Today in History
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2006 Al Jazeera English launched
Al Jazeera Media Network, based in Doha, Qatar, owns and operates the English-language 24-hour news channel.
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1988 State of Palestine created
While in exile in Algiers, Algeria, the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) declared the establishment of a state. The declaration designated eastern Jerusalem as the capital of the state. Today, nearly 70% of all UN member states recognize it as a sovereign country.
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1956 Elvis Presley makes his movie debut
The American singer, also known as the King of Rock and Roll, starred in the black-and-white musical Love Me Tender. The film was titled after Elvis Presley’s hit single of the same name.
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1949 Assassins of MK Gandhi Executed in India
Nathuram Godse, Narayan Apte, and six other co-conspirators in Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination were hanged at the Ambala jail. On January 30, 1948, Godse, who was dissatisfied with Gandhi’s accommodation of India’s Muslims, assassinated Gandhi while he was out for evening prayers.
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1920 League of Nations meets for the first time
After being founded in January 1920, the international organization’s general assembly met for the first time. The League was formed in response to World War I, and member countries entrusted it with maintaining global peace.
Births On This Day, November 15
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1942 Daniel Barenboim
Argentine/Israeli conductor, pianist
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1891 Erwin Rommel
German field marshal
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1887 Georgia O’Keeffe
American painter
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1886 René Guénon
French/Egyptian author
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1708 William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham
English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Deaths On This Day, November 15
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1983 John Le Mesurier
English actor
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1978 Margaret Mead
American anthropologist
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1917 Émile Durkheim
French sociologist
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1908 Empress Dowager Cixi
of China
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1630 Johannes Kepler
German astronomer