Today in History

Today in History

Today is Wednesday, Nov. 23, the 328th day of 2016. There are 38 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Nov. 23, 1936, Life, the photojournalism magazine created by Henry R. Luce (loos), was first published.

On this date:

In 1765, Frederick County, Maryland, became the first colonial American entity to repudiate the British Stamp Act.

In 1804, the 14th president of the United States, Franklin Pierce, was born in Hillsboro, New Hampshire.

In 1889, the first jukebox made its debut in San Francisco, at the Palais Royale Saloon. (The coin-operated device consisted of four listening tubes attached to an Edison phonograph.)

In 1903, Enrico Caruso made his American debut at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, appearing in "Rigoletto."

In 1910, American-born physician Hawley Harvey Crippen was hanged at Pentonville Prison in London for murdering his wife, Cora. (Crippen's mistress, Ethel Le Neve, was acquitted in a separate trial of being an accessory.)

In 1914, the seven-month U.S. military occupation of Veracruz, Mexico, ended.

In 1945, most U.S. wartime rationing of foods, including meat and butter, was set to expire by day's end.

In 1959, the musical "Fiorello!" starring Tom Bosley as legendary New York Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia, opened on Broadway.

In 1963, President Lyndon B. Johnson proclaimed Nov. 25 a day of national mourning following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

In 1971, the People's Republic of China was seated in the U.N. Security Council.

In 1980, some 2,600 people were killed by a series of earthquakes that devastated southern Italy.

In 1996, a commandeered Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 767 crashed into the water off the Comoros Islands, killing 125 of the 175 people on board, including all three hijackers.

Ten years ago: Car bombs and mortar rounds struck a Shiite slum in Baghdad, killing 215 people. Former KGB spy Alexander Litvinenko died in London from radiation poisoning after making a deathbed statement blaming Russian President Vladimir Putin. Death claimed Broadway librettist Betty Comden at age 89; jazz vocalist Anita O'Day at age 87; and French actor Philippe Noiret at age 76.

Five years ago: Yemen's authoritarian President Ali Abdullah Saleh agreed to step down amid a fierce uprising to oust him after 33 years in power.

One year ago: The White House urged its allies to step up their contributions to the campaign against the Islamic State, as President Barack Obama faced pressure to show the U.S.-led coalition would intensify efforts even without a major shift in strategy. Blue Origin, a private space company, landed a rocket called New Shepard upright and gently enough to be used again, a milestone in commercial aeronautics. Cynthia Robinson, 71, a trumpeter and vocalist who was a key member of Sly and the Family Stone, died in Carmichael, California.

Today's Birthdays: Former Labor Secretary William E. Brock is 86. Actress Elmarie Wendel is 88. Actor Franco Nero is 75. Actress Susan Anspach is 74. Screenwriter Joe Eszterhas is 72. Actor-comedy writer Bruce Vilanch is 69. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is 66. Singer Bruce Hornsby is 62. Former Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., is 61. Actor Maxwell Caulfield is 57. Actor John Henton is 56. TV personality Robin Roberts ("Good Morning America") is 56. Rock singer-musician Ken Block (Sister Hazel) is 50. Rock musician Charlie Grover is 50. Actress Salli Richardson-Whitfield is 49. Actor Oded Fehr is 46. Rapper-actor Kurupt (Tha Dogg Pound) is 44. Actor Page Kennedy is 40. Actress Kelly Brook is 37. Actor Lucas Grabeel is 32. TV personality Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi is 29. Actress-singer Miley Cyrus is 24. Actor Austin Majors is 21.

Thought for Today: "I'm a realist and so I think regretting is a useless occupation. You help no one with it. But you can't live without illusions even if you must fight for them, such as 'love conquers all.' It isn't true, but I would like it to be." -- Marlene Dietrich, German-born actress (1901-1992).