Today in History

Today is Saturday, Nov. 23, the 327th day of 2019. There are 38 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On November 23rd, 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 1804, the 14th president of the United States, Franklin Pierce (puhrs), was born in Hillsboro, New Hampshire.

In 1889, the first jukebox made its debut in San Francisco, at the Palais Royale Saloon. (The coin-operated device consisted of four listening tubes attached to an Edison phonograph.)

In 1903, Enrico Caruso made his American debut at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, appearing in “Rigoletto.”

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 “Dallas,” died in Dallas at the age of 81.

Ten years ago: One of the worst massacres in Philippine history took place as gunmen targeted an election campaign convoy in southern Maguindanao (mah-GIHN'-dah-NOW’) province, killing 58 people. Joe Mauer (MAW'-ur) of the Minnesota Twins became only the second catcher in 33 years to win the American League Most Valuable Player Award, finishing first in a near-unanimous vote.

Five years ago: Israel’s Cabinet approved a bill to legally define the country as the nation-state of the Jewish people. Former Washington, D.C. mayor Marion Barry died at age 78. Roger Federer defeated Richard Gasquet (ree-SHARD’ gas-KAY’) 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 in the first reverse singles match as Switzerland won the Davis Cup final against France by taking an unassailable 3-1 lead. One Direction won three honors at the American Music Awards, including artist of the year; Katy Perry, absent because of her world tour, also won three awards.

One year ago: Black Friday shoppers were evacuated from a northwestern Indiana Meijer (MY'-ur) store, and a bomb squad was summoned, after a customer mistook a toy grenade for a real one. A massive new federal report, issued quietly on the day after Thanksgiving, warned that extreme weather disasters such as California’s wildfires and the year’s strong hurricanes were worsening in the United States; the National Climate Assessment frequently contradicted President Donald Trump. The mayor of the Mexican border city of Tijuana declared a humanitarian crisis and said he was asking the United Nations for aid to deal with approximately 5,000 Central American migrants, most of whom were camped out inside a sports complex.

Today’s Birthdays: Former Labor Secretary William E. Brock is 89. Actor Franco Nero is 78. Screenwriter Joe Eszterhas (ES'-tur-hahs) is 75. Actor-comedy writer Bruce Vilanch is 72. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is 69. Singer Bruce Hornsby is 65. Former Sen. Mary Landrieu (LAN'-droo), D-La., is 64. Actor Maxwell Caulfield is 60. Actor John Henton is 59. TV personality Robin Roberts (“Good Morning America”) is 59. Rock singer-musician Ken Block (Sister Hazel) is 53. Rock musician Charlie Grover is 53. Actress Salli Richardson-Whitfield is 52. Actor Oded Fehr (OH'-dehd fayr) is 49. Rapper-actor Kurupt (Tha Dogg Pound) is 47. Actor Page Kennedy is 43. Actress Kelly Brook is 40. Actor Lucas Grabeel (GRAY'-beel) is 35. TV personality Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi is 32. Actress-singer Miley Cyrus is 27. Actor Austin Majors is 24. Actress Olivia Keville (TV: “Splitting Up Together”) is 17.

Thought for Today: “It is better to debate an important matter without settling it than to settle it without debating it.” — Author unknown.