Today’s highlights

On Nov. 2, 1948, in one of the most unexpected results in U.S. election history, Democratic incumbent Harry S. Truman won the presidential election against the heavily favored Republican governor of New York, Thomas E. Dewey.

On this date

1861: During the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln relieved Maj. Gen. John C. Fremont of his command following Fremont’s unauthorized efforts to emancipate slaves in Missouri.

1947: Howard Hughes piloted his Hughes H-4 Hercules, nicknamed the ‘Spruce Goose,’ on its one and only flight; a massive wooden seaplane with a wingspan longer than a football field, it remained airborne for 26 seconds.

1959: Charles Van Doren testified to a Congressional committee that he had conspired with television producers to cheat on the television quiz show ‘Twenty-One.’

1976: Former Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter became the first candidate from the Deep South to be elected president since the Civil War as he defeated incumbent Gerald R. Ford.

2003: In Iraq, insurgents shot down a Chinook helicopter carrying dozens of U.S. soldiers, killing 16.

2016: Ending a championship drought that had lasted since 1908, the Chicago Cubs won the World Series, defeating the Cleveland Indians 8-7 in extra innings.

Today’s birthdays

Tennis Hall of Famer Ken Rosewall is 90. Political commentator Pat Buchanan is 86. Singer-songwriter k.d. lang is 63. Actor David Schwimmer is 58. Jazz singer Kurt Elling is 57. Rapper Nelly is 50. NFL quarterback Jordan Love is 26.