What Happened on November 3

The White House Beat

1992 — Clinton Wins Presidency, Ends Republican Era

The 46-year-old Democrat captured 370 electoral votes by carrying 32 states and the District of Columbia, while Perot's 19 percent marked the strongest independent showing since 1980.

Democratic Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton defeated Republican President George H. W. Bush and Independent candidate Ross Perot in the 1992 United States presidential election. Clinton reclaimed the White House for his party after 12 years of Republican rule. The 46-year-old will become the first president born after World War II. Perot drew an estimated 19 percent of the popular vote, the strongest independent showing in eight decades. Bush conceded shortly after 10 p.m. Eastern time and pledged his support. Clinton addressed supporters in Little Rock shortly before midnight. Vice President-elect Al Gore, 44, will join Clinton as the second-youngest executive team in modern history. Clinton campaign headquarters in Little Rock stayed open through the night for a victory celebration that drew thousands.

• Democratic Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton defeats Republican President George H. W. Bush and Independent candidate Ross Perot in the 1992 United States presidential election.

Source: Wikipedia — Arkansas

National Desk

2020 — Biden and Trump Face Voters in Election Defined by Pandemic and Division

More than 230,000 Americans have died in the pandemic shaping an election that drew record early turnout as voters chose between starkly different visions for the nation.

In an autumn already shaped by disease and discord, Americans chose Tuesday between two men offering starkly different visions of the nation's path — a reckoning rendered in record early turnout that suggested a public hunger to be heard.

Democratic nominee Joe Biden, the former vice president, sought to unseat Republican incumbent Donald Trump in a contest conducted against the backdrop of a pandemic that has killed more than 230,000 Americans and an economy still reeling from its shocks.

The rivals presented themselves as irreconcilable alternatives: Biden promising steady management and national healing, Trump warning of radical change and defending his stewardship through crisis.

Voters braved long lines and virus protocols to reach polling places, while millions more had already sealed their choices in an early-voting surge unprecedented in scale.

• The 2020 United States presidential election takes place between Democratic Joe Biden and Republican incumbent President Donald Trump. On November 7, Biden was declared the winner.

Source: Wikipedia — 2020 United States presidential election

Tokyo Bureau

1946 — Emperor Hirohito Gives Imperial Assent to Japan's Postwar Constitution

New charter renounces war and reduces sovereign to symbol of state.

Emperor Hirohito formally assented Sunday to a constitution that strips him of divine status and binds his nation to pacifism, completing Japan's transformation from militarist empire to constitutional monarchy under Allied occupation.

• The Constitution of Japan is adopted through Emperor's assent.

Source: Wikipedia — Constitution of Japan

Moscow Correspondent

1957 — Soviet Union Sends First Living Creature Into Orbit Aboard Sputnik 2

Moscow stray dog Laika, 11 pounds, circles Earth hours after launch.

The Soviet Union launched a second satellite into orbit Sunday, this one carrying a living passenger — a stray dog named Laika, the first creature from Earth to circle the globe in space.

• Laika was a stray mongrel from the streets of Moscow, weighing about 5 kg (11 lb).
• Sputnik 2 was built in less than four weeks after the official decision on 10 or 12 October 1957.
• Laika died by overheating hours into the flight, on the craft's fourth orbit.
• The true cause and time of Laika's death were not made public until 2002.
• Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev wanted the launch on 7 November 1957 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the October Revolution.

Source: Wikipedia — Sputnik 2

Pacific Affairs

1986 — Compact Becomes Law, Granting Micronesia and Marshall Islands Independence From U.S.

Two Pacific nations comprising 15 islands and 29 atolls and five islands gain sovereignty after U.S. trusteeship since 1947, with Washington providing $2.5 billion over 15 years.

President Reagan today signed legislation making the Compact of Free Association binding law, granting full independence to the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands after four decades of U.S. trusteeship.

The 15-island Micronesian federation and the Marshalls, comprising 29 atolls and five islands, become sovereign states while retaining close military and economic ties with Washington. The compact provides $2.5 billion in U.S. aid over 15 years.

Both nations emerged from the postwar United Nations Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, administered by the United States since 1947. The Marshall Islands include the Bikini and Enewetak atolls, former U.S. nuclear test sites.

The agreements, negotiated over six years, allow the U.S. military continued access to strategic Pacific bases.

