Today in History

Today in History

Today is Friday, Nov. 25, the 330th day of 2016. There are 36 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Nov. 25, 1920, radio station WTAW of College Station, Texas, broadcast the first play-by-play description of a football game, between Texas University and the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas. (Texas won, 7-3.)

On this date:

In 1783, the British evacuated New York, their last military position in the United States during the Revolutionary War.

In 1864, during the Civil War, Confederate agents set a series of arson fires in New York; the blazes were quickly extinguished.

In 1915, a new version of the Ku Klux Klan, targeting blacks, Jews, Catholics and immigrants, was founded by William Joseph Simmons, who proclaimed himself Imperial Wizard as he staged a cross-burning on Stone Mountain outside Atlanta.

In 1940, the cartoon character Woody Woodpecker made his debut in the animated short "Knock Knock" produced by Walter Lantz.

In 1947, movie studio executives meeting in New York agreed to blacklist the "Hollywood Ten" who'd been cited for contempt of Congress the day before.

In 1957, President Dwight D. Eisenhower suffered a slight stroke.

In 1963, the body of President John F. Kennedy was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery; his widow, Jacqueline, lighted an "eternal flame" at the gravesite.

In 1974, former U.N. Secretary-General U Thant died in New York at age 65.

In 1986, the Iran-Contra affair erupted as President Ronald Reagan and Attorney General Edwin Meese revealed that profits from secret arms sales to Iran had been diverted to Nicaraguan rebels.

In 1999, 5-year-old Elian Gonzalez was rescued by a pair of sport fishermen off the coast of Florida, setting off an international custody battle.

In 2001, as the war in Afghanistan entered its eighth week, CIA officer Johnny "Mike" Spann was killed during a prison uprising in Mazar-e-Sharif, becoming America's first combat casualty of the conflict.

In 2002, President George W. Bush signed legislation creating the Department of Homeland Security, and appointed Tom Ridge to be its head.

Ten years ago: A police shooting outside a strip club in Queens, New York, resulted in the death of Sean Bell hours before his wedding. (Two officers were later indicted for manslaughter while a third faced lesser charges; all three were acquitted at trial.) Israel and the Palestinians agreed to a cease-fire to end a five-month Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip and the firing of rockets by Palestinian militants into the Jewish state.

Five years ago: The U.S. increased pressure Friday on Egypt's military rulers to hand over power to civilian leaders, and the generals turned to Kamal el-Ganzouri, a Mubarak-era politician to head a new government in a move that failed to satisfy more than 100,000 protesters jamming Tahrir Square. Former New York Times political reporter and columnist Tom Wicker, 85, died in Rochester, Vermont.

One year ago: Vice President Joe Biden attended an urgent summit of southeast European leaders in Zagreb, Croatia, focusing on tensions and security concerns over a surge of asylum-seekers and migrants crossing the region. Pope Francis arrived in Kenya on his first-ever trip to Africa and urged Kenyans to work for peace and forgiveness amid a wave of extremist violence on the continent that threatened to disrupt his trip.

Today's Birthdays: Playwright Murray Schisgal is 90. Actress Kathryn Crosby is 83. Actor Christopher Riordan is 79. Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Joe Gibbs is 76. Singer Bob Lind is 74. Author, actor and economist Ben Stein is 72. Actor John Larroquette is 69. Actor Tracey Walter is 69. Movie director Jonathan Kaplan is 69. Author Charlaine Harris is 65. Retired MLB All-Star Bucky Dent is 65. Dance judge Bruno Tonioli (TV: "Dancing with the Stars") is 61. Singer Amy Grant is 56. Former NFL quarterback Bernie Kosar is 53. Rock musician Eric Grossman (K's Choice) is 52. Rock singer Mark Lanegan is 52. Rock singer-musician Tim Armstrong is 51. Actor Steve Harris is 51. Actor Billy Burke is 50. Singer Stacy Lattisaw is 50. Rock musician Rodney Sheppard (Sugar Ray) is 50. Rapper-producer Erick Sermon is 48. Actress Jill Hennessy is 47. Actress Christina Applegate is 45. Actor Eddie Steeples is 43. Actress Kristian Nairn is 41. Former NFL quarterback Donovan McNabb is 40. Actress Jill Flint is 39. Actor Jerry Ferrara is 37. Actor Joel Kinnaman is 37. Actress Valerie Azlynn is 36. Former first daughter Jenna Bush Hager is 35. Former first daughter Barbara Pierce Bush is 35. Actress Katie Cassidy is 30. Neo-soul musician Ben Griner (St. Paul & the Broken Bones) is 26. Contemporary Christian singer Jamie Grace is 25.

Thought for Today: "To know things as they are is better than to believe things as they seem." -- Tom Wicker (1926-2011).