Reuters historical calendar - November 8

London, Nov 7 (Reuters) Following are some of the major events to have occurred on November 8 since 1900: 1917 - The Council (Soviet) of People's Commissars became Russia's new government, with Vladimir Lenin as chairman, Leon Trotsky as foreign commissar and Joseph Stalin as commissar of nationalities.

1923 - Adolf Hitler tried to start a putsch in Munich, but was arrested four days later.

1932 - The Democrat Franklin D Roosevelt was elected US president, defeating the Republican incumbent, Herbert Hoover.

1933 - Nadir Shah, ruler of Afghanistan, was assassinated and succeeded by his son, Mohammed Zahir Shah.

1939 - A bomb killed seven people in Munich just after Adolf Hitler had given a speech marking the anniversary of the failed 1923 putsch.

1942 - Allied forces began landings in North Africa, beginning the Algeria-Morocco Campaign of World War Two.

1960 - Democrat John F Kennedy was elected US president, narrowly defeating Republican Vice President Richard Nixon.

1972 - West and East Germany ended 23 years of Cold War antagonism by initialling a treaty of good neighbourliness.

1987 - A bomb killed 11 people in a crowd at a Remembrance Day service in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland.

1988 - Republican Vice President George Bush won the US presidential election, defeating the Democrat Michael Dukakis.

1989 - Douglas Wilder was elected governor of Virginia, the first African American to become a US state governor. On the same day, David Dinkins was elected New York's first black mayor.

1994 - The UN war crimes tribunal of former Yugoslavia held its first public hearing, paving the way for the Bosnian Serb Dusan Tadic to become the first suspect to stand trial.

1996 - A 19th-century Swedish postage stamp sold at auction for 2.875 million Swiss francs ( London, Nov 7 (Reuters) Following are some of the major events to have occurred on November 8 since 1900: 1917 - The Council (Soviet) of People's Commissars became Russia's new government, with Vladimir Lenin as chairman, Leon Trotsky as foreign commissar and Joseph Stalin as commissar of nationalities.

1923 - Adolf Hitler tried to start a putsch in Munich, but was arrested four days later.

1932 - The Democrat Franklin D Roosevelt was elected US president, defeating the Republican incumbent, Herbert Hoover.

1933 - Nadir Shah, ruler of Afghanistan, was assassinated and succeeded by his son, Mohammed Zahir Shah.

1939 - A bomb killed seven people in Munich just after Adolf Hitler had given a speech marking the anniversary of the failed 1923 putsch.

1942 - Allied forces began landings in North Africa, beginning the Algeria-Morocco Campaign of World War Two.

1960 - Democrat John F Kennedy was elected US president, narrowly defeating Republican Vice President Richard Nixon.

1972 - West and East Germany ended 23 years of Cold War antagonism by initialling a treaty of good neighbourliness.

1987 - A bomb killed 11 people in a crowd at a Remembrance Day service in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland.

1988 - Republican Vice President George Bush won the US presidential election, defeating the Democrat Michael Dukakis.

1989 - Douglas Wilder was elected governor of Virginia, the first African American to become a US state governor. On the same day, David Dinkins was elected New York's first black mayor.

1994 - The UN war crimes tribunal of former Yugoslavia held its first public hearing, paving the way for the Bosnian Serb Dusan Tadic to become the first suspect to stand trial.

1996 - A 19th-century Swedish postage stamp sold at auction for 2.875 million Swiss francs ($2.23 million), making it the world's most valuable stamp.

1997 - China blocked the main channel of the Yangtze River to begin work on the controversial Three Gorges Dam, the world's largest hydroelectric power project.

1998 - A Bangladeshi court sentenced 15 former army officers to death for killing Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in a 1975 coup.

2000 - The leader of the left-wing Japanese Red Army, Fusako Shigenobu, was captured in western Japan after 30 years on the run.

2001 - France's upper house of parliament passed a bill granting Corsica limited autonomy, but the bill was stripped of most of its key measures.

2002 - James Kilgore, alleged leader of the radical and violent American underground group the Symbionese Liberation Army, was arrested in Cape Town after 27 years on the run.

2004 - Iris Chang, author of ''The Rape of Nanking'', an acclaimed history of Japanese brutality against China in the 1930s, committed suicide aged 36. The book helped prompt Japan to re-examine the dark history of its occupation of China.

**2005 - The Pentagon, scrutinised over treatment of detainees held by the US military, explicitly barred torture and prohibited the use of dogs to intimidate prisoners in a new interrogation policy directive.

REUTERS AB VC1058 .23 million), making it the world's most valuable stamp.

1997 - China blocked the main channel of the Yangtze River to begin work on the controversial Three Gorges Dam, the world's largest hydroelectric power project.

1998 - A Bangladeshi court sentenced 15 former army officers to death for killing Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in a 1975 coup.

2000 - The leader of the left-wing Japanese Red Army, Fusako Shigenobu, was captured in western Japan after 30 years on the run.

2001 - France's upper house of parliament passed a bill granting Corsica limited autonomy, but the bill was stripped of most of its key measures.

2002 - James Kilgore, alleged leader of the radical and violent American underground group the Symbionese Liberation Army, was arrested in Cape Town after 27 years on the run.

2004 - Iris Chang, author of ''The Rape of Nanking'', an acclaimed history of Japanese brutality against China in the 1930s, committed suicide aged 36. The book helped prompt Japan to re-examine the dark history of its occupation of China.

**2005 - The Pentagon, scrutinised over treatment of detainees held by the US military, explicitly barred torture and prohibited the use of dogs to intimidate prisoners in a new interrogation policy directive.

REUTERS AB VC1058