What Happened on November 8

Albany Bureau

1932 — Roosevelt Sweeps to Presidency in Democratic Landslide

Governor carries 42 states, shattering GOP dominance — Hoover concedes defeat as nation turns to New Deal promise — victory train to bring victor to Warm Springs

ALBANY, Nov. 8 — The governor tipped his hat to crowds at the Hyde Park station this morning, bound for New York City and the winter capital of a nation that has chosen him its leader.

Franklin D. Roosevelt, Democrat of New York, was elected the 32nd President of the United States Tuesday, defeating Herbert Hoover by margins unseen since the party's founding. Returns from 42 states placed the governorship in Democratic hands; Hoover carried but six.

The victor, who campaigned on a "New Deal" for the American people, received word of his election at his Manhattan headquarters shortly after midnight. He spoke by telephone with the President at the White House, then addressed a gathering of workers and reporters.

Hoover conceded shortly before 11 o'clock, releasing a statement from Washington wishing his successor well. The Republican's tenure had been marked by economic collapse; unemployment stands near one-quarter of the workforce.

Roosevelt, fifty, will be the first chief executive since Woodrow Wilson to hail from the Democratic ranks. His running mate, John Nance Garner of Texas, becomes Vice President-elect. The electoral vote will be counted formally in December; inauguration follows March 4.

The governor's victory train is scheduled to depart tonight for Georgia, where he will rest at his Warm Springs cottage before assembling his cabinet.

• Franklin D. Roosevelt is elected as the 32nd President of the United States, defeating incumbent president Herbert Hoover.

Source: Wikipedia — Franklin D. Roosevelt

National Politics Desk

1960 — Kennedy Wins Presidency by Slim Margin; Nixon Concedes After All-Night Vote Count

Kennedy, 43, captured 303 electoral votes from 22 states against Nixon's 219 from 26 states, with fewer than 120,000 votes separating the candidates from 68 million cast.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 8 — A nation passed its leadership to a new generation Tuesday, electing John F. Kennedy the 35th President of the United States by margins so narrow that victory remained uncertain until dawn.

The Democratic senator from Massachusetts, 43, defeated Republican Richard M. Nixon, the incumbent Vice President, after television networks withdrew and reinstated projections through the night. Kennedy carried 22 states with 303 electoral votes; Nixon took 26 states with 219. The popular margin was fewer than 120,000 ballots from 68 million cast.

Nixon conceded shortly before noon, speaking from Los Angeles after a morning of private consultation. He wished the President-elect success and pledged support for the peaceful transfer of power. The Republican had sought to extend his party's hold on the White House to twelve years; instead, he returns to private life, though colleagues note his ambition remains undimmed.

Kennedy, addressing supporters in Hyannis Port, spoke of work begun and burdens accepted. He becomes the youngest man elected to the office and the first of his faith.

• John F. Kennedy is elected as the 35th President of the United States, defeating incumbent Vice President Richard Nixon, who would later be elected president in 1968 and 1972.

Source: Wikipedia — John F. Kennedy

Campaign '88

1988 — Bush Elected 41st President; Reagan Era Extends as Republican Keeps White House

Bush, 64, captures 426 electoral votes across 40 states as Republicans win a third consecutive term, last accomplished in the 1920s.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 8 — The Reagan years will yield to a successor of the same party and philosophy, as Vice President George H. W. Bush was elected the 41st President of the United States Tuesday, completing a Republican sweep that matched the breadth of his predecessor's triumphs.

Bush, 64, defeated Massachusetts Governor Michael S. Dukakis by carrying 40 states and amassing 426 electoral votes. The Democrat won ten states and the District of Columbia. The popular margin exceeded seven million ballots.

The Vice President, who took the oath of office in 1981 and again in 1985, campaigned on continuity, promising "a thousand points of light" and no new taxes. His victory secures a third consecutive Republican term, a feat last achieved by his own party in the 1920s and by the Democrats under Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman.

• U.S. Vice President George H. W. Bush is elected as the 41st president.

