This day in history

[November 26, 2008]  (AP)  Today is Wednesday, Nov. 26, the 331st day of 2008. There are 35 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

Nov. 26, 1789, was a day of thanksgiving set aside by President Washington to observe the adoption of the Constitution of the United States.

On this date:

In 1825, the first college social fraternity, Kappa Alpha, was formed at Union College in Schenectady, N.Y.

In 1883, former slave and abolitionist Sojourner Truth died in Battle Creek, Mich.

In 1933, a judge in New York decided the James Joyce book "Ulysses" was not obscene and could therefore be published in the United States.

In 1942, President Roosevelt ordered nationwide gasoline rationing, beginning Dec. 1.

In 1942, the motion picture "Casablanca," starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, had its world premiere at the Hollywood Theater in New York.

In 1943, during World War II, the HMT Rohna, a British transport ship carrying American soldiers, was hit by a German missile off Algeria; 1,138 men were killed.

In 1949, India adopted a constitution as a republic within the British Commonwealth.

In 1950, China entered the Korean War, launching a counteroffensive against soldiers from the United Nations, the U.S. and South Korea.

In 1965, France launched its first satellite, sending a 92-pound capsule into orbit.

In 1973, President Nixon's personal secretary, Rose Mary Woods, told a federal court that she'd accidentally caused part of the 18 1/2-minute gap in a key Watergate tape.

Ten years ago: In the first speech ever by a British prime minister to an Irish parliament, Tony Blair predicted that Northern Ireland's troubled peace accord would ultimately work because of a strengthened cooperative spirit uniting Britain and Ireland. In India, at least 211 people died when two trains collided in the northern state of Punjab.

Five years ago: Human rights activist Gao Zhan, who was freed from a Chinese prison after the U.S. government interceded on her behalf, pleaded guilty in Alexandria, Va., to illegally selling American high-tech items with potential military uses to China. (Gao later received a reduced sentence of seven months in prison for her cooperation with authorities.) Hard-liners defeated moderates in Northern Ireland's legislative elections.

One year ago: President Bush met separately at the White House with the leaders of Israel and the Palestinian Authority a day ahead of a major Mideast peace conference in Annapolis, Md. Vice President Dick Cheney experienced an irregular heartbeat and was taken to George Washington University Hospital for evaluation. President Bush greeted the 2007 Nobel Prize winners, including former Vice President Al Gore. Mississippi Sen. Trent Lott announced his retirement after a 35-year career in Congress. Washington Redskins star safety Sean Taylor was mortally wounded when he was shot during a botched armed robbery at his home in Palmetto Bay, Fla. (Taylor died the next day.) Hall of Fame jockey Bill Hartack died in Freer, Texas, at age 74.

Today's birthdays: Actress Ellen Albertini Dow is 90. Impressionist Rich Little is 70. Singer Tina Turner is 69. Singer Jean Terrell is 64. Pop musician John McVie is 63. Actress Jamie Rose is 49. Country singer Linda Davis is 46. Blues singer-musician Bernard Allison is 43. Country singer-musician Steve Grisaffe is 43. Actress Kristin Bauer is 35. Actor Peter Facinelli is 35. Actress Maia Campbell is 32. Country singer Joe Nichols is 32. Actress Jessica Bowman is 28. Pop singer Natasha Bedingfield is 27. Singer Lil Fizz is 23. Singer Aubrey Collins is 21.

Thought for today: "Any fool can make a rule, and any fool will mind it." -- Henry David Thoreau, American author (1817-1862)

[Associated Press]

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