Updated November 7, 2012, 1:28 pm
On November 8, 1960, Massachusetts Senator John F. Kennedy defeated Vice President Richard M. Nixon for the presidency.
On Nov. 8, 1900, Margaret Mitchell, the American author of “Gone With The Wind”, was born. Following her death on Aug. 16, 1949, her obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » | Other birthdays »
On This Date
By The Associated Press
1889 Montana became the 41st state. 1892 Former President Grover Cleveland beat incumbent Benjamin Harrison, becoming the only president to win non-consecutive terms in the White House. 1923 Adolf Hitler launched his first attempt to seize power with a failed coup in Munich, Germany. 1932 New York Gov. Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected president over incumbent Herbert Hoover. 1966 Ronald Reagan was elected governor of California. 1971 The album “Led Zeppelin IV,” which included the song “Stairway to Heaven,” was released. 1987 A bomb planted by the Irish Republican Army exploded as crowds gathered in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, for a ceremony honoring Britain’s war dead, killing 11 people. 1988 Vice President George H.W. Bush won the presidential election, beating Democrat Michael Dukakis. 1994 Republicans gained control of the House of Representatives for the first time in 40 years. 1997 Chinese engineers diverted the Yangtze River to make way for the Three Gorges Dam. 2000 A statewide recount of presidential election ballots began in Florida. 2004 Thousands of U.S. troops attacked strongholds of Sunni insurgents in Fallujah, Iraq. 2010 n engine fire aboard the Carnival Splendor cruise ship left nearly 4,500 aboard without electricity during a three-day tow to San Diego. 2010 Talk show host Conan O’Brien made his debut on TBS. Current Birthdays
By The Associated Press
Broadcast journalist Morley Safer (“60 Minutes”) turns 81 years old today.
AP Photo/Peter Kramer
Actress Gretchen Mol turns 39 years old today.
AP Photo/Evan Agostini
1927 Patti Page, Singer, turns 85 1944 Bonnie Bramlett, Rock singer, actress, turns 68 1949 Bonnie Raitt, Rock musician, turns 63 1950 Mary Hart, TV host (“Entertainment Tonight”), turns 62 1952 Christie Hefner, Former CEO of Playboy Enterprises, turns 60 1952 Alfre Woodard, Actress, turns 60 1954 Rickie Lee Jones, Singer, songwriter, turns 58 1961 Leif Garrett, Singer, turns 51 1967 Courtney Thorne-Smith, Actress (“According to Jim”), turns 45 1968 Parker Posey, Actress, turns 44 1975 Tara Reid, Actress, turns 37 1985 Jack Osbourne, TV personality (“The Osbournes”), turns 27 Historic Birthdays
Margaret Mitchell 11/8/1900 – 8/16/1949 American author; wrote “Gone With The Wind”.Go to obituary »
37 Gustav X Charles 11/8/1622 – 2/13/1660
Swedish king (1654-60)85 Edmond Halley 11/8/1656 – 1/14/1742
English astronomer and mathematician64 Bram Stoker 11/8/1847 – 4/20/1912
Irish author; wrote “Dracula”76 Gottlob Frege 11/8/1848 – 7/26/1925
German mathematician and logician74 Herbert Austin, Baron Austin 11/8/1866 – 5/23/1941
Enligh automotive engineer; founder and first chairman of Austin Motor Company37 Hermann Rorschach 11/8/1884 – 4/2/1922
Swiss psychiatrist78 Esther Rolle 11/8/1920 – 11/17/1998
American actress
