Today in History

Today is Friday, Nov. 26, the 330th day of 2021. There are 35 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Nov. 26, 1941, U.S. Secretary of State Cordell Hull delivered a note to Japan's ambassador to the United States, Kichisaburo Nomura, setting forth U.S. demands for "lasting and extensive peace throughout the Pacific area." The same day, a Japanese naval task force consisting of six aircraft carriers left the Kuril Islands, headed toward Hawaii.

On this date:

In 1825, the first college social fraternity, the Kappa Alpha Society, was formed at Union College in Schenectady, New York.

In 1864, English mathematician and writer Charles Dodgson presented a handwritten and illustrated manuscript, "Alice's Adventures Under Ground," to his 12-year-old friend Alice Pleasance Liddell; the book was later turned into "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland," published under Dodgson's pen name, Lewis Carroll.

In 1883, former slave and abolitionist Sojourner Truth died in Battle Creek, Michigan.

In 1917, the National Hockey League was founded in Montreal, succeeding the National Hockey Association.

In 1933, a judge in New York ruled the James Joyce book "Ulysses" was not obscene and could be published in the United States.

In 1943, during World War II, the HMT Rohna, a British transport ship carrying American soldiers, was hit by a German missile off Algeria; 1,138 men were killed.

In 1950, China entered the Korean War, launching a counteroffensive against soldiers from the United Nations, the U.S. and South Korea.

In 1973, President Richard Nixon's personal secretary, Rose Mary Woods, told a federal court that she'd accidentally caused part of the 18-1/2-minute gap in a key Watergate tape.

In 1986, President Ronald Reagan appointed a commission headed by former Sen. John Tower to investigate his National Security Council staff in the wake of the Iran-Contra affair.

In 1990, Japanese business giant Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. agreed to acquire MCA Corp., owner of Universal Studios, for $6.6 billion.

In 2000, Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris certified George W. Bush the winner over Al Gore in the state's presidential balloting by a 537-vote margin.

In 2008, teams of heavily armed Pakistani gunmen stormed luxury hotels, a popular tourist attraction and a crowded train station in Mumbai, India, leaving at least 166 people dead in a rampage lasting some 60 hours.

Ten years ago: In a friendly-fire incident that further strained relations between the United States and Pakistan, U.S. forces launched airstrikes that mistakenly killed 24 Pakistani troops at two posts along the Afghan border. NASA's Curiosity rover blasted off from the Kennedy Space Center on an 8 1/2-month, 354 million-mile journey to Mars (it arrived in August 2012). NBA players and owners reached a tentative agreement to end a 149-day lockout.

Five years ago: Cuba said it would observe nine days of mourning for Fidel Castro, including a three-day journey by his ashes along the route taken by the rebel army he'd led on a victorious march across the island in 1959. Tony Award-winning character actor Fritz Weaver died in New York at age 90.

One year ago: Taking questions from reporters for the first time since the election, President Donald Trump acknowledged that he would leave the White House if Democrat Joe Biden's win was affirmed by the Electoral College; Trump also unleashed another round of complaints about the vote. Americans marked the Thanksgiving holiday amid the coronavirus pandemic, with many celebrations canceled or reduced; Zoom and FaceTime calls connected some families with those who didn't want to travel. With public health officials begging Americans not to travel, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade was scaled back and aimed at a television audience instead of live crowds.

Today's Birthdays: Impressionist Rich Little is 83. Singer Tina Turner is 82. Singer Jean Terrell is 77. Pop musician John McVie is 76. Actor Marianne Muellerleile is 73. Actor Scott Jacoby is 65. Actor Jamie Rose is 62. Country singer Linda Davis is 59. Actor Scott Adsit is 56. Blues singer-musician Bernard Allison is 56. Country singer-musician Steve Grisaffe is 56. Actor Kristin Bauer is 55. Actor Peter Facinelli is 48. Actor Tammy Lynn Michaels Etheridge is 47. DJ/record label executive DJ Khaled is 46. Actor Maia Campbell is 45. Country singer Joe Nichols is 45. Contemporary Christian musicians Anthony and Randy Armstrong (Red) are 43. Actor Jessica Bowman is 41. Pop singer Natasha Bedingfield is 40. Actor Jessica Camacho is 39. Rock musician Ben Wysocki (The Fray) is 37. Singer Lil Fizz is 36. MLB All-Star Matt Carpenter is 36. Actor-singer-TV personality Rita Ora is 31. Actor/singer Aubrey Peeples is 28.