NOVEMBER 4th

On this date in:
1842	Abraham Lincoln married Mary Todd in Springfield, Ill.
1879	Humorist Will Rogers was born in Oologah, Okla.
1880	The first cash register was patented by James and John Ritty of Dayton, Ohio.
1884	Democrat Grover Cleveland was elected president, defeating Republican James G. Blaine.
1922	The entrance to King Tutankhamen's tomb was discovered in Egypt.
1924	Nellie T. Ross of Wyoming was elected the nation's first woman governor.
1939	The United States modified its neutrality stance in World War II to allow "cash and carry" purchases of arms by belligerents, a policy favoring Britain and France.
1942	During World War II, Axis forces retreated from El Alamein in North Africa in a major victory for British forces commanded by Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery.
1952	Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower was elected president, defeating Democrat Adlai Stevenson.
1955	Baseball Hall of Famer Cy Young died at age 88.
1956	Soviet troops moved in to crush a revolt in Hungary.
1980	Ronald Reagan won the White House, defeating President Jimmy Carter.
1991	Former President Ronald Reagan opened his library in Simi Valley, Calif.
1995	Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated by a Jewish extremist after speaking at a peace rally in Tel Aviv.
1997	Hundreds of thousands of men attended a Promise Keepers rally at the Mall in Washington, D.C.
1999	Aaron McKinney, one of two men who beat gay college student Matthew Shepard and left him to die on the Wyoming prairie, avoided the death penalty by agreeing to serve life in prison without parole and promising never to appeal his conviction.

Article of the day

Soviets put brutal end to Hungarian revolution

A spontaneous national uprising that began 12 days before in Hungary is viciously crushed by Soviet tanks and troops on this day in 1956. Thousands were killed and wounded and nearly a quarter-million Hungarians fled the country.
The problems in Hungary began in October 1956, when thousands of protesters took to the streets demanding a more democratic political system and freedom from Soviet oppression. In response, Communist Party officials appointed Imre Nagy, a former premier who had been dismissed from the party for his criticisms of Stalinist policies, as the new premier.
Nagy tried to restore peace and asked the Soviets to withdraw their troops. The Soviets did so, but Nagy then tried to push the Hungarian revolt forward by abolishing one-party rule. He also announced that Hungary was withdrawing from the Warsaw Pact (the Soviet bloc's equivalent of NATO).
On November 4, 1956, Soviet tanks rolled into Budapest to crush, once and for all, the national uprising. Vicious street fighting broke out, but the Soviets' great power ensured victory. At 5:20 a.m., Hungarian Prime Minister Imre Nagy announced the invasion to the nation in a grim, 35-second broadcast, declaring: "Our troops are fighting. The Government is in place." Within hours, though, Nagy sought asylum at the Yugoslav Embassy in Budapest. He was captured shortly thereafter and executed two years later. Nagy’s former colleague and imminent replacement, János Kádár, who had been flown secretly from Moscow to the city of Szolnok, 60 miles southeast of the capital, prepared to take power with Moscow's backing.
The Soviet action stunned many people in the West. Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev had pledged a retreat from the Stalinist policies and repression of the past, but the violent actions in Budapest suggested otherwise. An estimated 2,500 Hungarians died and 200,000 more fled as refugees. Sporadic armed resistance, strikes and mass arrests continued for months thereafter, causing substantial economic disruption.
Inaction on the part of the United States angered and frustrated many Hungarians. Voice of America radio broadcasts and speeches by President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Secretary of State John Foster Dulles had recently suggested that the United States supported the "liberation" of "captive peoples" in communist nations. Yet, as Soviet tanks bore down on the protesters, the United States did nothing beyond issuing public statements of sympathy for their plight.

Source: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do?action=VideoArticle&id=56768

Today Birthdays

Laura Bush turns 62 years old today.

AP Photo/Susan Walsh First lady Laura Bush turns 62 years old today.

92 Walter Cronkite Broadcast journalist 78 Doris Roberts Actress ("Everybody Loves Raymond") 71 Loretta Swit Actress ("M*A*S*H") 70 Harry Elston R&B singer (Friends of Distinction) 68 Delbert McClinton Blues singer 58 Markie Post Actress ("Night Court") 55 Carlos Gutierrez Secretary of commerce 54 Chris Difford Rock singer, musician (Squeeze) 53 Steve Mariucci Football coach 48 Kathy Griffin Comedian ("My Life on the D List") 48 Kim Forester Country singer (The Forester Sisters) 47 Ralph Macchio Actor (The "Karate Kid" movies) 47 Jeff Probst TV personality ("Survivor") 39 Diddy Rapper, producer 39 Matthew McConaughey Actor 37 Shawn Rivera R&B singer (Az Yet) 33 Orlando Pace Football player 33 Heather Tom Actress ("The Bold and the Beautiful") 28 George Huff R&B, gospel singer ("American Idol")