Today is Tuesday, Nov. 8, the 312th day of 2011. There are 53 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On Nov. 8, 1861, during the Civil War, the USS San Jacinto intercepted a British mail steamer, the Trent, and detained a pair of Confederate diplomats who were enroute to Europe to seek support for the Southern cause. (Although the Trent Affair strained relations between the United States and Britain, the matter was quietly resolved with the release of the diplomats the following January.)
On this date:
In 1889, Montana became the 41st state.
In 1909, the original Boston Opera House first opened with a performance of “La Gioconda” by Amilcare Ponchielli.
In 1923, Adolf Hitler launched his first attempt at seizing power in Germany with a failed coup in Munich that came to be known as the “Beer-Hall Putsch.”
In 1932, New York Gov. Franklin D. Roosevelt defeated incumbent Herbert Hoover for the presidency.
In 1942, Operation Torch, resulting in an Allied victory, began during World War II as U.S. and British forces landed in French North Africa.
In 1960, Massachusetts Sen. John F. Kennedy defeated Vice President Richard M. Nixon for the presidency.
In 1980, scientists at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., announced that the U.S. space probe Voyager 1 had discovered a 15th moon orbiting the planet Saturn.
In 1986, former Soviet official Vyacheslav M. Molotov, whose name became attached to the incendiary bottle bomb known as a “Molotov cocktail,” died at age 96.
In 1988, Vice President George H.W. Bush won the presidential election, defeating Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis.
In 1994, midterm elections resulted in Republicans winning a majority in the Senate while at the same time gaining control of the House for the first time in 40 years.