On This Day in History - November 14th - Almanac

Today is Wednesday, Nov. 14, the 318th day of 2018 with 47 to follow.

The moon is waxing. Morning stars are Neptune, Uranus and Venus. Evening stars are Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, Neptune, Saturn and Uranus.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Scorpio. They include French Impressionist painter Claude Monet, in 1840; Indian statesman Jawaharlal Nehru in 1889; Swedish writer Astrid Lindgren in 1907; U.S. Sen. Joseph McCarthy, R-Wis., in 1908; former U.N. Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali in 1922; actor Veronica Lake in 1922; astronaut Edward White, killed in a 1967 Apollo I launch pad fire, in 1930; King Hussein of Jordan in 1935; writer P.J. O'Rourke in 1947 (age 71); musician Buckwheat Zydeco in 1947; Prince Charles, heir to the British throne, in 1948 (age 70); former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in 1954 (age 64); New Age singer/songwriter Yanni, born Yiannis Chryssomallis, in 1954 (age 64); actor D.B. Sweeney in 1961 (age 57); actor Laura San Giacomo in 1962 (age 56); actor Patrick Warburton in 1964 (age 54); rapper Joseph Simmons of Run-D.M.C., also known as Run or Rev. Run, in 1964 (age 54); television newscaster Bill Hemmer in 1964 (age 54); actor Josh Duhamel in 1972 (age 46); drummer Travis Barker in 1975 (age 43); actor Olga Kurylenko in 1979 (age 39); actor Cory Michael Smith in 1986 (age 32a).

On this date in history:

In 1666, the first blood transfusion took place in London. Blood from one dog was transfused into another.

In 1832, the first horse-drawn streetcar made its appearance in New York City.

In 1889, newspaper reporter Nellie Bly set off to break the fictional record of voyaging around the world in 80 days set by Jules Verne's character Phileas Fogg. She made the trip in 72 days, 6 hours, 11 minutes and 14 seconds.

In 1910, pilot Eugene Burton Ely successfully completed the first shipboard take off, paving the way towards the development of aircraft carriers as part of modern naval fleets.

In 1922, the British Broadcasting Service (BBC) radio service begins in the United Kingdom.

In 1940, German planes bombed Coventry, England, killing and injuring hundreds of people and destroying or damaging 69,000 buildings.

In 1970, members of the Marshall University football team are among 75 casualties when Southern Airways Flight 932 crashes outside of Huntington, W.Va.

In 1986, the White House acknowledged the CIA's role in secretly shipping weapons to Iran.

In 1993, residents of Puerto Rico voted in favor of continuing their U.S. commonwealth status.

In 1994, the 31-mile Chunnel Tunnel under the English Channel opened to passenger traffic between England and France.

In 2009, NASA scientists reported finding at least 26 gallons of water on the moon after studying results of their L-cross satellite mission, demonstrating what they called the possibility of sustaining life there.

In 2013, a federal judge sentenced former Boston mobster James "Whitey" Bulgar to two life-in-prison terms plus five years on 11 murder convictions.

In 2016, Disney's Moana, featuring the voice work of Dwayne Johnson and Auli'i Cravalho, had its world premiere in Los Angeles.

A thought for the day: "Conceit is bragging about yourself. Confidence means you believe you can get the job done." -- Johnny Unitas