Saturday, November 21, 2015

What Happened This Day In History - November 21



Today in History
November 21
1620 Leaders of the Mayflower expedition frame the "Mayflower Compact," designed to bolster unity among the settlers.
1783 Jean de Rozier and the Marquis d’Arlandes make the first free-flight ascent in a balloon to over 500 feet in Paris.
1789 North Carolina ratifies the Constitution, becoming the 12th state to do it.
1855 Franklin Colman, a pro-slavery Missourian, guns down Charles Dow, a Free Stater from Ohio, near Lawrence, Kansas.
1864 From Georgia, Confederate General John B. Hood launches the Franklin-Nashville Campaign into Tennessee.
1904 Motorized omnibuses replace horse-drawn cars in Paris.
1906 In San Juan, President Theodore Roosevelt pledges citizenship for Puerto Rican people.
1907 Cunard liner Mauritania sets a new speed record for steamship travel, 624 nautical miles in a one day run.
1911 Suffragettes storm Parliament in London. All are arrested and all choose prison terms.
1917 German ace Rudolf von Eschwege is killed over Macedonia when he attacks a booby-trapped observation balloon packed with explosives.
1918 The last German troops leave Alsace-Lorraine, France.
1927 Police turn machine guns on striking Colorado mine workers, killing five and wounding 20.
1934 A New York court rules Gloria Vanderbilt unfit for custody of her daughter.
1934 Cole Porter’s musical Anything Goes premieres at New York’s Alvin Theatre.
1949 The United Nations grants Libya its independence by 1952.
1967 President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the air quality act, allotting $428 million for the fight against pollution.
1970 U.S. planes conduct widespread bombing raids in North Vietnam.
1985 US Navy intelligence analyst Jonathan Pollard arrested for spying and passing classified information to Israel; he received a life sentence on Nov. 1, 1987.
1986 The Justice Department begins an inquiry into the National Security Council into what will become known as the Iran-Contra scandal.
1995 The Dayton Peace Agreement is initialed at Wright Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio; the agreement, formally ratified in Paris on Dec. 14, ends the three-and-a-half year war between Bosnia and Herzegovina.
2006 Anti-Syrian Lebanese Minister and MP Pierre Gemayel assassinated in Beirut.

Born on November 21
1694 Voltaire (Francois-Marie Arouet), French philosopher, historian, poet, dramatist and novelist.
1898 Rene Magritte, surrealist painter (Golconda).
1904 Coleman Hawkins, jazz saxophonist.
1908 Elizabeth G. Speare, writer of historical novels for children.
1920 Stan "The Man" Musial, Hall of Fame baseball player for the St. Louis Cardinals.
1929 Marilyn French, novelist and critic (The Women’s Room).
1936 Victor Chang, Chinese Australian cardiac surgeon who pioneered the development of an artificial heart valve.
1944 Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, US Senate Majority Whip (2007 – ).
1944 Earl "The Pearl" Monroe, pro basketball player known for his flamboyant playing style.
1945 Goldie Hawn, actress, director, producer; gained public attention as part ofRowan & Martin’s Laugh-In TV series in the 1960s; won Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Cactus Flower (1969).
1948 George Zimmer, businessman; founded Men’s Wearhouse.
1966 Troy Aikman, pro football quarterback; led Dallas Cowboys to three Super Bowl victories; member of Pro Football Hall of Fame and College Football Hall of Fame.

No comments: