Today is Monday, Nov. 24, the 328th day of 2014. There are 37 days left in the year.
Today’s highlight:
On Nov. 24, 1944, during World War II, U.S. bombers based on Saipan attacked Tokyo in the first raid against the Japanese capital by land-based planes.
On this date:
In 1784, Zachary Taylor, the 12th president of the United States, was born in Orange County, Virginia.
In 1859, British naturalist Charles Darwin published “On the Origin of Species,” which explained his theory of evolution by means of natural selection.
In 1864, French artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec was born in Albi.
In 1922, Irish nationalist and author Robert Erskine Childers was executed in Dublin by Free State forces.
In 1939, British Overseas Airways Corp. (BOAC) was formally established.
In 1950, the musical “Guys and Dolls,” based on the writings of Damon Runyon and featuring songs by Frank Loesser (LEH’-suhr), opened on Broadway.
In 1963, Jack Ruby shot and mortally wounded Lee Harvey Oswald, the accused assassin of President John F. Kennedy, in a scene captured on live television.
In 1969, Apollo 12 splashed down safely in the Pacific.
In 1971, a hijacker calling himself “Dan Cooper” (but who became popularly known as “D.B. Cooper”) parachuted from a Northwest Orient Airlines 727 over the Pacific Northwest after receiving $200,000 dollars in ransom — his fate remains unknown.
In 1974, the bone fragments of a 3.2 million-year-old hominid were discovered by scientists in Ethiopia; the skeletal remains were nicknamed “Lucy.”
In 1989, Romanian leader Nicolae Ceausescu (chow-SHES’-koo) was unanimously re-elected Communist Party chief. (Within a month, he was overthrown in a popular uprising and executed along with his wife, Elena, on Christmas Day.)
In 1992, a China Southern Airlines Boeing 737 crashed in southern China, killing all 141 people on board.
Ten years ago: Ukraine’s election officials declared that Kremlin-backed Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych (yah-noo-KOH’-vich) had won Ukraine’s bitterly disputed presidential runoff balloting; thousands of opposition supporters demonstrated in Kiev. Popular author Arthur Hailey died in New Providence, Bahamas, at age 84.
Five years ago: President Barack Obama played host at the first state dinner of his presidency to visiting Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, an event marred by two gatecrashers, Tareq and Michaele Salahi (mih-KEL’ sah-LAH’-hee). Kentucky officials said census worker Bill Sparkman, found bound and hanging from a tree with the word “fed” scrawled across his chest, had in fact committed suicide. Albert Pujols won the National League MVP unanimously, becoming the first player to repeat since Barry Bonds won four in a row from 2001-04.
One year ago: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu harshly condemned the international community’s nuclear deal with Iran, calling it a “historic mistake” and saying he was not bound by the agreement. The Vatican publicly unveiled a handful of bone fragments purportedly belonging to St. Peter, the first pope. Taylor Swift took home four American Music Awards, including top honor artist of the year for the third time.
Today’s birthdays: Basketball Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson is 76. Country singer Johnny Carver is 74. Former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue (TAG’-lee-uh-boo) is 74. Rock drummer Pete Best is 73. Actor-comedian Billy Connolly is 72. Former White House news secretary Marlin Fitzwater is 72. Former Motion Picture Association of America Chairman Dan Glickman is 70. Singer Lee Michaels is 69. Actor Dwight Schultz is 67. Actor Stanley Livingston is 64. Rock musician Clem Burke (Blondie; The Romantics) is 60. Record producer Terry Lewis is 58. Actor/director Ruben Santiago-Hudson is 58. Actress Denise Crosby is 57. Actress Shae D’Lyn is 52. Rock musician John Squire (The Stone Roses) is 52. Rock musician Gary Stonadge (Big Audio) is 52. Actor Conleth Hill is 50. Actor-comedian Brad Sherwood is 50. Actor Garret Dillahunt is 50. Actor-comedian Scott Krinsky is 46. Rock musician Chad Taylor (Live) is 44. Actress Lola Glaudini is 43. Actress Danielle Nicolet is 41. Actor/writer/director/producer Stephen Merchant is 40. Olympic bronze medal figure skater Chen Lu is 38. Actor Colin Hanks is 37. Actress Katherine Heigl (HY’-guhl) is 36. Actress Sarah Hyland is 24.
Thought for today: “I don’t comment. I record.” — Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901).
Associated Press
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