Today in History

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, November 16, 2016

Today is Wednesday, Nov. 16, the 321st day of 2016. There are 45 days left in the year.

Today’s highlight: On Nov. 16, 1966, Dr. Samuel H. Sheppard was acquitted in his second trial of murdering his pregnant wife, Marilyn, in 1954.

On this date:

In 1885, Canadian rebel leader Louis Riel was executed for high treason.

In 1907, Oklahoma became the 46th state of the union.

In 1914, the newly created Federal Reserve Banks opened in 12 cities.

In 1933, the United States and the Soviet Union established diplomatic relations.

In 1939, mob boss Al Capone, ill with syphilis, was released from prison after serving 7½ years for tax evasion and failure to file tax returns.

In 1945, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization was founded at the conclusion of a conference in London.

In 1973, Skylab 4, carrying a crew of three astronauts, was launched from Cape Canaveral on an 84-day mission.

In 1981, the Senate confirmed Dr. C. Everett Koop to be surgeon general. Oscar-winning actor William Holden, 63, was found dead in his Santa Monica, California, apartment.

In 1991, former Louisiana governor Edwin Edwards won a landslide victory in his bid to return to office, defeating State Rep. David Duke, a former Ku Klux Klan leader.

In 1993, President Bill Clinton signed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, making it harder for government to interfere with religious practices.

Ten years ago: Democrats embraced Nancy Pelosi as the first woman House speaker in history, but then selected Steny Hoyer as majority leader against her wishes. Gunmen abducted a private security team of four Americans and an Austrian in southern Iraq. (All five were later slain.)

One year ago: President Barack Obama, in Turkey for a meeting of world leaders, conceded that the Paris terror attacks were a “terrible and sickening setback” in the fight against the Islamic State, but forcefully dismissed critics who were calling for the U.S. to change or expand its military campaign against the extremists.

Associated Press