Today's Puzzle
What do we return, but never borrow?
What Happened On
Clinton-Lewinsky Affair - First Sexual Encounter
November 15, 1995
Monica Lewinsky lifts her jacket and shows U.S. President Bill Clinton the straps of her thong underwear and they kiss. Later that evening they have another sexual encounter, during which Clinton takes a call from a member of Congress.
Oprah Wheels Out 67 Pounds of Fat
November 15, 1988
TV host Oprah Winfrey displays a wheelbarrow containing 67 pounds of fat to demonstrate how much weight she had lost. This is the highest-rated episode ever for the show.
Wendy's
November 15, 1969
Dave Thomas opens his first Wendy's hamburger restaurant, located in Columbus, Ohio, quickly becoming known for its square beef patties and Frosty milkshakes. Thomas named the restaurant after his fourth child Melinda Lou "Wendy" Thomas. Her likeness was used as the young freckle-faced girl on the Wendy's logo.
In Cold Blood
November 15, 1959
Richard Hickock and Perry Smith murder the Clutter family in Kansas, providing the basis for Truman Capote's book and 1967 movie. The previous evening Mr. Clutter had taken out a $40,000 life insurance policy which paid double for accidental death. Truman Capote's book is the second-biggest-selling true crime book in publishing history.
Little Orphant Annie
November 15, 1885
The poem that inspired the comic strip is first published. Originally published by James Whitcomb Riley as The Elf Child, he decided to rename it Little Orphant Allie for the 3rd edition. However, a printer mistakenly typeset it as Little Orphant Annie and the name stuck.
The poem was based on twelve-year-old orphan Mary Alice "Allie" Smith, whom Riley's family took in as a "bound" servant to help his mother with the housework when Riley was a child. The poem was Harold Gray's inspiration for the comic strip Little Orphan Annie.
"Little Orphant Annie's come to our house to stay,
An' wash the cups an' saucers up, an' brush the crumbs away
An' shoo the chickens off the porch, an' dust the hearth, an' sweep,
An' make the fire, an' bake the bread, an' earn her board-an'-keep;"
Sherman's March to the Sea, by F.O.C. Darley, c1883
Sherman's March to the Sea, by F.O.C. Darley, c1883
Civil War - Destruction of Atlanta
November 15, 1864
General William Tecumseh Sherman (Union) begins the destruction of Atlanta.
Dan Quayle - Never Surrender to What is Right
November 15, 1991
In a speech to the Christian Coalition, U.S. Vice President Dan Quayle declares, "My friends, no matter how rough the road my be, we can and we will never, never surrender to what is right."
Milli Vanilli
November 15, 1990
It is revealed by their producer that they did not perform on their album Girl You Know It's True which won the Grammy for Best New Artist. The Grammy was later revoked.
Milli Vanilli consisted of Rob Pilatus and Fabrice "Fab" Morvan and they had been one of the most popular pop acts in the late 1980s and early 1990s with millions of records sold.
First U.S. Nationwide Radio Network
November 15, 1926
The first nationwide radio network in the U.S. begins broadcasting, National Broadcasting Company (NBC).
Climbing Pike's Peak, ca. 1890
Climbing Pike's Peak, ca. 1890
Pikes Peak
November 15, 1806
First American to sight Pikes Peak, explorer Zebulon Pike. At 14,115 feet (4,302.31 m), it is the highest summit of the southern Front Range of the Rocky Mountains in North America.
The first European ascent of the peak was in 1820 by American explorer Edwin James.
American Revolution - Articles of Confederation
November 15, 1777
Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union are adopted by the Continental Congress and sent to the states for ratification. They served as the first constitution for the original 13 states of the United States of America. The would go into effect in 1781.
Birthdays
Ed Asner (Edward Asner)
Born November 15, 1929 d. 2021
American Emmy-winning actor. Ed Asner is known for playing Lou Grant in two different TV series and has won seven Primetime Emmy Awards, the most for any male actor. He also served as president of the Screen Actors Guild.
TV: The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970-77, Lou Grant), Lou Grant (1977-82, title role), Roots (1977, Capt. Thomas Davies), and Rich Man, Poor Man (1976, Axel Jordache).
Inventor of the Shopping Cart
Sylvan Nathan Goldman
Born November 15, 1898 d. 1984
American businessman. Inventor of the shopping cart (1937). He had noticed that customers quit shopping when their handheld baskets became full. His first cart was essentially a folding chair with wheels and baskets attached.
The carts were initially a flop, as shoppers were reluctant to use them. Men found them effeminate and women thought them too much like a baby carriage. So, Goldman hired both male and female models to shop with them.
Eventually, folding carts became extremely popular and Goldman became a multimillionaire by collecting a royalty on every folding design shopping cart in the United States.
He also invented "nested" shopping carts, where the carts are pushed inside of each other for storage.
First FBI Agent Killed in the Line of Duty
Edwin C. Shanahan
Born November 15, 1893 d. 1925
American lawman. The first FBI agent killed in the line of duty. In 1925, he was attempting to apprehend Martin James Durkin in Chicago, Illinois when Durkin shot and killed him. Several weeks later Durkin shot and killed a Chicago police officer. Durkin was sentenced to 35 years for the murder and 15 years for auto theft. He was released from prison in 1954.
