This Day in History – November 5, 2011

1138 – Ly Anh Tong is enthroned as emperor of Vietnam at the age of two, starting a 37-year reign. 1492 – Christopher Columbus learns of maize (corn) from the Indians of Cuba 1605 – Gunpowder Plot: A conspiracy led by Robert Catesby to blow up the English Houses of Parliament is thwarted when Sir Thomas Knyvet, a justice of the peace, finds Guy Fawkes in a cellar below the House of Lords. 1768 – Treaty of Fort Stanwix, the purpose of which is to adjust the boundary line between Indian lands and white settlements set forth in the Proclamation of 1763 in the Thirteen Colonies. 1781 – John Hanson elected 1st “President of the US in Congress assembled” 1831 – Nat Turner, American slave leader, is tried, convicted, and sentenced to death in Virginia. 1862 – American Civil War: Abraham Lincoln removes George B. McClellan as commander of the Union Army for the second and final time. 1872 – Women’s suffrage in the United States: In defiance of the law, suffragist Susan B. Anthony votes for the first time, and is later fined $100. 1895 – George B. Selden is granted the first U.S. patent for an automobile. 1916 – The Everett Massacre takes place in Everett, Washington as political differences lead to a shoot-out between the Industrial Workers of the World organizers and local police. 1917 – Supreme Court decision (Buchanan v Warley) strikes down Lousiville KY ordinance requiring blacks & whites to live in separate areas 1935 – Parker Brothers launches game of Monopoly 1937 – Adolf Hitler holds a secret meeting and states his plans for acquiring “living space” for the German people. 1940 – President FDR (D) wins unprecedented 3rd term beating Wendell Willkie (R) 1959 – AFL announced with 8 teams 1967 – The Hither Green rail crash in the United Kingdom kills 49 people. Survivors include Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees. 1978 – Oakland Raider’s John Madden becomes 13th coach to win 100 NFL games 2003 – Green River Killer Gary Ridgway pleaded guilty to 48 counts of murder. 2006 – Saddam Hussein, former president of Iraq, is sentenced to death. 2009 – US Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan kills 13 and wounds 30 at Fort Hood, Texas in the largest mass shooting at a US military installation.]]]]> ]]>