Today in history

On Nov. 16, 1776, British troops captured Fort Washington in the American Revolution. In 1864 the Union forces of Gen. William T. Sherman began their “march to the sea” in the Civil War. In 1873 W.C. Handy, the composer known as the “father of the blues,” was born in Florence, Ala.

In 1885 Canadian rebel Louis Riel was executed for high treason.

In 1889 playwright George S. Kaufman (“You Can’t Take It With You,” “The Man Who Came to Dinner”) was born in Pittsburgh. In 1907 Oklahoma became the 46th state. Also in 1907 actor Burgess Meredith was born in Cleveland. In 1933 the U.S. and Soviet Union established diplomatic relations. In 1939 mob boss Al Capone, ill with syphilis, was released from prison after serving 7 1⁄2 years for tax evasion and failure to file tax returns.

In 1959 the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical “The Sound of Music” opened on Broadway. In 1961 Rep. Sam Rayburn died in Bonham, Texas, after serving as House speaker since 1940 except for two terms; he was 79.

In 1966, at his second murder trial, Dr. Samuel Sheppard, of Cleveland, was acquitted in the 1954 killing of his wife, Marilyn. He had spent nine years in prison before his conviction was overturned because of pretrial publicity.

In 1973 President Richard Nixon signed the Alaska pipeline bill, hailing it as a first step toward making the United States energy-independent by 1980. Also in 1973 Skylab 3, carrying a crew of three, was launched from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on an 84-day mission.