Today in History
Today in History
Today is Monday, Nov. 23, the 328th day of 2020. There are 38 days left in the year.
Today's Highlight in History:
On Nov. 23, 1963, President Lyndon B. Johnson proclaimed Nov. 25 a day of national mourning following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
On this date:
In 1887, actor Boris Karloff was born William Henry Pratt in London.
In 1914, the seven-month U.S. military occupation of Veracruz, Mexico, ended.
In 1936, Life, the photojournalism magazine created by Henry R. Luce (loos), was first published.
In 1971, the People's Republic of China was seated in the U.N. Security Council.
In 1980, some 2,600 people were killed by a series of earthquakes that devastated southern Italy.
In 1996, a commandeered Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 767 crashed into the water off the Comoros Islands, killing 125 of the 175 people on board, including all three hijackers.
In 2000, in a setback for Al Gore, the Florida Supreme Court refused to order Miami-Dade County officials to resume hand-counting its election-day ballots. Meanwhile, Gore's lawyers argued in a brief filed with the U.S. Supreme Court that the high court should stay out of the Florida election controversy.
In 2001, the U.N. war crimes tribunal said it would try former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic (sloh-BOH'-dahn mee-LOH'-shuh-vich) for genocide in Bosnia, linking him for the first time in court to the murders of thousands of non-Serbs and the displacement of a quarter million people. (Milosevic died in March 2006 while his trial was in progress.)
In 2003, five U.S. soldiers were killed in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan. Eduard Shevardnadze (sheh-vahrd-NAHD'-zeh) resigned as president of Georgia in the face of protests.
In 2006, former KGB spy Alexander Litvinenko (leet-vee-NYEN'-koh) died in London from radiation poisoning after making a deathbed statement blaming Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In 2012, supporters and opponents of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi clashed in the streets of Cairo and other major cities in the worst violence since Morsi took office nearly five months earlier. Actor Larry Hagman, best known for playing the scheming oil baron J.R. Ewing on TV's 'œDallas,'ť died in Dallas at the age of 81.
In 2016, President-elect Donald Trump selected two Republican women who'd had unflattering things to say about him during the campaign: South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley to serve as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and charter school advocate Betsy DeVos to lead the Department of Education.
Ten years ago: North Korea bombarded South Korea's Yeonpyeong (yuhn-pyuhng) Island with artillery fire, killing four people and raising tensions between the two countries. Texas outfielder Josh Hamilton was a runaway winner of the American League's Most Valuable Player award. Ingrid Pitt, who'd survived a Nazi concentration camp and dodged Communist police to become one of Britain's best known horror stars, died in London at 73.
Five years ago: The White House urged its allies to step up their contributions to the campaign against the Islamic State, as President Barack Obama faced pressure to show the U.S.-led coalition would intensify efforts even without a major shift in strategy. Blue Origin, a private space company, landed a rocket called New Shepard upright and gently enough to be used again, a milestone in commercial aeronautics. Cynthia Robinson, 71, a trumpeter and vocalist who was a key member of Sly and the Family Stone, died in Carmichael, California.
One year ago: Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph was fined $50,000 by the NFL for his involvement in a melee that began when Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett pulled off his helmet and hit him over the head with it. (In all, the league assessed more than $700,000 for discipline stemming from the brawl; Garrett was indefinitely suspended.) Beginning a three-day visit to Japan, Pope Francis denounced the 'œevil'ť of nuclear weapons.
Today's Birthdays: Former Labor Secretary William E. Brock is 90. Actor Franco Nero is 79. Screenwriter Joe Eszterhas (ES'-tur-hahs) is 76. Actor-comedy writer Bruce Vilanch is 73. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is 70. Singer Bruce Hornsby is 66. Former Sen. Mary Landrieu (LAN'-droo), D-La., is 65. Actor Maxwell Caulfield is 61. Actor John Henton is 60. TV personality Robin Roberts ('œGood Morning America'ť) is 60. Rock singer-musician Ken Block (Sister Hazel) is 54. Actor Salli Richardson-Whitfield is 53. Actor Oded Fehr (OH'-dehd fayr) is 50. Rapper-actor Kurupt (Tha Dogg Pound) is 48. Actor Page Kennedy is 44. Actor Kelly Brook is 41. Actor Lucas Grabeel (GRAY'-beel) is 36. TV personality Nicole 'œSnooki'ť Polizzi is 33. Actor-singer Miley Cyrus is 28. Actor Austin Majors is 25. Actor Olivia Keville (TV: 'œSplitting Up Together'ť) is 18.