Today in History

Today is Thursday, Nov. 15, the 319th day of 2018. There are 46 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Nov. 15, 1864, during the Civil War, Union forces led by Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman began their "March to the Sea" from Atlanta; the campaign ended with the capture of Savannah on Dec. 21.

On this date:

In 1777, the Second Continental Congress approved the Articles of Confederation.

In 1806, explorer Zebulon Pike sighted the mountaintop now known as Pikes Peak in present-day Colorado.

In 1937, at the U.S. Capitol, members of the House and Senate met in air-conditioned chambers for the first time.

In 1942, the naval Battle of Guadalcanal ended during World War II with a decisive U.S. victory over Japanese forces.

In 1959, four members of the Clutter family of Holcomb, Kansas, were found murdered in their home. (Ex-convicts Richard Hickock and Perry Smith were later convicted of the killings and hanged in a case made famous by the Truman Capote book "In Cold Blood.")

In 1966, the flight of Gemini 12, the final mission of the Gemini program, ended successfully as astronauts James A. Lovell and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin Jr. splashed down safely in the Atlantic after spending four days in orbit.

In 1982, funeral services were held in Moscow's Red Square for the late Soviet President Leonid I. Brezhnev.

In 1984, Stephanie Fae Beauclair, the infant publicly known as "Baby Fae" who had received a baboon's heart to replace her own congenitally deformed one, died at Loma Linda University Medical Center in California three weeks after the transplant.

In 1986, a government tribunal in Nicaragua convicted American Eugene Hasenfus of charges related to his role in delivering arms to Contra rebels, and sentenced him to 30 years in prison. (Hasenfus was pardoned a month later.)

In 1987, 28 of 82 people aboard a Continental Airlines DC-9, including the pilots, were killed when the jetliner crashed seconds after taking off from Denver's Stapleton International Airport.

In 1998, Kwame Ture, the civil rights activist formerly known as Stokely Carmichael, died in Guinea at age 57.

In 2003, two Black Hawk helicopters collided and crashed in Iraq; 17 U.S. troops were killed.

Ten years ago: World leaders battling an economic crisis agreed in Washington to flag risky investing and regulatory weak spots in hopes of avoiding future financial meltdowns. A wildfire destroyed nearly 500 mobile homes in Los Angeles. Gay rights supporters marched in cities coast to coast to protest the vote that banned gay marriage in California. Somali pirates hijacked the Sirius Star, a Saudi-owned oil supertanker, in the Indian Ocean. (The ship was released eight weeks later after the pirates were reportedly paid a ransom.)

Five years ago: Toronto Mayor Rob Ford vowed to take the City Council to court after it voted overwhelmingly to strip him of some of his powers over his admitted drug use, public drinking and increasingly erratic behavior. China's leaders announced the first significant easing of their one-child policy in nearly 30 years and moved to abolish its labor camp system. Dressed in a black Batman costume, 5-year-old leukemia patient Miles Scott fulfilled his wish to be his favorite superhero, fighting villains and rescuing a damsel in distress in an elaborate fantasy staged by the city of San Francisco and arranged by the Make-a-Wish Foundation. (The event cost the city $105,000, but the tab was picked up by the John and Marcia Goldman Foundation.)

One year ago: Zimbabwe's military was in control of the country's capital and the state broadcaster and held 93-year-old President Robert Mugabe and his wife under house arrest; the military emphasized that it had not staged a takeover but was instead starting a process to restore the country's democracy. (The military intervention, hugely popular in Zimbabwe, led to impeachment proceedings against Mugabe, who was replaced.) Eight members of a family who were among more than two dozen people killed in a shooting at a small Texas church were mourned at a funeral attended by 3,000 people. Max Scherzer of the Washington Nationals won his third Cy Young award; Cleveland Indians ace Corey Kluber was the winner in the American League.

Today's Birthdays: Actor Ed Asner is 89. Singer Petula Clark is 86. Comedian Jack Burns is 85. Actress Joanna Barnes is 84. Actor Yaphet Kotto is 79. Actor Sam Waterston is 78. Classical conductor Daniel Barenboim is 76. Pop singer Frida (ABBA) is 73. Actor Bob Gunton is 73. Former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson is 71. Actress Beverly D'Angelo is 67. Director-actor James Widdoes is 65. Rock singer-producer Mitch Easter is 64. News correspondent John Roberts is 62. Former "Jay Leno Show" bandleader Kevin Eubanks is 61. Comedian Judy Gold is 56. Actress Rachel True is 52. Rapper E-40 is 51. Country singer Jack Ingram is 48. Actor Jay Harrington is 47. Actor Jonny Lee Miller is 46. Actress Sydney Tamiia Poitier is 45. Christian rock musician David Carr (Third Day) is 44. Rock singer-musician Chad Kroeger is 44. Rock musician Jesse Sandoval is 44. Actress Virginie Ledoyen is 42. Actor Sean Murray is 41. Pop singer Ace Young (TV: "American Idol") is 38. Golfer Lorena Ochoa is 37. Hip-hop artist B.o.B is 30. Actress Shailene Woodley is 27. Actress-dancer Emma Dumont is 24.

Thought for Today: "News reports don't change the world. Only facts change it, and those have already happened when we get the news." -- Friedrich Durrenmatt, Swiss author and playwright (1921-1990).