Today in History

Today is Sunday, Nov. 16, the 320th day of 2014. There are 45 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Nov. 16, 1914, the newly created Federal Reserve Banks opened in 12 cities.

On this date:

In 1776, British troops captured Fort Washington in New York during the American Revolution.

In 1885, Canadian rebel leader Louis Riel was executed for high treason.

In 1907, Oklahoma became the 46th state of the union.

In 1917, Georges Clemenceau again became prime minister of France.

In 1933, the United States and the Soviet Union established diplomatic relations.

In 1939, mob boss Al Capone, ill with syphilis, was released from prison after serving 7 1/2 years for tax evasion and failure to file tax returns.

In 1946, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) was founded at the conclusion of a conference in London.

In 1959, the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical "The Sound of Music" opened on Broadway.

In 1960, Academy Award-winning actor Clark Gable died in Los Angeles at age 59.

In 1966, Dr. Samuel H. Sheppard was acquitted in his second trial of murdering his pregnant wife, Marilyn, in 1954.

In 1973, Skylab 4, carrying a crew of three astronauts, was launched from Cape Canaveral on an 84-day mission.

In 1989, six Jesuit priests, a housekeeper and her daughter were slain by army troops at the University of Central America Jose Simeon Canas in El Salvador.

Ten years ago: President George W. Bush picked National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice to be his new secretary of state, succeeding Colin Powell. Al-Jazeera television said it had received a video showing a hooded militant shooting a blindfolded woman in the head; it's believed the woman was kidnapped British aid worker Margaret Hassan. Sunni Muslims in Iraq expressed anger over videotape showing the fatal shooting of a wounded and apparently unarmed man in a Fallujah mosque by a U.S. Marine. (The Marine Corps decided not to court-martial the unidentified corporal.)

Five years ago: President Barack Obama, on his first-ever trip to China, gave his hosts a pointed, unexpected nudge to stop censoring Internet access, but the message was not widely heard in China, where the president's words were blocked online and shown on only one regional television channel. A U.S. government health task force suggested most women wait until age 50 to get mammograms, conflicting with the American Cancer Society's advice to start at 40. Space shuttle Atlantis blasted off with six astronauts and a full load of spare parts for the International Space Station. Actor Edward Woodward, 79, died in Cornwall, England.

One year ago: In his weekly Saturday radio and Internet address, President Barack Obama said improved energy efficiency and higher energy production in the United States were yielding environmental and economic benefits that were helping ensure cleaner air and a more competitive business landscape.

Today's Birthdays: Actor Clu Gulager is 86. Journalist Elizabeth Drew is 79. Blues musician W.C. Clark is 75. Actress Joanna Pettet is 72. Actor Steve Railsback is 69. Actor David Leisure is 64. Actor Miguel Sandoval is 63. Actress Marg Helgenberger is 56. Rock musician Mani is 52. Country singer-musician Keith Burns (Trick Pony) is 51. Tennis player Zina Garrison is 51. Former MLB All-Star pitcher Dwight Gooden is 50. Jazz singer Diana Krall is 50. Actor Harry Lennix is 50. Rock musician Dave Kushner (Velvet Revolver) is 48. Actress Lisa Bonet is 47. Actress Tammy Lauren is 46. Rhythm-and-blues singer Bryan Abrams (Color Me Badd) is 45. Actress Martha Plimpton is 44. Actor Michael Irby is 42. Actress Missi Pyle is 42. Olympic gold medal figure skater Oksana Baiul is 37. Actress Maggie Gyllenhaal is 37. Pop singer Trevor Penick is 35. NBA player Amare Stoudemire is 32. Actress Kimberly J. Brown is 30. Rock singer Siva Kaneswaran (The Wanted) is 26. Actor Casey Moss (TV: "Days of Our Lives") is 21. Actor Noah Gray-Cabey is 19.

Thought for Today: "History is a gallery of pictures in which there are few originals and many copies." -- Alexis de Tocqueville, French historian (1805-1859).

Copyright 2014, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.