TODAY IN HISTORY

Today is Thursday, Nov. 9, the 313th day of 2017. There are 52 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History

On Nov. 9, 1967, a Saturn V rocket carrying an unmanned Apollo spacecraft blasted off from Cape Kennedy on a successful test flight.

On this date

1620 — The passengers and crew of the Mayflower sighted Cape Cod. 1872 — Fire destroyed nearly 800 buildings in Boston. 1938 — Nazis looted and burned synagogues as well as Jewish-owned stores and houses in Germany and Austria in a pogrom that became known as “Kristallnacht.” 1952 — Chaim Weizmann, the first president of Israel, died. 1989 — Communist East Germany threw open its borders, allowing citizens to travel freely to the West; joyous Germans danced atop the Berlin Wall. 1999 — With fireworks, concerts and a huge party at the landmark Brandenburg Gate, Germany celebrated the 10th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Today’s Birthdays

Baseball Hall of Famer Whitey Herzog is 86. Baseball Hall of Famer Bob Gibson is 82. Actor Charlie Robinson is 72. Movie director Bille August is 69. Actor Robert David Hall is 69. Actor Lou Ferrigno is 66. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, is 65. Gospel singer Donnie McClurkin is 58. Rock musician Dee Plakas (L7) is 57. Actress Ion Overman is 48. Rapper Pepa (Salt-N-Pepa) is 48. Rapper Scarface (Geto Boys) is 47.