November 19, 2023
QUOTE
Now more than ever the people are responsible for the character of their Congress. If that body be ignorant, reckless, and corrupt, it is because the people tolerate ignorance, recklessness, and corruption.
--James A. Garfield
BIRTHDAYS
1805 – Ferdinand de Lesseps, French diplomat and engineer, developed the Suez Canal
1831 – James A. Garfield, General, lawyer, and politician, 20th President of the United States
1941 – Dan Haggerty, Actor and producer
1942 – Calvin Klein, Fashion designer, founded Calvin Klein Inc.
1961 – Meg Ryan, Actress and producer
1962 – Jodie Foster, Actress, director, and producer
IN MEMORY
1703 – Man in the Iron Mask, French prisoner
1988 – Christina Onassis, American-Greek businesswoman
2014 – Pete Harman, Businessman
2017 – Charles Manson, Cult leader
2017 – Mel Tillis, Singer and songwriter (b. 1932)
IN ON THIS DAY
1863 – U.S. President Abraham Lincoln delivers the Gettysburg Address at the dedication ceremony for the military cemetery at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
1950 – US General Dwight D. Eisenhower becomes Supreme Commander of NATO-Europe.
1969 – Association football player Pelé scores his 1,000th goal.
1969 – 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.
1985 – Pennzoil wins a US$10.53 billion judgment against Texaco, in the largest civil verdict in the history of the United States, stemming from Texaco executing a contract to buy Getty Oil after Pennzoil had entered into an unsigned, yet still binding, buyout contract with Getty.