Today in History: November 2

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On this day in 1755 Marie-Antoinette, the Queen Consort of King Louis XVI of France (1774–93), was born.

When told that starving French peasants lacked any bread to eat, the queen is alleged to have callously declared, “let them eat cake!” there is no evidence, however, that Marie-Antoinette ever uttered that infamous quip.

On November 2, 1930, Haile Selassie was crowned Emperor of Ethiopia.

Selassie was the last reigning monarch of Ethiopia’s Solomonic dynasty that traces its ancient ancestry to King Solomon of Israel and the Queen of Sheba, both Biblical figures who may have lived during the 10th century.

In 1936, the British Broadcasting Corporation officially launched its first television channel, which was also the world’s first regular TV service.

The BBC used to produce television programs from its own studios from 1932.

Today, viewers across the globe enjoy watching BCC television considering it one of the best sources for news, and entertainment.

In 1976 Jimmy Carter was elected 39th President of the United States, narrowly defeating Republican Gerald R. Ford.

The Democratic former Governor of Georgia is also the recipient of the Nobel Prize for Peace in 2002.

Meanwhile, in 1983, U.S. President Ronald Reagan signed a bill designating the third Monday in January a national holiday in memory of Martin Luther King, Jr.

The legislation to recognize MLK day was first introduced just four days after his assassination on April 4, 1968.

Still, it would take 15 years of persistence by civil rights activists for the holiday to be approved by the federal government and an additional 17 years for it to be recognized in all 50 states.

In 1998, hurricane Mitch faded after a week-long rampage through Central America. The death toll reached an estimated 9,000.

Images show a Nicaraguan woman and a girl are helped to safety by Red Cross volunteers after being evacuated from the 80km square area of northwestern Nicaragua devastated by a mudslide November 2.

2002 saw a 10-day United Nations environment conference end in India with rich countries saying they had agreed not to press poor nations to cut their emissions of greenhouse gases.

Indian schoolchildren hold a banner during a march to highlight climate change in New Delhi.

And in 2016, the Chicago Cubs won the World Series for the first time since 1908, ending the longest major league baseball championship.

The Chicago Cubs celebrated the first win in 108 years during a victory parade in Chicago, Illinois.

In Bahamian history, on this day in 1917 former sailor and Olympic gold and bronze medalist Durward Randolph Knowles was born in Nassau.

Knowles along with Cecil Cooke won the first gold medal for The Bahamas at the 1964 summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan in the star class sailing event.

In 1996 he was knighted and the following year he received The Bahamas’ Order of Merit.