Today in history

  • Wednesday, August 26, 2015 1:23pm
  • Life

Today is Saturday, Nov. 30, the 334th day of 2013. There are 31 days left in the year.

Today’s highlight:

On Nov. 30, 1782, the United States and Britain signed preliminary peace articles in Paris, ending the Revolutionary War.

On this date:

In 1803, Spain completed the process of ceding Louisiana to France, which had sold it to the United States.

In 1835, Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known as Mark Twain, was born in Florida, Missouri.

In 1874, British statesman Sir Winston Churchill was born at Blenheim Palace.

In 1900, Irish writer Oscar Wilde died in Paris at age 46.

In 1936, London’s famed Crystal Palace, constructed for the Great Exhibition of 1851, was destroyed in a fire.

In 1939, the Russo-Finnish War began as Soviet troops invaded Finland.

In 1962, U Thant of Burma, who had been acting secretary-general of the United Nations following the death of Dag Hammarskjold the year before, was elected to a four-year term.

In 1966, the former British colony of Barbados became independent.

In 1981, the United States and the Soviet Union opened negotiations in Geneva aimed at reducing nuclear weapons in Europe.

In 1982, the Michael Jackson album “Thriller” was released by Epic Records.

In 1988, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Co. was declared the winner of the corporate free-for-all to take over RJR Nabisco Inc. with a bid of $24.53 billion.

Ten years ago: U.S. soldiers in Iraq fought back coordinated attacks throughout the northern city of Samarra. Two South Korean contractors were killed in a roadside ambush. Nathaniel Jones, a black man, died during a fight with Cincinnati police in a case that heightened racial tensions. Walt Disney Co. vice chairman Roy E. Disney stepped down from the board of directors. Mark Philippoussis gave Australia its 28th Davis Cup title, beating Spain’s Juan Carlos Ferrero 7-5, 6-3, 1-6, 2-6, 6-0. Former U.S. congressman and World Bank chairman Barber B. Conable Jr. died in Sarasota, Florida, at age 81. Gertrude Ederle, the first woman to swim the English Channel, died in Wyckoff, N.J., at age 98.

Five years ago: Space shuttle Endeavour returned to Earth after a nearly 16-day mission to repair and upgrade the international space station. The world’s most comprehensive legalized heroin program became permanent with overwhelming approval from Swiss voters who simultaneously rejected the decriminalization of marijuana.

One year ago: Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets in Egypt, denouncing President Mohammed Morsi and a draft constitution that was approved earlier in the day by his Islamist allies. Citing insufficient evidence, prosecutors in Los Angeles dropped the murder case against Lois Goodman, a tennis referee who had been arrested before a match at the U.S. Open in connection with her husband’s death.

Today’s birthdays: Actor Efrem Zimbalist Jr. is 95. Actor Robert Guillaume is 86. Radio talk show host G. Gordon Liddy is 83. Country singer-recording executive Jimmy Bowen is 76. Movie director Ridley Scott is 76. Movie writer-director Terrence Malick is 70. Rock musician Roger Glover (Deep Purple) is 68. Playwright David Mamet is 66. Actress Margaret Whitton is 63. Actor Mandy Patinkin is 61. Musician Shuggie Otis is 60. Country singer Jeannie Kendall is 59. Singer Billy Idol is 58. Historian Michael Beschloss is 58. Rock musician John Ashton (The Psychedelic Furs) is 56. Comedian Colin Mochrie is 56. Former football and baseball player Bo Jackson is 51. Rapper Jalil (Whodini) is 50. Actor-director Ben Stiller is 48. Rock musician Mike Stone is 44. Actress Sandra Oh is 43. Singer Clay Aiken is 35. Actor Billy Lush is 32. Actress Elisha Cuthbert is 31. Actress Kaley Cuoco is 28. Actress Christel Khalil is 26.

Thought for today: “Facts are stubborn things, but statistics are more pliable.”— Mark Twain (1835-1910).

Associated Press

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Brandon Hailey of Cytrus, center, plays the saxophone during a headlining show at Madam Lou’s on Friday, Dec. 29, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lynnwood-based funk octet Cytrus has the juice

Resilience and brotherhood take center stage with ‘friends-first’ band.

FILE - In this April 11, 2014 file photo, Neko Case performs at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif. Fire investigators are looking for the cause of a fire on Monday, Sept. 18, 2017, that heavily damaged Case’s 225-year-old Vermont home. There were no injuries, though a barn was destroyed. It took firefighters two hours to extinguish the blaze. (Photo by Scott Roth/Invision/AP, File)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Singer-songwriter Neko Case, an indie music icon from Tacoma, performs Sunday in Edmonds.

Sarah Jean Muncey-Gordon puts on some BITCHSTIX lip oil at Bandbox Beauty Supply on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024, in Langley, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Bandbox Beauty was made for Whidbey Island locals, by an island local

Founder Sarah Muncey-Gordon said Langley is in a renaissance, and she’s proud to be a part of it.

Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli
Tangier’s market boasts piles of fruits, veggies, and olives, countless varieties of bread, and nonperishables, like clothing and electronics.
Rick Steves on the cultural kaleidoscope of Tangier in Morocco

Walking through the city, I think to myself, “How could anyone be in southern Spain — so close — and not hop over to experience this wonderland?”

Byrds co-founder Roger McGuinn, seen here in 2013, will perform April 20 in Edmonds. (Associated Press)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

R0ck ‘n’ Roll Hall of Famer Roger McGuinn, frontman of The Byrds, plans a gig in Edmonds in April.

Mother giving in to the manipulation her daughter fake crying for candy
Can children be bribed into good behavior?

Only in the short term. What we want to do is promote good habits over the course of the child’s life.

Speech Bubble Puzzle and Discussion
When conflict flares, keep calm and stand your ground

Most adults don’t like dissension. They avoid it, try to get around it, under it, or over it.

The colorful Nyhavn neighborhood is the place to moor on a sunny day in Copenhagen. (Cameron Hewitt)
Rick Steves: Embrace hygge and save cash in Copenhagen

Where else would Hans Christian Andersen, a mermaid statue and lovingly decorated open-face sandwiches be the icons of a major capital?

Last Call is a festured artist at the 2024 DeMiero Jazz Festival: in Edmonds. (Photo provided by DeMiero Jazz Festival)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Jazz ensemble Last Call is one of the featured artists at the DeMiero Jazz Festival on March 7-9 in Edmonds.

Kim Helleren
Local children’s author to read at Edmonds Bookshop

Kim Helleren will read from one of her books for kids at the next monthly Story Time at Edmonds Bookshop on March 29.

Chris Elliott
Lyft surprises traveler with a $150 cleaning charge

Jared Hakimi finds a $150 charge on his credit card after a Lyft ride. Is that allowed? And will the charge stick?

Inside Elle Marie Hair Studio in Smokey Point. (Provided by Acacia Delzer)
The best hair salon in Snohomish County

You voted, we tallied. Here are the results.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.