On Nov. 21, 1877, inventor Thomas A. Edison unveiled the phonograph.
In 1783, in Paris, Jean de Rozier and the Marquis d'Arlandes made the first free-flight ascent in a balloon.
In 1789, North Carolina became the 12th state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.
In 1922, Rebecca L. Felton of Georgia was sworn in as the first woman to serve in the U.S. Senate.
In 1927, picketing strikers at the Columbine Mine in northern Colorado were fired on by state police; six miners were killed.
In 1938, Nazi forces occupied western Czechoslovakia and declared its people German citizens.
In 1942, the Alaska Highway was formally opened.
Forty years ago, in 1969, the Senate voted down the Supreme Court nomination of Clement F. Haynsworth, 55-45, the first such rejection since 1930.
In 1973, President Richard Nixon's attorney, J. Fred Buzhardt, revealed the existence of an 18 1/2-minute gap in one of the White House tape recordings related to Watergate.
Thirty-five years ago, in 1974, The U.S. Congress passed the Freedom of Information Act over U.S. President Gerald Ford's veto.
Thirty years ago, in 1979, a mob attacked the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan, killing two Americans.
In 1980, 87 people died in a fire at the MGM Grand Hotel-Casino in Las Vegas.
In 1985, former U.S. Navy intelligence analyst Jonathan Jay Pollard was arrested, accused of spying for Israel. (He later pleaded guilty and is serving a life sentence.)
In 1989, the proceedings of Britain's House of Commons were televised live for the first time.
In 1991, the U.N. Security Council chose Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt to be secretary-general.
In 1995, the Dow Jones industrial average closed above 5,000 for the first time.
In 1999, President Bill Clinton, speaking at a conference in Florence, Italy, called on prosperous nations to spread global wealth by helping poor countries with Internet hookups, cell phones, debt relief and small loans. China completed its first unmanned test of a spacecraft meant to carry astronauts.
In 2000, the Florida Supreme Court granted Democrat Al Gore's request to keep the presidential election recount going.
In 2001, Ottilie Lundgren, a 94-year-old resident of Oxford, Conn., died of inhalation anthrax. The source of the anthrax has never been determined.
In 2002, NATO sought to expand its membership into the borders of the former Soviet Union as it invited seven former communist countries to join the alliance: Slovenia, Slovakia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania and Bulgaria.
In 2004, President George W. Bush, trying to mend relations with Latin America, pledged during an economic summit in Chile to make a fresh push for stalled immigration reforms. Iraqi authorities set Jan. 30, 2005, as the date for the nation's first election since the collapse of Saddam Hussein's dictatorship. Six Wisconsin hunters were shot to death by Chai Soua Vang, an ethnic Hmong immigrant who was later sentenced to life in prison. The NBA suspended Indiana's Ron Artest for the rest of the season following a brawl that broke out at the end of a game against the Detroit Pistons; eight other players received shorter bans. Donald Trump's casino empire filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. And, Fred Hale Sr., believed to have been the oldest man on Earth, died less than a month before his 114th birthday at a DeWitt, N.Y., nursing home.
In 2006, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki announced a restoration of diplomatic ties with Syria, ending 24 years of strained relations. Pierre Gemayel, Lebanon's industry minister and Maronite Christian leader, was assassinated by gunmen while riding in a convoy near Beirut.
In 2007, former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan implicated U.S. President George Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney in misleading the public on the identity outing of a covert CIA agent.
In 2008, Wall Street staged a comeback, with the major indexes jumping more than 5 percent and the Dow Jones industrials surging nearly 500 points. Somali pirates released a hijacked Greek-owned tanker, MV Genius, with all 19 crew members safe and the oil cargo intact after payment of a ransom. (The ship had been seized almost two months earlier.)
Today's Birthdays: Baseball Hall-of-Famer Stan Musial is 89. Actor Joseph Campanella is 82. Country singer Jean Shepard is 76. Actor Laurence Luckinbill is 75. Actress Marlo Thomas is 72. Actor Rick Lenz is 70. Singer Dr. John is 69. Actress Juliet Mills is 68. Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen is 66. Basketball Hall of Famer Earl Monroe is 65. Comedian-director Harold Ramis is 65. Television producer Marcy Carsey is 65. Actress Goldie Hawn is 64. Movie director Andrew Davis is 63. Rock musician Lonnie Jordan (War) is 61. Singer Livingston Taylor is 59. Actress-singer Lorna Luft is 57. Actress Cherry Jones is 53. Rock musician Brian Ritchie (The Violent Femmes) is 49. Gospel singer Steven Curtis Chapman is 47. Actress Nicollette Sheridan is 46. Singer-actress Bjork is 44. Pro and College Football Hall of Famer Troy Aikman is 43. Rhythm-and-blues singer Chauncey Hannibal (BLACKstreet) is 41. Rock musician Alex James (Blur) is 41. MLB All-Star player Ken Griffey, Jr. is 40. Rapper Pretty Lou (Lost Boyz) is 38. Actor/former football player Michael Strahan is 38. Country singer Kelsi Osborn (SHeDAISY) is 35. Singer-actress Lindsey Haun is 25. Actress Jena Malone is 25.
Today In Entertainment History November 21
In 1934, the Cole Porter musical "Anything Goes," starring Ethel Merman as Reno Sweeney, opened on Broadway.
Fifty years ago, in 1959, former heavyweight champion boxer and actor Max Baer died in Hollywood at age 50.
In 1960, George Harrison was deported from Germany after The Beatles had moved to Hamburg to play clubs there. Authorities were tipped off that he was not yet 18 and was therefore not allowed to be in a nightclub after midnight.
In 1974, the KISS Army fan club officially formed in Terre Haute, Indiana.
In 1980, an estimated 83 million TV viewers tuned in to the CBS prime-time soap opera "Dallas" to find out who shot J.R., played by Larry Hagman. It turned out to be Kristin Shephard, played by Mary Crosby. Also in 1980, singer Don Henley was arrested after a nude 16-year-old girl was found in his Los Angeles home suffering from a drug overdose. Henley was fined and given probation.
In 1982, Liza Minelli, Willie Nelson, Smokey Robinson and Andrew Lloyd Webber were honored as the first group of Grammy Living Legends at a gala in Los Angeles. Also in 1982, singer Joni Mitchell married her bassist, Larry Klein, in Malibu, California.
In 1987, actor Bruce Willis married actress Demi Moore in Las Vegas. They separated after ten years.
In 1990, Mick Jagger and Jerry Hall were married after being together for 12 years. They have since divorced.
In 1995, singer Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day was arrested for dropping his pants at a concert in Milwaukee. He was fined $141.
In 1996, actress Sherry Stringfield quit the cast of "ER" to spend more time with her family and boyfriend. She rejoined the cast five years later.
In 1997, rapper Coolio and seven members of his band were arrested for theft and assault in a boutique in Boblingen, Germany. They were accused of assaulting a clerk and stealing $2,000 in clothing.
In 1999, Quentin Crisp, the eccentric writer, performer and raconteur best-known for his autobiography "The Naked Civil Servant," died in Manchester, England, at age 90.
In 2008, Madonna and Guy Ritchie were granted a preliminary decree of divorce by a London court.
Thought for Today: "We are always doing, says he, something for posterity, but I would fain see posterity do something for us." — Joseph Addison, English essayist and poet (1672-1719).
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