Today in History
Historical Events
OJ Simpson acquitted in the killings of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Lyle Goldman. The former football player had been accused of murdering his ex-wife and her friend on June 13, 1994. The high profile case and the subsequent trial of Simpson captured widespread media and public attention in the United States and around the world.
UK tests its first atomic bomb. Called Operation Hurricane the test was conducted near the Montebello Islands in Western Australia. The operation made the UK the third country to have nuclear weapons, the United States and the Soviet Union were the first two.
Iraq gains independence from the United Kingdom. The West Asian country came under British control in 1920, after the end of the First World War. After taking control of the country, the British installed the deposed Syrian King Faisal I as the King of Iraq.
National Thanksgiving Day proclamation. American president Abraham Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday of November as Thanksgiving Day. The holiday has been celebrated annually since that year.
Edgar Allen Poe seen in public for the last time. The Baltimore, Maryland-based American poet and author, best known for his poem The Raven was found sick and delirious on the streets and taken to Washington College Hospital, where he died a few days later. He was 40 years old at the time of his death.
Famous Births
Born on this day

Ashlee Simpson
1984
American singer-songwriter, actress

Gwen Stefani
1969
American singer-songwriter, actress, fashion designer

Al Sharpton
1954
American minister, talk show host, activist

Stevie Ray Vaughan
1954
American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer

Gore Vidal
1925
American author, screenwriter, actor
Famous Deaths
Died on this day

Ronnie Barker
2005
English comedian, actor

Woody Guthrie
1967
American singer-songwriter, musician

Carl Nielsen
1931
Danish violinist, composer, conductor

William Morris
1896
English poet, designer

Francis of Assisi
1226
Italian friar, saint