This day in history

[November 23, 2009]  (AP)  Today is Monday, Nov. 23, the 327th day of 2009. There are 38 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On Nov. 23, 1765, Frederick County, Md., became the first colonial entity to repudiate the British Stamp Act.

On this date:

In 1804, the 14th president of the United States, Franklin Pierce, was born in Hillsboro, N.H.

In 1889, the first jukebox made its debut in San Francisco, at the Palais Royale Saloon.

In 1903, singer Enrico Caruso made his American debut at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, appearing in "Rigoletto."

In 1936, Life, the photojournalism magazine created by Henry R. Luce, was first published.

In 1943, during World War II, U.S. forces seized control of Tarawa and Makin atolls from the Japanese.

In 1959, the musical "Fiorello!" starring Tom Bosley as legendary New York Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia, opened on Broadway.

In 1963, President Lyndon B. Johnson proclaimed Nov. 25 a day of national mourning following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

In 1971, the People's Republic of China was seated in the U.N. Security Council.

In 1980, some 2,600 people were killed by a series of earthquakes that devastated southern Italy.

In 1996, a hijacked Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 767 crashed into the waves off Comoros Islands, killing about two-thirds of the 175 people on board.

Ten years ago: In a plea met with scant applause and silent stares, President Bill Clinton told ethnic Albanians in Kosovo that "you must try" to forgive Serb neighbors and stop punishing them for the terror campaign of Slobodan Milosevic. Defense Secretary William Cohen called for a military-wide review of conduct after a Pentagon study said up to 75 percent of blacks and other ethnic minorities reported experiencing racially offensive behavior.

Five years ago: Opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko declared himself the winner of Ukraine's disputed presidential election and took a symbolic oath of office. (He won a court-ordered revote in December 2004.) Viacom agreed to pay a record $3.5 million to settle dozens of government investigations into allegations of indecency in its radio and television programming. Dan Rather announced he would step down as principal anchorman of "The CBS Evening News" in March 2005.

One year ago: The government unveiled a bold plan to rescue Citigroup, injecting a fresh $20 billion into the troubled firm as well as guaranteeing hundreds of billions of dollars in risky assets. A gunman shot and killed a woman and a man who came to her aid inside a church in Clifton, N.J. (Suspect Joseph Pallipurath, the estranged husband of the dead woman, Reshma James, is awaiting trial.) Spain clinched an improbable, come-from-behind Davis Cup victory over Argentina.

Today's birthdays: Broadway composer Jerry Bock ("Fiorello!") is 81. Former Labor Secretary William E. Brock is 79. Actor Franco Nero is 68. Actress Susan Anspach is 67. Screenwriter Joe Eszterhas is 65. Actor Steve Landesberg is 64. Actor-comedy writer Bruce Vilanch is 62. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., is 59. Singer Bruce Hornsby is 55. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., is 54. Actor Maxwell Caulfield is 50. Actor John Henton is 49. TV personality Robin Roberts ("Good Morning America") is 49. Rock singer-musician Ken Block (Sister Hazel) is 43. Rock musician Charlie Grover is 43. Actress Salli Richardson-Whitfield is 42. Actor Oded Fehr is 39. Rapper-actor Kurupt (Tha Dogg Pound) is 37. Actor Page Kennedy is 33. Actress Kelly Brook is 30. Actor Lucas Grabeel is 25. Actress-singer Miley Cyrus ("Hannah Montana") is 17. Actor Austin Majors is 14.

Thought for today: "We are incredibly heedless in the formation of our beliefs, but find ourselves filled with an illicit passion for them when anyone proposes to rob us of their companionship." -- James Harvey Robinson, American historian (1863-1936)

[Associated Press]

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