This Day in History

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On November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. According to a Gallup poll, 61% of Americans believe John F. Kennedy’s assassination was the result of a conspiracy.

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The Heir: Lyndon B. JohnsonThis theory likely isn't that surprising. Johnson, then the Vice President under Kennedy, is a prime target for conspiracy theories simply because he was next in line for the presidency. The main proponent of the theory that LBJ was responsible for hiring a hitman to kill Kennedy is the real surprise. It's Roger Stone, the political advisor to Donald Trump, the same one who was convicted of lying to Congress and witness tampering. Stone believes that Lyndon Johnson hired hitman Malcolm Wallace to do the dirty work, which explains an allegation that Johnson ducked before any shots were fired. Stone also claimed Johnson told a mistress the day before the assassination, "After tomorrow I won’t have to deal with those Kennedy SOBs no more."

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On November 23, 1971, the People's Republic of China was seated at the United Nations Security Council meeting, the first meeting where representatives of the Beijing government represented China.

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China is the owner of all pandas. Literally, all of them! Every single panda that lives on this world belongs to China. If you see a panda in other countries, it means it is lent from the People’s Republic of China. What’s interesting is that when a baby panda is born, it is sent to China (always by FedEx) to help expand the gene pool.

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On November 24, 1991, rock singer Freddie Mercury of Queen died at age 45 of pneumonia brought on by AIDS.

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Rumors were afloat for several years that Mercury had AIDS because the band had stopped touring, and the singer looked ill. He, along with his manager, announced it the day before he passed away. Mercury was 45 at the time of his death.

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On November 26, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered nationwide gasoline rationing to help the American war effort.

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Rationing gasoline, it was reasoned, would conserve rubber by reducing the number of miles Americans drove. Ration stamps for gasoline were pasted to the windshield of a the automobile. The type of stamp determined the gasoline allotment for that automobile. Black stamps, for example, signified non-essential travel and mandated no more than three gallons per week, while red stamps were for workers who needed more gas, including policemen and mail carriers. In a separate attempt to reduce gas consumption, the government passed a mandatory wartime speed limit of 35 mph, known as the “Victory Speed.”

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Happy Thanksgiving, guys! Although Thanksgiving will be a little different for many of us this year, today is still a day to give thanks! So grab a drumstick, and enjoy.

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George Washington was the first to declare Thanksgiving a holiday, but it was on a year-to-year basis, so presidents had to re-declare it every year, according to The Washington Post. Thomas Jefferson was so adamantly against Thanksgiving that he refused to declare it a holiday during his presidency, and many say that he called the holiday "the most ridiculous idea ever conceived." Most historians agree that Jefferson really refused to declare the holiday because he believed in the separation of church and state, and thought that the day of "prayer" violated the First Amendment. It wasn’t until 1863, when Abraham Lincoln proclaimed Thanksgiving a federal holiday, that it was officially scheduled to fall on the fourth Thursday of every November.

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On November 27, 1940, Bruce Lee was born in San Francisco and went on to become a cultural icon

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Lee was not only born in the year of the dragon under the Chinese zodiac, but he was also born within the hour of the dragon at 7:12 in the morning. This is a big deal within the world of ancient Chinese folklore. The dragon in Chinese mythology is considered the most powerful animal and can overcome any of life’s obstacles. It also explains Lee’s nickname as a child, “The Little Dragon.” Throughout both Lee’s life and film career, the Dragon would always remain a prominent symbol.

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On November 28th, 1520, Ferdinand Magellan reached the Pacific Ocean after passing through the South American strait that now bears his name.

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History books will tell you that Magellan was the first person to lead a circumnavigation around the globe. However, Magellan died before the voyage was complete. Shortly after Magellan’s death, his slave, Enrique de Malacca (a Malaysian slave who was serving as a translator on the journey) managed to free himself and escape. If Enrique succeeded in returning home (and it’s unclear if he did or not), that would mean that he would have been the first person to actually circumnavigate the globe.

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George Harrison, the ex-Beatle who went on to have a long and fruitful solo career, died on November 29, 2001, after a long battle with cancer.

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The wide-variety of instruments can be heard throughout the many solo and Beatles albums that Harrison has appeared on. He could play all of the following: Guitar, Sitar, 4-string Guitar, Arp Bass, Violin, Tamboura, Dobro, Tabla, Organ, Piano, Moog Synthesizer, Harmonica, Autoharp, Glockenspiel, Vibraphone, Xylophone, Claves, African drum, Conga drum, Tympani, Ukulele, Mandolin, Marimba, Bass Guitar, Swordmandel, and Jal-Tarang.

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On this day in 2004, after winning 74 straight games and more than $2.5 million, Ken Jennings' amazing winning streak on Jeopardy! finally came to an end. The record-breaking streak made Jennings a millionaire as well as a household name.

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The show has banned some wagers that could remind people of unsavory connotations. There are five banned wagers on the show, including the obvious $69 and $666. Wagering $14, $88, and $1,488 are also banned due to their white supremacist connotations.

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On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks refused to surrender her seat to a white passenger on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama.

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Her first conflict with James Blake, the bus driver who reported her to the police in 1955, came more than a decade earlier. In 1943, she boarded a bus driven by Blake, and after she paid her fare, he told her to exit and re-enter through the back doors—which was a rule for black riders. Instead of waiting for her to get back in, Blake drove away once she stepped off the bus. She managed to avoid the bus driver for more than 10 years until that memorable day in 1955 when she refused to give up her bus seat for a white passenger even though there were empty seats available. Blake called the police, and they placed Parks under arrest for civil disobedience.