Today in History

Today is Tuesday, Nov. 12, the 316th day of 2019. There are 49 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Nov. 12, 2001, American Airlines Flight 587, an Airbus A300 headed to the Dominican Republic, crashed after takeoff from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, killing all 260 people on board and five people on the ground.

On this date:

In 1815, pioneering American suffragist Elizabeth Cady Stanton was born in Johnstown, New York.

In 1920, baseball got its first "czar" as Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis was elected commissioner of the American and National Leagues.

In 1927, Josef Stalin became the undisputed ruler of the Soviet Union as Leon Trotsky was expelled from the Communist Party.

In 1936, the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge opened as President Franklin D. Roosevelt pressed a telegraph key in Washington, D.C., giving the green light to traffic.

In 1942, the World War II naval Battle of Guadalcanal began. (The Allies ended up winning a major victory over Japanese forces.)

In 1948, former Japanese premier Hideki Tojo and several other World War II Japanese leaders were sentenced to death by a war crimes tribunal.

In 1977, the city of New Orleans elected its first black mayor, Ernest "Dutch" Morial, the winner of a runoff.

In 1982, Yuri V. Andropov was elected to succeed the late Leonid I. Brezhnev as general secretary of the Soviet Communist Party's Central Committee.

In 1987, the American Medical Association issued a policy statement saying it was unethical for a doctor to refuse to treat someone solely because that person had AIDS or was HIV-positive.

In 1990, Japanese Emperor Akihito formally assumed the Chrysanthemum Throne. Actress Eve Arden died in Beverly Hills, California, at age 82.

In 1996, a Saudi Boeing 747 jetliner collided shortly after takeoff from New Delhi, India, with a Kazak Ilyushin-76 cargo plane, killing 349 people.

In 1998, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley filed a $433 million-dollar lawsuit against the firearms industry, declaring that it had created a public nuisance by flooding the streets with weapons deliberately marketed to criminals. (A judge dismissed the lawsuit in 2000; an appeals court ruled in 2002 that the city of Chicago could proceed; but the Illinois Supreme Court dismissed the lawsuit in 2004.)

Ten years ago: Army psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan (was charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder in the Fort Hood, Texas, shooting rampage. (Hasan was later convicted and sentenced to death.) James R. Lilley, a longtime CIA operative and later the U.S. ambassador to China, died in Washington, D.C., at age 81.

Five years ago: President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping announced a ground-breaking agreement between their countries to curb carbon emissions blamed for climate change. Landing with a bounce after traveling 4 billion miles, a European Space Agency probe, Philae, made history by successfully reaching the icy, dusty surface of a speeding comet. Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw was a unanimous choice for his third NL Cy Young Award, and Cleveland's Corey Kluber edged Seattle's Felix Hernandez to win the AL honor for the first time. At 17, Lydia Ko became the youngest player to win the LPGA Tour's rookie of the year award.

One year ago: Democrat Kyrsten Sinema emerged as the winner of Arizona's open U.S. Senate seat, beating Republican Rep. Martha McSally after a slow vote count that dragged on for nearly a week. Palestinian militants bombarded Israel with dozens of rockets and mortar shells while Israeli warplanes struck targets throughout the Gaza Strip in what appeared to be the most intense exchange of fire since a 2014 war. Stan Lee, the Marvel Comics writer and publisher who revolutionized the comic book and developed superhero characters that made billions for Hollywood, died at the age of 95.

Today's Birthdays: Singer Brian Hyland is 76. Actor-playwright Wallace Shawn is 76. Rock musician Booker T. Jones (Booker T. & the MGs) is 75. Sportscaster Al Michaels is 75. Singer-songwriter Neil Young is 74. Rock musician Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser (Blue Oyster Cult) is 72. Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., is 70. Country/gospel singer Barbara Fairchild is 69. Actress Megan Mullally is 61. Actor Vincent Irizarry is 60. Olympic gold medal gymnast Nadia Comaneci is 58. Actor Sam Lloyd is 56. Rock musician David Ellefson is 55. Retired MLB All-Star Sammy Sosa is 51. Figure skater Tonya Harding is 49. Actress Rebecca Wisocky is 48. Actress Radha Mitchell is 46. Actress Lourdes Benedicto is 45. Actress Tamala Jones is 45. Actress Angela Watson is 45. Singer Tevin Campbell is 43. Actress Ashley Williams is 41. Actress Cote de Pablo is 40. Actor Ryan Gosling is 39. Contemporary Christian musician Chris Huffman is 39. Actress Anne Hathaway is 37. Pop singer Omarion is 35. NBA All-Star Russell Westbrook is 31. Folk-rock musician Griffin Goldsmith (Dawes) is 29. Actress Macey Cruthird is 27.

Thought for Today: "I would have girls regard themselves not as adjectives but as nouns." -- Elizabeth Cady Stanton.

Copyright 2019, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.