Today in History

Today is Friday, Nov. 20, the 324th day of 2015. There are 41 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Nov. 20, 1945, 22 former Nazi officials went on trial before an international war crimes tribunal in Nuremberg, Germany. (Almost a year later, the International Military Tribune sentenced 12 of the defendants to death; seven received prison sentences ranging from 10 years to life; three were acquitted.)

On this date:

In 1620, Peregrine White was born aboard the Mayflower in Massachusetts Bay; he was the first child born of English parents in present-day New England.

In 1789, New Jersey became the first state to ratify the Bill of Rights.

In 1910, the Mexican Revolution of 1910 had its beginnings under the Plan of San Luis Potosi issued by Francisco I. Madero.

In 1925, Robert F. Kennedy was born in Brookline, Massachusetts.

In 1947, Britain's future queen, Princess Elizabeth, married Philip Mountbatten, Duke of Edinburgh, at Westminster Abbey.

In 1959, the United Nations issued its Declaration of the Rights of the Child.

In 1967, the U.S. Census Bureau's Population Clock at the Commerce Department ticked past 200 million.

In 1969, the Nixon administration announced a halt to residential use of the pesticide DDT as part of a total phaseout. A group of American Indian activists began a 19-month occupation of Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay.

In 1975, after nearly four decades of absolute rule, Spain's Generalissimo Francisco Franco died, two weeks before his 83rd birthday.

In 1985, the first version of Microsoft's Windows operating system, Windows 1.0, was officially released.

In 1992, fire seriously damaged Windsor Castle.

In 1995, Olympic figure skating champion Sergei Grinkov died of a heart attack in Lake Placid, New York. BBC Television broadcast an interview with Princess Diana, who admitted being unfaithful to Prince Charles.

Ten years ago: Israel's dovish Labor Party voted to pull out of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's government in the opening salvo of an election campaign. A gunman opened fire at a crowded shopping mall in Tacoma, Washington, wounding seven people and taking four hostages before surrendering. (Dominick Maldonado was later convicted of 15 charges, including attempted murder, assault and kidnapping; he was sentenced to just over 163 years in prison.)

Five years ago: In comments released by the Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI opened the door on the previously taboo subject of condoms as a way to fight HIV, saying male prostitutes who used condoms might be beginning to assume moral responsibility. Notre Dame returned to the Bronx for the first time in 41 years and sent the subway alumni home happy as the Irish beat Army 27-3 in the first football game at the new Yankee Stadium. Former Milwaukee police officer and onetime Playboy Club bunny Laurie "Bambi" Bembenek, who escaped from prison after she was convicted of murder, died at a hospice in Portland, Oregon, at age 52.

One year ago: Spurning furious Republicans, President Barack Obama unveiled expansive executive actions on immigration during a televised address that would spare nearly 5 million people who were in the U.S. illegally from deportation and refocus enforcement efforts on "felons, not families." MLB Commissioner Bud Selig announced that baseball owners had unanimously approved a five-year term for his successor, Rob Manfred.

Today's Birthdays: Actress-comedian Kaye Ballard is 90. Actress Estelle Parsons is 88. Comedian Dick Smothers is 77. Singer Norman Greenbaum is 73. Vice President Joe Biden is 73. Actress Veronica Hamel is 72. Broadcast journalist Judy Woodruff is 69. Actor Samuel E. Wright is 69. Singer Joe Walsh is 68. Actor Richard Masur is 67. Opera singer Barbara Hendricks is 67. Former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton is 67. Actress Bo Derek is 59. Former NFL player Mark Gastineau is 59. Reggae musician Jim Brown (UB40) is 58. Actress Sean Young is 56. Pianist Jim Brickman is 54. Rock musician Todd Nance (Widespread Panic) is 53. Actress Ming-Na is 52. Actor Ned Vaughn is 51. Rapper Mike D (The Beastie Boys) is 50. Rapper Sen Dog (Cypress Hill) is 50. Actress Callie Thorne is 46. Actress Sabrina Lloyd is 45. Actor Joel McHale is 44. Actress Marisa Ryan is 41. Country singer Dierks Bentley is 40. Actor Joshua Gomez is 40. Actress Laura Harris is 39. Olympic gold medal gymnast Dominique Dawes is 39. Country singer Josh Turner is 38. Actress Nadine Velazquez is 37. Actress Andrea Riseborough is 34. Actor Jeremy Jordan (TV: "Supergirl") is 31. Actor Dan Byrd is 30. Actress Ashley Fink is 29. Rock musician Jared Followill (Kings of Leon) is 29. Actor Cody Linley is 26. Pop musician Michael Clifford (5 Seconds to Summer) is 20.

Thought for Today: "No man remains quite what he was when he recognizes himself." -- Thomas Mann, German author (1875-1955).

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