1 November: Big Paint Job Finally Finished; Stamp Act; HST Assassination Fails; H-Bomb No. 1; Algerians Stand Up; Clarence Thomas Sits Down & Shuts Up

Today is Sunday, Nov. 1, the 305th day of 2009. There are 60 days left in the year. This is All Saints Day.Today's Highlight in History:
On Nov. 1, 1765, the Stamp Act went into effect, prompting stiff resistance from American colonists.
On this date:
In 1512, Michelangelo finished painting the ceiling of the Vatican's Sistine Chapel.

In 1861, Gen. George B. McClellan was made general-in-chief of the Union armies.
In 1870, the U.S. Weather Bureau made its first meteorological observations.
In 1936, in a speech in Milan, Italy, Benito Mussolini described the alliance between his country and Nazi Germany as an "axis" running between Rome and Berlin.
In 1946, Karol Wojtyla, the future Pope John Paul II, was ordained as a priest in Poland.
Sixty years ago, in 1949, an Eastern Airlines DC-4 collided with a Lockheed P-38 fighter plane near Washington National Airport, killing all 55 people aboard the DC-4 and seriously injuring the pilot of the P-38.
In 1950, two Puerto Rican nationalists tried to force their way into Blair House in Washington, D.C., to assassinate President Harry S. Truman. The attempt failed, and one of the pair was killed, along with a White House police officer.
In 1952, the United States exploded the first hydrogen bomb, code named "Ivy Mike," at Enewetak Atoll in the Marshall Islands.

In 1954, Algerian nationalists began their successful rebellion against French rule. [From The AP's Alternate Universe:]

Thirty years ago, in 1979, former first lady Mamie Eisenhower died in Washington, D.C., at age 82.
Twenty years ago, in 1989, East Germany reopened its border with Czechoslovakia, prompting tens of thousands of refugees to flee to the West.
In 1991, Clarence Thomas took his place as a justice on the Supreme Court.
In 1995, Bosnia peace talks opened in Dayton, Ohio.
In 1999, Coast Guard crews searching for clues in the crash of EgyptAir Flight 990, which claimed 217 lives, found the first large piece of wreckage off the New England coast. Former Chicago Bears running back Walter Payton died at age 45.
In 2004, American contract worker Roy Hallums was one of several people kidnapped during an armed assault on the Baghdad compound where he lived. (Hallums was rescued by coalition forces on Sept. 7, 2005.) A 16-year-old Palestinian laden with explosives blew himself up in an outdoor market in Tel Aviv, killing three Israelis. U.N. nuclear agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei urged Iran to suspend uranium enrichment and called on North Korea to dismantle its weapons program.
In 2007, retired Air Force Brigadier Gen. Paul Tibbets, who piloted the B-29 bomber Enola Gay that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, died at age 92.
In 2008, Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain plunged through the final weekend of their marathon race for the White House; McCain poked fun at his campaign's financial shortcomings and his reputation as a political maverick in an appearance on NBC's "Saturday Night Live." Machinists union members ratified a new contract with The Boeing Co., ending an eight-week strike.
Today's Birthdays: Newspaper columnist James J. Kilpatrick is 89. Actress Betsy Palmer is 83. Golfer Gary Player is 74. Country singer Bill Anderson is 72. Actress Barbara Bosson is 70. Actor Robert Foxworth is 68. Actress Marcia Wallace is 67. Magazine publisher Larry Flynt is 67. Country singer-humorist Kinky Friedman is 65. Actress Jeannie Berlin is 60. Music producer David Foster is 60. Pop singer-musician Dan Peek is 59. R&B musician Ronald Khalis Bell (Kool and the Gang) is 58. Country singer-songwriter-producer Keith Stegall is 55. Country singer Lyle Lovett is 52. Actress Rachel Ticotin is 51. Rock musician Eddie MacDonald (The Alarm) is 50. Rock singer Anthony Kiedis (Red Hot Chili Peppers) is 47. Pop singer-musician Mags Furuholmen (a-ha) is 47. Rock musician Rick Allen (Def Leppard) is 46. Country singer "Big Kenny" Alphin (Big and Rich) is 46. Singer Sophie B. Hawkins is 45. Rapper Willie D (Geto Boys) is 43. Country musician Dale Wallace (Emerson Drive) is 40. Actress Toni Collette is 37. Actress Jenny McCarthy is 37. Rock musician Andrew Gonzales is 37. Actor David Berman is 36. Actress Aishwarya Rai is 36.
Today In Entertainment History November 1
In 1955, the Famous Flames, featuring James Brown, recorded "Please, Please, Please" at a radio station in Macon, Ga.
In 1963, the Rolling Stones single "I Wanna Be Your Man" was released in Britain.
In 1964, the Dave Clark Five performed on the "Ed Sullivan Show."
In 1968, Apple Records released "Wonderwall Music" by George Harrison, the first Beatle solo album. The Motion Picture Association of America unveiled its new voluntary film rating system: G for general, M for mature (later changed to GP, then PG), R for restricted and X (later changed to NC-17) for adults only.
Forty years ago, in 1969, Elvis Presley had his first number-one single in seven years with "Suspicious Minds."
In 1971, a funeral for guitarist Duane Allman was held in Macon, Ga. Allman had been killed in a motorcycle crash. At the funeral, the Allman Brothers Band performed several songs.
In 1985, actor Phil Silvers died in Los Angeles. He was 73.
In 1988, actors Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis got married. They have since divorced. Sub Pop Records released Nirvana's first release, "Love Buzz/Big Cheese."
Thought for Today: "God give me strength to face a fact though it slay me." — Thomas Huxley, English biologist (1825-1895).