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This Week in History for Nov. 15-21

By Staff | Nov 14, 2020

Jimmy and Tammy Bakker sit in the living room of their rented Malibu home in Malibu, California on Wednesday, Nov. 19, 1987. According to the ousted leaders of the PTL, their $7,000 monthly rent is being paid by a former record producer who is managing their comeback. (AP Photo)

Today is Sunday, Nov. 15, the 320th day of 2020. There are 46 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History

On Nov. 15, 1864, during the Civil War, Union forces led by Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh (teh-KUM’-seh) Sherman began their “March to the Sea” from Atlanta; the campaign ended with the capture of Savannah on Dec. 21.

Actress Jean Simmons, Nov. 18, 1980 in Santa Monica home and also outside with dog ?Omar? (Mastiff-Dane). (AP Photo/Rasmussen)

On this date

In 1777, the Second Continental Congress approved the Articles of Confederation.

In 1806, explorer Zebulon Pike sighted the mountaintop now known as Pikes Peak in present-day Colorado.

In 1935, the Commonwealth of the Philippines was established as its new president, Manuel L. Quezon (KAY’-zahn), took office.

In 1937, at the U.S. Capitol, members of the House and Senate met in air-conditioned chambers for the first time.

Heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson, left gives a playful hug to his promoter Don King during a charity turkey give-a-away in New York, Thursday, Nov. 17, 1988. King and Tyson gave turkeys to the poor at various sites in New York. (AP Photo)

In 1942, the naval Battle of Guadalcanal ended during World War II with a decisive U.S. victory over Japanese forces.

In 1958, actor Tyrone Power, 44, died in Madrid, Spain, while filming “Solomon and Sheba.” (Power’s part was recast with Yul Brynner.)

In 1959, four members of the Clutter family of Holcomb, Kansas, were found murdered in their home. (Ex-convicts Richard Hickock and Perry Smith were later convicted of the killings and hanged in a case made famous by the Truman Capote book “In Cold Blood.”)

In 1966, the flight of Gemini 12, the final mission of the Gemini program, ended successfully as astronauts James A. Lovell and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin Jr. splashed down safely in the Atlantic after spending four days in orbit.

In 1969, a quarter of a million protesters staged a peaceful demonstration in Washington against the Vietnam War.

British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher talks to reporters during a news conference at the British Embassy in Washington, Nov. 15, 1986. Earlier in the day she met with President Reagan at Camp David, Md. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)

In 1974, the disaster movie “Earthquake” was released by Universal Pictures in “Sensurround,” which bombarded the audience with low-frequency sound waves during the quake scenes.

In 1984, Stephanie Fae Beauclair, the infant publicly known as “Baby Fae” who had received a baboon’s heart to replace her own congenitally deformed one, died at Loma Linda University Medical Center in California three weeks after the transplant.

In 2007, baseball player Barry Bonds was indicted for perjury and obstruction of justice, charged with lying when he told a federal grand jury that he did not knowingly use performance-enhancing drugs. (Bonds was later convicted on the obstruction of justice count; the conviction was overturned in 2015.)

Ten years ago: A House ethics committee panel began closed-door deliberations on 13 counts of alleged financial and fundraising misconduct by U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., who walked out of the proceeding after pleading unsuccessfully for more time to raise money for a lawyer. (Rangel was convicted the next day of 11 rules violations.) San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey and Texas Rangers closer Neftali Feliz were voted the Rookies of the Year.

Five years ago: World leaders vowed a vigorous response to the Islamic State group’s terror rampage in Paris as they opened a two-day meeting in Turkey, with President Barack Obama calling the violence an “attack on the civilized world” and Russian President Vladimir Putin urging “global efforts” to confront the threat. P.F. Sloan, 70, the troubled songwriter behind such classic 1960s tunes as Johnny Rivers’ “Secret Agent Man” and Barry McGuire’s “Eve of Destruction,” died in Los Angeles.

One year ago: The former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch, testified to House impeachment investigators about her removal from the post amid criticism from President Donald Trump’s allies; as she testified, Trump tweeted fresh attacks on her, saying that things “turned bad” everywhere she served before he fired her. Roger Stone, a longtime Trump friend and ally, was convicted of all seven counts in a federal indictment accusing him of lying to Congress, tampering with a witness and obstructing the House investigation of whether Trump coordinated with Russia during the 2016 campaign. (As Stone was about to begin serving a 40-month prison sentence, Trump commuted the sentence.) Members of the United Auto Workers union voted to approve a new contract with Ford. The NFL suspended Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns for at least the rest of the season, after Garrett ripped off the helmet of Pittsburgh quarterback Mason Rudolph and struck him in the head with it.

NOVEMBER 16

On Nov. 16, 1933, the United States and the Soviet Union established diplomatic relations.

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

In 1914, the newly created Federal Reserve Banks opened in 12 cities.

In 1960, Academy Award-winning actor Clark Gable died in Los Angeles at age 59.

In 2001, investigators found a letter addressed to Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., containing anthrax; it was the second letter bearing the deadly germ known to have been sent to Capitol Hill.

NOVEMBER 17

On Nov. 17, 1800, Congress held its first session in the partially completed U.S. Capitol building.

In 1558, Elizabeth I acceded to the English throne upon the death of her half-sister, Queen Mary, beginning a 44-year reign.

In 1973, President Richard Nixon told Associated Press managing editors in Orlando, Florida: “People have got to know whether or not their president is a crook. Well, I’m not a crook.”

NOVEMBER 18

On Nov. 18, 1978, U.S. Rep. Leo J. Ryan, D-Calif., and four others were killed in Jonestown, Guyana, by members of the Peoples Temple; the killings were followed by a night of mass murder and suicide by more than 900 cult members.

In 1883, the United States and Canada adopted a system of Standard Time zones.

In 1928, Walt Disney’s first sound-synchronized animated cartoon, “Steamboat Willie” starring Mickey Mouse, premiered in New York.

NOVEMBER 19

On Nov. 19, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln dedicated a national cemetery at the site of the Civil War battlefield of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania.

In 1600, King Charles I of England was born in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland.

In 1959, Ford Motor Co. announced it was halting production of the unpopular Edsel.

NOVEMBER 20

On Nov. 20, 2000, lawyers for Al Gore and George W. Bush battled before the Florida Supreme Court over whether the presidential election recount should be allowed to continue.

In 1947, Britain’s future queen, Princess Elizabeth, married Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, at Westminster Abbey.

NOVEMBER 21

On Nov. 21, 1980, 87 people died in a fire at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada.

In 1922, Rebecca L. Felton, a Georgia Democrat, was sworn in as the first woman to serve in the U.S. Senate; her term, the result of an interim appointment, ended the following day as Walter F. George, the winner of a special election, took office.

In 1931, the Universal horror film “Frankenstein,” starring Boris Karloff as the monster and Colin Clive as his creator, was first released.