FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS
Keith Maurice Ellison (born August 4, 1963) is an American politician and lawyer serving as the 30th attorney general of Minnesota. A member of the Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), Ellison was the U.S. representative for Minnesota’s 5th congressional district from 2007 to 2019. He also served as the deputy chair of the Democratic National Committee from 2017 to 2018 and a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives from 2003 to 2007. In Congress, Ellison built a reputation as a progressive leader.
Born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, Ellison moved to Minnesota for law school. In 2002, he was elected to the Minnesota House and served two terms. After longtime U.S. Representative Martin Olav Sabo announced his retirement, Ellison announced his candidacy for Congress in the 2006 election. He won the race and was reelected five times. His district included Minneapolis, the state’s largest city, and its inner-ring suburbs. In Congress, Ellison was a vice-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and a chief deputy whip. He also sat on the House Committee on Financial Services. Ellison was the first Muslim elected to Congress and the first African American representative from Minnesota.
Ellison’s profile was raised when he ran for chair of the Democratic National Committee in November 2016, gaining support from progressive groups and U.S. Senators Bernie Sanders and Chuck Schumer. His candidacy prompted renewed scrutiny of his past statements and affiliation with the Nation of Islam, which drew criticism from some moderate Democrats. Ellison lost to former Secretary of Labor Tom Perez, who subsequently appointed Ellison deputy chair, a decision approved by unanimous voice vote of DNC members.
In the summer of 2018, Ellison announced that he would not seek reelection to Congress, and would run for Minnesota attorney general. He won the Democratic primary and defeated nominee Republican Doug Wardlow in the general election, becoming the first African American elected to partisan statewide office in Minnesota, as well as the first Muslim in the U.S. to win statewide office. He was narrowly reelected in 2022 with 50.4% of the vote.
TODAY’S ALMANAC
Question of the Day
Advice of the Day
Home Hint of the Day
Word of the Day
Puzzle of the Day
Born
- Sir Isaac Newton (physicist) –
- Jacob Ludwig Carl Grimm (folklorist) –
- Louis Braille (teacher) –
- General Tom Thumb (circus performer and little person) –
- Thornton W. Burgess (author) –
- Sterling Holloway (actor) –
- Barbara Rush (actress) –
- Don Schula (football coach) –
- Floyd Patterson (boxer) –
- David Bradley (Control-Alt-Delete computer code author) –
- Dave Foley (actor) –
Died
- Commodore Vanderbilt (entrepreneur) –
- Gary Calkins (scientist) –
- T.S. Eliot (author) –
- Mae Questel (actress and voice of Betty Boop, Olive Oyl, and Casper the Friendly Ghost) –
- Tsutomu Yamaguchi (only person certified by Japan as having survived both the Hiroshima and Nagasaki Second World War atomic bombings) –
Events
- Utah admitted to the Union as the 45th state–
- Mahatma Gandhi arrested and began a fast unto death to win suffrage for the untouchables–
- Seoul captured by Chinese Communists and North Koreans (Korean War)–
- The first man-made satellite, Sputnik I, disintegrated on re-entry to the earth’s atmosphere–
- Countries outside the Common Market formed the European Free Trade Association–
- The Orphan Drug Bill was signed into law. It encouraged pharmaceutical companies to produce drugs for unusual illnesses with limited markets–
- Doctors at the University of Miami and the Centers for Disease Control published information on one of the first cases of heterosexual transmission of AIDS in the U.S.–
- The worst Amtrak accident in history occured when a freight train collided with a passenger train in Chase, MD–
- U.S. Navy F-14s shot down two Libyan MiGs over Mediterranean–
- The first female Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, was sworn in–
- Minnesota representative Keith Ellison was sworn in as the first Muslim elected to Congress–
- A 7.5-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Alaska–
Weather
- Twenty inches of snow fell in upstate New York–
- A temperature of -40F was recorded in Canton, New York.–
- Eight inches of rain fell in 12 hours in Marin County, California–
- Blizzard hit New England and eastern Canada–
COURTESY www.almanac.com
