THURSDAY IN HISTORY

Today is Thursday, Nov. 16, the 320th day of 2017. There are 45 days left in the year.

Highlight in History:

On Nov. 16, 1907, Oklahoma became the 46th state of the union.

On this date:

In 1776, British troops captured Fort Washington in New York during the American Revolution.

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

In 1933, the United States and the Soviet Union established diplomatic relations.

In 1939, mob boss Al Capone, ill with syphilis, was released from prison after serving 71/2 years for tax evasion and failure to file tax returns.

In 1945, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) was founded at the conclusion of a conference in London.

In 1973, Skylab 4, carrying a crew of three astronauts, was launched from Cape Canaveral on an 84-day mission.

In 1982, an agreement was announced in the 57th day of a strike by National Football League players.

Ten years ago: Senate Republicans blocked a $50 billion bill by Democrats that would have paid for several months of combat but also would have ordered troop withdrawals from Iraq to begin within 30 days.

Five years ago: Former CIA Director David Petraeus told Congress that classified intelligence showed the Sept. 11, 2012 attack in Benghazi, Libya, that killed U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans was a terrorist attack, but that the Obama administration withheld the suspected role of al-Qaida affiliates to avoid tipping them off.

One year ago: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, addressing a U.N. conference in Morocco, made a stirring appeal to all countries — including his own — to press ahead with the fight against climate change, saying a failure to do so would be a “betrayal of devastating consequences.”

Today’s Birthdays: Actor Clu Gulager is 89. Journalist Elizabeth Drew is 82. Actor Steve Railsback is 72. Tennis player Zina Garrison is 54. Former MLB All-Star pitcher Dwight Gooden is 53. Jazz singer Diana Krall is 53. Actress Tammy Lauren is 49. Olympic gold medal figure skater Oksana Baiul is 40. Actress Maggie Gyllenhaal is 40. Pop singer Trevor Penick is 38. NBA player Amare Stoudemire is 35.

Thought for Today: “No matter how dull, or how mean, or how wise a man is, he feels that happiness is his indisputable right.” — Helen Keller, American author and lecturer (1880-1968).