12 History Lessons + 7 Births & 7 Deaths for November 16, 2025
Today’s History:
- 1532 – Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro captures Inca emperor Atahualpa at Cajamarca.
- 1776 – British and Hessian forces capture Fort Washington on Manhattan Island during the American Revolutionary War.
- 1907 – Oklahoma is admitted as the 46th U.S. state.
- 1914 – The 12 regional banks of the U.S. Federal Reserve System open for business.
- 1933 – The United States formally recognizes the Soviet Union.
- 1940 – The Warsaw Ghetto is sealed by German authorities in occupied Poland.
- 1945 – The constitution of UNESCO is signed in London.
- 1957 – Wisconsin authorities arrest Ed Gein, whose crimes inspire numerous horror works.
- 1965 – Soviet probe Venera 3 launches; it will become the first spacecraft to reach the surface of another planet (Venus).
- 1966 – Dr. Sam Sheppard is acquitted in his retrial for the 1954 murder of his wife.
- 1973 – Skylab 4 (the third crewed mission) launches, beginning the final expedition to America’s first space station.
- 1989 – Six Jesuit priests, their housekeeper, and her daughter are murdered at the University of Central America in San Salvador.
Today’s Birthdays:
- 1964 – Diana Krall, jazz pianist and singer (61).
- 1967 – Lisa Bonet, actor (“The Cosby Show,” “A Different World”) (58).
- 1974 – Paul Scholes, English footballer (Manchester United; England) (51).
- 1977 – Maggie Gyllenhaal, actor/filmmaker (“The Lost Daughter”) (48).
- 1977 – Oksana Baiul, Olympic figure skating champion (48).
- 1982 – Amar’e Stoudemire, NBA All-Star forward/center (43).
- 1985 – Sanna Marin, former prime minister of Finland (40).
Today’s Deaths:
- 1797 – Frederick William II, king of Prussia (53).
- 1885 – Louis Riel, Métis leader of the Red River and North-West resistances (41).
- 1960 – Clark Gable, American film actor (59).
- 1999 – Daniel Nathans, Nobel Prize–winning microbiologist (71).
- 2005 – Henry Taube, Nobel Prize–winning chemist (89).
- 2006 – Milton Friedman, Nobel Prize–winning economist (94).
- 2019 – Terry O’Neill, British photographer (81).
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