November 2, 1889 - North Dakota became the 39th state and South Dakota became the 40th state.

November 2, 1920 - Labor leader Eugene V. Debs, nominee of the Socialist Party, received nearly 1 million votes for president – while running from a prison cell. “Convict #9653” had been jailed for opposing the first World War. He championed the rights of working people and the oppressed.

November 2, 1983 - President Ronald Reagan signed legislation creating a federal holiday honoring the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.