Today in history
Today is Thursday, Nov. 16, the 320th day of 2017. There are 45 days left in the year.
Today’s highlight
On Nov. 16, 1907, Oklahoma became the 46th state of the union.
On this date
In 1776, British troops captured Fort Washington in New York during the American Revolution.
In 1885, Canadian rebel leader Louis Riel was executed for high treason.
In 1917, Georges Clemenceau again became prime minister of France.
In 1933, the United States and the Soviet Union established diplomatic relations.
In 1939, mob boss Al Capone, ill with syphilis, was released from prison after serving 7 ½ years for tax evasion and failure to file tax returns.
In 1945, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) was founded at the conclusion of a conference in London.
In 1959, the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical “The Sound of Music” opened on Broadway.
In 1960, Academy Awardwinning actor Clark Gable died in Los Angeles at age 59.
In 1966, Dr. Samuel H. Sheppard was acquitted in Cleveland at his second trial of murdering his pregnant wife, Marilyn, in 1954.
In 1973, Skylab 4, carrying a crew of three astronauts, was launched from Cape Canaveral on an 84-day mission.
In 1982, an agreement was announced in the 57th day of a strike by National Football League players.
In 1997, China’s most prominent pro-democracy campaigner, Wei Jingsheng (way jeeng-shuhng), arrived in the United States after being released following nearly 18 years of imprisonment in his country.
Ten years ago: Senate Republicans blocked a $50 billion bill by Democrats that would have paid for several months of combat but also would have ordered troop withdrawals from Iraq to begin within 30 days. Poland’s new prime minister, Donald Tusk, formally took office along with a team of former anti-communist dissidents.
Five years ago: Former CIA Director David Petraeus told Congress that classified intelligence showed the Sept. 11, 2012 attack in Benghazi, Libya, that killed U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans was a terrorist attack, but that the Obama administration withheld the suspected role of alQaida affiliates to avoid tipping them off. Financially struggling Hostess Brands Inc. announced it was shutting down its operations following a strike by the union.
One year ago: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, addressing a U.N. conference in Morocco, made a stirring appeal to all countries — including his own — to press ahead with the fight against climate change, saying a failure to do so would be a “betrayal of devastating consequences.” Rick Porcello of the Boston Red Sox won the AL Cy Young Award by a narrow margin while Max Scherzer of the Washington Nationals took the NL prize. Former congressman and defense secretary Melvin Laird, 94, died in Fort Myers, Florida.
Today’s Birthdays: Actor Clu Gulager is 89. Journalist Elizabeth Drew is 82. Blues musician W.C. Clark is 78. Actress Joanna Pettet is 75. Actor Steve Railsback is 72. Actor David Leisure is 67. Actor Miguel Sandoval is 66. Actress Marg Helgenberger is 59. Rock musician Mani is 55. Country singer-musician Keith Burns (Trick Pony) is 54. Tennis player Zina Garrison is 54. Former MLB All-Star pitcher Dwight Gooden is 53. Jazz singer Diana Krall is 53. Actor Harry Lennix is 53. Rock musician Dave Kushner (Velvet Revolver) is 51. Actress Lisa Bonet is 50. Actress Tammy Lauren is 49. Rhythm-andblues singer Bryan Abrams (Color Me Badd) is 48. Actress Martha Plimpton is 47. Actor Michael Irby is 45. Actress Missi Pyle is 45.
Rock musician Corey McCormick (Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real) is 41. Olympic gold medal figure skater Oksana Baiul is 40. Actress Maggie Gyllenhaal is 40. Pop singer Trevor Penick is 38. NBA player Amare Stoudemire is 35. Actress Kimberly J. Brown is 33. Rock singer Siva Kaneswaran (The Wanted) is 29. Actor-comedian Peter Davidson (TV: “Saturday Night Live”) is 24.