Today in History....November 2

On this day in …

1738, Gen. George Washington issued his Farewell Address to the Continental Army near Princeton, N.J.
1777, the USS Ranger, with a crew of 140 men under the command of John Paul Jones, leaves Portsmouth, New Hampshire, for the naval port at Brest, France, where it will stop before heading toward the Irish Sea to begin raids on British warships. This was the first mission of its kind during the Revolutionary War

1917, British Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour submits a declaration of intent to establish a Jewish homeland in Palestine. The Balfour Declaration was included in the British mandate over Palestine, which was approved by the League of Nations in 1922

1948, President Truman surprised experts by being re-elected in a narrow upset over Republican challenger Thomas E. Dewey

1959, game show contestant Charles Van Doren admitted to a House subcommittee that he'd been given questions and answers in advance when he appeared on the NBC TV program ''Twenty-One''

1976, former Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter became the first candidate from the Deep South since the Civil War to be elected president as he defeated incumbent Gerald R. Ford

1986, kidnappers in Lebanon, practitioners of that "religion of peace", released American hospital administrator David Jacobsen after holding him for 17 months

1996, a tentative labor contract was reached between General Motors Corp. and the United Auto Workers, averting a national strike

2001, President Bush, saying the war in Afghanistan was unraveling Osama bin Laden's terrorist network, chided critics for clamoring for more action and said the U.S. military campaign would not pause for the Muslim holiday of Ramadan