TODAY IN HISTORY

Today is Wednesday, Nov. 24, the 328th day of 2021. There are 37 days left in the year.

Today’s highlight

On Nov. 24, 1963, Jack Ruby shot and mortally wounded Lee Harvey Oswald.

On this date

In 1859, British naturalist Charles Darwin published “On the Origin of Species,” which explained his theory of evolution by means of natural selection.

In 1941, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Edwards v. California, unanimously struck down a California law prohibiting people from bringing impoverished non-residents into the state.

In 1947, a group of writers, producers and directors that became known as the “Hollywood Ten” was cited for contempt of Congress for refusing to answer questions about alleged Communist influence in the movie industry.

In 1971, a hijacker calling himself “Dan Cooper” (but who became popularly known as “D.B. Cooper”) parachuted from a Northwest Orient

Airlines 727 over the Pacific Northwest after receiving $200,000 in ransom; his fate remains unknown.

In 1974, the bone fragments of a 3.2 million-year-old hominid were discovered by scientists in Ethiopia; the skeletal remains were nicknamed “Lucy.” In 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court stepped into the struggle for the White House, agreeing to consider George W. Bush’s appeal against the hand recounting of ballots in Florida.

Today’s birthdays

Musician Pete Best is 80. Actor-comedian Billy Connolly is 79. Musician Clem Burke (Blondie, The Romantics) is 67. Actor Garret Dillahunt is 57Actor Colin Hanks is 44. Actor Katherine Heigl is 43.