Photo Credit: Bundesarchiv
Photo Credit: Bundesarchiv
Erwin Rommel
Born November 15, 1891 d. 1944
German general. "The Desert Fox," commander of the Afrika Korps during World War II. He was a highly decorated officer in WWI and was awarded the Pour le Mérite for his actions on the Italian Front. Although he supported Adolf Hitler's rise to power, Rommel was implicated in the July 20, 1944 assassination attempt on Hitler, although Rommel proclaimed his innocence. Because he was a war hero, Hitler didn't want to publicly execute him. In return for assurances of safety for his family, he was offered the option of suicide, which he took. Rommel was given a state funeral, and it was announced that he died due to injuries from the strafing of his staff car in Normandy.
Beverly D'Angelo
Born November 15, 1951
American Emmy-winning actress. Film: Hair (1979, Sheila), Coal Miner's Daughter (1980, Patsy Cline), and National Lampoon's Vacation (1983, Ellen Griswold).
Sam Waterson
Born November 15, 1940
American actor. Film: The Great Gatsby (1974, Nick Carraway) and The Killing Fields (1984, journalist Sidney Schanberg).
Jack Burns (right) with Avery Schreiber
Jack Burns (right) with Avery Schreiber
Jack Burns
Born November 15, 1933 d. 2020
American actor. With the comedy team, Burns and Schreiber, they were known for routines in which Burns played a talkative taxicab passenger (You know what I mean, huh, huh?), with Schreiber as the driver. He started out partnered with George Carlin in 1959 and they released the album Burns and Carlin at the Playboy Club Tonight (1963). TV: The Burns and Schreiber Comedy Hour (1973, co-host) and The Andy Griffith Show (1965-66, deputy Warren Ferguson, Barney Fife's replacement). Burns was also the headwriter for the first season of Hee Haw (1969-70), was co-creator and writer for The Muppet Show (1976-79), and co-wrote The Muppet Movie (1979).
Joseph Wapner
Born November 15, 1919 d. 2017
American judge, TV personality. Presided over The People's Court (1981-93). The People's Court was the first of the arbitration-based reality court shows.
Carol Bruce (Shirley Levy)
Born November 15, 1919 d. 2007
American actress. TV: WKRP in Cincinnati (Mamma Carlson).
Manuel II
Born November 15, 1889 d. 1932
King of Portugal (1908-10), Portugal's last monarch. Deposed during a revolt, he lived out his life in exile in England.
Sir William Herschel
Born November 15, 1738 d. 1822
English astronomer. He discovered Uranus (1781), two of its moons (1787), and the sixth and seventh moons of Saturn (1789).
Nicholas V (Tommaso Parentucelli)
Born November 15, 1397 d. 1455
Italian religious leader, 208th Pope (1447-55).
Death convoy of John I of France.
Death convoy of John I of France.
Infant King of France
John I
Born November 15, 1316 d. 1316
King of France (1316), posthumous son of King Louis X. Was King of France on his birth, but died five days later. It is rumored that his uncle Philip either killed him or substituted him with a dead infant.
Deaths
Tarzan of the Apes
Tarzan of the Apes
First Jane of Tarzan Films
Enid Markey
Died November 15, 1981 b. 1894
American actress. Film: Tarzan of the Apes (1918, making her the first Jane of Tarzan films).
First President of the U.S.?
John Hanson
Died November 15, 1783 b. 1721
American statesman. First president of U.S. Congress Assembled (1781-82). Because of this, he is sometimes called the first president of the U.S.
Father of Modern Astronomy
Johannes Kepler
Died November 15, 1630 b. 1571
German mathematician, astronomer. "Father of Modern Astronomy." He discovered that planetary orbits are elliptical (1609), and invented the astronomical telescope (1611).
Photo Credit: Ronzoni
Photo Credit: Ronzoni
Roy Clark
Died November 15, 2018 b. 1933
American Country Music Hall of Fame singer, musician. TV: Hee Haw (1969-97, host).
Margaret Mead
Died November 15, 1978 b. 1901
American anthropologist, known for her studies of primitive cultures. She posthumously received the Presidential Medal of Freedom (1979).
Rudolf Abel (Vilyam Genrikhovich Fisher)
Died November 15, 1971 b. 1903
Soviet spy. He was captured by the FBI (1957) and later exchanged for American U-2 pilot Gary Powers (1962). Abel had been convicted of spying in the hollow nickel spy case, in which he transported microfilm inside a hollowed-out nickel.
Tyrone Power (Tyrone Edmund Power, Jr.)
Died November 15, 1958 b. 1914
American actor. Film: The Razor's Edge (1946) and Witness for the Prosecution (1957). He was one of the most popular film actors of the 1930s and '40s.
Lionel Barrymore
Died November 15, 1954 b. 1878
American Oscar-winning actor. Film: A Free Soul (1931, Oscar) and in the Dr. Kildare movies (as Dr. Gillespie).
Nathuram Godse
Died November 15, 1949 b. 1910
Hindu nationalist. He assassinated Mahatma Gandhi (1948). He felt Gandhi favored the political demands of India's Muslims during the partition of India. He plotted the assassination with seven others and was sentenced to death for his crime. Although Gandhi's sons plead for commutation, he and co-conspirator Narayan Apte were hanged together.
Charles Edward Cheney
Died November 15, 1916 b. 1836
American religious leader. Founder of the Reformed Episcopal Church (1873).
William Murdoch
Died November 15, 1839 b. 1754
Scottish inventor. Invented the oscillating steam engine (c1784). He also made the first practical use of gas lighting (1802).