Today in History

Today is Thursday, Nov. 29, the 334th day of 2012. There are 32 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Nov. 29, 1952, President-elect Dwight D. Eisenhower secretly left on a trip to Korea, keeping his campaign promise to assess the ongoing conflict first-hand.

On this date:

In 1530, Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, onetime adviser to England's King Henry VIII, died.

In 1864, a Colorado militia killed at least 150 peaceful Cheyenne Indians in the Sand Creek Massacre.

In 1912, the Maryland Agricultural College, located in College Park, was destroyed by fire.

In 1924, Italian composer Giacomo Puccini died in Brussels before he could complete his opera "Turandot." (It was finished by Franco Alfano.)

In 1947, the U.N. General Assembly passed a resolution calling for the partitioning of Palestine between Arabs and Jews.

In 1961, Enos the chimp was launched from Cape Canaveral aboard the Mercury-Atlas 5 spacecraft, which orbited earth twice before returning.

In 1967, Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara announced he was leaving the Johnson administration to become president of the World Bank.

In 1972, the coin-operated video arcade game Pong, created by Atari, made its debut at Andy Capp's Tavern in Sunnyvale, Calif.

In 1981, actress Natalie Wood drowned in a boating accident off Santa Catalina Island, Calif., at age 43.

In 1986, actor Cary Grant died in Davenport, Iowa, at age 82.

In 1987, a Korean Air 707 jetliner en route from Abu Dhabi to Bangkok was destroyed by a bomb planted by North Korean agents with the loss of all 115 people aboard.

In 2001, George Harrison, the "quiet Beatle," died in Los Angeles following a battle with cancer; he was 58.

Ten years ago: The White House quietly announced that federal workers would get a smaller pay raise the following month because President George W. Bush was freezing part of the increase, citing the fight against terrorism. Celebrity publicist Lizzie Grubman left the Suffolk County, N.Y., jail after serving 37 days of a 60-day sentence for backing her sport utility vehicle into a crowd outside a trendy Hamptons nightclub and fleeing.

Five years ago: A court in Sudan convicted British teacher Gillian Gibbons of insulting Islam for letting her pupils name a teddy bear "Muhammad" and sentenced her to 15 days in prison. (Gibbons was pardoned after spending more than a week in custody; she then left the country.) Pakistan's president, Pervez Musharraf, embarked on a new, five-year term as a civilian president, a day after ceding the powerful post of army chief. Former Illinois Congressman Henry Hyde died in Chicago at age 83. Former General Motors chief executive Roger B. Smith died in Detroit at age 82.

One year ago: Eurozone ministers sent Greece an 8 billion-euro ($10.7 billion) Christmas rescue package to stem an immediate cash crisis. Hard-line Iranian protesters stormed British diplomatic compounds in what began as an apparent state-approved show of anger over the latest Western sanctions to punish Tehran for its nuclear program. American Airlines' parent company, AMR Corp., filed for bankruptcy protection, citing high labor and fuel costs and the weak economy.

Today's Birthdays: Hall-of-Fame sportscaster Vin Scully is 85. Former French President Jacques Chirac is 80. Blues singer-musician John Mayall is 79. Actress Diane Ladd is 77. Composer-musician Chuck Mangione is 72. Country singer Jody Miller is 71. Pop singer-musician Felix Cavaliere (The Rascals) is 70. Olympic skier Suzy Chaffee is 66. Comedian Garry Shandling is 63. Actor Jeff Fahey is 60. Movie director Joel Coen is 58. Actor-comedian-celebrity judge Howie Mandel is 57. Homeland Security Director Janet Napolitano is 55. The mayor of Chicago, Rahm Emanuel, is 53. Actress Cathy Moriarty is 52. Actress Kim Delaney is 51. Actor Tom Sizemore is 51. Actor Andrew McCarthy is 50. Actor Don Cheadle is 48. Actor-producer Neill Barry is 47. Musician Wallis Buchanan is 47. Pop singer Jonathan Knight (New Kids on the Block) is 44. Rock musician Martin Carr (Boo Radleys) is 44. Actress Jennifer Elise Cox is 43. Actor Larry Joe Campbell is 42. Rock musician Frank Delgado (Deftones) is 42. Actress Paola Turbay is 42. Actress Gena Lee Nolin is 41. Actor Brian Baumgartner is 40. Actress Anna Faris is 36. Actor Julian Ovenden is 36. Gospel singer James Fortune is 35. Rapper The Game is 33. Rock musician Ringo Garza is 31. Actor Lucas Black is 30.

Thought for Today: "Statistics can prove anything -- even the truth." -- Sir Noel Moynihan, British physician and writer (1916-1994).

Copyright 2012, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.