Today in History
Published 5:58 am Saturday, November 10, 2018
Today is Saturday, Nov. 10, the 314th day of 2018. There are 51 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlights in History:
On Nov. 10, 1775, the U.S. Marines were organized under authority of the Continental Congress.
On this date:
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 (hee-roh-hee-toh) was enthroned as Emperor of Japan.
In 1938, Kate Smith first sang Irving Berlin’s “God Bless America” on her CBS radio program. Turkish statesman Mustafa Kemal Ataturk died in Istanbul at age 57.
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In 1975, the U.N. General Assembly approved a resolution equating Zionism with racism (the world body repealed the resolution in Dec. 1991).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. Soviet leader Leonid I. Brezhnev died at age 75.
In 1997, a judge in Cambridge, Massachusetts, reduced Louise Woodward’s murder conviction to involuntary manslaughter and sentenced the English au pair to the 279 days she’d already served in the death of 8-month-old Matthew Eappen.
In 2005, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, a former finance minister of Liberia, claimed victory in the country’s presidential election.
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. Miriam Makeba, the South African folk singer and anti-apartheid activist, died at age 76 after performing at a concert in Castel Volturno, Italy.
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. President Donald Trump arrived in Vietnam to attend an international economic summit, telling CEOs on the sidelines of the summit, “We are not going to let the United States be taken advantage of anymore.”
Today’s Birthdays: Film composer Ennio Morricone (EHN’-yoh mohr-ee-KOHN’-eh) is 90. Blues singer Bobby Rush is 84. Actor Albert Hall is 81. Country singer Donna Fargo is 77. Former Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., is 75. Lyricist Tim Rice is 74. Actress-dancer Ann Reinking is 69. Actor Jack Scalia is 68. Movie director Roland Emmerich is 63. Actor Matt Craven is 62. Actor-comedian Sinbad is 62. Actress Mackenzie Phillips is 59. Author Neil Gaiman (GAY’-mihn) is 58. Actress Vanessa Angel is 55. Actor Hugh Bonneville is 55. Actor-comedian Tommy Davidson is 55. Actor Michael Jai (jy) White is 54. Country singer Chris Cagle is 50. Actor-comedian Tracy Morgan is 50. Actress Ellen Pompeo (pahm-PAY’-oh) is 49. Actor-comedian Orny Adams is 48. Rapper-producer Warren G is 48. Actor Walton Goggins is 47. Comedian-actor Chris Lilley is 44. Contemporary Christian singer Matt Maher is 44. Rock singer-musician Jim Adkins (Jimmy Eat World) is 43. Rapper Eve is 40. Rock musician Chris Joannou (joh-AN’-yoo) (Silverchair) is 39. Actor Bryan Neal is 38. Actress Heather Matarazzo is 36. Country singer Miranda Lambert is 35. Actor Josh Peck is 32. Pop singer Vinz Dery (Nico & Vinz) is 28. Actress Genevieve Beuchner is 27. Actress Zoey Deutch (DOYCH) is 24. Actress Kiernan Shipka is 19. Actress Mackenzie Foy is 18.