Today in History

Today in History

Today is Sunday, Nov. 11, the 315th day of 2018. There are 50 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Nov. 11, 1921, the remains of an unidentified American service member were interred in a Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery in a ceremony presided over by President Warren G. Harding.

On this date:

In 1620, 41 Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower, anchored off Massachusetts, signed a compact calling for a "body politick."

In 1831, former slave Nat Turner, who'd led a violent insurrection, was executed in Jerusalem, Virginia.

In 1909, President William Howard Taft accepted the recommendation of a joint Army-Navy board that Pearl Harbor in the Hawaiian Islands be made the principal U.S. naval station in the Pacific.

In 1918, fighting in World War I ended as the Allies and Germany signed an armistice in the Forest of Compiegne.

In 1942, during World War II, Germany completed its occupation of France.

In 1960, South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem survived a coup attempt by army rebels. (However, he was overthrown and killed in 1963.)

In 1966, Gemini 12 blasted off on a four-day mission with astronauts James A. Lovell and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin Jr. aboard; it was the tenth and final flight of NASA's Gemini program.

In 1972, the U.S. Army turned over its base at Long Binh to the South Vietnamese, symbolizing the end of direct U.S. military involvement in the Vietnam War.

In 1987, following the failure of two Supreme Court nominations, President Ronald Reagan announced his choice of Judge Anthony M. Kennedy, who went on to win confirmation.

In 1992, the Church of England voted to ordain women as priests.

In 1998, President Clinton ordered warships, planes and troops to the Persian Gulf as he laid out his case for a possible attack on Iraq. Iraq, meanwhile, showed no sign of backing down from its refusal to deal with U.N. weapons inspectors.

Ten years ago: President George W. Bush marked his last Veterans Day as president at a New York pier, speaking to a crowd of thousands gathered for the rededication of the USS Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum. San Francisco's Tim Lincecum won the National League Cy Young Award.

Five years ago: Iran and the United States blamed each other for the failure to reach agreement on a deal to limit Iran's uranium enrichment in exchange for an easing of Western sanctions. Bowing to pressure from Jewish groups and art experts, the German government made public details of paintings in a recovered trove of 1,400 pieces of art that might have been stolen by Nazis and said it would put together a task force to speed identification. Jose Fernandez of the Miami Marlins and Wil Myers of the Tampa Bay Rays were selected baseball's Rookies of the Year.

One year ago: The annual Pacific Rim summit stuck to its tradition of promoting free trade and closer regional ties, shrugging off the "America First" approach that was brought to the summit by President Donald Trump. After talking with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the summit, Trump told reporters that Putin had again insisted that Moscow had not interfered in the 2016 U.S. elections, and Trump said he believed Putin was sincere in making that claim; he accused Democrats of trying to sabotage relations between Washington and Moscow.

Today's Birthdays: Actress June Whitfield (TV and film: "Absolutely Fabulous") is 93. Actress Bibi Andersson is 83. Country singer Narvel Felts is 80. Former Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., is 78. Americana roots singer/songwriter Chris Smither is 74. Rock singer-musician Vince Martell (Vanilla Fudge) is 73. The president of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega, is 73. Rock singer Jim Peterik (Ides of March, Survivor) is 68. Golfer Fuzzy Zoeller is 67. Pop singer-musician Paul Cowsill (The Cowsills) is 67. Rock singer-musician Andy Partridge (XTC) is 65. Singer Marshall Crenshaw is 65. Rock singer Dave Alvin is 63. Rock musician Ian Craig Marsh (Human League; Heaven 17) is 62. Actor Stanley Tucci is 58. Actress Demi Moore is 56. Actress Calista Flockhart is 54. Actor Philip McKeon is 54. Rock musician Scott Mercado is 54. Actor Frank John Hughes is 51. TV personality Carson Kressley is 49. Actor David DeLuise is 47. Actor Adam Beach is 46. Actor Tyler Christopher is 46. Actor Leonardo DiCaprio is 44. Actor Scoot McNairy is 41. Rock musician Jonathan Pretus (Cowboy Mouth) is 37. Actress Frankie Shaw is 37. NFL quarterback Mark Sanchez is 32. Actress Christa B. Allen is 27. Actor Tye Sheridan is 22. Actor Ian Patrick is 16.

Thought for Today: "Old myths, old gods, old heroes have never died. They are only sleeping at the bottom of our mind, waiting for our call. We have need for them. They represent the wisdom of our race." -- Stanley Kunitz, American poet laureate (1905-2006).