🗞️Today’s Headlines

Everything important that’s ever happened on November 5:

1998 ─ DNA testing confirmed that a member of Thomas Jefferson's family fathered a child with Sally Hemings, a slave. The findings were published in the journal Nature, though some still dispute the results.

1940 ─ Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected to an unprecedented third term as president of the United States, securing his place in American political history.

1930 ─ Sinclair Lewis won the Nobel Prize for Literature for his critique of American society, becoming the first American to receive the prestigious award.

1914 ─ France and Britain declared war on Turkey, marking the Ottoman Empire's entry into World War I.

1872 ─ Susan B. Anthony cast a ballot in the presidential election, an act of civil disobedience that would later contribute to her arrest and further the cause of women's suffrage.

1838 ─ Honduras declared its absolute independence, breaking ties with the Central American Federation and becoming a sovereign nation.

1605 ─ The Gunpowder Plot, a failed conspiracy to assassinate King James I and blow up the Houses of Parliament, was uncovered.

🎂 Today’s Birthdays

On November 5, we’re singing to:

Ida Tarbell (1857) ─ Ida Tarbell, an American journalist and pioneering investigative reporter best known for her exposé on the Standard Oil Company.

L. S. Vygotsky (1896) ─ Soviet psychologist who laid the groundwork for cultural-historical psychology and contributed to the understanding of cognitive development.

Vivien Leigh (1913) ─ British actress renowned for her roles in Gone with the Wind and A Streetcar Named Desire, winning two Academy Awards.

Tilda Swinton (1960) ─ Scottish actress celebrated for her versatile performances in films such as Michael Clayton and The Chronicles of Narnia.

 🪦Who Died Today?

On November 5, we’re saying goodbye to:

Süleyman the Magnificent (1566) ─ Ottoman sultan who expanded the empire to its zenith and is remembered for his legal reforms and military conquests.

James Clerk Maxwell (1879) ─ Scottish mathematician and physicist whose formulation of electromagnetic theory paved the way for modern physics.

August Weismann (1914) ─ German biologist who introduced the theory of germplasm and influenced modern genetics.

George M. Cohan (1942) ─ American composer and dramatist famous for patriotic songs like Yankee Doodle Dandy and contributions to Broadway.

Fred MacMurray (1991) ─ American actor known for his roles in Double Indemnity and the family sitcom My Three Sons.

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