November 3
1493
Christopher Columbus arrives at the Caribbee Isles (Dominica) during his second expedition.
1507
Leonardo da Vinci is commissioned to paint Lisa Gherardini ("Mona Lisa").
1529
The first parliament for five years opens in England and the Commons put forward bills against abuses amongst the clergy and in the church courts.
1794
Thomas Paine is released from a Parisian jail with help from the American ambassador James Monroe. He was arrested for having offended the Robespierre faction.
1813
American troops destroy the Indian village of Tallushatchee in the Mississippi Valley.
1868
Ulysses S. Grant elected the 18th president of the United States.
1883
A poorly trained Egyptian army, led by British General William Hicks, marches toward El Obeid in the Sudan–straight into a Mahdist ambush and massacre.
1883
The U.S. Supreme Court declares American Indians to be "dependent aliens."
1892
First automatic telephone exchange goes into operation in La Porte, Indiana.
1896
William McKinley is elected 25th president of the United States.
1912
The first all-metal plane flies near Issy, France, piloted by Ponche and Prinard.
1918
The German fleet at Kiel mutinies. This is the first act leading to Germany's capitulation in World War I.
1921
Milk drivers on strike dump thousands of gallons of milk onto New York City's streets.
1935
Left-wing groups in France form the Socialist and Republican Union.
1957
The Soviet Union launches Sputnik II with the dog Laika, the first animal in space, aboard.
1964
For the first time residents of Washington, D.C., are allowed to vote in a presidential election.
1964
Lyndon B. Johnson is elected the 36th president of the United States.
1964
Robert Kennedy, brother of the slain president, is elected as a senator from New York.
1967
The Battle of Dak To begins in Vietnam's Central Highlands; actually a series of engagements, the battle would continue through Nov. 22.
1969
US President Richard Nixon, speaking on TV and radio, asks the "silent majority" of the American people to support his policies and the continuing war effort in Vietnam.
1973
NASA launches Mariner 10, which will become the first probe to reach Mercury.
1979
Ku Klux Klansmen and neo-Nazis kill 5 and wound 7 members of the Communist Workers Party during a "Death to the Klan" rally in Greensboro, NC; the incident becomes known as the Greensboro Massacre.
1983
Jesse Jackson announces his candidacy for the office of president of the United States.
1986
The Lebanese magazine Ash-Shiraa reports the US has secretly been selling weapons to Iran in order to secure the release of 7 American hostages being held by pro-Iranian groups in Lebanon.
1992
Arkansas Governor Bill (William Jefferson) Clinton is elected 42nd president of the United States.
1997
US imposes economic sanctions against Sudan in response to human rights abuses and support of Islamic extremist groups.
Born on November 3
1718
John Montague, fourth Earl of Sandwich and inventor of the sandwich.
1794
William Cullen Bryant, poet and journalist.
1801
Karl Baedeker, German publisher, well known for travel guides.
1831
Ignatius Donnelly, American social reformer best known for his book Atlantis: The Antediluvian World.
1901
Andre Malraux, French novelist (Man's Fate).
1903
Walker Evans, photographer.
1909
James "Scotty" Reston, New York Times reporter, editor and columnist.
1918
Russell Long, U.S. senator from Louisiana from 1951 to 1968 and son of Huey P. Long.
1920
Oodgeroo Noonuccal [Kath Walker], Australian Aboriginal poet.
1933
Jeremy Brett, actor; best known for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes in the Granada TV productions of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's stories about the detective.
1933
Michael Dukakis, politician; the longest-serving governor in the history of the State of Massachusetts (1975-79, 1983-91); unsuccessful Democratic candidate for US presidency (1988).
1933
Amartya Sen, Indian economist, winner of Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences (1998) for his work on economic theories of famines and social justice and indexes for measuring the well-being of citizens in developing countries.
1942
Martin Cruz Smith, novelist (Gorky Park).
1949
Larry Holmes, professional boxer known as The Easton Assassin; his 20 successful defenses of his heavyweight title is second only to Joe Louis' record 25.
1952
Roseanne Barr, comedian, actress, producer; best known for her starring role in the TV series Roseanne, for which she won both an Emmy and a Golden Globe.
1952
David Ho, virologist, AIDS researcher.
1956
Gary Ross, film director, screenwriter (The Hunger Games, Seabiscuit).