This day in history

[November 16, 2009]  (AP)  Today is Monday, Nov. 16, the 320th day of 2009. There are 45 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On Nov. 16, 1959, the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical "The Sound of Music," inspired by the real-life story of the Trapp Family Singers, opened on Broadway with Mary Martin as Maria and Theodore Bikel as Capt. von Trapp.

On this date:

In 1776, British troops captured Fort Washington in New York during the American Revolution.

In 1885, Canadian rebel leader Louis Riel was executed for high treason.

In 1907, Oklahoma became the 46th state of the union.

In 1917, Georges Clemenceau again became prime minister of France.

In 1933, the United States and the Soviet Union established diplomatic relations.

In 1961, House Speaker Samuel T. Rayburn died in Bonham, Texas, having served as speaker since 1940 except for two terms.

In 1966, Dr. Samuel H. Sheppard was acquitted in his second trial of murdering his pregnant wife, Marilyn, in 1954.

In 1973, Skylab 4, carrying a crew of three astronauts, was launched from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on an 84-day mission.

In 1982, an agreement was announced in the 57th day of a strike by National Football League players.

In 1989, six Jesuit priests, a housekeeper and her daughter were slain by army troops at the University of Central America Jose Simeon Canas in El Salvador.

Ten years ago: Nathaniel Abraham, at 13 one of the youngest murder defendants in U.S. history, was convicted in Pontiac, Mich., of second-degree murder for shooting a stranger outside a convenience store with a rifle when he was 11. (Nathaniel was sentenced to juvenile detention until his 21st birthday; he was released in January 2007. However, he was sentenced in January 2009 to at least four years in prison for a drug-related conviction.)

Five years ago: President George W. Bush picked National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice to be his new secretary of state, succeeding Colin Powell. Al-Jazeera television said it had received a video showing a hooded militant shooting a blindfolded woman in the head; it's believed the woman was kidnapped aid worker Margaret Hassan. Sunni Muslims in Iraq expressed anger over videotape showing the fatal shooting of a wounded and apparently unarmed man in a Fallujah mosque by a U.S. Marine.

One year ago: Iraq's Cabinet overwhelmingly approved a security pact with the United States calling for American forces to remain in the country until 2012. Space shuttle Endeavour linked up with the international space station. The Pittsburgh Steelers rallied to beat the San Diego Chargers 11-10, the first such final score in NFL history.

Today's birthdays: Actor Clu Gulager is 81. Blues musician Hubert Sumlin is 78. Journalist Elizabeth Drew is 74. Blues musician W.C. Clark is 70. Actress Joanna Pettet is 67. Actor Steve Railsback is 64. Actor David Leisure is 59. Actor Miguel Sandoval is 58. Actress Marg Helgenberger is 51. Rock musician Mani is 47. Country singer-musician Keith Burns (Trick Pony) is 46. Retired tennis player Zina Garrison is 46. Retired MLB All-Star pitcher Dwight Gooden is 45. Jazz singer Diana Krall is 45. Actor Harry Lennix is 45. Rock musician Dave Kushner (Velvet Revolver) is 43. Actress Lisa Bonet is 42. Actress Tammy Lauren is 41. Rhythm-and-blues singer Bryan Abrams (Color Me Badd) is 40. Actress Martha Plimpton is 39. Actor Michael Irby is 37. Actress Missi Pyle is 37. Olympic gold medal figure skater Oksana Baiul is 32. Actress Maggie Gyllenhaal is 32. Pop singer Trevor Penick is 30. NBA player Amare Stoudemire is 27. Actress Kimberly J. Brown is 25. Actor Noah Gray-Cabey ("Heroes") is 14.

Thought for today: "No matter how dull, or how mean, or how wise a man is, he feels that happiness is his indisputable right." -- Helen Keller, American author and lecturer (1880-1968)

[Associated Press]

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