SUNDAY IN HISTORY

Today is Sunday, Nov. 12, the 316th day of 2017. There are 49 days left in the year.

Highlight in History:

On Nov. 12, 1942, the World War II naval Battle of Guadalcanalbegan. (The Allies ended up winning a major victory over Japanese forces.)

On this date:

In 1787, severe flooding struck Dublin, Ireland, as the River Liffey rose.

In 1866, Chinese revolutionary Sun Yat-sen, the first provisional president of the Republic of China, was born.

In 1927, Josef Stalin became the undisputed ruler of the Soviet Union as Leon Trotsky was expelled from the Communist Party.

In 1936, the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge opened as President Franklin D. Roosevelt pressed a telegraph key in Washington, D.C., giving the green light to traffic.

In 1948, former Japanese premier Hideki Tojo and several other World War II Japanese leaders were sentenced to death by awar crimes tribunal.

In 1969, news of the My Lai Massacre carried out by U.S. forces in South Vietnam in March 1968 was broken by investigative reporter Seymour Hersh.

In 1984, space shuttle astronauts Dale Gardner and Joe Allen snared awandering satellite in history’s first space salvage.

In 1987, the American Medical Association issued a policy statement saying it was unethical for a doctor to refuse to treat someone solely because that person had AIDS or was HIV-positive.

Ten years ago: The Dow Jones industrial average closed below 13,000 for first time since Aug. 2007.

Five years ago: The United States was re-elected to another three-year term on the U.N. Human Rights Council in the only contested election for the organization’s top human rights body.

One year ago: Tens of thousands of people marched in streets across the United States, staging the fourth day of protests against Donald Trump’s surprise victory as president.

Today’s Birthdays: Singer Brian Hyland is 74. Actorplaywright Wallace Shawn is 74. Sportscaster Al Michaels is 73. Singer-songwriter Neil Young is 72. Country/gospel singer Barbara Fairchild is 67. Olympic gold medal gymnast Nadia Comaneci is 56. Retired MLB All-Star Sammy Sosa is 49. Figure skater Tonya Harding is 47. Actress Cote de Pablo is 38. Actor Ryan Gosling is 37. Actress Anne Hathaway is 35.

Thought for Today: “Were there none who were discontented with what they have, the world would never reach anything better.” — Florence Nightingale, English nursing pioneer (1820-1910).