Today in History

Today is Tuesday, Nov. 16, the 320th day of 2021. There are 45 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Nov. 16, 1914, the newly created Federal Reserve Banks opened in 12 cities.

On this date:

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

In 1933, the United States and the Soviet Union established diplomatic relations.

In 1945, "The Friendly Ghost," an animated short featuring the debut of Casper, was released by Paramount's cartoon division.

In 1961, House Speaker Samuel T. Rayburn died in Bonham, Texas, having served as speaker since 1940 except for two terms.

In 1981, the Senate confirmed Dr. C. Everett Koop to be surgeon general. Oscar-winning actor William Holden, 63, was found dead in his Santa Monica, California, apartment.

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

In 1989, six Jesuit priests, a housekeeper and her daughter were slain by army troops at the University of Central America Jose Simeon Canas in El Salvador.

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 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.

Ten years ago: President Barack Obama, visiting Canberra, said he would send military aircraft and up to 2,500 Marines to northern Australia for a training hub to help allies and protect American interests across Asia.

Five years ago: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, addressing a U.N. conference in Morocco, made a stirring appeal to all countries -- including his own -- to press ahead with the fight against climate change, saying a failure to do so would be a "betrayal of devastating consequences." Former congressman and defense secretary Melvin Laird, 94, died in Fort Myers, Florida.

One year ago: President-elect Joe Biden warned of dire consequences if President Donald Trump and his administration continued to refuse to coordinate with his transition team on the coronavirus pandemic and kept blocking briefings on national security policy issues and vaccine plans; Biden told reporters, "More people may die if we don't coordinate." As officials in Nevada's most populous counties certified results of the election, Trump took to Twitter with a new attack on the vote count that gave Biden a 33,596-vote statewide victory. A second experimental COVID-19 vaccine -- this one from Moderna Inc. -- yielded extraordinarily strong early results; Moderna said the vaccine appeared to be 94.5% effective.

Today's Birthdays: Actor Clu Gulager is 93. Journalist Elizabeth Drew is 86. Blues musician W.C. Clark is 82. Actor Joanna Pettet is 79. Actor Steve Railsback is 76. Actor David Leisure is 71. Actor Miguel Sandoval is 70. Actor Marg Helgenberger is 63. Rock musician Mani is 59. Former pro tennis player Zina Garrison is 58. Former MLB All-Star pitcher Dwight Gooden is 57. Jazz singer Diana Krall is 57. Actor Harry Lennix is 57. Rock musician Dave Kushner (Velvet Revolver) is 55. Actor Lisa Bonet is 54. Actor Tammy Lauren is 53. R&B singer Bryan Abrams (Color Me Badd) is 52. Actor Martha Plimpton is 51. Actor Michael Irby is 49. Actor Missi Pyle is 49. Rock musician Corey McCormick (Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real) is 45. Olympic gold medal figure skater Oksana Baiul is 44. Actor Maggie Gyllenhaal is 44. Pop singer Trevor Penick is 42. Former NBA player Amare Stoudemire is 39. Actor Kimberly J. Brown is 37. Rock singer Siva Kaneswaran (The Wanted) is 33. Actor-comedian Pete Davidson (TV: "Saturday Night Live") is 28. Actor Casey Moss is 28. Actor Noah Gray-Cabey is 26.