James Knox Polk was born on a North Carolina farm on November 2, 1795. By 1849, he had led the country through war with Mexico and expanded its territory to the Pacific, but his presidency left a bitter question unresolved: whether slavery would spread into the new lands.
On November 1, 1957, the Mackinac Bridge opened, giving Michigan’s Upper and Lower Peninsulas a direct road connection. It was then the world’s longest suspension bridge between cable anchorages, replacing a busy ferry route with a five-mile crossing.
On October 31, 1940, the Battle of Britain came to an end. For nearly four months, RAF pilots and ground crews had fought to prevent Germany from gaining the air superiority needed to invade.
On October 30, 1629, the Carolina Province was named, and plans were made for early settlement. That settlement would be delayed for many years, but the name was retained.
On October 29, 1998, John Glenn returned to space aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery. At the age of 77, he was the oldest person to go into space.
On October 20, 1964, Herbert Hoover, America’s 31st president, died at age 90. Before the Great Depression defined his presidency, he had built a career as a mining engineer and organized relief efforts for people in several countries.
A gunshot struck Theodore Roosevelt in Milwaukee on October 14, 1912, as he campaigned for president. Bleeding and carrying a bullet in his chest, he insisted on delivering his speech—and spoke for about ninety minutes.
On October 12, 1901, the Executive Mansion, the president’s official residence and workplace, was renamed the White House.
Rutherford Birchard Hayes was born on October 4, 1822, in Delaware, Ohio. He would become president after the nation’s most disputed election of the 19th century, then serve a single term shaped by Reconstruction’s end, civil-service reform, and difficult questions about money, immigration, and racial equality.
On November 2, 1889, South Dakota became the 40th state in the Union. Its admission marked the culmination of decades of westward expansion, frontier settlement, and shifting territorial boundaries that shaped the northern Great Plains into a permanent part of the United States.
On November 2, 1917, the first class mail rate was raised from 2¢ to 3¢ to help cover the cost of the war effort. The extra 1¢ per ounce was charged as a war tax.
Mystic made stamp history on November 2, 2005, when we traded our 1¢ Z Grill for the unique Inverted Jenny Plate Number Block.
On November 2, 1889, North Dakota was admitted to the Union as the 39th state.
Love history?
Subscribe to get This Day in History stories straight to your inbox every day!