Today in History

Today is Tuesday, Nov. 30, the 334th day of 2021. There are 31 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Nov. 30, 1993, President Bill Clinton signed the Brady Bill, which required a five-day waiting period for handgun purchases and background checks of prospective buyers.

On this date:

In 1782, the United States and Britain signed preliminary peace articles in Paris for ending the Revolutionary War; the Treaty of Paris was signed in September 1783.

In 1803, Spain completed the process of ceding Louisiana to France, which had sold it to the United States.

In 1835, Samuel Langhorne Clemens -- better known as Mark Twain -- was born in Florida, Missouri.

In 1874, British statesman Sir Winston Churchill was born at Blenheim Palace.

In 1900, Irish writer Oscar Wilde died in Paris at age 46.

In 1965, "Unsafe at Any Speed" by Ralph Nader, a book highly critical of the U.S. auto industry, was first released in hardcover by Grossman Publishers.

In 1981, the United States and the Soviet Union opened negotiations in Geneva aimed at reducing nuclear weapons in Europe.

In 1982, the Michael Jackson album "Thriller" was released by Epic Records.

In 2000, Al Gore's lawyers battled for his political survival in the Florida and U.S. Supreme Courts; meanwhile, GOP lawmakers in Tallahassee moved to award the presidency to George W. Bush in case the courts did not by appointing their own slate of electors.

In 2010, the Obama administration announced that all 197 airlines that flew to the U.S. had begun collecting names, genders and birth dates of passengers so the government could check them against terror watch lists before they boarded flights.

In 2013, Paul Walker, 40, the star of the "Fast & Furious" movie series, died with his friend, Roger W. Rodas, who was at the wheel of a Porsche sports car that crashed and burned north of Los Angeles.

In 2018, former President George H.W. Bush, a World War II hero who rose through the political ranks to the nation's highest office, died at his Houston home at the age of 94; his wife of more than 70 years, Barbara Bush, had died in April.

Ten years ago: The central banks of the wealthiest countries, trying to prevent a debt crisis in Europe from exploding into a global panic, swept in to shore up the world financial system by making it easier for banks to borrow American dollars. Police in Los Angeles and Philadelphia dismantled Occupy Wall Street encampments. An Arizona jury sentenced convicted "Baseline Killer" Mark Goudeau to death for killing nine people in the Phoenix area.

Five years ago: Air conditioning company Carrier Corp. said it had reached a deal with President-elect Donald Trump to keep nearly 1,100 jobs in Indiana instead of moving them to Mexico; however, some 600 other jobs were still eliminated by outsourcing. House Democrats reelected Nancy Pelosi as their leader. A prosecutor cleared a Charlotte, North Carolina, police officer in the killing of a Black man whose death touched off civil unrest, saying the officer was justified in opening fire on Keith Scott.

One year ago: Two battleground states, Wisconsin and Arizona, certified their presidential election tallies in favor of Joe Biden, even as President Donald Trump's legal team continued to dispute the results; Biden's victory in Wisconsin was certified following a partial recount that only added to his 20,600-vote margin over Trump. Moderna Inc. said it would ask U.S. and European regulators to allow emergency use of its COVID-19 vaccine as new study results confirmed the shots offered strong protection. Americans returning from Thanksgiving break faced strict new coronavirus measures as health officials braced for a disastrous worsening of the nationwide surge because of holiday gatherings; Los Angeles County imposed a stay-at-home order for its 10 million residents.

Today's Birthdays: Country singer-recording executive Jimmy Bowen is 84. Movie director Ridley Scott is 84. Screenwriter Geoffrey C. Ward is 81. Movie writer-director Terrence Malick is 78. Rock musician Roger Glover (Deep Purple) is 76. Playwright David Mamet is 74. Actor Mandy Patinkin is 69. Musician Shuggie Otis is 68. Country singer Jeannie Kendall is 67. Singer Billy Idol is 66. Historian Michael Beschloss is 66. Rock musician John Ashton (The Psychedelic Furs) is 64. Comedian Colin Mochrie is 64. Former football and baseball player Bo Jackson is 59. Rapper Jalil (Whodini) is 58. Actor-director Ben Stiller is 56. Rock musician Mike Stone is 52. Music producer Steve Aoki is 44. Singer Clay Aiken is 43. Actor Billy Lush is 40. Actor Elisha Cuthbert is 39. Actor Kaley Cuoco is 36. Model Chrissy Teigen is 36. Actor Christel Khalil is 34. Actor Rebecca Rittenhouse is 33. Actor Adelaide Clemens is 32. World chess champion Magnus Carlsen is 31. Actor Tyla Harris is 21.