Today in history
On Nov. 10, 1775, the U.S. Marines were organized under authority of the Continental Congress.
In 1871, journalist-explorer Henry M. Stanley found Scottish missionary David Livingstone, who had not been heard from for years, near Lake Tanganyika in central Africa.
In 1917, 41 suffragists were arrested for picketing in front of the White House.
In 1928, Hirohito was enthroned as Emperor of Japan.
In 1942, Winston Churchill delivered a speech in London in which he said, “I have not become the King’s First Minister to preside over the liquidation of the British Empire.”
In 1954, the U.S. Marine Corps Memorial, depicting the raising of the American flag on Iwo Jima in 1945, was dedicated by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in Arlington, Virginia.
In 1969, the children’s educational program “Sesame Street” made its debut on National Educational Television (later PBS).
In 1972, three armed men hijacked Southern Airways Flight 49, a DC-9 with 24 other passengers on board during a stopover in Birmingham, Ala., and demanded $10 million in ransom. (The 30-hour ordeal, which involved landings in nine U.S. cities and Toronto, finally ended with a second landing in Cuba, where the hijackers were taken into custody by Cuban authorities.)
In 1975, the U.N. General Assembly approved a resolution equating Zionism with racism (the world body repealed the resolution in Dec. 1991). The ore-hauling ship SS Edmund Fitzgerald mysteriously sank during a storm in Lake Superior with the loss of all 29 crew members.
In 1982, the newly finished Vietnam Veterans Memorial was opened to its first visitors in Washington, D.C., three days before its dedication.
Ten years ago: President George W. Bush and his wife, Laura, welcomed Barack and Michelle Obama to the White House for a nearly two-hour visit; the president and president-elect conferred in the Oval Office, while the current and future first ladies talked in the White House residence.
Five years ago: Talks in Geneva on curbing Iran’s nuclear program ended with no deal after France objected that the proposed measures did not go far enough.
One year ago: Facing allegations of sexual misconduct, comedian Louis C.K. said the harassment claims by five women that were detailed in a New York Times report “are true,” and he expressed remorse for using his influence “irresponsibly.” The National Republican Senatorial committee ended its fundraising agreement with Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore in light of allegations of sexual contact with a teenager decades ago.