Monday, November 16th
The 320th day of 2009.
There are 45 days left in the year.
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Today's Highlights in History
On Nov. 16, 1933, the United States and the Soviet Union established diplomatic relations. President Roosevelt sent a telegram to Soviet leader Maxim Litvinov, expressing hope that United States-Soviet relations would ``forever remain normal and friendly.'' (Go to article.)
On Nov. 16, 1873, W. C. Handy, the American composer known as the "father of the blues", was born. Following his death on March 28, 1958, his obituary appeared in The Times. (Go to obit. | Other Birthdays)
Editorial Cartoon of the Day
On November 16, 1907, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about President Theodore Roosevelt and the elections of 1907. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.)
On this date in:
1864 Union Gen. William T. Sherman and his troops began their "March to the Sea" during the Civil War.
1907 Oklahoma became the 46th state.
1959 The Rodgers and Hammerstein musical "The Sound of Music" opened on Broadway.
1961 House Speaker Sam Rayburn, D-Texas, died at age 79.
1966 Dr. Samuel H. Sheppard was acquitted in his second trial on charges of murdering his pregnant wife, Marilyn, in 1954.
1973 Skylab 4, carrying a crew of three astronauts, was launched from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on an 84-day mission.
1973 President Richard M. Nixon signed the Alaska Pipeline measure into law.
1982 An agreement was announced in the 57th day of a strike by National Football League players.
1988 Estonia's parliament declared the Baltic republic sovereign.
1995 Attorney General Janet Reno disclosed that she had Parkinson's disease.
1997 Chinese pro-democracy campaigner Wei Jingsheng arrived in the United States after being released on medical parole after nearly 18 years in prison.
2001 Congress passed an aviation security bill mandating that airport screeners be federal employees.
2001 Investigators found a letter addressed to Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., containing anthrax.
2004 President George W. Bush picked National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice to be secretary of state, succeeding Colin Powell.
2006 African, Arab, European and U.N. leaders agreed in principle to a joint African Union-United Nations peacekeeping force for Sudan's Darfur region.
2006 Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman died at age 94.
2008 Iraq's Cabinet overwhelmingly approved a security pact with the United States calling for American forces to remain in the country until 2012.
Current Birthdays
Diana Krall turns 45 years old today.
AP Photo/Charles Sykes Jazz singer Diana Krall turns 45 years old today.
87 Jose Saramago
Nobel Prize-winning author
81 Clu Gulager
Actor
78 Hubert Sumlin
Blues musician
74 Elizabeth Drew
Journalist
70 W.C. Clark
Blues musician
67 Joanna Pettet
Actress ("Knots Landing")
64 Steve Railsback
Actor
59 David Leisure
Actor
51 Marg Helgenberger
Actress ("C.S.I.")
47 Mani
Rock musician
46 Keith Burns
Country musician (Trick Pony)
45 Harry Lennix
Actor
42 Lisa Bonet
Actress ("The Cosby Show")
41 Tammy Lauren
Actress
40 Bryan Abrams
R&B singer (Color Me Badd)
37 Michael Irby
Actor ("The Unit")
37 Missi Pyle
Actress
32 Maggie Gyllenhaal
Actress
29 Osi Umenyiora
Football player
25 Kimberly J. Brown
Actress
14 Noah Gray-Cabey
Actor ("Heroes," "My Wife and Kids")
Historic Birthdays
W. C. Handy
11/16/1873 - 3/28/1958
American composer
(Go to obit.)
64 Rodolphe Kreutzer
11/16/1766 - 1/6/1831
French violinist
80 Charles Eliot Norton
11/16/1827 - 10/21/1908
American scholar
87 Arthur B. Krock
11/16/1886 - 4/12/1974
American political journalist
71 George Kaufman
11/16/1889 - 6/2/1961
American playwright
63 Lawrence Tibbett
11/16/1896 - 7/15/1960
American singer
84 Sir Oswald Mosley
11/16/1896 - 12/3/1980
English fascist leader
89 Burgess Meredith
11/16/1907 - 9/9/1997
American actor
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SOURCE: The Associated Press
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Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company
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