Today in History

Today in History

Today is Wednesday, Nov. 30, the 335th day of 2016. There are 31 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Nov. 30, 1782, the United States and Britain signed preliminary peace articles in Paris for ending the Revolutionary War; the Treaty of Paris was signed in Sept. 1783.

On this date:

In 1016, Edmund II, King of the English, died after a reign of seven months.

In 1803, Spain completed the process of ceding Louisiana to France, which had sold it to the United States.

In 1835, Samuel Langhorne Clemens -- better known as Mark Twain -- was born in Florida, Missouri.

In 1874, British statesman Sir Winston Churchill was born at Blenheim Palace.

In 1900, Irish writer Oscar Wilde died in Paris at age 46.

In 1936, London's famed Crystal Palace, constructed for the Great Exhibition of 1851, was destroyed in a fire.

In 1939, the Winter War began as Soviet troops invaded Finland. (The conflict ended the following March with a Soviet victory.)

In 1940, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz were married at the Byram River Beagle Club in Greenwich, Connecticut. (The marriage ended in divorce in 1960.)

In 1954, Ann Elizabeth Hodges of Oak Grove, Alabama, was slightly injured when an 8-1/2-pound chunk of meteor crashed through the roof of her house, hit a radio cabinet, then struck her as she lay napping on a couch.

In 1966, the former British colony of Barbados became independent.

In 1982, the Michael Jackson album "Thriller" was released by Epic Records. The motion picture "Gandhi," starring Ben Kingsley as the Indian nationalist leader, had its world premiere in New Delhi.

In 1996, 1960's novelty singer Tiny Tim, best remembered for his rendition of "Tip-toe Thru' the Tulips with Me," died in Minneapolis.

Ten years ago: President George W. Bush met in Jordan with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki; Bush said the United States would speed a turnover of security responsibility to Iraqi forces but assured al-Maliki that Washington was not looking for "some kind of graceful exit" from Iraq. Pope Benedict XVI visited Istanbul's famous Blue Mosque in a dramatic gesture of outreach to Muslims.

Five years ago: The central banks of the wealthiest countries, trying to prevent a debt crisis in Europe from exploding into a global panic, swept in to shore up the world financial system by making it easier for banks to borrow American dollars. Police in Los Angeles and Philadelphia dismantled Occupy Wall Street encampments in both cities. An Arizona jury sentenced convicted "Baseline Killer" Mark Goudeau to death for killing nine people in the Phoenix area.

One year ago: Jury selection began in Baltimore in the trial of Officer William Porter, the first of six policemen to face charges in the death of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old black man who died of a severe spinal injury while in police custody. (All charges against Porter were dropped after a mistrial; three other officers were acquitted; all remaining charges were later dropped.) The newly elected mayor of Juneau, Alaska, Stephen "Greg" Fisk, was found dead in his home, apparently of natural causes.

Today's Birthdays: Actor Robert Guillaume is 89. G. Gordon Liddy is 86. Country singer-recording executive Jimmy Bowen is 79. Movie director Ridley Scott is 79. Movie writer-director Terrence Malick is 73. Rock musician Roger Glover (Deep Purple) is 71. Playwright David Mamet is 69. Actress Margaret Whitton is 66. Actor Mandy Patinkin is 64. Musician Shuggie Otis is 63. Country singer Jeannie Kendall is 62. Singer Billy Idol is 61. Historian Michael Beschloss is 61. Rock musician John Ashton (The Psychedelic Furs) is 59. Comedian Colin Mochrie is 59. Former football and baseball player Bo Jackson is 54. Rapper Jalil (Whodini) is 53. Actor-director Ben Stiller is 51. Rock musician Mike Stone is 47. Actress Sandra Oh is 46. Singer Clay Aiken is 38. Actor Billy Lush is 35. Actress Elisha Cuthbert is 34. Actress Kaley Cuoco is 31. Model Chrissy Teigen is 31. Actress Christel Khalil is 29. Actress Rebecca Rittenhouse is 28. Actress Adelaide Clemens is 27.

Thought for Today: "I imagine one of the reasons people cling to their hates so stubbornly is because they sense, once hate is gone, they will be forced to deal with pain." -- James Baldwin, American author (born 1924, died this date in 1987).