Today in History

Today is Thursday, Nov. 9, the 313th day of 2017. There are 52 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Nov. 9, 1967, a Saturn V rocket carrying an unmanned Apollo spacecraft blasted off from Cape Kennedy on a successful test flight.

On this date:

In 1620, the passengers and crew of the Mayflower sighted Cape Cod.

In 1872, fire destroyed nearly 800 buildings in Boston.

In 1918, it was announced that Germany's Kaiser Wilhelm II would abdicate; he then fled to the Netherlands.

In 1935, United Mine Workers president John L. Lewis and other labor leaders formed the Committee for Industrial Organization (later renamed the Congress of Industrial Organizations).

In 1938, Nazis looted and burned synagogues as well as Jewish-owned stores and houses in Germany and Austria in a pogrom that became known as "Kristallnacht."

In 1952, Chaim Weizmann, the first president of Israel, died.

In 1965, the great Northeast blackout began as a series of power failures lasting up to 13 1/2 hours left 30 million people in seven states and part of Canada without electricity.

In 1970, former French President Charles de Gaulle died at age 79.

In 1976, the U.N. General Assembly approved resolutions condemning apartheid in South Africa, including one characterizing the white-ruled government as "illegitimate."

In 1986, Israel revealed it was holding Mordechai Vanunu, a former nuclear technician who'd vanished after providing information to a British newspaper about Israel's nuclear weapons program. (Vanunu was convicted of treason and served 18 years in prison.)

In 1989, communist East Germany threw open its borders, allowing citizens to travel freely to the West; joyous Germans danced atop the Berlin Wall.

In 1999, with fireworks, concerts and a huge party at the landmark Brandenburg Gate, Germany celebrated the 10th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Ten years ago: Six U.S. troops died in an insurgent ambush in the high mountains of eastern Afghanistan, making 2007 the deadliest year for American forces in Afghanistan since 2001. President Gen. Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan placed opposition leader Benazir Bhutto under house arrest for a day, and rounded up thousands of her supporters to block a mass rally against his emergency rule.

Five years ago: Retired four-star Army Gen. David Petraeus abruptly resigned as CIA director after an affair with his biographer, Paula Broadwell, was revealed by an FBI investigation. Thousands of union bakers went on strike against Hostess Brands, Inc., to protest cuts to wages and benefits under a new contract offer. (Hostess responded by shutting down its operations and selling its assets to new owners who revived the Hostess brand.)

One year ago: Democrat Hillary Clinton conceded the presidential election to Republican Donald Trump, telling supporters in New York that her defeat was "painful, and it will be for a long time." But Clinton told her faithful to accept Trump and the election results, urging them to give him "an open mind and a chance to lead."

Today's Birthdays: Baseball Hall of Famer Whitey Herzog is 86. Baseball Hall of Famer Bob Gibson is 82. Actor Charlie Robinson is 72. Movie director Bille August is 69. Actor Robert David Hall is 69. Actor Lou Ferrigno is 66. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, is 65. Gospel singer Donnie McClurkin is 58. Rock musician Dee Plakas (L7) is 57. Actress Ion Overman is 48. Rapper Pepa (Salt-N-Pepa) is 48. Rapper Scarface (Geto Boys) is 47. Blues singer Susan Tedeschi is 47. Actor Jason Antoon is 46. Actor Eric Dane is 45. Singer Nick Lachey (98 Degrees) is 44. Country musician Barry Knox (Parmalee) is 40. Rhythm-and-blues singer Sisqo (Dru Hill) is 39. Country singer Corey Smith is 38. Country singer Chris Lane is 33. Actress Nikki Blonsky is 29. Actress-model Analeigh Tipton is 29.

Thought for Today: "I think charm is the ability to be truly interested in other people." -- Richard Avedon, American fashion photographer (1923-2004).