Today in History

Today in History

Today is Sunday, Nov. 10, the 314th day of 2019. There are 51 days left in the year.

Today's Highlights in History:

On Nov. 10, 1938, Kate Smith first sang Irving Berlin's "God Bless America" on her CBS radio program.

On this date:

In 1775, the U.S. Marines were organized under authority of the Continental Congress.

In 1871, journalist-explorer Henry M. Stanley found Scottish missionary David Livingstone, who had not been heard from for years, near Lake Tanganyika in central Africa.

In 1928, Hirohito was enthroned as Emperor of Japan.

In 1938, Turkish statesman Mustafa Kemal Ataturk died in Istanbul at age 57.

In 1944, during World War II, the ammunition ship USS Mount Hood (AE-11) exploded while moored at the Manus Naval Base in the Admiralty Islands in the South Pacific, leaving 45 confirmed dead and 327 missing and presumed dead.

In 1954, the U.S. Marine Corps Memorial, depicting the raising of the American flag on Iwo Jima in 1945, was dedicated by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in Arlington, Virginia.

In 1969, the children's educational program "Sesame Street" made its debut on National Educational Television (later PBS).

In 1975, the U.N. General Assembly approved a resolution equating Zionism with racism (the world body repealed the resolution in Dec. 1991). The ore-hauling ship SS Edmund Fitzgerald mysteriously sank during a storm in Lake Superior with the loss of all 29 crew members.

In 1982, the newly finished Vietnam Veterans Memorial was opened to its first visitors in Washington, D.C., three days before its dedication. Soviet leader Leonid I. Brezhnev died at age 75.

In 1990, the movie comedy "Home Alone," starring Macaulay Culkin, premiered in Chicago.

In 1997, a judge in Cambridge, Massachusetts, reduced Louise Woodward's murder conviction to involuntary manslaughter and sentenced the English au pair to the 279 days she'd already served in the death of 8-month-old Matthew Eappen.

In 2017, facing allegations of sexual misconduct, comedian Louis C.K. said the harassment claims by five women that were detailed in a New York Times report "are true," and he expressed remorse for using his influence "irresponsibly."

Ten years ago: John Allen Muhammad, mastermind of the 2002 sniper attacks that killed 10 in the Washington, D.C. region, was executed. President Barack Obama visited Fort Hood, Texas, where he somberly saluted the 13 Americans killed in a shooting rampage, and pledged that the killer would be "met with justice -- in this world, and the next."

Five years ago: President Barack Obama, at the start of a visit to Beijing, announced that the United States and China would start granting visas to each other's citizens valid for up to a decade. A suicide bomber set off explosives at a school in northern Nigeria, killing at least 48 students in the latest attack by suspected Boko Haram militants. Chicago White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu was a unanimous winner of the AL Rookie of the Year award and New York Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom was voted NL Rookie of the Year.

One year ago: President Donald Trump, in France to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I, canceled a visit to a cemetery east of Paris where Americans killed in that war are buried; rainy weather had grounded the presidential helicopter. Authorities in Northern California said 14 additional bodies had been found in the ruins from a fire that virtually destroyed the town of Paradise. Florida's secretary of state ordered recounts in the races for governor and U.S. Senate. On "Saturday Night Live," Pete Davidson apologized for earlier mocking the appearance of newly-elected Republican Congressman Dan Crenshaw of Texas, a veteran who had lost an eye in Afghanistan; he was joined on the "Weekend Update" segment by Crenshaw, a Navy SEAL.

Today's Birthdays: Film composer Ennio Morricone is 91. Blues singer Bobby Rush is 85. Actor Albert Hall is 82. Country singer Donna Fargo is 78. Former Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., is 76. Lyricist Tim Rice is 75. Actress-dancer Ann Reinking is 70. Actor Jack Scalia is 69. Movie director Roland Emmerich is 64. Actor Matt Craven is 63. Actor-comedian Sinbad is 63. Actress Mackenzie Phillips is 60. Author Neil Gaiman is 59. Actress Vanessa Angel is 56. Actor Hugh Bonneville is 56. Actor-comedian Tommy Davidson is 56. Actor Michael Jai White is 55. Country singer Chris Cagle is 51. Actor-comedian Tracy Morgan is 51. Actress Ellen Pompeo is 50. Actor-comedian Orny Adams is 49. Rapper U-God is 49. Rapper-producer Warren G is 49. Actor Walton Goggins is 48. Comedian-actor Chris Lilley is 45. Contemporary Christian singer Matt Maher is 45. Rock singer-musician Jim Adkins (Jimmy Eat World) is 44. Rapper Eve is 41. Rock musician Chris Joannou (Silverchair) is 40. Actor Bryan Neal is 39. Actress Heather Matarazzo is 37. Country singer Miranda Lambert is 36. Actor Josh Peck is 33. Pop singer Vinz Dery (Nico & Vinz) is 29. Actress Genevieve Beuchner is 28. Actress Zoey Deutch is 25. Actress Kiernan Shipka is 20. Actress Mackenzie Foy is 19.

Thought for Today: "Not doing more than the average is what keeps the average down." -- William M. Winans, American clergyman (1788-1857).

Copyright 2019, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.