On this date
In 1718, English pirate Edward Teach — better known as “Blackbeard” — was killed during a battle off present-day North Carolina.
In 1890, French president Charles de Gaulle was born in Lille, France.
In 1914, the First Battle of Ypres (EE’-pruh) during World War I ended with an Allied victory against Germany.
In 1928, “Bolero” by Maurice Ravel (rah-VEL’) had its premiere at the Paris Opera.
In 1935, a flying boat, the China Clipper, took off from Alameda, California, carrying more than 100,000 pieces of mail on the first trans-Pacific airmail flight.
In 1943, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Chinese leader Chiang Kai-shek (chang ky-shehk) met in Cairo to discuss measures for defeating Japan. Lyricist Lorenz Hart died in New York at age 48.
In 1954, the Humane Society of the United States was incorporated as the National Humane Society.
In 1967, the U.N. Security Council approved Resolution 242, which called for Israel to withdraw from territories it had captured the previous June, and implicitly called on adversaries to recognize Israel’s right to exist. The Mel Brooks film comedy “The Producers,” starring Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder, had its world premiere in Pittsburgh.
In 1975, Juan Carlos was proclaimed King of Spain.
In 1977, regular passenger service between New York and Europe on the supersonic Concorde began on a trial basis.
In 1980, death claimed actress Mae West at her Hollywood residence at age 87 and former Democratic House Speaker John W. McCormack in Dedham, Massachusetts, at age 88.
In 1990, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, having failed to win re-election of the Conservative Party leadership on the first ballot, announced she would resign.
Ten years ago: Retailers lured shoppers to stores and online on Thanksgiving Day ahead of the traditional Black Friday kick-off. A man shot and killed his ex-wife, their three children, ages 12, 10 and 6, and himself in a park in Laytonsville, Maryland. French rail workers who’d staged a nine-day-old strike voted to return to the job.
Five years ago: Two people died and more than 80 people were hurt when at least 140 vehicles collided on a stretch of highway near Beaumont, Texas, in foggy conditions. In a series of constitutional amendments, Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi granted himself sweeping new powers and placed himself above judicial oversight.
One year ago: President Barack Obama awarded the nation’s highest civilian honor to 21 groundbreaking actors, musicians, athletes and others; among those receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom were Tom Hanks, Robert De Niro, Robert Redford, Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bruce Springsteen, Diana Ross, Bill and Melinda Gates, Ellen DeGeneres and broadcaster Vin Scully. A magnitude-7.4 earthquake struck northeastern Japan, the strongest since a devastating quake and tsunami five years earlier.
Today’s Birthdays: Actor Michael Callan is 82. Actor Allen Garfield is 78. Animator and movie director Terry Gilliam is 77. Actor Tom Conti is 76. Singer Jesse Colin Young is 76. Astronaut Guion Bluford is 75. International Tennis Hall of Famer Billie Jean King is 74.