Today in History for Nov. 15, 2012

Today is Thursday, Nov. 15, the 320th day of 2012. There are 46 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight:

On Nov. 15, 1942, the naval Battle of Guadalcanal ended during World War II with a decisive U.S. victory over Japanese forces.

On this date:

In 1777, the Second Continental Congress approved the Articles of Confederation.

In 1806, explorer Zebulon Pike sighted the mountaintop now known as Pikes Peak in present-day Colorado.

In 1889, Brazil was proclaimed a republic as its emperor, Dom Pedro II, was overthrown.

In 1935, the Commonwealth of the Philippines was established as its new president, Manuel L. Quezon, took office.

In 1937, the House and Senate chambers of the U.S. Capitol were air-conditioned for the first time.

In 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt laid the cornerstone of the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C.

In 1948, William Lyon Mackenzie King retired as prime minister of Canada after 21 years; he was succeeded by Louis St. Laurent.

In 1958, actor Tyrone Power, 44, died in Madrid, Spain, while filming “Solomon and Sheba.” (Power’s part was recast with Yul Brynner.)

In 1961, former Argentine President Juan Peron, living in exile in Spain, married his third wife, Isabel.

In 1966, the flight of Gemini 12 ended successfully as astronauts James A. Lovell and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin Jr. splashed down safely in the Atlantic.

In 1969, a quarter of a million protesters staged a peaceful demonstration in Washington against the Vietnam War.

In 1979, the British government publicly identified Sir Anthony Blunt as the “fourth man” of a Soviet spy ring.

In 1982, funeral services were held in Moscow’s Red Square for the late Soviet President Leonid I. Brezhnev.

In 1985, Britain and Ireland signed an accord giving Dublin an official consultative role in governing Northern Ireland.

In 1987, 28 of 82 people aboard a Continental Airlines DC-9, including the pilot and co-pilot, were killed when the jetliner crashed seconds after taking off from Denver’s Stapleton International Airport.

In 2001, President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin failed to resolve their dispute over U.S. missile shield plans but pledged to fight terrorism and deepen U.S.-Russian ties as their summit, which began at the White House before shifting to Bush’s Texas ranch, came to a close.

Ten years ago: Palestinian militants raked Israeli troops and settlers with gunfire in a West Bank ambush, killing 12 Israelis in Hebron. Hu Jintao replaced Jiang Zemin as China’s Communist Party leader.

Five years ago: During a feisty Democratic debate in Las Vegas, Hillary Rodham Clinton accused her closest rivals, Barack Obama and John Edwards, of slinging mud “right out of the Republican playbook” and sharply criticized their records. Cyclone Sidr struck Bangladesh, killing more than 3,200 people and leaving millions homeless. Baseball player Barry Bonds was indicted for perjury and obstruction of justice, charged with lying when he told a federal grand jury that he did not knowingly use performance-enhancing drugs. (Bonds was later convicted on the obstruction of justice count; his lawyers are appealing.) Actress Lindsay Lohan completed her jail sentence for drunken driving in a swift 84 minutes.

One year ago: Hundreds of police officers in riot gear raided the Occupy Wall Street encampment in New York City in the pre-dawn darkness, evicting hundreds of protesters and then demolishing the tent city. The U.S. Postal Service said it had lost $5.1 billion in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2011. The state of Ohio executed Reginald Brooks, who had shot his three sons as they slept, shortly after his wife filed for divorce. Justin Verlander of the Detroit Tigers breezed to the AL Cy Young Award in a unanimous vote. Karl Slover, 93, one of the last surviving actors who played Munchkins in the 1939 classic film “the Wizard of Oz,” died in Dublin, Ga.

Today’s birthdays: Judge Joseph Wapner is 93. Statesman Howard H. Baker Jr. is 87. Actor Ed Asner is 83. Actor John Kerr is 81. Singer Petula Clark is 80. Comedian Jack Burns is 79. Actress Joanna Barnes is 78. Actor Yaphet Kotto is 73. Actor Sam Waterston is 72. Classical conductor Daniel Barenboim is 70. Pop singer Frida (ABBA) is 67. Actor Bob Gunton is 67. Former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson is 65. Director-actor James Widdoes is 59. Rock singer-producer Mitch Easter is 58. Fox News reporter John Roberts is 56. Former “Jay Leno Show” bandleader Kevin Eubanks is 55. Comedian Judy Gold is 50. Actress Rachel True is 46. Rapper E-40 is 45. Country singer Jack Ingram is 42. Actor Jay Harrington is 41. Actor Jonny Lee Miller is 40. Actress Sydney Tamiia Poitier is 39. Christian rock musician David Carr (Third Day) is 38. Rock singer-musician Chad Kroeger is 38. Rock musician Jesse Sandoval is 38. Actress Virginie Ledoyen is 36. Actor Sean Murray (“NCIS”) is 35. Pop singer Ace Young (“American Idol”) is 32. Golfer Lorena Ochoa is 31. Actress Shailene Woodley is 21. Actress-dancer Emma Dumont (“Bunheads”) is 18.

Thought for today: “News reports don’t change the world. Only facts change it, and those have already happened when we get the news.” — Friedrich Durrenmatt, Swiss author and playwright (1921-1990).