Today in History

Today is Tuesday, Nov. 11, the 315th day of 2014. There are 50 days left in the year. This is Veterans Day in the U.S., Remembrance Day in Canada.

Today’s highlight:

In 1889, Washington became the 42nd state.

On this date:

In 1620, 41 Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower, anchored off Massachusetts, signed a compact calling for a “body politick.”

In 1778, British redcoats, Tory rangers and Seneca Indians in central New York killed more than 40 people in the Cherry Valley Massacre.

In 1831, former slave Nat Turner, who’d led a violent insurrection, was executed in Jerusalem, Virginia.

In 1909, President William Howard Taft accepted the recommendation of a joint Army-Navy board that Pearl Harbor in the Hawaiian Islands be made the principal U.S. naval station in the Pacific.

In 1918, fighting in World War I came to an end with the signing of an armistice between the Allies and Germany.

In 1921, the remains of an unidentified American service member were interred in a Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery in a ceremony presided over by President Warren G. Harding.

In 1938, Irish-born cook Mary Mallon, who’d gained notoriety as the disease-carrying “Typhoid Mary” blamed for the deaths of three people, died on North Brother Island in New York’s East River at age 69 after 23 years of mandatory quarantine.

In 1942, during World War II, Germany completed its occupation of France.

In 1966, Gemini 12 blasted off from Cape Kennedy with astronauts James A. Lovell and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin Jr. aboard.

In 1972, the U.S. Army turned over its base at Long Binh to the South Vietnamese, symbolizing the end of direct U.S. military involvement in the Vietnam War.

In 1984, Rev. Martin Luther King Sr. — father of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. — died in Atlanta at age 84.

In 1992, the Church of England voted to ordain women as priests.

Ten years ago: Palestinians at home and abroad wept, waved flags and burned tires in an eruption of grief at news of the death of Yasser Arafat in Paris at age 75. President George W. Bush expressed hope that Arafat’s passing would clear the way for successful Mideast peace negotiations with new Palestinian leaders.

Five years ago: For the first time since World War I, the leaders of Germany and France held a joint ceremony to commemorate the end of the conflict, saying it was time to celebrate their countries’ reconciliation and friendship. Longtime CNN host Lou Dobbs announced he was leaving the network. Taylor Swift won four awards, including Entertainer of the Year, at the Country Music Association Awards.

One year ago: Iran and the United States blamed each other for the failure to reach agreement on a deal to limit Iran’s uranium enrichment in exchange for an easing of Western sanctions. Bowing to pressure from Jewish groups and art experts, the German government made public details of paintings in a recovered trove of 1,400 pieces of art that might have been stolen by Nazis and said it would put together a task force to speed identification. Jose Fernandez of the Miami Marlins and Wil Myers of the Tampa Bay Rays were selected baseball’s Rookies of the Year.

Today’s birthdays: Jazz singer-musician Mose Allison is 87. Actress Bibi Andersson is 79. Country singer Narvel Felts is 76. Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., is 74. Americana roots singer/songwriter Chris Smither is 70. Rock singer-musician Vince Martell (Vanilla Fudge) is 69. The president of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega, is 69. Rock singer Jim Peterik (Ides of March, Survivor) is 64. Golfer Fuzzy Zoeller is 63. Pop singer-musician Paul Cowsill (The Cowsills) is 63. Rock singer-musician Andy Partridge (XTC) is 61. Singer Marshall Crenshaw is 61. Rock singer Dave Alvin is 59. Rock musician Ian Craig Marsh (Human League; Heaven 17) is 58. Actor Stanley Tucci is 54. Actress Demi Moore is 52. Actress Calista Flockhart is 50. Actor Philip McKeon is 50. Rock musician Scott Mercado is 50. Actor Frank John Hughes is 47. TV personality Carson Kressley is 45. Actor David DeLuise is 43. Actor Adam Beach is 42. Actor Leonardo DiCaprio is 40. Actor Scoot McNairy is 37. Rock musician Jonathan Pretus (Cowboy Mouth) is 33. NFL quarterback Mark Sanchez is 28. Actress Christa B. Allen is 23. Actor Tye Sheridan is 18. Actor Ian Patrick (TV: “The Neighbors”) is 12.

Thought for today: “When you make your peace with authority, you become authority.” — Jim Morrison, American rock singer (1943-1971).

Associated Press