November 21st is
Human-Animal Relationship Awareness Day *
National Cranberry Day
Gingerbread Cookie Day
World Hello Day *
World Television Day *
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MORE! Voltaire, Francisco Tárrega, and Marlo Thomas, click
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WORLD FESTIVALS AND NATIONAL HOLIDAYS
Sikhism – Martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji (Nanaksjahi)
Bosnia & Herzegovina – Framework Agreement Day
Sao Tome & Principe – St. Thomas Day
and Transitional Government Day
Serbia – Archangel Michailo
United States – Alaska:
Alascattalo Day (mascot day)
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On This Day in HISTORY
164 BCE – Judas Maccabeus begins to restore the Temple in Jerusalem during revolt against the Seleucid Empire, commemorated by Jews as the festival of Hanukkah
1694 – French author and philosopher Jean François Voltaire is born
1783 – Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier and François Laurent d’Arlandes, make the first untethered hot air balloon flight, over Paris
1789 – North Carolina ratifies the U. S. Constitution, is admitted as 12th U.S. state
1835 – Hetty Green born, American businesswoman and financier, called the “Witch of Wall Street” and the richest woman in America, and a terrible miser. Her daughter was dressed in cast-off clothes, and Green refused to pay a doctor when her teenaged son’s leg was broken in an accident, which later had to be amputated
1852 – Francisco Tárrega is born, Spanish composer and guitarist
1877 – Thomas Edison announces his invention of the phonograph
1898 – Rene Magritte born, Belgian Surrealist artist
1902 – Isaac Bashevis Singer born in Poland, Jewish American immigrant author and playwright, who wrote in Yiddish, Nobel Prize laureate for literature
1905 – Albert Einstein’s “Does the Inertia of a Body Depend Upon Its Energy Content?” is published in the journal Annalen der Physik. It reveals the relationship between energy and mass,.which leads to the mass–energy equivalence formula E = mc².
1922 – Rebecca Latimer Felton (D-GA) takes oath of office as first female U.S. Senator
1927 – Columbine Mine massacre: Colorado state police fire on a group of unarmed striking coal miners. Six strikers were killed, and dozens were injured
1929 – In Paris, Spanish surrealist Salvador Dali has his first art exhibit
1934 – Cole Porter’s musical “Anything Goes” opens at Broadway’s Alvin Theatre
1937 – Marlo Thomas born, American actress-producer, known for award-winning feminist children’s franchise, Free to Be… You and Me
1942 – The Alaska Highway (aka ALCAN Highway) opening ceremony at Soldier’s Summit, but it’s mostly restricted to military and supply vehicles until after WWII
1945 – The United Auto Workers strike 92 General Motors plants in 50 cities to back up worker demands for a 30-percent raise. 113 days later, they settled for an 18 1/2 cent an hour raise to $1.24 an hour (17.5 percent), paid vacations, and overtime
1953 – British Natural History Museum authorities announces that “Piltdown Man,” “found” in 1912, initially hailed as a fossilized partial hominid skull, was a hoax
1959 – American disc jockey Alan Freed, who popularized the term “rock and roll” music, is fired from WABC-AM radio for refusing to deny allegations he took bribes during the recording industry ‘ payola’ investigation
1963 –U.S. President John F. Kennedy and the First Lady arrive in San Antonio TX, to begin a two-day tour of Texas that ends in his assassination in Dallas
1964 – The Verrazano–Narrows Bridge between Staten Island and Brooklyn opens to traffic, the world’s longest bridge span (1964 until 1981)
1969 – U.S. President Richard Nixon and Japanese Premier Eisaku Satō agree in Washington, D.C., on the return of Okinawa to Japanese control in 1972, with the U.S. retaining its rights to bases on the island, as long as they are nuclear-free
1973 – World Hello Day * is started by Brian and Michael McCormack to help make the world a more peaceful place, now celebrated in 180 countries – try saying hello with a welcoming smile to ten people today
1977 – New Zealand announces that its will have two official national anthems, “God Save the Queen” and “God Defend New Zealand” by Thomas Bracken (lyrics) and John Joseph Woods (music), being of equal status as appropriate to the occasion
1978 – Prince’s second single “Just As Long As We’re Together” is released
1980 – An estimated 83 million viewers tuned in to find out “who shot J.R.” on the CBS prime-time soap opera Dallas. Kristin was the character that fired the gun
1983 – Los Angeles movie theatres premiere Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video
1985 – Former U.S. Navy intelligence analyst Jonathan Jay Pollard is arrested, accused of spying for Israel – he would be convicted and sentenced to life in prison
1986 – U.S. Attorney General Meese is asked to conduct an inquiry of the Iran arms sales. National Security Council member Oliver North and his secretary start to shred documents implicating them in the sale of weapons to Iran and channeling the proceeds to help fund the Contra rebels in Nicaragua
1989 – Proceedings of Britain’s House of Commons are televised live for the first time
1992 – After a damning story appears in the Washington Post, U.S. Senator Bob Packwood (R-OR) issues an apology but refuses to discuss allegations that he had made unwelcome sexual advances or assaulted 10 women, chiefly former staffers and lobbyists, between 1969 and 1992: “I’m apologizing for the conduct that it was alleged that I did.” Eventually over a dozen more women would come forward.
1993 – The U.S. House of Representatives voted against making the District of Columbia the 51st state
1996 – U.N. General Assembly proclaims World Television Day * commemorating the the first World Television Forum
1999 – China announces its test-launch of an unmanned space capsule designed for manned spaceflight
2002 – NATO invited Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia to become members.
2016 – First Human-Animal Relationship Awareness Day * sponsored by the Animals & Society Institute
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Visuals
- World Hello Day
- International flags
- Golconde by René Magritte
- François Voltaire with quote
- Verrazano Bridge Opening Day – MTA Bridges and Tunnels Special Archive
- Artley Cartoon of Oliver North Shredding
- World Television Day banner
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