November 15th

Today's Highlight in History:
On November 15th, 1939, President Roosevelt laid the cornerstone of the Jefferson Memorial in Washington DC.

On this date:
In 1777, the Continental Congress approved the Articles of Confederation, a precursor to the Constitution of the United States.

In 1806, explorer Zebulon Pike sighted the mountaintop now known as "Pikes Peak."

In 1889, Brazil's monarchy was overthrown.

In 1926, the National Broadcasting Company debuted with a radio network of 24 stations.

In 1940, the first 75,000 men were called to armed forces duty under peacetime conscription.

In 1966, the flight of "Gemini 12" ended successfully as astronauts James A. Lovell and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin Junior splashed down safely in the Atlantic.

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

In 1982, funeral services were held in Moscow's Red Square for the late Soviet President Leonid I. Brezhnev.

In 1985, Britain and Ireland signed an accord giving Dublin an official consultative role in governing Northern Ireland.

In 1998, Kwame Ture, the civil rights activist formerly known as Stokely Carmichael, died in Guinea at age 57.

Ten years ago: The Senate Ethics Committee began hearings on the "Keating Five," senators accused of going too far in helping failed savings-and-loan owner Charles H. Keating Junior. The space shuttle "Atlantis" was launched on a secret military mission. Milli Vanilli's producer confirmed rumors the duo had not done any of the singing on their debut album, "Girl You Know It's True."

Five years ago: A partial government shutdown stretched into a second day. The space shuttle "Atlantis" docked with the orbiting Russian space station "Mir."

One year ago: The Clinton administration claimed victory in a seven-year struggle to persuade Congress to pay nearly $1 billion in back dues to the United Nations, saying restrictions in the deal on backing for international family planning would have no practical effect. Chinese and US negotiators reached a breakthrough agreement to remove trade barriers, clearing the biggest hurdle to China's entry into the World Trade Organization.

"What was once thought can never be unthought."

-- Friedrich Durrenmatt, Swiss author and playwright (1921-1990).