Today's Puzzle
Who is the only major league baseball player to have his birthday on his uniform?
What Happened On
Luke and Laura Wedding
November 16, 1981
Fictional characters Luke Spencer and Laura Webber get married on the TV daytime drama General Hospital. The wedding aired November 16 and 17, 1981 and set the record for the highest ratings in the history of daytime television with over 30 million viewers.
There cannot be an American solution to every world problem
November 16, 1961
In a speech to the University of Washington, President John F. Kennedy describes his approach to foreign policy:
"…In short, we must face problems which do not lend themselves to easy or quick or permanent solutions. And we must face the fact that the United States is neither omnipotent nor omniscient-that we are only six percent of the world's population-that we cannot impose our will upon the other ninety-four percent of mankind-that we cannot right every wrong or reverse each adversity-and that therefore there cannot be an American solution to every world problem."
Read full speech.
Publicity photo of Mary Martin as Maria with the children
Publicity photo of Mary Martin as Maria with the children
The Sound of Music
November 16, 1959
The Sound of Music, starring Mary Martin and Theodore Bikel, opens on Broadway. The story of Maria and the Von Trapp family would win five Tony Awards and run till 1963 for 1,443 performances. It introduced a number of songs that would become classics, including Do-Re-Mi, and the title song The Sound of Music.
The play was made into a 1965 film, starring Julie Andrews.
Photo Credit: Siddharth Patil
Photo Credit: Siddharth Patil
LSD First Synthesized
November 16, 1938
The psychedelic drug lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) is first synthesized by Swiss chemists Albert Hofmann and Arthur Stoll. However, the psychedelic aspects of LSD weren't discovered until 5 years later when Hofmann accidentally ingested some of the drug. They were trying to create a respiratory and circulatory stimulant that had no effects on the uterus.
Vacuum Tube
November 16, 1904
British electrical engineer John Ambrose Fleming files a patent for his vacuum tube (also known as a thermionic valve) as a detector for radio waves. The vacuum tube ushered in the modern era of electronics.
The Drownings at Nantes in 1793, by Joseph Aubert (1882)
The Drownings at Nantes in 1793, by Joseph Aubert (1882)
French Revolution - Mass Drowning of Priests
November 16, 1793
Ninety Catholic priests suspected of being royalist supporters are thrown into the Loire River at Nantes, France. Three were rescued, only to be drowned the following day. One managed to swim to safety.
This began what became known as the Reign of Terror. Between November 1793 and February of 1794, anyone not supporting the Revolution or suspected of being a royalist sympathizer was cast into the Loire River and drowned by order of Jean-Baptiste Carrier, the representative-on-mission in Nantes. This was especially applied to Catholic priests and nuns. Four thousand or more people died in what Carrier himself called "the national bathtub".
First Anatomy Lecture in America
November 16, 1762
William Shippen, Jr. begins a series of lectures using anatomical drawings and casts made by the famous Dutch painter, Jan Van Rymsdyk.
New Catechism
November 16, 1992
The Roman Catholic Church releases the first revision to its catechism in 426 years. It was more tolerant toward gays and maintained the Church's position against birth control and abortion. This version was in French. An English-language version was released in 1994.
Trans-Alaska Pipeline
November 16, 1973
U.S. President Richard Nixon signs the act authorizing construction of the Alaskan oil pipeline from the North Slope to Valdez.
The act was pushed through Congress in response to the ongoing Arab Oil Embargo.
First Man-Made Object to Strike Another Planet
November 16, 1965
The Soviet Venera 3 is launched. While the main craft maintained orbited Venus, an entry probe was launched and landed on Venus on March 1, 1966, making it the first space probe to hit the surface of another planet. However, the Soviets reported losing communication with the probe in February and some doubt their claims of the probe's landing.
Venera is Russian for Venus.
The Wizard of Id
November 16, 1964
The Wizard of Id comic strip premieres. It was created by American cartoonists Brant Parker and Johnny Hart and follows the inhabitants of a shabby medieval kingdom called "Id", including its dwarfish monarch known only as "the King".
Hart had previously created the successful comic strip B.C.
Federal Reserve
November 16, 1914
The first Federal Reserve bank opens in New York. Federal Reserve banks were established through the Federal Reserve Act which was created by the U.S. Congress to provide the nation with a safer, more flexible, and more stable monetary and financial system.
Oklahoma
November 16, 1907
Oklahoma becomes the 46th state. The name Oklahoma is from the Choctaw words okla, 'people' and humma, 'red'. Oklahoma is also known by its nickname, "The Sooner State", in reference to the Sooners, American settlers who staked their claims in formerly Cherokee-owned lands.
Civil War - March to the Sea
November 16, 1864
General William Tecumseh Sherman (Union) leaves Atlanta with 60,000 troops and heads for the sea in order to cut the Confederacy in two.
