On this day, Nov. 24
1859 British naturalist Charles Darwin published “On the Origin of Species,” which explained his theory of evolution by means of natural selection.
1865 Mississippi became the first Southern state to enact laws that came to be known as “Black Codes” aimed at limiting the rights of newly freed Blacks; other states of the former Confederacy soon followed.
1941 The U.S. Supreme Court, in Edwards v. California, unanimously struck down a California law prohibiting people from bringing impoverished non-residents into the state.
1947 A group of writers, producers and directors who became known as the “Hollywood Ten” was cited for contempt of Congress for refusing to answer questions about alleged Communist influence in the movie industry.
1963 Jack Ruby shot and mortally wounded Lee Harvey Oswald, the accused assassin of President John F. Kennedy, in a scene captured on live television.
1971 A hijacker calling himself “Dan Cooper” (but who became popularly known as “D.B. Cooper”) parachuted from a Northwest Orient Airlines 727 over the
Pacific Northwest after receiving $200,000 in ransom; his fate remains unknown.
1974 The bone fragments of a 3.2 millionyear-old hominid were discovered by scientists
in Ethiopia; the skeletal remains were nicknamed “Lucy.” 1987 The United States and the Soviet Union agreed on terms to scrap shorterand medium-range missiles. (The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty was signed by President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev the following month.) 1989 Romanian leader Nicolae Ceausescu was unanimously re-elected Communist Party chief. (Within a month, he was overthrown in a popular uprising and executed along with his wife, Elena, on Christmas Day.) 1991 Rock singer Freddie Mercury died in London at age 45 of AIDS-related pneumonia. 2000 The U.S. Supreme Court stepped into the bitter, overtime struggle for the White W. Bush’s House, appeal agreeing against to consider the hand George recounting of ballots in Florida. 2012 Fire raced through a garment factory in Bangladesh that supplied major retailers in the West, killing 112 people; an official said many of the victims were trapped because the eight-story building lacked emergency exits. 2014 It was announced that a grand jury in St. Louis County, Mo., had decided against indicting Ferguson police Officer Darren Wilson in the death of Michael Brown; the decision enraged protesters who set fire to buildings and cars and looted businesses in the area where Brown had been fatally shot.
2020 Pennsylvania officials certified Joe Biden as the winner of the presidential vote in the state; the Trump campaign had gone to court trying to prevent the certification. Today’s birthdays: Basketball Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson, 84. Country singer Johnny Carver, 82. Former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue, 82. Rock drummer Pete Best, 81. Actor-comedian Billy Connolly, 80. Former White House press secretary Marlin Fitzwater, 80. Former congressman and Motion Picture Association of America Chairman Dan Glickman, 78. Singer Lee Michaels, 77. Actor Dwight Schultz, 75. Actor Stanley Livingston, 72. Rock musician Clem Burke (Blondie; The Romantics), 68. Actor/director Ruben Santiago-Hudson, 66. Actor Denise Crosby, 65. U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, 63. Actor Shae D’Lyn, 60. Rock musician John Squire (The Stone Roses), 60. Rock musician Gary Stonadge (Big Audio), 60. Actor Conleth Hill, 58. Actor-comedian Brad Sherwood, 58. Actor Garret Dillahunt, 58. Actor-comedian Scott Krinsky, 54. Rock musician Chad Taylor (Live), 52. Actor Lola Glaudini, 51. Actor Danielle Nicolet, 49. Actor-writer-director-producer Stephen Merchant, 48. Actor Colin Hanks, 45. Actor Katherine Heigl, 44. Actor Sarah Hyland, 32.