Source: Wikipedia — Vice President of the United States

Würzburg University

1895 — Röntgen Discovers Ray That Penetrates Opaque Bodies; Medical Science Transformed

On Nov. 8 in Würzburg, Wilhelm Röntgen found radiation that traverses solids with the transparency of glass.

WÜRZZBURG, Nov. 8 — Wilhelm Röntgen, experimenting with electricity in his university laboratory, has discovered a form of radiation that passes through solid objects as though they were glass. He named the phenomenon X-strahlen, or X-rays, for their unknown nature. Colleagues at the university have begun gathering to witness repeated demonstrations.

• While experimenting with electricity, Wilhelm Röntgen discovers the X-ray.

Source: Wikipedia — Wilhelm Röntgen

Madrid War Desk

1936 — Three-Year Siege Opens as Francoist Drive on Madrid Fails

Rebel troops turn to blockade after assault is repulsed — Spanish capital girds for protracted struggle.

MADRID, November 8 — Three years of siege began today as General Francisco Franco's rebel forces, thwarted in their direct assault upon the Spanish capital, settled instead to encircle and starve the city into submission.

• Spanish Civil War: Francoist troops fail in their effort to capture Madrid, but begin the three-year Siege of Madrid afterwards.

Source: Wikipedia — Spanish Civil War

Berlin Bureau

1939 — Hitler Escapes Death as Bomb Explodes in Munich Beer Hall

Hitler left before the bomb detonated at the Munich beer hall where he had been marking the 1923 anniversary; eight died.

MUNICH, November 8 — Adolf Hitler narrowly escaped assassination here tonight when a concealed bomb exploded in the Bürgerbräukeller minutes after the Führer concluded his commemoration of the 1923 Beer Hall Putsch.

The blast killed eight and wounded sixty.

• In Munich, Adolf Hitler narrowly escapes the assassination attempt of Georg Elser while celebrating the 16th anniversary of the Beer Hall Putsch.

Source: Wikipedia — Munich

Cable Television Desk

1972 — Home Box Office Debuts as Pay-TV Venture for Movies, Sports

A microwave tower outside Wilkes-Barre began transmitting movies and sports to 365 paying households, charging six dollars monthly atop basic cable fees.

WILKES-BARRE, Pennsylvania, November 8 — A microwave tower on a ridge outside this coal-country city began transmitting something new to television screens this evening: movies without interruption, boxing without commercials, a signal paid for directly by viewers rather than advertisers.

Home Box Office, a service of Time Inc.'s Sterling Manhattan cable system, launched commercially with 365 subscribers here. The monthly charge is six dollars on top of basic cable fees.

Tonight's inaugural program: a hockey match between the New York Rangers and the Vancouver Canucks, followed by the 1971 film "Sometimes a Great Notion." HBO's founders envision expansion to a dozen cities within two years, betting that subscribers will pay for programming free of network constraints. The technology requires a decoder box and line-of-sight reception from relay towers.

Sterling Manhattan has invested $2.5 million.

• American pay television network Home Box Office (HBO) launches.

Source: Wikipedia — HBO

Atlantic Records Desk

1971 — Led Zeppelin Releases Nameless Fourth Album, Ships Four Symbols

Rock quartet's follow-up to 1970 release uses hand-drawn symbols instead of title for November 8 arrival.

LONDON, November 8 — One of rock music's most anticipated releases arrived in shops today bearing no name at all. Led Zeppelin's fourth album, the English quartet's follow-up to 1970's "Led Zeppelin III," is identified only by four hand-drawn symbols, one chosen by each band member.

• The album was recorded between December 1970 and February 1971, mostly at Headley Grange in Hampshire.
• The album features guest musicians Sandy Denny on 'The Battle of Evermore' and Ian Stewart on 'Rock and Roll'.
• The album is Led Zeppelin's best-selling album, with over 37 million copies sold worldwide.
• The album was released without a title, represented instead by four symbols chosen by each band member.
• The album contains the eight-minute-long 'Stairway to Heaven', one of the band's best-known recordings.

Source: Wikipedia — Led Zeppelin