Today in History

Today is Friday, Nov. 15, the 319th day of 2019. There are 46 days left in the year.

Today’s highlight:

On Nov. 15, 1942, the naval Battle of Guadalcanal ended during World War II with a decisive U.S. victory over Japanese forces.

On this date:

In 1777, the Second Continental Congress approved the Articles of Confederation.

In 1806, explorer Zebulon Pike sighted the mountaintop now known as Pikes Peak in present-day Colorado.

In 1864, during the Civil War, Union forces led by Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman began their “March to the Sea” from Atlanta; the campaign ended with the capture of Savannah on Dec. 21.

In 1935, the Commonwealth of the Philippines was established as its new president, Manuel L. Quezon, took office.

In 1937, at the U.S. Capitol, members of the House and Senate met in air-conditioned chambers for the first time.

In 1958, actor Tyrone Power, 44, died in Madrid, Spain, while filming “Solomon and Sheba.” (Power’s part was recast with Yul Brynner.)

In 1959, four members of the Clutter family of Holcomb, Kansas, were found murdered in their home. (Ex-convicts Richard Hickock and Perry Smith were later convicted of the killings and hanged in a case made famous by the Truman Capote book “In Cold Blood.”)

In 1961, former Argentine President Juan Peron, living in exile in Spain, married his third wife, Isabel.

In 1966, the flight of Gemini 12, the final mission of the Gemini program, ended successfully as astronauts James A. Lovell and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin Jr. splashed down safely in the Atlantic after spending four days in orbit.

In 1984, Stephanie Fae Beauclair, the infant publicly known as “Baby Fae” who had received a baboon’s heart to replace her own congenitally deformed one, died at Loma Linda University Medical Center in California three weeks after the transplant.

In 1987, 28 of 82 people aboard a Continental Airlines DC-9, including the pilots, were killed when the jetliner crashed seconds after taking off from Denver’s Stapleton International Airport.

In 2003, two Black Hawk helicopters collided and crashed in Iraq; 17 U.S. troops were killed.

Ten years ago: President Barack Obama concluded a two-day summit with Asia-Pacific leaders in Singapore, where they pledged to persist with stimulus spending until a global recovery was assured. Kosovo’s first independent elections ended peacefully, with Prime Minister Hashim Thaci claiming victory for his party. Michelle Wie earned her first win on the LPGA Tour, closing with a 3-under 69 to finish two strokes ahead of Paula Creamer in the Lorena Ochoa Invitational.

Five years ago: Closing out his Asia-Pacific tour in Brisbane, Australia, President Barack Obama called on Asian nations to join the United States in confronting the globe’s biggest challenges, from climate change and poverty to violent extremism. Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, arrived in Iraq on a previously unannounced visit, his first since a U.S.-led coalition began launching airstrikes against the extremist Islamic State group. Pope Francis denounced the right to die movement, telling the Association of Italian Catholic Doctors it was a “false sense of compassion” to consider euthanasia an act of dignity when it was in fact a sin against God and creation.

One year ago: The number of confirmed dead from the wildfire that had virtually destroyed the Northern California town of Paradise reached 63, and authorities said they had 631 names on a missing persons list. (The death toll eventually reached 85.) Buses carrying Central American asylum seekers reached the U.S. border as the Mexican city of Tijuana converted a municipal gymnasium into a temporary shelter; U.S. border inspectors at the main crossing into San Diego were processing only about 100 asylum claims a day. Christian Yelich of the Milwaukee Brewers and Mookie Betts of the Boston Red Sox were named winners of baseball’s Most Valuable Player awards. Country star Roy Clark, a guitar virtuoso and singer who headlined the TV show “Hee Haw” for nearly a quarter century, died in Oklahoma at the age of 85.

Today’s birthdays: Actor Ed Asner is 90. Singer Petula Clark is 87. Comedian Jack Burns is 86. Actress Joanna Barnes is 85. Actor Yaphet Kotto is 80. Actor Sam Waterston is 79. Classical conductor Daniel Barenboim is 77. Pop singer Frida (ABBA) is 74. Actor Bob Gunton is 74. Former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson is 72. Actress Beverly D’Angelo is 68. Director-actor James Widdoes is 66. Rock singer-producer Mitch Easter is 65. News correspondent John Roberts is 63. Former “Jay Leno Show” bandleader Kevin Eubanks is 62. Comedian Judy Gold is 57. Actress Rachel True is 53. Rapper E-40 is 52. Country singer Jack Ingram is 49. Actor Jay Harrington is 48. Actor Jonny Lee Miller is 47. Actress Sydney Tamiia Poitier-Heartsong is 46. Christian rock musician David Carr (Third Day) is 45. Rock singer-musician Chad Kroeger is 45. Rock musician Jesse Sandoval is 45. Actress Virginie Ledoyen is 43. Actor Sean Murray is 42. Pop singer Ace Young (TV: “American Idol”) is 39. Golfer Lorena Ochoa is 38. Hip-hop artist B.o.B is 31. Actress Shailene Woodley is 28. Actress-dancer Emma Dumont is 25.

Thought for today: “To oppose something is to maintain it.” — Ursula K. LeGuin, American writer (1929-2018)