Today in History - Nov. 11

By The Associated Press

November 10, 2001, 7:00 PM EST

Today is Sunday, Nov. 11, the 315th day of 2001. There are 50 days left in the year. This is Veterans Day in the United States and Remembrance Day in Canada.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Nov. 11, 1918, fighting in World War I came to an end with the signing of an armistice between the Allies and Germany.

On this date:

In 1620, 41 Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower, anchored off Massachusetts, signed a compact calling for a "body politick."

In 1831, former slave Nat Turner, who had led a violent insurrection, was executed in Jerusalem, Va.

In 1889, Washington became the 42nd state.

In 1921, President Harding dedicated the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery.

In 1938, Kate Smith first sang Irving Berlin's "God Bless America" on network radio.

In 1965, Rhodesia proclaimed its independence from Britain.

In 1966, Gemini 12 blasted off from Cape Kennedy, Fla., with astronauts James A. Lovell and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin Jr. aboard.

In 1981, stuntman Dan Goodwin scaled the outside of the 100-story John Hancock Center in Chicago in nearly six hours.

In 1992, the Church of England voted to ordain women as priests.

In 1993, a bronze statue honoring the more than 11,000 American women who'd served in the Vietnam War was dedicated in Washington D.C.

Ten years ago: The United States stationed its first diplomat in Cambodia in 16 years to help the war-shocked nation arrange democratic elections.

Five years ago: Phan Thi Kim Phuc, who as a child was captured in a Pulitzer Prize-winning Associated Press photograph running naked down a Vietnamese highway fleeing a napalm attack, laid a wreath at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington.

One year ago: Republicans went to court, seeking an order to block manual recounts from continuing in Florida's razor-thin presidential election. A cable car crammed with skiers and snowboarders caught fire while being pulled through an Alpine tunnel in Austria, killing 155 people. Lennox Lewis won a unanimous 12-round decision over David Tua in Las Vegas to retain his WBC and IBF heavyweight titles.

Today's Birthdays: Former Sen. William Proxmire, D-Wis., is 86. Author Kurt Vonnegut is 79. Comedian Jonathan Winters is 76. Jazz singer-musician Mose Allison is 74. Jazz-country musician Hank Garland is 71. Country singer Narvel Felts is 63. Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., is 61. Singer Jesse Colin Young is 57. Rock singer-musician Vince Martell (Vanilla Fudge) is 56. Golfer Fuzzy Zoeller is 50. Pop singer-musician Paul Cowsill (The Cowsills) is 49. Rock singer-musician Andy Partridge (XTC) is 48. Singer Marshall Crenshaw is 47. Rock singer Dave Alvin is 46. Rock musician Ian Marsh (Human League; Heaven 17) is 45. Actor Stanley Tucci is 41. Actress Demi Moore is 39. Actress Calista Flockhart is 37. Actor Philip McKeon is 37. Rock musician Scott Mercado is 37. Actor David DeLuise is 30. Actor Leonardo DiCaprio is 27.

Thought for Today: "A religion that is small enough for our understanding would not be large enough for our needs." -- Arthur Balfour, the First Earl of Balfour, English statesman (1848-1930). Copyright © 2001, The Associated Press

-- Anonymous, November 11, 2001