Today in History

Today is Tuesday, Nov. 18, the 322nd day of 2014. There are 43 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Nov. 18, 1964, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover described civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. as "the most notorious liar in the country" for allegedly accusing FBI agents in Georgia of failing to act on complaints filed by blacks; King, who denied making such a claim, replied, "I cannot conceive of Mr. Hoover making a statement like this without being under extreme pressure."

On this date:

In 1883, the United States and Canada adopted a system of Standard Time zones.

In 1886, the 21st president of the United States, Chester A. Arthur, died in New York.

In 1928, Walt Disney's first sound-synchronized animated cartoon, "Steamboat Willie" starring Mickey Mouse, premiered in New York.

In 1936, Germany and Italy recognized the Spanish government of Francisco Franco.

In 1942, "The Skin of Our Teeth," Thornton Wilder's Pulitzer Prize-winning allegory about the history of humankind, opened on Broadway.

In 1959, "Ben-Hur," the Biblical-era spectacle starring Charlton Heston, had its world premiere in New York.

In 1963, the Bell System introduced the first commercial touch-tone telephone system in Carnegie and Greensburg, Pennsylvania.

In 1966, U.S. Roman Catholic bishops did away with the rule against eating meat on Fridays outside of Lent.

In 1978, U.S. Rep. Leo J. Ryan, D-Calif., and four others were killed in Jonestown, Guyana, by members of the Peoples Temple; the killings were followed by a night of mass murder and suicide by more than 900 cult members.

In 1987, the congressional Iran-Contra committees issued their final report, saying President Ronald Reagan bore "ultimate responsibility" for wrongdoing by his aides. A fire at London King's Cross railway station claimed 31 lives.

In 1994, bandleader Cab Calloway died in Hockessin, Delaware, at age 86.

In 1999, 12 people were killed when a bonfire under construction at Texas A-and-M University collapsed. A jury in Jasper, Texas, convicted Shawn Allen Berry of murder for his role in the dragging death of James Byrd Jr., but spared him the death penalty. American author and composer Paul Bowles died in Morocco at age 88.

Ten years ago: Former President Bill Clinton's library opened in Little Rock, Arkansas; in attendance were President George W. Bush, former President George H.W. Bush and former President Jimmy Carter. Former Ku Klux Klansman Bobby Frank Cherry, convicted of killing four black girls in the racially motivated bombing of a Birmingham, Alabama, church in 1963, died in prison at age 74. Britain outlawed fox hunting in England and Wales (Scotland had already abolished hunting). Composer Cy Coleman died in New York at age 75.

Five years ago: President Barack Obama visited the Great Wall of China, which he described as "magical," before heading to Seoul, South Korea, for the final stop of his eight-day Asia tour. Two days before turning 92, Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., set a record for longest-serving lawmaker in congressional history at 56 years, 320 days. (That record was broken in 2013 by U.S. Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich.)

One year ago: Toronto's city council voted to strip scandal-plagued Mayor Rob Ford of many of his powers following a heated debate in which he knocked over a city councilor. NASA's robotic explorer, Maven, rocketed toward Mars on a quest to unravel the ancient mystery of the red planet's radical climate change.

Today's Birthdays: Actress Brenda Vaccaro is 75. Author-poet Margaret Atwood is 75. Actress Linda Evans is 72. Actress Susan Sullivan is 72. Country singer Jacky Ward is 68. Actor Jameson Parker is 67. Actress-singer Andrea Marcovicci is 66. Rock musician Herman Rarebell is 65. Singer Graham Parker is 64. Actor Delroy Lindo is 62. Comedian Kevin Nealon is 61. Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Warren Moon is 58. Actor Oscar Nunez is 56. Actress Elizabeth Perkins is 54. Singer Kim Wilde is 54. Rock musician Kirk Hammett (Metallica) is 52. Rock singer Tim DeLaughter is 49. Actor Romany Malco is 46. Actor Owen Wilson is 46. Singer Duncan Sheik is 45. Actor Mike Epps is 44. Actress Peta Wilson is 44. Actress Chloe Sevigny is 40. Country singer Jessi Alexander is 38. Actor Steven Pasquale is 38. Rapper Fabolous is 37. Actor Nate Parker is 35. Rapper Mike Jones is 34. Actress/comedian Nasim Pedrad is 33. Actress Allison Tolman (TV: "Fargo") is 33. Actor Damon Wayans Jr. is 32. Actor Nathan Kress is 22.

Thought for Today: "Your way of giving is more important than what you give." -- Vietnamese proverb.

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