@rh18bold:Today in History

Today is Saturday, November 20, the 324th day of 2010. There are 41 days left in the year.

On this date

In 1616, Roman Catholic Cardinal Richelieu becomes France's minister of state for foreign affairs and war.

In 1637, Peter Minuit and the first Swedish settlers to the New World set sail for Delaware.

In 1620, Peregrine White was born aboard the Mayflower in Massachusetts Bay; he was the first child born of English parents in present-day New England.

In 1789, New Jersey became the first state to ratify the Bill of Rights.

In 1873, the rival cities of Buda and Pest are united to form the capital of Hungary.

In 1910, the Mexican Revolution, which overthrew longtime President Porfirio Diaz, had its beginnings under the Plan of San Luis Potosi that had been issued by Francisco I. Madero.

In 1945, the international War Crimes Tribunal begins as 24 accused Nazi war criminals go on trial in Nuremberg, Germany.

In 1947, Princess Elizabeth, married Lt Philip Mountbatten, Duke of Edinburgh, at Westminster Abbey.

In 1959, Great Britain, Norway, Portugal, Switzerland, Austria, Denmark and Sweden meet to form European Free Trade Association.

In 1967, the US Census Bureau's Population Clock at the Commerce Department ticked past 200 million.

In 1969, the Nixon administration announced a halt to residential use of the pesticide DDT as part of a total phase-out.

In 1975, after nearly four decades of absolute rule, Spain's General Francisco Franco died, two weeks before his 83rd birthday. Two days later, King Alfonso XIII's grandson, Juan Carlos, becomes King of Spain.

In 1980, a special tribunal begins the two-month trial of "the Gang of Four," led by Jiang Qing, Chairman Mao Tse-teung's wife, for masterminding the 1966-1976 Cultural Revolution in China.

In 1985, the first version of Microsoft's Windows operating system, Windows 1.0, was officially released.

In 2000, Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori resigned, ending a ten-year reign.

Thought for Today

"There is no greatness where there is not simplicity." — Leo Tolstoy, Russian author (born 1828, died this date in 1910).