History for November 21

History for November 21 - On-This-Day.com:
François-Marie Arouet (Voltaire) 1694, Stan Musial (MLB) 1920 


Marlo Thomas 1938, Harold Ramis 1944, Goldie Hawn 1945 


1694 - French author and philosopher Jean Francois Voltaire was born. At age 65 he spent only three days writing "Candide." 


1783 - The first successful flight was made in a hot air balloon. The pilots, Francois Pilatre de Rosier and Francois Laurent, Marquis d'Arlandes, flew for 25 minutes and 5½ miles over Paris. 


1877 - Thomas A. Edison announced the invention of his phonograph. 


1942 - The Alaska Highway across Canada was formally opened. 


1953 - British Natural History Museum authorities announced that "Piltdown Man" was a hoax. 


1963 - U.S. President John F. Kennedy and his wife, Jacqueline, arrived in San Antonio, TX. They were beginning an ill-fated, two-day tour of Texas that would end in Dallas.


1980 - An estimated 83 million viewers tuned in to find out "who shot J.R." on the CBS prime-time soap opera Dallas. Kristin was the character that fired the gun. (Texas) 


1980 - 87 people died in a fire at the MGM Grand Hotel-Casino in Las Vegas, NV. 


1993 - The U.S. House of Representatives voted against making the District of Columbia the 51st state. 


2000 - The Florida Supreme Court granted Al Gore's request to keep the presidential recounts going.