UPI Almanac for Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021

Today is Thursday, Nov. 18, the 322nd day of 2021 with 43 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Scorpio. They include French physicist Louis Daguerre, inventor of daguerreotype photography, in 1787; journalist Dorothy Dix in 1861; pollster George Gallup in 1901; astronaut Alan Shepard, the first American in space, in 1923; author Margaret Atwood in 1939 (age 82); actor Brenda Vaccaro in 1939 (age 82); actor David Hemmings in 1941; actor Linda Evans in 1942 (age 79); writer Alan Dean Foster in 1946 (age 75); actor Jameson Parker in 1947 (age 74); football Hall of Fame member Jack Tatum in 1948; actor Kevin Nealon in 1953 (age 68); comic book writer Alan Moore in 1953 (age 68); actor Oscar Nunez in 1958 (age 63); actor Elizabeth Perkins in 1960 (age 61); TV writer/producer Steven Moffat in 1961 (age 60); guitarist Kirk Hammett in 1962 (age 59); actor Owen Wilson in 1968 (age 53); television news commentator Megyn Kelly in 1970 (age 51); actor/comedian Mike Epps in 1970 (age 51); actor Chloe Sevigny in 1974 (age 47); Boston Red Sox legend David Ortiz in 1975 (age 46); rapper Fabolous, born John David Jackson, in 1977 (age 44); NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin in 1980 (age 41); actor Damon Wayans Jr. in 1982 (age 39); Olympic runner Allyson Felix in 1985 (age 36); actor Jake Abel in 1987 (age 34); actor Nathan Kress in 1992 (age 29).

On this date in history:

In 1883, the United States adopted Standard Time and set up four zones -- Eastern, Central, Mountain and Pacific.

In 1928, Mickey Mouse appeared for the first time, with Walt Disney doing the voice of his soon-to-be-famous creation, in Steamboat Willie, the first fully synchronized sound cartoon produced. The beloved character's birthday is regularly celebrated at Disneyland and Disney World.

In 1936, the fascist governments of Germany and Italy recognized rebel Gen. Francisco Franco as leader of Spain amid the Spanish Civil War. Franco ruled the country until he died in 1975.

In 1961, wary of ordering a full-scale deployment of troops, President John F. Kennedy sent 18,000 military advisers to South Vietnam.

In 1963, push-button telephones made their debut.

In 1969, Kennedy clan patriarch, Joseph P. Kennedy, died at his Hyannis Port home at the age of 81.

In 1978, more than 900 people died in a mass suicide-murder led by the Rev. Jim Jones at the People's Temple commune in Guyana following the slaying of U.S. Rep. Leo Ryan, D-Calif. It was the worst tragedy of its kind in modern history.

In 1987, a fire under a wooden escalator in London's King's Cross subway station killed 30 people and injured dozens others. Debris under the escalator caused the blaze.

In 1991, the Lebanese Shiite Muslim faction Islamic Jihad freed Church of England envoy Terry Waite and U.S. professor Thomas Sutherland. Waite had been held for nearly five years, Sutherland for more than six.

In 1999, 12 people died in the collapse of the Aggie Bonfire at Texas A&M University. It was a tradition at the school to construct the bonfire before A&M played Texas in football.

In 2004, Britain outlawed fox hunting in England and Wales.

In 2013, the Dow Jones industrial average topped 16,000 for the first time.

In 2019, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the United States will no longer consider Israeli settlements in the West Bank a violation of international law.

In 2020, People magazine declared Michael B. Jordan the Sexiest Man Alive for 2020.

A thought for the day: "It's a very sobering feeling to be up in space and realize that one's safety factor was determined by the lowest bidder on a government contract." -- American Astronaut Alan Shepard