This Week in History

November 23

1804: Franklin Pierce, the 14th president, was born in Hillsboro, N.H.

1889: The first jukebox that played phonograph records went into operation at the Palais Royale Saloon in San Francisco.

1963: BBC broadcast the first episode of Doctor Who, which is now the world’s longest running science fiction drama.
1992: The first Smartphone, IBM Simon, was introduced at a computer expo in Las Vegas, Nevada.
2001: The first international treaty addressing internet crime, known as the Convention on Cybercrime, was signed in Budapest, Hungary.

November 24

1784: Zachary Taylor, 12th president, was born in Orange County, Va. He was the only president who never voted in an election. (Died in office, 1851.)

1835: The Texas Provincial Government authorized the creation of a horse-mounted police force called the Texas Rangers (now the Texas Ranger Division of the Texas Department of Public Safety).

1863: Thanksgiving was celebrated for the first time as a national holiday.

1906: The first major scandal in U.S. football history began when the Massillon Tigers beat the Canton Bulldogs 13-6 to win the Ohio League Championship. The game prompted accusations that the championship series was fixed.

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November 25

1343: A tsunami, created by an earthquake in the Tyrrhenian Sea, devastated Naples, Italy.

1703: A great windstorm struck England and Wales, nearly destroying the British Navy.

1833: A massive undersea earthquake, estimated magnitude between 8.7-9.2, hit Sumatra and produced a huge tsunami all along the coast of Indonesia.

1960: Born this day: Christian singer-songwriter Amy Grant; John F. Kennedy Jr. (died 1999); and actress Amy Gibson (Love of Life, The Young and the Restless).
1984: Thirty-six famous musicians gathered in a Notting Hill studio and recorded Band Aid’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas” to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia.

November 26

1842: The University of Notre Dame was founded near South Bend, Indiana.

1863: President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed November 26 as a national Thanksgiving Day, to be celebrated annually on the final Thursday of November. (Since 1941, it has been on the fourth Thursday.)

1942: The classic movie Casablanca premiered in Hollywood, Calif.

1945: Born this day: actor Daniel Davis (The Hunt for Red October, The Nanny); rock bass player John McVie (Fleetwood Mac); and rock guitarist Jim Mullen (Average White Band) 1970: In Basse-Terre, Guadeloupe (Caribbean Sea), 1½ inches of rain fell in one minute, the heaviest rainfall ever recorded.

1998: Tony Blair became the first prime minister of the United Kingdom to address the Oireachtas (pr. UH-ruck-tuss), the parliament of Ireland.

 

November 27

1746: Born this day: U.S. Secretary of Foreign Affairs Robert R. Livingston (in office 1781-1783, died 1813); and Massachusetts Gov. Increase Sumner (in office 1797-1799, died in office).

1895: Alfred Nobel (1833-1896) signed his last will and testament in Paris, setting aside his estate to establish the Nobel Prize after his death.
1901: The U.S. Army War College was established in Carlisle, Pa.
1920: Born this day: English actor Buster Merryfield (Only Fools and Horses, died 1999); and West Coast car salesman Cal Worthington, largest single owner of a car dealership chain (died 2013).
1924: The first Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade was held in New York City.

November 28

1895: The first American automobile race took place, from Chicago’s Jackson Park to Evanston, Ill., a distance of 54 miles. Frank Duryea (1869-1967) won in about 10 hours.

1909: Russian pianist Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943) gave the debut performance in New York City of his Piano Concerto No. 3, considered one of the most technically challenging piano concertos in the standard classical repertoire.

1925: The Grand Ole Opry made its radio debut in Nashville, Tenn., as WSM Barn Dance.

1962: Born this day: rock drummer Matt Cameron (Pearl Jam); actor Paul Dinello (Strangers with Candy,  The Colbert Report); and comedian Jon Stewart (The Daily Show).

 

November 29

1777: The city of San Jose, Calif., was founded as Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe, becoming the first European civilian settlement in what was then known as Alta California.

1877: Thomas Edison (1847-1931) demonstrated his phonograph for the first time, in Menlo Park, N.J.

1902: The Pittsburgh Stars defeated the Philadelphia Athletics, 11-0, at the Pittsburgh Coliseum, to win the first championship associated with an American national professional football league.

1944: The first surgery to correct blue baby syndrome was performed by Alfred Blalock (1889-1964) and Vivien Theodore Thomas (1910-1985).

1949: Born this day: wrestlers Jerry Lawler and Dutch Mantel; Canadian singer-songwriter Stan Rogers (“Northwest Passage,” died 1983); and actor Garry Shandling (It’s Garry Shandling’s Show).

1955: Born this day: actors C. David Johnson (The Man Who Saved Christmas); and Howie Mandel (Deal or No Deal, America’s Got Talent).

1963: U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson (1908-1973) established the Warren Commission to investigate the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

1964: Born this day: actor Don Cheadle (Ocean’s Thirteen, Hotel Rwanda); and actor Tom Sizemore (Saving Private Ryan, Black Hawk Down).

 

ON THIS DAY… NOVEMBER 23 – NOVEMBER 29

November 23 – ESPRESSO DAY Forcing pressurized water through finely-ground coffee beans produces a concentrated brew with its signature delicate foam.

November 24 – THANKSGIVING
Perhaps no other nonsectarian holiday has more tradition. Family, friends, food, and football have come to symbolize Thanksgiving

November 25 – BLACK FIRDAY
Today, Black Friday invites you to shop ‘til you drop for the best bargains of the year.

November 26 – NATIONAL CAKE DAY
We believe Marie Antoinette said it best when she (allegedly) said “let them eat cake!”

November 27 – NATIONAL KRAFT JERKY DAY
This day is celebrated in honor of good old homemade jerky, and the simple jerky recipes passed down from one generation to another.
dance.

November 28 – NATIONAL FRENCH TOAST DAY

You know, that thick, sweet, savory dish that’s become a staple of the American breakfast diet.

November 29– THROW OUT YOUR

LEFTOVERS DAY

The goal of the day is to get all of us to throw away the leftovers that are rotting in the fridge and frankly too far gone for consumption.