On This Day, Nov. 16: Nixon OKs construction of Alaska Pipeline

Nov. 16 (UPI) -- On this date in history:

In 1907, Oklahoma became the 46th state admitted to the union.

In 1914, intended to serve as a "lender of last resort," the New York Fed opened for business.

In 1933, the United States established diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union.

In 1957, Ed Gein murdered his last victim, Bernice Worden. When police searched his house, they found 10 human skulls, a human heart in a pot on the stove and what appeared to be a belt made out of human flesh. He confessed to killing two women and said the other body parts were from grave robbing.

In 1960, Hollywood king Clark Gable, best remembered as Rhett Butler in Gone With The Wind, died of a heart attack at the age of 59.

File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI

In 1973, President Richard Nixon authorized the construction of the Alaska Pipeline with the signing of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authorization Act into law.

In 1988, Pakistanis voted Benazir Bhutto as prime minister, the nation's first female leader in modern history.

In 1990, the Soviet Union indicated its approval of the use of military force to oust Iraq from Kuwait but said action should be delayed to give Iraqi President Saddam Hussein a chance to leave the country peacefully.

In 2000, President Bill Clinton became the first U.S. president to visit Vietnam since the end of the Vietnam War.

In 2008, after nearly a year of negotiations with the United States, the Iraqi Cabinet agreed to withdrawal of U.S. combat troops by Dec. 31, 2011.

Demonstrators pass through a security checkpoint before a rally at Firdos square in Baghdad on November 21, 2008. Followers of Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr marched on Friday against a pact letting U.S. forces stay in Iraq until 2011. File Photo by Ali Jasim/UPI

In 2015, miners uncovered the world's second-largest gem-quality diamond in Botswana. The 1,111-carat gem, dubbed the Lesedi La Rona diamond, sold in September 2017 for $53 million.

In 2021, a self portrait by the famed Mexican painter Frida Kahlo sold for $34.9 million, which not only shattered her own personal best but made it the most expensive artwork by a Latin American artist.

In 2022, more than a week after Election Day, the Republican Party captured its 218th seat in the House of Representatives to guarantee a majority in the chamber.