1986 Iran-Contra Affair The U.S. Justice Department begins a full-scale investigation of the Reagan administration's weapons shipments to Iran.

1969 Lottery for Selective Service Draftees Bill establishing the lottery is signed by Pres. Nixon.

1942 Casablanca The film classic premiers. It starred Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman.

1922 King Tut Archeologist Howard Carter looks into King Tutankhamen's tomb for the first time.

1861 A convention in western Virginia votes to secede from Virginia and form the state of West Virginia.

1832 First U.S. streetcar The New York and Harlem Railroad's horse-drawn vehicle begins public service. It road on rails laid in the center of the road.

1789 First national Thanksgiving Day (as declared by presidential proclamation): Pres. George Washington declares today as a day of general thanksgiving for the adoption of the constitution. This was also the first national U.S. holiday.

1938 Tina Turner (Annie Mae Bullock), American singer, with husband Ike. Music: Proud Mary.

1938 Rich Little Canadian impersonator.

1933 Robert Goulet American singer, actor. One of his TV appearances prompted Elvis Presley to shoot his TV.

1922 Charles Monroe Schulz d. 2000 American cartoonist, creator of Peanuts (1950).

1912 Eugene Ionesco d. 1994 Romanian-born playwright. Writings: The Bald Soprano (1950) and The Lesson (1950).

1912 Eric Sevareid d. 1992 American Emmy-winning broadcast journalist for CBS.

1910 Cyril Cusack d. 1993 Irish actor. Film: The Day of the Jackal, The Taming of the Shrew, and My Left Foot. He was considered Ireland's finest actor.

1908 Vernon "Lefty" Gomez d. 1989 American Baseball Hall of Famer. He won 189 games with the N.Y. Yankees, and was the winning pitcher for the first All-Star game (1933).

1902 Maurice "Mac" J. McDonald d. 1971 American restaurateur.  He and his brother started the McDonald's hamburger chain in 1940.

1895 Bill Wilson d. 1971 (William Griffith Wilson aka Bill W.), American cofounder of Alcoholics Anonymous (1935).

1861 Albert Bacon Fall d. 1944 American senator, first member of a president's cabinet convicted of a crime (1929). While Pres. Harding's Secretary of the Interior, he was convicted of accepting a $100,000 bribe. He was sentenced to one year in prison and fined $100,000.

1844 Karl Friedrich Benz d. 1929 German automotive pioneer, built the first car powered by an internal combustion engine.

1832 Mary Edwards Walker d. 1919 American physician, women's rights leader. She was the first female surgeon in the U.S. Army (1864), and the only woman to receive the Medal of Honor (1865); although it was revoked in 1916 and then reinstated in 1977. In 1897 she established a women's colony called "Adamless Eden."

1607 John Harvard d. 1638 English scholar. As he was dying he bequeathed his library and half his estate to a new college being formed. It was named Harvard in his honor.

1970 Benjamin Oliver Davis b. 1877 American soldier, first African-American U.S. Army general (1940).

1956 Tommy Dorsey b. 1905 American bandleader of the Big Band Era, brother of Jimmy.

1954 Wallace Rupert Turnbull b. 1868 Canadian aviation pioneer, inventor of the variable-pitch propeller (1927).

1952 Sven Hedin b. 1865 Swedish explorer, scientist. His explorations (1899-1902) provided the first substantial knowledge of Tibet to the rest of the world.

1915 W. Atlee Burpee b. 1858 American seedsman. In 1876 at age 18, he founded what would become the world's largest mail-order seed company.

1885 Alfonso XII b. 1857 King of Spain (1874-85).

1883 Sojourner Truth b. circa 1790 ex-slave, abolitionist.

1836 John Loudon McAdam b. 1756 Scottish engineer, creator of asphalt.

399 Saint Siricius b. ???? Italian religious leader, 38th Pope (384-399).

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