Today in History
Today is Tuesday, Nov. 29, the 333rd day of 2022. There are 32 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On Nov. 29, 1947, the U.N. General Assembly passed a resolution calling for the partitioning of Palestine between Arabs and Jews; 33 members, including the United States, voted in favor of the resolution, 13 voted against while 10 abstained. (The plan, rejected by the Arabs, was never implemented.)
On this date:
In 1864, a Colorado militia killed at least 150 peaceful Cheyenne Indians in the Sand Creek Massacre.
In 1910, British explorer Robert F. Scott’s ship Terra Nova set sail from New Zealand, carrying Scott’s expedition on its ultimately futile — as well as fatal — race to reach the South Pole first.
In 1924, Italian composer Giacomo Puccini died in Brussels before he could complete his opera “Turandot.” (It was finished by Franco Alfano.)
In 1929, Navy Lt. Cmdr. Richard E. Byrd, pilot Bernt Balchen, radio operator Harold June and photographer Ashley McKinney made the first airplane flight over the South Pole.
In 1961, Enos the chimp was launched from Cape Canaveral aboard the Mercury-Atlas 5 spacecraft, which orbited earth twice before returning.
In 1963, President Lyndon B. Johnson named a commission headed by Earl Warren to investigate the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
In 1981, film star Natalie Wood drowned in a boating accident off Santa Catalina Island, California, at age 43.
In 1986, actor Cary Grant died in Davenport, Iowa, at age 82.
In 1987, a Korean Air 707 jetliner en route from Abu Dhabi to Bangkok was destroyed by a bomb planted by North Korean agents with the loss of all 115 people aboard.
In 2001, former Beatle George Harrison died in Los Angeles following a battle with cancer; he was 58.
In 2008, Indian commandos killed the last remaining gunmen holed up at a luxury Mumbai hotel, ending a 60-hour rampage through India’s financial capital by suspected Pakistani-based militants that killed 166 people.
In 2020, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that New York City would reopen its school system to in-person learning, and increase the number of days a week many children attend class, even as the coronavirus pandemic intensified in the city.
Ten years ago: The United Nations voted overwhelmingly to recognize a Palestinian state, a vote that came exactly 65 years after the General Assembly adopted a plan to divide Palestine into separate states for Jews and Arabs. (The vote was 138 in favor; nine members, including the United States, voted against and 41 abstained.) President Barack Obama had lunch with defeated Republican nominee Mitt Romney in the White House’s private dining room; the White House says they discussed America’s leadership in the world.
Five years ago: North Korea launched its most powerful weapon yet, claiming a new type of intercontinental ballistic missile that some observers believed could put the entire U.S. East Coast within range. “Today” host Matt Lauer was fired for what NBC called “inappropriate sexual behavior” with a colleague; a published report accused him of crude and habitual misconduct with women around the office. Garrison Keillor, who’d entertained public radio listeners for 40 years on “A Prairie Home Companion,” was fired by Minnesota Public Radio following allegations of inappropriate workplace behavior.
One year ago: A federal judge blocked the Biden administration from enforcing a coronavirus vaccine mandate on thousands of health care workers in 10 states that had brought the first legal challenge against the requirement. Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey stepped down as CEO of the social media platform; he was succeeded by Twitter’s chief technology officer, Parag Agrawal. LSU hired Brian Kelly away from Notre Dame, a stunning move by one of the most accomplished coaches in college football jumping from the sport’s most storied program to a Southeastern Conference powerhouse. Arlene Dahl, a 1950s movie star who later remained prominent in television, died in New York at 96. Merriam-Webster chose “vaccine” as its 2021 word of the year.
Today’s Birthdays: Blues singer-musician John Mayall is 89. Actor Diane Ladd is 87. Songwriter Mark James is 82. Composer-musician Chuck Mangione is 82. Pop singer-musician Felix Cavaliere (The Rascals) is 80. Former Olympic skier Suzy Chaffee is 76. Actor Jeff Fahey is 70. Movie director Joel Coen is 68. Actor-comedian-celebrity judge Howie Mandel is 67. Former Homeland Security Director Janet Napolitano (neh-pahl-ih-TAN’-oh) is 65. Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is 63. Actor Cathy Moriarty is 62. Actor Kim Delaney is 61. Actor Tom Sizemore is 61. Actor Andrew McCarthy is 60. Actor Don Cheadle is 58. Actor-producer Neill Barry is 57. Pop singer Jonathan Knight (New Kids on the Block) is 54. Rock musician Martin Carr (Boo Radleys) is 54. Actor Jennifer Elise Cox is 53. Baseball Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera is 53. Actor Larry Joe Campbell is 52. Rock musician Frank Delgado (Deftones) is 52. Actor Paola Turbay is 52. Contemporary Christian singer Crowder is 51. Actor Gena Lee Nolin is 51. Actor Brian Baumgartner is 50. Actor Julian Ovenden is 47. Actor Anna (AH’-nuh) Faris is 46. Gospel singer James Fortune is 45. Actor Lauren German is 44. Rapper The Game is 43. Actor Janina Gavankar is 42. Rock musician Ringo Garza is 41. Actor-comedian John Milhiser is 41. Actor Lucas Black is 40. NFL quarterback Russell Wilson is 34. Actor Diego Boneta is 32. Actor Lovie Simone (TV: “Greenleaf”) is 24.
