Today in History

Today is Friday, Nov. 29, the 333rd day of 2013. There are 32 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Nov. 29, 1961, Enos the chimp was launched from Cape Canaveral aboard the Mercury-Atlas 5 spacecraft, which orbited earth twice before returning.

On this date:

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

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

In 1929, Navy Lt. Cmdr. Richard E. Byrd, pilot Bernt Balchen, radio operator Harold June and photographer Ashley McKinney made the first airplane flight over the South Pole.

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

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

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 1989, in response to a growing pro-democracy movement in Czechoslovakia, the Communist-run Parliament ended the party's 40-year monopoly on power.

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

Ten years ago: Gunmen in Iraq ambushed and killed two Japanese diplomats; seven members of Spain's military intelligence agency were killed in Mahmudiyah. Thirty-three people were killed in the crash of a military plane in Congo.

Five years ago: Indian commandos killed the last remaining gunmen holed up at a luxury Mumbai hotel, ending a 60-hour rampage through India's financial capital by suspected Pakistani-based militants that killed 166 people. Architect Joern Utzon, who designed the iconic Sydney Opera House in Sydney, Australia, died at age 90.

One year ago: The United Nations voted overwhelmingly to recognize a Palestinian state, a vote that came exactly 65 years after the General Assembly voted to divide Palestine into separate states for Jews and Arabs. President Barack Obama had lunch with defeated Republican nominee Mitt Romney in the White House's private dining room; the White House says they discussed America's leadership in the world.

Today's Birthdays: Hall-of-Fame sportscaster Vin Scully is 86. Former French President Jacques Chirac is 81. Blues singer-musician John Mayall is 80. Actress Diane Ladd is 78. Composer-musician Chuck Mangione is 73. Country singer Jody Miller is 72. Pop singer-musician Felix Cavaliere (The Rascals) is 71. Olympic skier Suzy Chaffee is 67. Comedian Garry Shandling is 64. Actor Jeff Fahey is 61. Movie director Joel Coen is 59. Actor-comedian-celebrity judge Howie Mandel is 58. Homeland Security Director Janet Napolitano is 56. The mayor of Chicago, Rahm Emanuel, is 54. Actress Cathy Moriarty is 53. Actress Kim Delaney is 52. Actor Tom Sizemore is 52. Actor Andrew McCarthy is 51. Actor Don Cheadle is 49. Actor-producer Neill Barry is 48. Musician Wallis Buchanan is 48. Pop singer Jonathan Knight (New Kids on the Block) is 45. Rock musician Martin Carr (Boo Radleys) is 45. Actress Jennifer Elise Cox is 44. Actor Larry Joe Campbell is 43. Rock musician Frank Delgado (Deftones) is 43. Actress Paola Turbay is 43. Actress Gena Lee Nolin is 42. Actor Brian Baumgartner is 41. Actress Anna Faris is 37. Actor Julian Ovenden is 37. Gospel singer James Fortune is 36. Rapper The Game is 34. Rock musician Ringo Garza is 32. Actor/comedian John Milhiser is 32. Actor Lucas Black is 31.

Thought for Today: "'Plain English' -- everybody loves it, demands it -- from the other fellow." -- Jacques Barzun, French-born American historian.

Copyright 2013, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.