Santa Fe Trail
November 16, 1822
Captain William Becknell arrives in Santa Fe, New Mexico from Missouri. He was trying to establish a route more suited to wagons. His route became known as the Santa Fe Trail and opened up Santa Fe to more trade.
Birthdays
Lisa Bonet
Born November 16, 1967
American actress. TV: The Cosby Show (Denise) and A Different World (Denise).
Daws Butler (Charles Dawson Butler)
Born November 16, 1916 d. 1988
American cartoon voice. TV: voice of Elroy Jetson and Yogi Bear.
Burgess Meredith
Born November 16, 1907 d. 1997
American actor. TV: Batman (1966-68, The Penguin), The Twilight Zone (1959, Time Enough at Last - The book lover who finds himself blissfully alone with his books after a nuclear war). Film: Rocky (1976, Rocky Balboa's trainer Mickey). He was blacklisted from films by the Senator Joseph McCarthy hearings in the 1950s.
George S. Kaufman
Born November 16, 1889 d. 1961
American Pulitzer-Tony-winning playwright, humorist. Theater: You Can't Take It with You (1936, Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The film version in 1938 won the Oscar for Best Picture).
W.C. Handy (William Christopher Handy)
Born November 16, 1873 d. 1958
American composer, musician, Father of the Blues. He composed Memphis Blues (1912) which was the first blues song published in the U.S.
James McHenry
Born November 16, 1753 d. 1816
Irish-born American surgeon, statesman, signer of the U.S. Constitution, and for whom Fort McHenry is named. He was U.S. Secretary of War (1796-1800).
Tiberius
Born November 16, 42 B.C. d. A.D. 37
Roman Emperor (14-37 AD). Known for his vices and cruelty to his enemies.
Deaths
Clark Gable, and serving in WWII (1954, top right)
Clark Gable, and serving in WWII (1954, top right)
Clark Gable
Died November 16, 1960 b. 1901
American Oscar-winning actor. Warner Bros. Studios had turned him down, claiming "His ears are too big and he looks like an ape". He was then signed by MGM and became one of the most successful actors in history.
In 1942, Gable joined the U.S. Army Air Forces and flew five combat missions as an observer-gunner in B-17 Flying Fortresses. In a raid on Germany, one crewman was killed and two others were wounded, and flak went through Gable's boot and narrowly missed his head.
Film: Gone with the Wind (1939, Rhett Butler), It Happened One Night (1934, Oscar win), and Mutiny on the Bounty (1935).
Alice Liddell
Died November 16, 1934 b. 1852
English child. For whom Lewis Carroll wrote the Alice in Wonderland stories. While on a rowboat to a picnic, 10-year-old Alice asked Charles Dodgson (AKA Lewis Carroll) to tell her and her sisters a story. He spun the story of a girl named Alice and her adventures when she fell down a rabbit hole. He then turned this into his most famous book.
One of George Washington's sets of dentures
One of George Washington's sets of dentures
Made George Washington's Dentures
John Greenwood
Died November 16, 1819 b. 1760
American dentist. He made George Washington's dentures, which were not made from wood, but from teeth bought from slaves, brass, gold, and hippopotamus and elephant ivory. Greenwood also invented the foot-powered dental drill.
Washington's teeth began to fall out before he reached the age of 30, and he eventually lost them all. During his lifetime, he had at least four sets of dentures made by Greenwood to replace them. Washington attributed the loss of his teeth to using them to crack Walnuts, but modern historians have suggested that mercury chloride (calomel), which Washington was given to treat smallpox, probably contributed to the loss.
David Canary
Died November 16, 2015 b. 1938
American Emmy-winning actor. TV: All My Children (1984-2013, Adam/Stuart Chandler).
Milton Friedman
Died November 16, 2006 b. 1912
American Nobel-winning economist (1976), free market economy advocate. He believed in the virtues of a free market economic system with minimal intervention. Friedman was an advisor to U.S. President Ronald Reagan and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
Ralph Edwards
Died November 16, 2005 b. 1913
American Radio Hall of Fame radio and TV host. TV: Truth or Consequences and This Is Your Life.
Harry Blackstone (Harry Bouton)
Died November 16, 1965 b. 1885
American magician. Famous for his Hindu rope trick and woman-in-the-cabinet illusions.
Frederick Gardner Cottrell
Died November 16, 1948 b. 1877
American chemist. He invented the electrostatic precipitator, which is used to remove dust and suspended particles from air.
Samuel Francis Smith
Died November 16, 1895 b. 1808
American poet, songwriter. Music: My Country, 'Tis of Thee (1832) which served as the U.S. national anthem prior to the adoption of The Star-Spangled Banner.
Henry III
Died November 16, 1272 b. 1207
King of England (1216-72).