• The Compact of Free Association becomes law, granting the Federated States of Micronesia and the Marshall Islands independence from the United States.

Source: Wikipedia — Compact of Free Association

Isthmus Cable

1903 — U.S. Encouragement Helps Panama Split From Colombia

American warships offshore supported the 1903 independence revolt.

Separatists proclaimed Panama's independence from Colombia in 1903, encouraged by American warships offshore. The revolt began at Colón and across the isthmus. The new republic offers hope for completing the canal France abandoned. Washington promptly recognized the government.

• With the encouragement of the United States, Panama separates from Colombia.

Source: Wikipedia — Panama

Beirut Bureau

1986 — Lebanese Magazine Exposes Secret U.S. Arms Sales to Iran

Ash-Shiraa broke the story that would engulf the Reagan administration.

The Reagan administration faces mounting questions after a Beirut weekly revealed secret American arms shipments to Iran, exposing an apparent contradiction of the president's public stance against negotiating with hostage-takers.

Ash-Shiraa reported that Washington sold weapons to Tehran to win release of seven U.S. hostages held by pro-Iranian groups in Lebanon.

• Iran–Contra affair: The Lebanese magazine Ash-Shiraa reports that the United States has been secretly selling weapons to Iran in order to secure the release of seven American hostages held by pro-Iranian groups in Lebanon.

Source: Wikipedia — Iran–Contra affair

Ground Zero

2014 — One World Trade Center Opens, Replacing Towers Destroyed in 2001 Attacks

The glass building's 1,776-foot height and 104 floors make it the Western Hemisphere's tallest.

In a city perpetually rebuilding itself from history's wounds, One World Trade Center opened its doors today, restoring a skyline scarred thirteen years ago when terrorists toppled the Twin Towers.

The 104-story glass tower, rising to a symbolic 1,776 feet, becomes the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere.

• One World Trade Center officially opens in New York City, replacing the Twin Towers after they were destroyed during the September 11 attacks.

Source: Wikipedia — One World Trade Center

Tokyo Cinema Desk

1954 — Godzilla Roars Onto Japanese Screens; Monster Pic Debuts With Suitmation Effects

The ¥183 million earner pioneered a stunt performer in a rubber suit destroying miniature sets.

Godzilla, the towering reptilian menace born of nuclear anxiety, crushed Japanese theaters today as Toho Co. released the monster spectacle nationwide.

The film, which premiered in Nagoya October 27, opens with the beast sinking a fishing vessel—a sequence producers acknowledged references the Daigo Fukuryū Maru incident last March, when a Japanese trawler suffered fallout near Bikini Atoll.

Director Ishirō Honda's crew shot principal footage in 51 days, but special effects consumed 71 days of labor. The technique, dubbed "suitmation," places a performer inside a 220-pound rubber costume amid detailed miniatures.

• Godzilla premiered in Nagoya on October 27, 1954, and received a wide release in Japan on November 3.
• The film earned ¥183 million in distributor rentals, making it the eighth-highest-grossing Japanese film of that year.
• Godzilla pioneered suitmation, a special effects technique where a stunt performer in a suit interacts with miniature sets.
• Principal photography ran 51 days, and special effects photography ran 71 days.
• The film's opening scene of Godzilla destroying a Japanese vessel directly referenced the March 1954 Daigo Fukuryū Maru incident.

Source: Wikipedia — Godzilla (1954 film)

National Election Returns

1964 — Johnson Claims Landslide With 44 States; D.C. Casts First Presidential Ballots for Democrats

The 1961 Twenty-third Amendment granted Washington, D.C. three electoral votes, enabling residents to participate in their first presidential election.

Lyndon B. Johnson won a full presidential term Tuesday with 61% of the vote and 44 states, securing one of the most commanding mandates in modern political history. The Democrat defeated Republican Barry Goldwater to earn the presidency in his own right, having ascended 14 months earlier after John F. Kennedy's assassination. Washington, D.C. residents voted in a presidential contest for the first time under the Twenty-third Amendment, ratified in 1961. Johnson carried the capital's precincts decisively to claim its three electoral votes.

• Lyndon B. Johnson is elected to a full term as U.S. president, winning 61% of the vote and 44 states, while Washington D.C. residents are able to vote in a presidential election for the first time, casting the majority of their votes for Lyndon Johnson.

Source: Wikipedia — Lyndon B. Johnson