Today's Highlight in History:
On November 24th, 1963, Jack Ruby shot and mortally wounded Lee Harvey Oswald, the accused assassin of President Kennedy, in a scene captured on live television.On this date:
In 1784, Zachary Taylor, the 12th president of the United States, was born in Orange County, Virginia. [OK, that's a bit dull. — Ed.]
In 1859, British naturalist Charles Darwin published "On the Origin of Species," which explained his theory of evolution.
In 1944, during World War II, US bombers based on Saipan attacked Tokyo in the first raid against the Japanese capital by land-based planes.
In 1947, a group of writers, producers and directors that became known as the "Hollywood Ten" was cited for contempt of Congress for refusing to answer questions about alleged Communist influence in the movie industry.
In 1947, John Steinbeck's novel "The Pearl" was first published.
In 1950, the musical "Guys and Dolls," based on the writings of Damon Runyon and featuring songs by Frank Loesser, opened on Broadway.
In 1969, Apollo 12 splashed down safely in the Pacific.
In 1971, hijacker "D.B. Cooper" parachuted from a Northwest Airlines 727 over Washington state with $200,000 dollars in ransom, his fate remains unknown.
In 1987, the United States and the Soviet Union agreed on terms to scrap shorter- and medium-range missiles.
Ten years ago: President Clinton and Pacific leaders began meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia, to discuss ways of calming the Asian economic crisis. That same day, Japan's Yamaichi Securities closed its doors, becoming the third Japanese financial company to collapse in a month. Space-walking astronauts from the shuttle Columbia grabbed a spinning satellite with their hands, enabling the cockpit crew to use the shuttle's robot arm to return it to the cargo bay. [Remember the Columbia. — Ed.]
Five years ago: In a letter to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, the Iraqi government complained that the small print behind upcoming weapons inspections would give Washington a pretext to attack. [No shit! — Ed.]Lucio Gutierrez, a populist former army colonel who'd led a coup in 2000, was elected as Ecuador's sixth president in six years. Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel's conservative party dominated parliamentary elections in Austria.
One year ago: Shiite militiamen in Iraq doused six Sunni Arabs with kerosene and burned them alive and killed 19 other Sunnis, taking revenge for the slaughter of 215 Shiites in Baghdad's Sadr City the day before. Belfast's most infamous Protestant militant, Michael Stone, stormed into the Northern Ireland Assembly headquarters with a bagful of pipe bombs; he was quickly subdued. Opera singer Robert McFerrin Senior, the father of Grammy-winning conductor-vocalist Bobby McFerrin, died in suburban St. Louis at age 85.
Today's Birthdays: Columnist William F. Buckley is 82. Country singer Johnny Carver is 67. Rock-and-roll drummer Pete Best is 66. Rock musician Donald "Duck" Dunn (Booker T. & the MG's) is 66. Actor-comedian Billy Connolly is 65. Former White House news secretary Marlin Fitzwater is 65. Motion Picture Association of America President Dan Glickman is 63. Singer Lee Michaels is 62. [As in Lee Michaels, who played the organ & was accompanied only by "Frosty" on drums? "Do You Know What I Mean?" Lee Michaels? Huh. — Ed.] Actor Dwight Schultz is 60. Actor Stanley Livingston is 57. Rock musician Clem Burke (Blondie; The Romantics) is 52. Record producer Terry Lewis is 51. Actor Ruben Santiago-Hudson is 51. Actress Denise Crosby is 50. Actress Shae D'Lyn is 45. Rock musician John Squire (The Stone Roses) is 45. Actress Lola Glaudini is 36. Actor Colin Hanks is 30. Actress Katherine Heigl ("Grey's Anatomy") is 29.
On November 24th, 1966, The Beatles began recording sessions for their album, "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band." However, the song they recorded on this date, "Strawberry Fields Forever," did not make it onto that album.
In 1972, ABC premiered the late night rock show "In Concert," which was produced by Don Kirshner. Guests on the first show included Chuck Berry, Alice Cooper, Poco and Seals and Crofts.In 1985, singer "Big" Joe Turner died of a heart attack. He's known for the hits "Shake, Rattle and Roll" and "Honey Hush."
In 1991, Queen singer Freddie Mercury died of complications from AIDS at his home in London. He was 45. He had sent out a statement confirming rumors that he had AIDS only two days before his death.
Also in 1991, former Kiss drummer Eric Carr died of cancer in New York. He was 41.
Also in 1991, singer Cyndi Lauper married actor David Thornton in New York.
In 1992, lawyers for musician Bill Wyman and his ex-wife Mandy Smith announced the terms of their divorce settlement. She got to keep their house and its contents, plus legal fees.
In 2005, singer Scott Stapp and members of the band 311 got into a fight at a hotel bar in Baltimore.
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