There are 31 days left in the year.
Today's Highlight in History:
- On Nov. 30, 1782, the United States and Britain signed preliminary peace articles in Paris, ending the Revolutionary War.
On this date:
- In 1803, Spain completed the process of ceding Louisiana to France, which had sold it to the United States.
- In 1835, Samuel Langhorne Clemens — better known as Mark Twain — was born in Florida, Mo.
- In 1874, British statesman Sir Winston Churchill was born at Blenheim Palace.
- In 1900, Irish writer Oscar Wilde died in Paris at age 46.
- In 1936, London's famed Crystal Palace, constructed for the Great Exhibition of 1851, was destroyed in a fire.
- In 1939, the Russo-Finnish War began as Soviet troops invaded Finland.
- In 1962, U Thant of Burma, who had been acting secretary-general of the United Nations following the death of Dag Hammarskjold the year before, was elected to a four-year term.
- In 1966, the former British colony of Barbados became independent.
- In 1981, the United States and the Soviet Union opened negotiations in Geneva aimed at reducing nuclear weapons in Europe.
- In 1988, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Co. was declared the winner of the corporate free-for-all to take over RJR Nabisco Inc. with a bid of $24.53 billion.
Ten years ago:
- Quebec's separatist premier, Lucien Bouchard, was returned to power, but with only 43 percent of the vote, setting back the Parti Quebecois' goal of seeking independence from Canada.
- Deutsche Bank AG officially announced it was acquiring Bankers Trust Corp. for more than $10 billion.
Five years ago:
- U.S. soldiers in Iraq fought back coordinated attacks throughout the northern city of Samarra.
- Two South Korean contractors were killed in a roadside ambush.
- Nathaniel Jones, a black man, died during a fight with Cincinnati police in a case that heightened racial tensions.
- Walt Disney Co. vice chairman Roy E. Disney stepped down from the board of directors.
- Mark Philippoussis gave Australia its 28th Davis Cup title, beating Spain's Juan Carlos Ferrero 7-5, 6-3, 1-6, 2-6, 6-0.
- Former U.S. congressman and World Bank chairman Barber B. Conable Jr. died in Sarasota, Fla., at age 81.
- Gertrude Ederle, the first woman to swim the English Channel, died in Wyckoff, N.J., at age 98.
One year ago:
- A man took hostages at a Hillary Clinton campaign office in Rochester, N.H.; Leeland Eisenberg surrendered about five hours later.
- An Atlasjet plane crashed in southwest Turkey, killing all 57 people on board.
- An Amtrak train and a freight train collided on a track on the South Side of Chicago, injuring dozens of people.
- Motorcycle daredevil Evel Knievel died in Clearwater, Fla., at age 69.
Today's Birthdays:
- Actor Efrem Zimbalist Jr. is 91.
- Actor Robert Guillaume is 81.
- TV personality and producer Dick Clark is 79.
- Radio talk show host G. Gordon Liddy is 78.
- Country singer-recording executive Jimmy Bowen is 71.
- Movie director Ridley Scott is 71.
- Singer Rob Grill (The Grassroots) is 65.
- Movie writer-director Terrence Malick is 65.
- Rock musician Roger Glover (Deep Purple) is 63.
- Playwright David Mamet is 61.
- Actress Margaret Whitton is 58.
- Actor Mandy Patinkin is 56.
- Musician Shuggie Otis is 55.
- Country singer Jeannie Kendall is 54.
- Singer Billy Idol is 53.
- Education Secretary Margaret Spellings is 51.
- Rock musician John Ashton (The Psychedelic Furs) is 51.
- Comedian Colin Mochrie is 51.
- Former football and baseball player Bo Jackson is 46.
- Rapper Jalil (Whodini) is 45.
- Actor-director Ben Stiller is 43.
- Rock musician Mike Stone is 39.
- Actress Sandra Oh is 38.
- Country singer Mindy McCready is 33.
- Singer Clay Aiken is 30.
- Actress Elisha Cuthbert is 26.
- Actress Kaley Cuoco is 23.
Thought for Today:
"A man cannot be too careful in the choice of his enemies."
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900).
"Let's all be careful out there!"
