Today in History

Today in History

Today is Saturday, Nov. 26, the 331st day of 2016. There are 35 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Nov. 26, 1941, U.S. Secretary of State Cordell Hull delivered a note to Japan's ambassador to the United States, Kichisaburo Nomura, setting forth U.S. demands for "lasting and extensive peace throughout the Pacific area." The same day, a Japanese naval task force consisting of six aircraft carriers, left the Kuril Islands, headed toward Hawaii.

On this date:

In 1789, Americans observed a day of thanksgiving set aside by President George Washington to mark the adoption of the Constitution of the United States.

In 1864, English mathematician and writer Charles Dodgson presented a handwritten and illustrated manuscript, "Alice's Adventures Under Ground," to his 12-year-old friend Alice Pleasance Liddell; the book was later turned into "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland."

In 1933, a judge in New York ruled the James Joyce book "Ulysses" was not obscene and could be published in the United States.

In 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered nationwide gasoline rationing, beginning Dec. 1. The Warner Bros. motion picture "Casablanca," starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, had its world premiere at the Hollywood Theater in New York.

In 1944, a month and a day following her Carnegie Hall recital, New York socialite and self-styled soprano Florence Foster Jenkins died at age 76.

In 1950, China entered the Korean War, launching a counteroffensive against soldiers from the United Nations, the U.S. and South Korea.

In 1965, France launched its first satellite, the 92-pound Asterix, into orbit.

In 1973, President Richard Nixon's personal secretary, Rose Mary Woods, told a federal court that she'd accidentally caused part of the 18-1/2-minute gap in a key Watergate tape.

In 1976, the Sex Pistols' debut single, "Anarchy in the U.K.," was released by EMI.

In 1986, President Ronald Reagan appointed a commission headed by former Senator John Tower to investigate his National Security Council staff in the wake of the Iran-Contra affair.

In 1990, Japanese business giant Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. agreed to acquire MCA Corp., owner of Universal Studios, for $6.6 billion.

In 1991, the Stars and Stripes were lowered for the last time at Clark Air Base in the Philippines as the United States abandoned one of its oldest and largest overseas installations, which was damaged by a volcano.

Ten years ago: In New York City, an angry crowd demanded to know why police officers killed Sean Bell, an unarmed man, on the day of his wedding by firing dozens of shots that also wounded two of Bell's friends. In Turkey, tens of thousands of protesters denounced Pope Benedict XVI as an enemy of Islam two days before the pontiff's scheduled visit. Rafael Correa won Ecuador's presidential runoff.

Five years ago: In a friendly-fire incident that further strained relations between the United States and Pakistan, U.S. forces launched airstrikes that mistakenly killed 24 Pakistani troops at two posts along the Afghan border. NASA's Curiosity rover blasted off from the Kennedy Space Center on an 81/2-month, 354 million-mile journey to Mars (it arrived in Aug. 2012). NBA players and owners reached a tentative agreement to end a 149-day lockout.

One year ago: French President Francois Hollande and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to tighten cooperation in the fight against the Islamic State group. Pope Francis celebrated his first Mass in Africa; later that day in Nairobi, Kenya, the pope met with several hundred priests and nuns, urging them to serve others and not be served. The White House underwent a Thanksgiving Day lockdown after a man draped in an American flag jumped the fence.

Today's Birthdays: Impressionist Rich Little is 78. Singer Tina Turner is 77. Singer Jean Terrell is 72. Pop musician John McVie is 71. Actress Marianne Muellerleile is 68. Actor Scott Jacoby is 60. Actress Jamie Rose is 57. Country singer Linda Davis is 54. Actor Scott Adsit is 51. Blues singer-musician Bernard Allison is 51. Country singer-musician Steve Grisaffe is 51. Actress Kristin Bauer is 43. Actor Peter Facinelli is 43. Actress Tammy Lynn Michaels Etheridge is 42. DJ/record label executive DJ Khaled is 41. Actress Maia Campbell is 40. Country singer Joe Nichols is 40. Contemporary Christian musicians Randy and Anthony Armstrong (Red) are 38. Actress Jessica Bowman is 36. Pop singer Natasha Bedingfield is 35. Country singer-musician Mike Gossin (Gloriana Rock) is 32. Rock musician Ben Wysocki (The Fray) is 32. Singer Lil Fizz is 31. Singer Aubrey Collins is 29.

Thought for Today: "Better to trust the man who is frequently in error than the one who is never in doubt." -- Eric Sevareid, broadcast journalist (born this date in 1912, died 1992).