Today in History

Celebrity Birthdays for Nov. 19: Talk show host Larry King is 84. Talk show host Dick Cavett is 81. Media mogul Ted Turner is 79. Songwriter and producer Jerry Fuller is 79. Singer Warren (Pete) Moore (Smokey Robinson and the Miracles) is 78.

Today in History for Dec. 2: On this date: In 1552, St. Francis Xavier, the founder of the Jesuits, died while on a missionary journey to China. In 1804, Napoleon crowned himself Emperor of the French.

Today in History for Dec. 1: On this date: In 1680, a comet appeared close to Earth and was clearly visible until the end of February. In 1841, the first copyright in Canada was issued for "A Canadian Spelling Book.

Today in History for Nov. 30: On this date: In 1667, Irish writer and satirist Jonathan Swift was born. In 1782, a preliminary peace treaty ending the American War of Independence was signed between Britain and the United States.

Today in History for Nov. 29 On this date: In 1530, Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, adviser to King Henry VIII of England, died.

Today in History for Nov. 28: On this date: In 1520, the Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan reached the Pacific Ocean after passing through the South American strait that now bears his name.

Today in History for Nov. 27 On this date: In 1095, in France, Pope Urban II solemnly proclaimed the First Crusade at the Council of Clermont.

Today in History for Nov. 26: On this date: In 1539, in England, the monastery at the Fountains Abbey was surrendered to the Crown.

Today in History for Nov. 17: In 1558, Queen Mary I, known as Bloody Mary, who tried to return Protestant Britain to Catholicism, died.

Celebrity Birthdays for Nov. 17: Guitarist Gerry McGee of The Ventures is 80. Singer Gordon Lightfoot is 79. Singer-songwriter Bob Gaudio of The Four Seasons is 76. Movie director Martin Scorsese is 75. Actress Lauren Hutton is 74.