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November 9 in history


Thought for Today:

"I think charm is the ability to be truly interested in other people."
-- Richard Avedon, American fashion photographer.

Today is Friday, Nov. 9, the 313th day of 2001. There are 52 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:
On Nov. 9, 1965, the great Northeast blackout occurred as several states and parts of Canada were hit by a series of power failures lasting up to 13 1/2 hours.

On This Day:
In 1872, fire destroyed nearly 1,000 buildings in Boston.

In 1918, Germany's Kaiser Wilhelm II announced he would abdicate. He then fled to the Netherlands.

In 1935, United Mine Workers president John L. Lewis and other labor leaders formed the Committee for Industrial Organization.

In 1938, Nazis looted and burned synagogues as well as Jewish-owned stores and houses in Germany and Austria in what became known as "Kristallnacht."

In 1953, author-poet Dylan Thomas died in New York at age 39.

In 1963, twin disasters struck Japan as some 450 miners were killed in a coal-dust explosion, and 160 people died in a train crash.

In 1970, former French president Charles De Gaulle died at age 79.

In 1976, the U.N. General Assembly approved 10 resolutions condemning apartheid in South Africa, including one characterizing the white-ruled government as "illegitimate."

In 1988, former Attorney General John N. Mitchell, a major figure in the Watergate scandal, died in Washington at age 75.

In 1989, communist East Germany threw open its borders, allowing citizens to travel freely to the West; joyous Germans danced atop the Berlin Wall.

Ten years ago: Police in Hong Kong forcibly repatriated 59 Vietnamese boat people, carrying them onto a transport plane. President Bush returned from a four-day European trip that included a NATO summit. Singer-actor Yves Montand died near Paris at age 70.

Five years ago: President Clinton used his weekly radio address to condemn the decision of the nation's distillers to end their voluntary ban on airing hard-liquor ads, calling it "simply irresponsible." Evander Holyfield upset Mike Tyson to win the WBA heavyweight title in an 11-round fight in Las Vegas.

One year ago: George W. Bush's lead over Al Gore in all-or-nothing Florida slipped beneath 300 votes in a suspense-filled recount, as Democrats threw the presidential election to the courts, claiming "an injustice unparalleled in our history." Hussein Abayat, a West Bank militia commander, was killed by a missile from an Israeli helicopter gunship.

Today's Birthdays:
Sportscaster Charlie Jones is 71. Baseball executive Whitey Herzog is 70. Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Bob Graham, D-Fla., is 65. Actor Charlie Robinson ("Night Court") is 56. Movie director Bille August is 53. Actor Lou Ferrigno is 49. Rock musician Dee Plakas (L7) is 41. Rhythm-and-blues singers Ike and Mike Owensby (Twice) are 33. Rapper Pepa (Salt-N-Pepa) is 32. Rapper Scarface (Geto Boys) is 32. Blues singer Susan Tedeschi is 31. Rhythm-and-blues singer Nick Lachey (98 Degrees) is 28. Rhythm-and-blues singer Sisqo (Dru Hill) is 23.

Copyright 2001 Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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