On This Day in History - November 13th - Almanac

Today is Wednesday, Nov. 13, the 318th day of 2024 with 48 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Scorpio. They include King Edward III of England in 1312; writer Robert Louis Stevenson in 1850; U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis in 1856; Buck O'Neil, Negro League star and manager, in 1911; TV producer/filmmaker Garry Marshall in 1934; actor Joe Mantegna in 1947 (age 77); U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland in 1952 (age 72); actor Tracy Scoggins in 1953 (age 71); actor Chris Noth in 1954 (age 70); actor/TV personality Whoopi Goldberg in 1955 (age 69); actor Caroline Goodall in 1959 (age 65); actor Neil Flynn in 1960 (age 64); Football Hall of fame member Vinny Testaverde in 1963 (age 61); TV personality/comedian Jimmy Kimmel in 1967 (age 57); actor Steve Zahn in 1967 (age 57) actor Gerard Butler in 1969 (age 55); musician Nikolai Fraiture (Strokes) in 1978 (age 46); actor Monique Coleman in 1980 (age 44); actor Rahul Kohli in 1985 (age 39); actor Devon Bostick in 1991 (age 33); musician Julia Michaels, born Julia Carin Cavazos, in 1993 (age 31).

On this date in history:

In 1927, the Holland Tunnel was opened under the Hudson River, linking New York City and New Jersey.

In 1947, development of the AK-47 is completed by the Soviet Union. Between 70 and 100 million of these assault rifles have been produced since then. Fifty years later, the designer of the assault rifle, Gen. Mikhail Kalashnikov, said he regretted the "misuse" of the weapon by terrorists.

In 1956, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the federal district court's ruling in Browder v. Gayle (1956) that segregation on interstate buses was unconstitutional. They would issue their decision in December with the Montgomery Bus Boycott ending quickly thereafter.

In 1967, Carl Stokes became the first black U.S. mayor when he was elected in Cleveland.

In 1970, more than 500,000 people died in a single night as the Bhola cyclone devastated the Ganges Delta region in what is now Bangladesh.

In 1982, thousands of veterans of the Vietnam War march on Washington, D.C., to attend the dedication of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

In 1985, the Nevado del Ruiz volcano erupted in Colombia, killing 25,000 people. It was one of the deadliest volcanic eruptions in history.

In 2010, the military government of Myanmar, formerly Burma, released pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest. The leader of the National League for Democracy, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, had spent 15 of the past 21 years confined to her home.

In 2011, Mario Monti, an economist and former EU commissioner, was picked to succeed Silvio Berlusconi as Italy's prime minister. Berlusconi, 75, resigned after Parliament passed austerity measures to address the country's $2.6 trillion debt. Monti was PM until April 2013.

In 2013, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reported that 106,185 people had chosen health plans in the new Affordable Care Act marketplace through October, about 20% of the number expected. The new health system had been plagued by problems with its federal website since it opened Oct. 1.

In 2015, a series of coordinated terrorist attacks across the French capital of Paris claimed the lives of 130 people and left 368 others injured.

In 2020, British singer Harry Styles became the first solo man to appear on the cover of Vogue magazine.

In 2023, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak shook up his Cabinet, firing Home Secretary Suella Braverman and bringing on former Prime Minister David Cameron.

A thought for the day: "You can't put out fire with fire." -- Former Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador