Today in History

Today is Wednesday, Nov. 28, the 332nd day of 2018. There are 33 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Nov. 28, 1943, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Josef Stalin began conferring in Tehran during World War II.

On this date:

In 1520, Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan reached the Pacific Ocean after passing through the South American strait that now bears his name.

In 1861, the Confederate Congress admitted Missouri as the 12th state of the Confederacy after Missouri's disputed secession from the Union.

In 1905, Sinn Fein was founded in Dublin.

In 1907, future movie producer Louis B. Mayer opened his first movie theater, in Haverhill, Massachusetts.

In 1909, Sergei Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30 had its world premiere in New York, with Rachmaninoff at the piano.

In 1942, fire engulfed the Cocoanut Grove nightclub in Boston, killing 492 people in the deadliest nightclub blaze ever. (The cause of the rapidly-spreading fire, which began in the basement, is in dispute; one theory is that a busboy accidentally ignited an artificial palm tree while using a lighted match to fix a light bulb.)

In 1961, Ernie Davis of Syracuse University became the first African-American to be named winner of the Heisman Trophy.

In 1964, the United States launched the space probe Mariner 4 on a course toward Mars, which it flew past in July 1965, sending back pictures of the red planet.

In 1975, President Ford nominated Federal Judge John Paul Stevens to the U-S Supreme Court seat vacated by William O. Douglas.

In 1979, an Air New Zealand DC-10 en route to the South Pole crashed into a mountain in Antarctica, killing all 257 people aboard.

In 1990, Margaret Thatcher resigned as British prime minister during an audience with Queen Elizabeth II, who then conferred the premiership on John Major.

In 2001, Enron Corp., once the world's largest energy trader, collapsed after would-be rescuer Dynegy Inc. backed out of an $8.4 billion takeover deal. (Enron filed for bankruptcy protection four days later.)

Ten years ago: Indian forces fired grenades at the landmark Taj Mahal hotel, the last stand of suspected Muslim militants, just hours after elite commandos stormed a Jewish outreach center and found six hostages dead. (The 60-hour rampage in Mumbai came to an end the following day.) Super Bowl hero Plaxico Burress accidentally shot himself in the right thigh with a gun tucked into his waistband at a New York nightclub (Burress was later sentenced to two years in prison for a weapons conviction).

Five years ago: China said it had sent warplanes into its newly declared maritime air defense zone, days after the U.S., South Korea and Japan all sent flights through the airspace in defiance of rules Beijing said it had imposed in the East China Sea.

One year ago: A Libyan militant was convicted in federal court in Washington of terrorism charges stemming from the 2012 Benghazi attacks that killed the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans, but the jury found Ahmed Abu Khattala not guilty of murder. (Khattala was sentenced the following June to 22 years in prison.) Jay-Z led the 2018 Grammy Award nominations as the top four categories were heavily dominated by rap and R&B artists.

Today's Birthdays: Recording executive Berry Gordy Jr. is 89. Former Sen. Gary Hart, D-Colo., is 82. U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross is 81. Singer-songwriter Bruce Channel is 78. Singer Randy Newman is 75. CBS News correspondent Susan Spencer is 72. Movie director Joe Dante is 71. Former "Late Show" orchestra leader Paul Shaffer is 69. Actor Ed Harris is 68. Former NASA astronaut Barbara Morgan is 67. Actress S. Epatha Merkerson is 66. Former Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff is 65. Country singer Kristine Arnold (Sweethearts of the Rodeo) is 62. Actor Judd Nelson is 59. Movie director Alfonso Cuaron is 57. Rock musician Matt Cameron is 56. Actress Jane Sibbett is 56. Comedian Jon Stewart is 56. Actress Garcelle Beauvais is 52. Actor/comedian Stephnie Weir is 51. Rhythm-and-blues singer Dawn Robinson is 50. Actress Gina Tognoni is 45. Hip-hop musician apl.de.ap (Black Eyed Peas) is 44. Actor Malcolm Goodwin is 43. Actor Ryan Kwanten is 42. Actress Aimee Garcia is 40. Rapper Chamillionaire is 39. Actor Daniel Henney is 39. Rock musician Rostam Batmanglij is 35. Rock singer-keyboardist Tyler Glenn (Neon Trees) is 35. Actress Mary Elizabeth Winstead is 34. R&B singer Trey Songz is 34. Actress Scarlett Pomers is 30. Actor-rapper Bryshere Gray is 25.

Thought for Today: "Happiness is a sort of atmosphere you can live in sometimes when you're lucky. Joy is a light that fills you with hope and faith and love." -- Adela Rogers St. Johns, American journalist (1894-1988).