TODAY IN HISTORY

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT

Nov. 18, 1942

“The Skin of Our Teeth,” Thornton Wilder’s Pulitzer Prize-winning allegory about the history of humankind, opened on Broadway.

ALSO ON THIS DATE 1883

The United States and Canada adopted a system of Standard Time zones.

1886 The 21st president of the United States, Chester A. Arthur, died in New York. 1916

The World War I Battle of the Somme pitting British and French forces against German troops ended inconclusively after 41⁄2 months of bloodshed.

1928

Walt Disney’s first sound-synchronized animated cartoon, “Steamboat Willie” starring Mickey Mouse, premiered in New York.

1936

Germany and Italy recognized the Spanish government of Francisco Franco.

1959

“Ben-Hur,” the Biblical-era spectacle starring Charlton Heston, had its world premiere in New York.

1966

U.S. Roman Catholic bishops issued a Pastoral Statement on Penance and Abstinence, which did away with the rule against eating meat on Fridays outside of Lent.

1976

Spain’s parliament approved a bill to establish a democracy after 37years of dictatorship.

1978

U.S. Rep. Leo J. Ryan, D-Calif., and four others were killed in Jonestown, Guyana, by members of the Peoples Temple; the killings were followed by a night of mass murder and suicide by more than 900cult members.