On September 27, 1996, the Taliban, a group of former Islamic seminary students, overthrew the government of President Burhanuddin Rabbani in Afghanistan. They swiftly captured the capital, Kabul, and executed the former leader, Najibullah, marking the beginning of their oppressive regime. This moment shaped Afghanistan’s political landscape for decades, leading to years of international conflict and humanitarian crises.
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In 1779, John Adams, a key figure in the American Revolution, was appointed by Congress to negotiate peace terms with Britain. His diplomatic efforts helped lay the groundwork for the Treaty of Paris in 1783, which ultimately recognized the independence of the United States and ended the Revolutionary War.
In 1903, a tragic train derailment occurred near Danville, Virginia, when a Southern Railway mail train, known as Old 97, crashed, killing 11 people. This disaster became legendary, inspiring the famous country ballad, “Wreck of the Old 97,” which tells the story of the speeding locomotive and its ill-fated journey.
In 1939, after weeks of fierce resistance, Warsaw, Poland surrendered to the invading forces of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. This marked the beginning of a brutal occupation that would last throughout World War II, with devastating consequences for Poland and its people.
In 1940, the Axis powers of World War II – Germany, Italy, and Japan – formally solidified their alliance by signing the Tripartite Pact. This agreement laid the foundation for a global conflict that would engulf much of the world, with the Axis seeking to dominate Europe and the Pacific.
In 1964, the U.S. government publicly released the Warren Commission’s report on the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The report controversially concluded that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone, a finding that continues to be debated by historians and conspiracy theorists alike.
In 1979, Congress gave its final approval to the creation of the U.S. Department of Education, establishing a federal agency to oversee national education policies. This marked a significant shift in how the U.S. government would approach education, aiming to standardize and improve learning opportunities across the country.
In 1991, President George H.W. Bush made a historic announcement in a nationally televised address, declaring that the United States would unilaterally eliminate all battlefield nuclear weapons. His bold call for the Soviet Union to match this gesture was seen as a major step in de-escalating the Cold War and reducing the global nuclear threat.
In 1994, over 350 Republican congressional candidates gathered on the steps of the U.S. Capitol to sign the “Contract with America,” a 10-point conservative platform that aimed to overhaul government policies. The contract played a significant role in the Republicans gaining a majority in the House during the midterm elections, reshaping U.S. politics for years to come.
In 2018, a dramatic day-long Senate Judiciary Committee hearing unfolded as Christine Blasey Ford testified that she was “100 percent” certain that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh had sexually assaulted her when they were teenagers. Kavanaugh vehemently denied the allegations, stating he was “100 percent certain” that no such assault occurred, in a moment that deeply divided the nation.
In 2021, R&B singer R. Kelly was convicted in a highly publicized sex trafficking trial in New York. The verdict followed decades of allegations of misconduct involving young women and children, with Kelly finally held accountable for his long history of abuse. This conviction marked a turning point in the broader movement against sexual exploitation in the entertainment industry.
Today in History: November 14
Today in History: November 14. On November 14, 1889, journalist Nellie Bly began an attempt to travel around the world in 80 days; she would successfully complete the journey in just over 72 days. In 1851, Herman Melville’s novel ‘Moby-Dick; Or, The Whale’ was published in the United States, almost a month after being released in Britain. In 1960, six-year-old Ruby Bridges became the first Black child to desegregate William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans. In 1965, the U.S. Army’s first major military operation of the Vietnam War began with the start of the five-day Battle of Ia Drang.In 1993, Miami Dolphins coach Don Shula became the NFL’s all-time winningest coach with a victory over the Philadelphia Eagles.
Today in History: November 13
Today in History: November 13:On Nov. 13, 2015, Islamic State militants carried out a set of coordinated attacks in Paris at the national stadium, in a crowded concert hall, in restaurants and on streets, killing 130 people in the worst attack on French soil since World War II. In 1956, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed a lower court ruling which found Alabama bus segregation laws were illegal. In 1971, the U.S. space probe Mariner 9 went into orbit around Mars, becoming the first spacecraft to orbit another planet. In 1982, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was dedicated on the National Mall in Washington, DC. In 1985, some 23,000 residents of Armero, Colombia, died when a volcanic mudslide buried the city. In 2001, U.S.-backed Northern Alliance fighters in Afghanistan entered Kabul as Taliban forces retreated from the capital city.
Today in History: November 12
Today in History: On November 12: 1954, Ellis Island officially closed as an immigration station and detention center. More than 12 million immigrants arrived in the United States via Ellis Island between 1892 and 1954. In 1927, Josef Stalin became the undisputed ruler of the Soviet Union as Leon Trotsky was expelled from the Communist Party. In 1936, the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge opened as President Franklin D. Roosevelt pressed a telegraph key in Washington, D.C., and gave the green light to traffic. In 1948, former Japanese premier Hideki Tojo and several other World War II Japanese leaders were sentenced to death by a war crimes tribunal. In 1970, the Bhola cyclone struck East Pakistan, now Bangladesh. The deadliest tropical cyclone on record claimed the lives of an estimated 300,000-500,000 people.
Today in History: November 11
Today in History: November 11: On Nov. 11, 1918, fighting in World War I ended as the Allies and Germany signed an armistice aboard a railroad car in the Forest of Compiègne in northern France. In 1620, 41 Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower, anchored off Massachusetts, signed the Mayflower Compact, calling for a “civil body politick, for our better ordering and preservation.” In 1921, the remains of an unidentified American service member were interred in a Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery in a ceremony presided over by President Warren G. Harding. In 1966, Gemini 12 blasted off on a four-day mission with astronauts James A. Lovell and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin Jr. aboard; it was the tenth and final crewed flight of NASA’s Gemini program.
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