On This Day in History - November 29th - Almanac

Today is Wednesday, Nov. 29, the 333rd day of 2017 with 32 to follow.

The moon is waxing. The morning stars are Jupiter, Mars and Venus.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Sagittarius. They include Austrian physicist Christian Doppler in 1803; author Louisa May Alcott in 1832; Chinese Empress Dowager Tz'u Hsi in 1835; English electrical engineer John Fleming in 1849; Irish novelist C.S. Lewis in 1898; sports broadcasting legend Vin Scully in 1927 (age 90); former French President Jacques Chirac in 1932 (age 85); British blues musician John Mayall in 1933 (age 84); actor Diane Ladd in 1935 (age 82); Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member Denny Doherty in 1940; and musician/composerMusician/composer Chuck Mangione in 1940 (age 77); comedian Garry Shandling in 1949; filmmaker Joel Coen in 1954 (age 63); comedian Howie Mandel in 1955 (age 62); Janet Napolitano, former U.S. secretary of Homeland Security, in 1957 (age 60); Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel in 1959 (age 58); actor Cathy Moriarty in 1960 (age 57); actor Kim Delaney in 1961 (age 56); actor Tom Sizemore in 1961 (age 56); actor Andrew McCarthy in 1962 (age 55); actor Don Cheadle in 1964 (age 53); actor Jonathan Knight in 1968 (age 49); record-setting relief pitcher Mariano Rivera in 1969 (age 48); actor Anna Faris in 1976 (age 41); actor Chadwick Boseman in 1976 (age 41); rapper The Game, born Jayceon Terrell Taylor, in 1979 (age 38); actor Diego Boneta in 1990 (age 27); actor Laura Marano in 1995 (age 22).

On this date in history:

In 1877, Thomas Edison demonstrated a hand-cranked phonograph that recorded sound on grooved metal cylinders. Edison shouted verses of "Mary Had a Little Lamb" into the machine, which played back his voice.

In 1890, the first Army-Navy football game was played. Navy won 24-0.

In 1929, U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Richard Byrd and three crewmen became the first people to fly over the South Pole.

In 1947, despite strong Arab opposition, the United Nations voted for the partition of Palestine and the creation of the independent Jewish state of Israel.

In 1963, U.S. President Lyndon Johnson appointed the Warren Commission to investigate the assassination of President John Kennedy.

In 1981, actor Natalie Wood drowned while on a boat trip to Santa Catalina Island, Calif.

In 1986, movie icon Cary Grant died of a stroke at the age of 82.

In 1989, Romanian Olympic gymnastic hero Nadia Comaneci fled to Hungary. She eventually reached the United States.

In 1990, the U.N. Security Council passed a resolution authorizing "all necessary means," including military force, against Iraq if it didn't withdraw from Kuwait by Jan. 15, 1991.

In 1991, a dust storm in Coalinga, Calif., triggered a massive pileup by more than 250 vehicles on Interstate 5, killing 15 people and injuring more than 100.

In 1994, voters in Norway rejected a proposal to join the European Union.

In 2001, George Harrison, lead guitarist of the Beatles, died of cancer. He was 58.

In 2011, Dr. Conrad Murray was sentenced to four years in prison for an involuntary manslaughter conviction in the death of Michael Jackson. He was released on parole Oct. 28, 2013.

In 2012, the United Nations voted 138-9, with 31 abstentions, to give Palestinians non-member observer status.

In 2013, a police helicopter struck the roof of a crowded pub in Glasgow, Scotland. The crash killed at least eight people, including all aboard the chopper. Thirty people were injured.

A thought for the day: "The longer the title, the less important the job." -- George McGovern