TODAY IN HISTORY

Today is Saturday, Nov. 20, the 324th day of 2021. There are 41 days left in the year.

Today’s highlight

On Nov. 20, 1945, 22 former Nazi officials went on trial before an international war crimes tribunal in Nuremberg, Germany. (Almost a year later, the International Military Tribune sentenced 12 of the defendants to death; seven received prison sentences ranging from 10 years to life; three were acquitted.)

On this date

In 1789, New Jersey became the first state to ratify the Bill of Rights.

In 1947, Britain’s future queen, Princess Elizabeth, married Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, at Westminster Abbey.

In 1962, President John F. Kennedy held a news conference in which he announced the end of the naval quarantine of Cuba imposed during the missile crisis, and the signing of an executive order prohibiting discrimination in federal housing facilities.

In 1967, the U.S. Census Bureau’s Population Clock at the Commerce Department ticked past 200 million.

In 1976, “Rocky,” starring Sylvester Stallone, premiered in New York.

In 1984, Michael Jackson was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame with the unveiling of his star in front of a horde of screaming fans.

In 2003, Michael Jackson was booked on suspicion of child molestation in Santa Barbara. (Jackson was later acquitted at trial.) Record producer Phil Spector was charged with murder in the shooting death of an actor, Lana Clarkson, at his home in Alhambra. (Spector’s first trial ended with a hung jury in 2007; he was convicted of second-degree murder in 2009 and sentenced to 19 years to life in prison. He died in January 2021.)

Today’s birthdays

Actor Estelle Parsons is 94. Comedian Dick Smothers is 83. President Joe Biden is 79. Singer Norman Greenbaum is 79. Actor Veronica Hamel is 78. Broadcast journalist Judy Woodruff is 75. Singer Joe Walsh is 74. Actor Richard Masur is 73. Singer Barbara Hendricks is 73. Former national security adviser John Bolton is 73. Actor Bo Derek is 65. Former NFL player Mark Gastineau is 65. Actor Sean Young is 62. Actor Ming-Na is 58. Rapper Mike D (The Beastie Boys) is 56. Actor Joel McHale is 50. Singer Dierks Bentley is 46. Olympic gold medal gymnast Dominique Dawes is 45.