Today in History

Today is Monday, Nov. 16, the 321st day of 2020. There are 45 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Nov. 16, 1933, the United States and the Soviet Union established diplomatic relations.

On this date:

In 1776, British troops captured Fort Washington in New York during the American Revolution.

In 1907, Oklahoma became the 46th state of the union.

In 1914, the newly created Federal Reserve Banks opened in 12 cities.

In 1960, Academy Award-winning actor Clark Gable died in Los Angeles at age 59.

In 1970, the Lockheed L-1011 Tristar jetliner went on its first test flight, from Palmdale, Calif.

In 1982, an agreement was announced in the 57th day of a strike by National Football League players.

In 1991, former Louisiana governor Edwin Edwards won a landslide victory in his bid to return to office, defeating State Rep. David Duke, a former Ku Klux Klan leader.

In 2001, investigators found a letter addressed to Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., containing anthrax; it was the second letter bearing the deadly germ known to have been sent to Capitol Hill.

In 2004, President George W. Bush picked National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice to be his new secretary of state, succeeding Colin Powell.

In 2006, Democrats embraced Nancy Pelosi as the first female House speaker in history, but then selected Steny Hoyer as majority leader against her wishes.

In 2017, Minnesota Democratic Sen. Al Franken became the first member of Congress to be caught up in a wave of allegations of sexual abuse and inappropriate behavior, after a Los Angeles radio anchor accused him of forcibly kissing her and groping her during a 2006 USO tour. (Franken eventually resigned from the Senate.)

In 2018, a U.S. official said intelligence officials had concluded that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had ordered the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to immediately return the White House press credentials of CNN reporter Jim Acosta.

Ten years ago: President Barack Obama presented the Medal of Honor to Army Staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta, the first living service member from the Afghanistan and Iraq wars to receive the nation's top military award. U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel was convicted on 11 of 13 charges related to financial misconduct, prompting fellow lawmakers to censure the 80-year-old New York Democrat. The engagement of Prince William and Kate Middleton was announced in London. Hollywood publicist Ronni Chasen, 64, was shot to death in her car on Sunset Boulevard. (Police believe the killer was Harold Martin Smith, who took his own life when confronted by officers.) Roy Halladay of the Philadelphia Phillies unanimously won the NL Cy Young Award.

Five years ago: President Barack Obama, in Turkey for a meeting of world leaders, conceded that the Paris terror attacks were a "terrible and sickening setback" in the fight against the Islamic State, but forcefully dismissed critics who had called for the U.S. to change or expand its military campaign against the extremists. Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant was a unanimous pick as NL Rookie of the Year, and Houston Astros shortstop Carlos Correa was voted the AL honor. Actor David Canary, 77, died in Wilton, Connecticut.

One year ago: Transcripts released in the impeachment inquiry showed Ambassador Gordon Sondland playing a central role in President Donald Trump's effort to push Ukraine to conduct political investigations as a condition for receiving needed military aid. Trump went to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for what he later described as a "very routine physical"; it had not been on Trump's public schedule, raising suspicions about the president's health. At the last minute, former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick skipped a workout arranged by the NFL at the Atlanta Falcons' training complex to which all 32 teams had been invited, and instead held a workout on a high school field 60 miles away, open to the media. (The NFL had scheduled its workout after Kaepernick claimed that the league had blackballed him for kneeling in protest during the national anthem.)

Today's Birthdays: Actor Clu Gulager is 92. Journalist Elizabeth Drew is 85. Blues musician W.C. Clark is 81. Actor Joanna Pettet is 78. Actor Steve Railsback is 75. Actor David Leisure is 70. Actor Miguel Sandoval is 69. Actor Marg Helgenberger is 62. Rock musician Mani is 58. Country singer-musician Keith Burns (Trick Pony) is 57. Former pro tennis player Zina Garrison is 57. Former MLB All-Star pitcher Dwight Gooden is 56. Jazz singer Diana Krall is 56. Actor Harry Lennix is 56. Rock musician Dave Kushner (Velvet Revolver) is 54. Actor Lisa Bonet is 53. Actor Tammy Lauren is 52. Rhythm-and-blues singer Bryan Abrams (Color Me Badd) is 51. Actor Martha Plimpton is 50. Actor Michael Irby is 48. Actor Missi Pyle is 48. Rock musician Corey McCormick (Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real) is 44. Olympic gold medal figure skater Oksana Baiul is 43. Actor Maggie Gyllenhaal is 43. Pop singer Trevor Penick is 41. Former NBA player Amare Stoudemire is 38. Actor Kimberly J. Brown is 36. Rock singer Siva Kaneswaran (The Wanted) is 32. Actor-comedian Pete Davidson (TV: "Saturday Night Live") is 27. Actor Casey Moss is 27. Actor Noah Gray-Cabey is 25.