Today in History

Today is Thursday, Nov. 21, the 325th day of 2013. There are 40 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Nov. 21, 1973, President Richard Nixon's attorney, J. Fred Buzhardt, revealed the existence of an 18-1/2-minute gap in one of the White House tape recordings related to Watergate.

On this date:

In 1789, North Carolina became the 12th state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.

In 1861, Judah Benjamin, who had been acting Confederate Secretary of War, was formally named to the post.

In 1920, the Irish Republican Army killed 12 British intelligence officers and two auxiliary policemen in the Dublin area; British forces responded by raiding a soccer match, killing 14 civilians.

In 1922, Rebecca L. Felton of Georgia was sworn in as the first woman to serve in the U.S. Senate.

In 1931, the Universal horror film "Frankenstein," starring Boris Karloff as the monster and Colin Clive as his creator, was first released.

In 1934, the Cole Porter musical "Anything Goes," starring Ethel Merman as Reno Sweeney, opened on Broadway.

In 1942, the Alaska Highway was formally opened.

In 1969, the Senate voted down the Supreme Court nomination of Clement F. Haynsworth, 55-45, the first such rejection since 1930.

In 1974, bombs exploded at a pair of pubs in Birmingham, England, killing 21 people. (Six suspects were convicted of the attack, but the convictions of the so-called "Birmingham Six" were overturned in 1991.)

In 1980, 87 people died in a fire at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas, Nev.

In 1991, the U.N. Security Council chose Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt to be Secretary-General.

In 1995, the Dow Jones industrial average closed above the 5,000 mark for the first time, rising 40.46 points to end the day at 5,023.55.

Ten years ago: More than a dozen rockets fired from donkey carts slammed into Iraq's Oil Ministry and two downtown Baghdad hotels used by foreign journalists and civilian defense contractors. Health officials said a deadly outbreak of hepatitis A at a Chi-Chi's Mexican restaurant in suburban Pittsburgh was probably caused by green onions from Mexico.

Five years ago: Wall Street staged a comeback, with the major indexes jumping more than 5 percent and the Dow Jones industrials surging nearly 500 points. Somali pirates released a hijacked Greek-owned tanker, MV Genius, with all 19 crew members safe and the oil cargo intact after payment of a ransom. (The ship had been seized almost two months earlier.) Madonna and Guy Ritchie were granted a preliminary decree of divorce by a London court.

One year ago: Two weeks after he was re-elected to a ninth full term in Congress, Democratic Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. quietly resigned, in a letter in which he acknowledged an ongoing federal investigation. (Jackson would eventually be sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison for illegally spending campaign money.) Israel and the Hamas militant group in Gaza agreed to a cease-fire to end eight days of the fiercest fighting in nearly four years.

Today's Birthdays: Actor Joseph Campanella is 86. Country singer Jean Shepard is 80. Actor Laurence Luckinbill is 79. Actress Marlo Thomas is 76. Actor Rick Lenz is 74. Singer Dr. John is 73. Actress Juliet Mills is 72. Basketball Hall of Famer Earl Monroe is 69. Comedian-director Harold Ramis is 69. Television producer Marcy Carsey is 69. Actress Goldie Hawn is 68. Movie director Andrew Davis is 67. Rock musician Lonnie Jordan (War) is 65. Singer Livingston Taylor is 63. Actress-singer Lorna Luft is 61. Actress Cherry Jones is 57. Rock musician Brian Ritchie (The Violent Femmes) is 53. Gospel singer Steven Curtis Chapman is 51. Actress Nicollette Sheridan is 50. Singer-actress Bjork (byork) is 48. Pro and College Football Hall of Famer Troy Aikman is 47. Rhythm-and-blues singer Chauncey Hannibal (BLACKstreet) is 45. Rock musician Alex James (Blur) is 45. MLB All-Star player Ken Griffey Jr. is 44. TV personality Rib Hillis is 43. Rapper Pretty Lou (Lost Boyz) is 42. Football player-turned-talk show host Michael Strahan is 42. Country singer Kelsi Osborn (SHeDAISY) is 39. Singer-actress Lindsey Haun is 29. Actress Jena Malone is 29. Pop singer Carly Rae Jepsen is 28. Actor-singer Sam Palladio (TV: "Nashville") is 26.

Thought for Today: "Anyone can do any amount of work, provided it isn't the work he is supposed be doing at that moment." -- Robert Benchley, American humorist (born 1889, died this date in 1945).

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