Today is Saturday, Nov. 2, the 307th day of 2024. There are 59 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Nov. 2, 1948, Democratic incumbent Harry S. Truman surprisingly won the presidential election against the heavily favored Republican governor of New York, Thomas E. Dewey.

Also on this date:

In 1783, Gen. George Washington issued his Farewell Address to the Army.

In 1861, President Abraham Lincoln relieved Maj. Gen. John C. Fremont of his command of the Army’s Western Department.

In 1947, Howard Hughes piloted his Hughes H-4 Hercules, nicknamed the ‘Spruce Goose,’ on its one and only flight.

In 1959, Charles Van Doren testified to a Congressional committee about cheating on the television quiz show ‘Twenty-One.’

In 1976, former Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter became the first Deep South candidate to be elected president since the Civil War.

In 2000, American astronaut Bill Shepherd and two Russian cosmonauts became the first crew to reside onboard the International Space Station.

In 2003, insurgents shot down a Chinook helicopter carrying U.S. soldiers in Iraq.

In 2004, President George W. Bush was re-elected to a second term.

In 2007, British college student Meredith Kercher was found slain in Italy.

In 2016, the Chicago Cubs won the World Series.

In 2021, the Atlanta Braves won the World Series championship.

Today’s Birthdays:

  • Tennis Hall of Famer Ken Rosewall is 90.

  • Political commentator Pat Buchanan is 86.

  • Olympic gold medal wrestler Bruce Baumgartner is 65.

  • Singer-songwriter k.d. lang is 63.

  • Playwright Lynn Nottage is 60.

  • Actor David Schwimmer is 58.

  • Jazz singer Kurt Elling is 57.

  • Rapper Nelly is 50.

  • Film director Jon Chu is 45.

  • TV personality Karamo Brown (“Queer Eye”) is 44.

  • NFL quarterback Jordan Love is 26.