Today is Wednesday, November 3, the 307th day of 2010. There are 58 days left in the year.

On this date

In 1394, king Charles VI orders Jews expelled from France.

In 1534, parliament confirms King Henry VIII holds all judicial and political powers formerly held by the Pope in England.

In 1839, the first Opium War between China and Britain broke out.

In 1852, Japan's Emperor Meiji was born in Kyoto.

In 1970, Salvador Allende was inaugurated as president of Chile. Allende committed suicide on the day he was deposed three years later

In 1982, Suriname's largest labour union, Moederbond, ends a five-day general strike after the nation's military commander promises free elections, a new constitution and the restoration of civil liberties.

In 1986, "Ash-Shiraa," a pro-Syrian Lebanese magazine, breaks the story of U.S. arms sales to Iran, a revelation that escalates into the Iran-Contra affair.

In 1993, Bosnian government troops storm through a Croat district north of Sarajevo, prompting 15,000 terrified civilians to flee into the countryside.

Thought for Today

"Among these things but one thing seems certain — that nothing certain exists, and that nothing is more pitiable or more presumptuous than man." — Pliny the Elder, Roman scholar.