November 5, Susan B. Anthony defies law and casts vote for president

Today is Wednesday, Nov. 5, the 309th day of 2025. There are 56 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Nov. 5, 1872, suffragist Susan B. Anthony defied the law by casting a vote in the presidential election; she was later arrested and charged with “knowingly voting without having a lawful right to vote.” Found guilty at trial, she was fined $100, which she refused to pay.

Also on this date:

In 1605, the “Gunpowder Plot” failed as Guy Fawkes was seized before he could blow up the English Parliament; Fawkes and his co-conspirators were later convicted of treason and hanged.

In 1912, Democrat Woodrow Wilson was elected president, defeating Progressive Party candidate Theodore Roosevelt, incumbent Republican William Howard Taft and Socialist Eugene V. Debs.

In 1930, novelist Sinclair Lewis became the first American to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.

In 1940, Democratic incumbent Franklin D. Roosevelt won an unprecedented third term as president, defeating Republican challenger Wendell L. Willkie.

In 1968, Republican Richard M. Nixon won the presidency, defeating Democratic Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey and American Independent Party candidate George C. Wallace.

In 1994, George Foreman became the oldest heavyweight boxing champion at age 45, knocking out Michael Moorer in the 10th round of their title bout.

In 1996, President Bill Clinton won a second term in the White House, defeating Republican Bob Dole.

In 2006, Saddam Hussein was convicted of crimes against humanity and sentenced by the Iraqi High Tribunal to death by hanging.

In 2009, a shooting rampage at the Fort Hood Army post in Texas left 13 people dead and wounded more than 30; Maj. Nidal Hasan, an Army psychiatrist, was later convicted of murder and sentenced to death. He remains in prison on death row.

In 2017, a gunman armed with an assault rifle opened fire in the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, killing more than two dozen people; the shooter, Devin Patrick Kelley, was later found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

In 2021, Fans at a Houston music festival surged toward the stage during a performance by rapper Travis Scott, triggering panic that left 10 people dead and many more injured.

In 2024, Republican former President Donald Trump was elected to a second term, defeating Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris; he was the second president, after Grover Cleveland in 1892, to be elected to a nonconsecutive term.