Today in History

Today is Monday, Nov. 12, the 317th day of 2012. There are 49 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Nov. 12, 1942, the World War II naval Battle of Guadalcanal began. (The Allies ended up winning a major victory over Japanese forces.)

On this date:

In 1787, severe flooding struck Dublin, Ireland, as the River Liffey rose.

In 1815, American suffragist Elizabeth Cady Stanton was born in Johnstown, N.Y.

In 1918, the short-lived Republic of German-Austria was declared.

In 1927, Josef Stalin became the undisputed ruler of the Soviet Union as Leon Trotsky was expelled from the Communist Party.

In 1936, the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge opened as President Franklin D. Roosevelt pressed a telegraph key in Washington, D.C., giving the green light to traffic.

In 1948, former Japanese premier Hideki Tojo and several other World War II Japanese leaders were sentenced to death by a war crimes tribunal.

In 1969, news of the My Lai Massacre in South Vietnam in March 1968 was broken by investigative reporter Seymour Hersh.

In 1977, the city of New Orleans elected its first black mayor, Ernest "Dutch" Morial, the winner of a runoff.

In 1982, Yuri V. Andropov was elected to succeed the late Leonid I. Brezhnev as general secretary of the Soviet Communist Party's Central Committee.

In 1987, the American Medical Association issued a policy statement saying it was unethical for a doctor to refuse to treat someone solely because that person had AIDS or was HIV-positive.

In 1990, Japanese Emperor Akihito formally assumed the Chrysanthemum Throne. Actress Eve Arden died in Beverly Hills, Calif. at age 82.

In 2001, American Airlines Flight 587, an Airbus A300 headed to the Dominican Republic, crashed after takeoff from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, killing all 260 people on board and five people on the ground.

Ten years ago: In an audiotaped message, a voice purported to be that of Osama bin Laden praised terrorist strikes in Bali and Moscow and threatened Western nations over any attack on Iraq. Former FBI Director William Webster resigned under pressure as head of a special accounting oversight board created by Congress to rebuild public confidence shaken by a cascade of business scandals.

Five years ago: Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was placed under house arrest for the second time in four days ahead of a planned march to protest emergency rule. The Dow Jones industrial average closed below 13,000 for first time since August 2007. Ryan Braun won the NL Rookie of the Year award in one of the closest votes, while Dustin Pedroia ran away with the AL honor.

One year ago: President Barack Obama declared the Asia-Pacific region the heart of explosive growth for years to come as he courted Asian powers in Hawaii, the site of a regional economic summit. Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi resigned, ending a political era and setting in motion a transition aimed at bringing the country back from the brink of economic crisis. In a surprisingly sharp move, the Arab League voted to suspend Syria over the country's bloody crackdown on protesters and stepped up calls on the army to stop killing civilians.

Today's Birthdays: Rhythm-and-blues singer Ruby Nash Curtis (Ruby and the Romantics) is 73. Actor-playwright Wallace Shawn is 69. Singer Brian Hyland is 69. Rhythm-and-blues singer Jimmy Hayes (Persuasions) is 69. Rock musician Booker T. Jones (Booker T. & the MGs) is 68. Sportscaster Al Michaels is 68. Singer-songwriter Neil Young is 67. Rock musician Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser (Blue Oyster Cult) is 65. Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., is 63. Country/gospel singer Barbara Fairchild is 62. Actress Megan Mullally is 54. Actor Vincent Irizarry is 53. Olympic gold medal gymnast Nadia Comaneci is 51. Actor Sam Lloyd is 49. Rock musician David Ellefson is 48. Former MLB player Sammy Sosa is 44. Figure skater Tonya Harding is 42. Actress Radha Mitchell is 39. Actress Lourdes Benedicto is 38. Actress Tamala Jones is 38. Actress Angela Watson is 38. Singer Tevin Campbell is 36. Actress Ashley Williams is 34. Actress Cote de Pablo is 33. Actor Ryan Gosling is 32. Contemporary Christian musician Chris Huffman is 32. Actress Anne Hathaway is 30. Pop singer Omarion is 28. Actress Macey Cruthird is 20.

Thought for Today: "This is the lesson that history teaches: repetition." -- Gertrude Stein, American author (1874-1946).

Copyright 2012, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.