy Grimes in the title role.

In 1961, Burmese diplomat U Thant (oo thahnt) was appointed acting U.N. Secretary-General following the death of Dag Hammarskjold (dahg HAWM'-ahr-shoold). President John F. Kennedy established the U.S. Agency for International Development.

In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson soundly defeated Republican Barry Goldwater to win a White House term in his own right.

In 1970, Salvador Allende (ah-YEN'-day) was inaugurated as president of Chile.

In 1979, five Communist Workers Party members were killed in a clash with heavily armed Ku Klux Klansmen and neo-Nazis during an anti-Klan protest in Greensboro, North Carolina.

In 1986, the Iran-Contra affair came to light as Ash-Shiraa, a pro-Syrian Lebanese magazine, first broke the story of U.S. arms sales to Iran.

In 1992, Democrat Bill Clinton was elected the 42nd president of the United States, defeating President George H.W. Bush. In Illinois, Democrat Carol Moseley-Braun became the first black woman elected to the U.S. Senate.

Ten years ago: Gen. Pervez Musharraf declared a state of emergency in Pakistan. United Auto Workers agreed to a tentative contract with Ford Motor Co. Two astronauts conducted a successful spacewalk to save a ripped solar wing on the international space station.

Five years ago: The lights came back on in lower Manhattan to the relief of residents who'd been plunged into darkness for nearly five days by Superstorm Sandy, but there was deepening resentment in the city's outer boroughs and suburbs over a continued lack of power and maddening gas shortages. New York's newly relocated NBA team, the former New Jersey Nets, hosted the first regular-season game by a major sports team in Brooklyn since the Dodgers left in 1957; the Brooklyn Nets beat the Toronto Raptors 107-100.

One year ago: Democratic vice-presidential nominee Tim Kaine delivered a speech entirely in Spanish as he addressed a small crowd in a largely Hispanic area of Phoenix as part of Hillary Clinton's push into traditionally Republican Arizona. China's plans for a permanent space station remained firmly on track with the successful launch of its new heavy-lift Long March 5 rocket.

Today's Birthdays: Actress Peggy McCay is 90. Actress Lois Smith is 87. Actress Monica Vitti is 86. Former Massachusetts Gov. Michael S. Dukakis is 84. Actor-dancer Ken Berry is 84. Actor Shadoe Stevens is 71. Singer Lulu is 69. Comedian-actress Roseanne Barr is 65. Actress Kate Capshaw is 64. Comedian Dennis Miller is 64. Actress Kathy Kinney is 64. Singer Adam Ant is 63. Director-screenwriter Gary Ross is 61. Actor Dolph Lundgren is 60. Rock musician C.J. Pierce (Drowning Pool) is 45. Actor Francois Battiste (TV: "Ten Days in the Valley") is 41. Olympic gold medal figure skater Evgeni Plushenko is 35. Actress Julie Berman is 34. Actress Antonia Thomas (TV: "The Good Doctor") is 31. Alternative rock singer/songwriter Courtney Barnett is 30. TV personality Kendall Jenner (TV: "Keeping Up with the Kardashians") is 22.

Thought for Today: "All politics are based on the indifference of the majority." — James Reston, American journalist (born this date in 1909, died 1995).

News from © The Associated Press, 2017