This Day in History

Today is Friday, November 9th, the 313th day of the year.  There are 52 days until the end of the year.

On this day:

In 1906, President Teddy Roosevelt became the first president to officially visit countries outside the United States.  He traveled to Puerto Rico and Panama.

In 1927, the giant panda was discovered in China.

In 1935, the Committee for Industrial Organization (C-I-O) was formed as part of the American Federation of Labor (A-F-L).

In 1961, the Professional Golfers Association eliminated their "Caucasian only" rule and opened its door to all races.

In 1965, the great northeast blackout shut down several states and parts of Canada.  The largest power failure in U.S. history left more than 30-million people in New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and parts of Ontario without power for most of the night.

In 1966, John Lennon met second wife Yoko Ono at her art exhibition at London's Indica Art Gallery.

In 1967, the first issue of "Rolling Stone" magazine was published.

In 1973, Billy Joel released his breakthrough album, "Piano Man."  The title song became his first hit single.

In 1984, "A Nightmare on Elm Street" opened across the U.S..

In 1989, the Berlin Wall came down after communist East Germany opened its borders to allow its citizens to travel to West Germany. 

In 1990, "Dances With Wolves" opened in theaters across the U.S..  The film went on to capture Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Director, Kevin Costner.

In 1996, Evander Holyfield knocked out Mike Tyson in the eleventh round to claim the WBA heavyweight boxing title.

In 1999, the Recording Industry Association of America declared the Eagles' "Greatest Hits 1971-1975" the best-selling album of the century.  "Candle in the Wind 1997," by Elton John was declared the 20th century's biggest single. 

In 2003, TV/movie actor Art Carney died on this date.  Carney is best remembered for playing Jackie Gleason's pal Ed Norton on the classic TV series "The Honeymooners."

In 2006, CBS "60 Minutes" correspondent Ed Bradley died from leukemia at the age of 65.  An accomplished journalist, Bradley earned 19 Emmys throughout his career.

In 2011, the Penn State Board of Trustees announced its firing of legendary football head coach Joe Paterno and Penn State President Graham Spanier in the midst of a child sex abuse scandal involving former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky.  The firing ended Paterno's 46-year career as one of the winningest college football coaches of all time. 

In 2012, CIA Director David Petreus announced his resignation citing an extramarital affair.  Reports quickly surfaced about Petreus' relationship with his biographer Paula Broadwell.

In 2015, SeaWorld announced that they planned to phase out the popular Shamu shows at the San Diego theme park.  They plan to replace them with a conservation-oriented exhibit focusing on orcas beginning in 2017.     

In 2015, President Barack Obama joined Facebook.


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