This Day in History – November 19, 2011

1493 – Christopher Columbus discovers Puerto Rico, on his 2nd voyage 1794 – Jay Treaty, 1st US extradition treaty, signed with Great Britain 1863 – President Abraham Lincoln delivers the Gettysburg Address 1903 – Carrie Nation attempts to address the Senate 1916 – Samuel Goldwyn and Edgar Selwyn establish Goldwyn Pictures. 1919 – US Senate rejects (55-39) Treaty of Versailles & League of Nations 1944 – President Franklin D. Roosevelt announces the 6th War Loan Drive, aimed at selling $14 billion USD in war bonds to help pay for the war effort. 1950 – US General Dwight D. Eisenhower becomes supreme commander of NATO-Europe 1951 – Roy Campanella named NL MVP on his 30th birthday 1955 – National Review publishes its first issue. 1959 – The Ford Motor Company announces the discontinuation of the unpopular Edsel. 1961 – Houston George Blanda passes for 7 touchdowns vs NY Titans (49-13) 1969 – Apollo program: Apollo 12 astronauts Pete Conrad and Alan Bean land at Oceanus Procellarum (the “Ocean of Storms”) and become the third and fourth humans to walk on the Moon. 1969 – Football (Soccer) player Pelé scores his 1,000th goal. 1970 – Golden Gate Park Conservatory becomes a Cal state historical landmark 1971 – Fort Wilderness opens 1979 – Chuck Berry released from prison on income tax evasion 1979 – Iran hostage crisis: Iranian leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini orders the release of 13 female and black American hostages being held at the US Embassy in Tehran. 1980 – CBS TV bans Calvin Klein’s jeans ad featuring Brooke Shields 1985 – In Geneva, U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev meet for the first time. 1985 – Pennzoil wins a $10.53 billion USD judgment against Texaco, in the largest civil verdict in the history of the United States 1990 – Greyhound files reorganization plan so they can be traded publicly 1990 – Pop group Milli Vanilli are stripped of their Grammy Award because the duo did not sing at all on the Girl You Know It’s True album. Session musicians had provided all the vocals. 1994 – In the United Kingdom, the first National Lottery draw is held. A £1 ticket gave a one-in-14-million chance of correctly guessing the winning six out of 49 numbers. 1998 – Lewinsky scandal: The United States House of Representatives Judiciary Committee begins impeachment hearings against U.S. President Bill Clinton. 1998 – Vincent van Gogh’s Portrait of the Artist Without Beard sells at auction for $71.5 million USD.]]]]> ]]>