Today in History: November 11, World War I armistice signed

Today is Friday, Nov. 11, the 315th day of 2022. There are 50 days left in the year. Today is Veterans Day.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On Nov. 11, 1918, fighting in World War I ended as the Allies and Germany signed an armistice in the Forest of Compiegne (kohm-PYEHN’-yeh).

In 1620, 41 Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower, anchored off Massachusetts, signed a compact calling for a “body politick.”

In 1831, former slave Nat Turner, who’d led a slave uprising, was executed in Jerusalem, Virginia.

In 1921, the remains of an unidentified American service member were interred in a Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery in a ceremony presided over by President Warren G. Harding.

In 1938, Irish-born cook Mary Mallon, who’d gained notoriety as the disease-carrying “Typhoid Mary” blamed for the deaths of three people, died on North Brother Island in New York’s East River at age 69 after 23 years of mandatory quarantine.

In 1942, during World War II, Germany completed its occupation of France.

In 1966, Gemini 12 blasted off on a four-day mission with astronauts James A. Lovell and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin Jr. aboard; it was the tenth and final flight of NASA’s Gemini program.

In 1972, the U.S. Army turned over its base at Long Binh to the South Vietnamese, symbolizing the end of direct U.S. military involvement in the Vietnam War.

In 1987, following the failure of two Supreme Court nominations, President Ronald Reagan announced his choice of Judge Anthony M. Kennedy, who went on to win confirmation.

In 1992, the Church of England voted to ordain women as priests.

In 1998, President Bill Clinton ordered warships, planes and troops to the Persian Gulf as he laid out his case for a possible attack on Iraq. Iraq, meanwhile, showed no sign of backing down from its refusal to deal with U.N. weapons inspectors.

In 2004, Palestinians at home and abroad wept, waved flags and burned tires in an eruption of grief at news of the death of Yasser Arafat in Paris at age 75.

In 2020, Georgia’s secretary of state announced an audit of presidential election results that he said would be done with a full hand tally of ballots because the margin was so tight; President-elect Joe Biden led President Donald Trump by about 14,000 votes out of nearly 5 million votes counted in the state. (The audit would affirm Biden’s win.) Texas became the first state with more than 1 million confirmed COVID-19 cases.

Ten years ago: President Barack Obama laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery and said the Sept. 11 generation had “written one of the greatest chapters” in the country’s military service, toppling a dictator and battling an insurgency in Iraq, pushing back the Taliban in Afghanistan and decimating al-Qaida’s leadership.

Five years ago: The annual Pacific Rim summit stuck to its tradition of promoting free trade and closer regional ties, shrugging off the “America First” approach that was brought to the summit by President Donald Trump. After talking with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the summit, Trump told reporters that Putin had again insisted that Moscow had not interfered in the 2016 U.S. elections, and Trump said he believed Putin was sincere in making that claim; he accused Democrats of trying to sabotage relations between Washington and Moscow.

One year ago: Facing a surge in coronavirus infections that threatened to overwhelm Colorado hospitals, Gov. Jared Polis defied federal guidance on COVID-19 booster shots by issuing an order allowing all state residents 18 and older to get them. President Joe Biden saluted the nation’s military veterans as “the spine of America” as he marked his first Veterans Day as president in a wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery. A spokesman for his foundation confirmed that F.W. de Klerk, South Africa’s last apartheid leader, who shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Nelson Mandela and oversaw the end of the country’s white minority rule, had died at 85.

Today’s Birthdays: Country singer Narvel Felts is 84. Former Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., is 82. Americana roots singer/songwriter Chris Smither is 78. Rock singer-musician Vince Martell (Vanilla Fudge) is 77. The president of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega, is 77. Rock singer Jim Peterik (PEE’-ter-ihk) (Ides of March, Survivor) is 72. Golfer Fuzzy Zoeller is 71. Pop singer-musician Paul Cowsill (The Cowsills) is 71. Rock singer-musician Andy Partridge (XTC) is 69. Singer Marshall Crenshaw is 69. Rock singer Dave Alvin is 67. Rock musician Ian Craig Marsh (Human League; Heaven 17) is 66. Actor Stanley Tucci is 62. Actor Demi Moore is 60. Actor Calista Flockhart is 58. Actor Frank John Hughes is 55. TV personality Carson Kressley is 53. Actor David DeLuise is 51. Actor Adam Beach is 50. Actor Tyler Christopher is 50. Actor Leonardo DiCaprio is 48. Actor Scoot McNairy is 45. Rock musician Jonathan Pretus (formerly with Cowboy Mouth) is 41. Actor Frankie Shaw is 41. Musician Jon Batiste is 36. Actor Christa B. Allen is 31. Actor Tye Sheridan is 26. Actor Ian Patrick is 20.