Today in History
1982 Ronald Reagan signs a bill to create Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
Every year on the third Monday in January, the day honours the life of Martin Luther King, Jr., a leader of the African-American Civil Rights Movement.
1964 Coup in Saudi Arabia
While his half-brother, King Saud, is away on medical leave, Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud takes over the government of Saudi Arabia.
1938 Canadian Broadcasting Corporation established
Officially known as CBC/Radio-Canada, the network is Canada’s public radio and television broadcaster.
1930 Haile Selassie I becomes the emperor of Ethiopia
Considered a leading figure in the Rastafari movement, Selassie reigned over Ethiopia for 44 years.
1917 Balfour Declaration
On this day, British Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour sent a letter to Baron Rothschild declaring British support for a Jewish state in Palestine. The letter was later incorporated into Sevres’ peace treaty.
Births On This Day, November 2
1965 Shahrukh Khan
Indian actor
1934 Ken Rosewall
Australian tennis player
1865 Warren G. Harding
American politician, 29th President of the United States
1755 Marie Antoinette
Austrian wife of Louis XVI of France
971 Mahmud of Ghazni
Deaths On This Day, November 2
2007 The Fabulous Moolah
American wrestler
2004 Theo van Gogh
Dutch director
1966 Peter Debye
Dutch/American physicist, chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
1963 Ngo Dinh Diem
South Vietnamese politician, 1st President of the Republic of Vietnam
1950 George Bernard Shaw
Irish writer, Nobel Prize laureate
