Today in History

Today is Wednesday, Nov. 10, the 314th day of 2021. There are 51 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Nov. 10, 1951, customer-dialed long-distance telephone service began as Mayor M. Leslie Denning of Englewood, New Jersey, called Alameda, California, Mayor Frank Osborne without operator assistance.

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 1919, the American Legion opened its first national convention in Minneapolis.

In 1928, Hirohito was enthroned as Emperor of Japan.

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 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In 1975, the U.N. General Assembly approved a resolution equating Zionism with racism (the world body repealed the resolution in Dec. 1991).

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 2006, actor Jack Palance died in Montecito, California, at age 87.

In 2009, 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."

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."

In 2018, 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.

Ten years ago: The National Archives released a transcript of former President Richard Nixon's June 1975 grand jury testimony after a judge ordered the government to do so; in it, a feisty and cagey Nixon defended his legacy and Watergate-era actions.

Five years ago: President-elect Donald Trump took a triumphant tour of the nation's capital, where he held a cordial White House meeting with President Barack Obama, sketched out priorities with Republican congressional leaders and took in the majestic view from where he would be sworn in to office.

One year ago: Democrat Cal Cunningham conceded defeat to Republican Thom Tillis in their North Carolina Senate race; Democrats would now have to win both runoff races in Georgia in January in order to seize Senate control. (The Democrats would win both.) The U.S. hit a record number of coronavirus hospitalizations and surpassed 1 million new confirmed cases in just the first 10 days of November amid a nationwide surge of infections. A Vatican investigation found that bishops, cardinals and popes downplayed or dismissed reports of sexual misconduct by former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick; much of the blame went to Pope John Paul II, who appointed McCarrick archbishop of Washington, D.C. in 2000 despite an investigation that confirmed he had slept with seminarians. Tommy Heinsohn, who as a Boston Celtics player, coach and broadcaster over more than 60 years was with the team for all 17 of its NBA championships, died at 86.

Today's Birthdays: Blues singer Bobby Rush is 87. Actor Albert Hall is 84. Country singer Donna Fargo is 80. Former Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., is 78. Lyricist Tim Rice is 77. Actor Jack Scalia is 71. Movie director Roland Emmerich is 66. Actor Matt Craven is 65. Actor-comedian Sinbad is 65. Actor Mackenzie Phillips is 62. Author Neil Gaiman (GAY'-mihn) is 61. Actor Vanessa Angel is 58. Actor Hugh Bonneville is 58. Actor-comedian Tommy Davidson is 58. Actor Michael Jai White is 57. Country singer Chris Cagle is 53. Actor-comedian Tracy Morgan is 53. Actor Ellen Pompeo is 52. Actor-comedian Orny Adams is 51. Rapper U-God is 51. Rapper-producer Warren G is 51. Actor Walton Goggins is 50. Comedian-actor Chris Lilley is 47. Contemporary Christian singer Matt Maher is 47. Rock singer-musician Jim Adkins (Jimmy Eat World) is 46. Rapper Eve is 43. Rock musician Chris Joannou (Silverchair) is 42. Actor Heather Matarazzo is 39. Country singer Miranda Lambert is 38. Actor Josh Peck is 35. Pop singer Vinz Dery (Nico & Vinz) is 31. Actor Genevieve Buechner is 30. Actor Zoey Deutch is 27. Actor Kiernan Shipka is 22. Actor Mackenzie Foy is 21.