November eighth

Today's Highlight in History:
On November eighth, 1960, Massachusetts Senator John F. Kennedy defeated Vice President Richard M. Nixon for the presidency.

On this date:
In 1837, Mount Holyoke Seminary, a college exclusively for women, opened in South Hadley, Massachusetts.

In 1889, Montana became the 41st state.

In 1923, Adolf Hitler launched his first attempt at seizing power with a failed coup in Munich, Germany, the "Beer-Hall Putsch."

In 1932, New York Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt defeated incumbent Herbert Hoover for the presidency.

In 1933, President Roosevelt created the Civil Works Administration, designed to create jobs for more than four million unemployed.

In 1942, Operation "Torch" began during World War Two as US and British forces landed in French North Africa.

In 1950, during the Korean conflict, the first jet-plane battle took place as US Air Force Lieutenant Russell J. Brown shot down a North Korean MiG-15.

In 1966, Ronald Reagan was elected governor of California.

In 1988, Vice President George Bush won the presidential election, defeating Massachusetts Governor 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.

Ten years ago: President Bush ordered a new round of troop deployments in the Persian Gulf, adding up to 150-thousand soldiers to the multinational force facing off against Iraq.

Five years ago: Retired General Colin Powell embraced the Republican Party, but said he would not run for president or any other political office in 1996 because it was "a calling that I do not yet hear."

One year ago: Israeli and Palestinian negotiators launched landmark talks, giving themselves an ambitious 100-day deadline to craft the broad outlines of a peace agreement. Former President Bush was honored in Germany for his role in the fall of the Berlin Wall ten years earlier. President Clinton participated in a "virtual town hall meeting" on the Internet, answering questions from pre-screened online users.

"Man is born to live, not to prepare for life."

-- Boris Pasternak, Russian author (1890-1960).