Today in history

Capt. On Nov. Nathaniel 18, 1820, B. Palmer U.S. Navy discovered Antarctica. the continent of In 1883 the United States and Canada adopted a unified system of Standard Time zones. In 1886 Chester Arthur, the 21st president, died in New York; he was 56. In 1901 pioneering opinion researcher George Gallup was born in Jefferson, Iowa.

In 1903 the United States and Panama signed a treaty granting the U.S. rights to build the Panama Canal. In 1922 novelist Marcel Proust died in Paris; he was 51. In 1928 the first successful sound-synchronized animated cartoon, Walt Disney’s “Steamboat Willie,” starring Mickey Mouse,

premiered in New York. In 1936 Germany and Italy recognized Gen. Francisco Franco’s government in Spain. In 1959, “Ben-Hur,” the Biblical-era spectacle starring Charlton Heston, had its world premiere in New York. In 1966 Roman Catholic leaders in the United States ended the church rule against eating meat on Fridays. In 1976 Spain’s parliament approved legislation to establish a democracy after 37 years of dictatorship.

In 1978 U.S. Rep. Leo Ryan and four other people were killed in Jonestown, Guyana, by members of the Peoples Temple; the killings were followed by a night of mass murder and suicide by 912 of the cult’s members.

In 1987 the congressional Iran-Contra committees issued their final report, saying President Ronald Reagan bore “ultimate responsibility” for wrongdoing by his aides. In 1991 Shiite Muslim kidnappers released two hostages, Anglican Church envoy Terry Waite and educator Thomas Sutherland. In 1993 American Airlines flight attendants went on Also in 1993 representatives of 21 South African political parties approved a new constitution.

In 1996 one-time CIA station chief Harold Nicholson was charged with selling top secrets to the Russians for more than $120,000. (Nicholson later pleaded guilty to espionage and was sentenced to 23 1⁄2 years in prison; he was spared a life sentence for cooperating

with investigators.)

In 1998 House Republicans endorsed U.S. Rep. Bob Livingston, of Louisiana, to be their next speaker, succeeding Newt Gingrich. (Livingston later resigned from the House before he could take over the speakership after admitting to marital infidelities.) In 1999, 12 people were killed when a bonfire under construction at Texas A&M University collapsed. In 2001 Phillips Petroleum Co. and Conoco Inc. announced they were merging in a deal that created the third-largest U.S. oil and gas company. In 2003 the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled 4-3 that the state constitution guaranteed gay couples the right to marry.