Associated Press
On Nov. 9, 1989, Communist East Germany threw open its borders, allowing citizens to travel freely to the West. Joyous Germans danced atop the Berlin Wall.
1918- Germany’s Kaiser Wilhelm II announced that he would abdicate.
1935- United Mine Workers president John L. Lewis and other labor leaders formed the Committee for Industrial Organization.
1938- Nazis looted and burned synagogues and Jewish-owned stores and houses in Germany and Austria on Kristallnacht, the “night of broken glass.”
1965- Several northeastern states and parts of Canada were hit by a series of power failures lasting up to 13 1/2 hours.
1970- Former French president Charles De Gaulle died at age 79.
1976- The United Nations General Assembly approved 10 resolutions condemning apartheid in South Africa.
2001- The northern Afghan city of Mazar-e-Sharif fell to the northern alliance in the first major territorial advance for the rebels against the ruling Taliban.
2004- Houston Astros pitcher Roger Clemens won his record seventh Cy Young award.
2005- Three suicide bombers carried out nearly simultaneous attacks on three U.S.-based hotels in Amman, Jordan, killing 60 victims and wounding hundreds.
2011- Penn State fired longtime head football coach Joe Paterno and university president Graham Spanier over their handling of child sex abuse allegations against former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky..
Today’s Birthdays:
Baseball Hall of Famer Bob Gibson turns 80 years old today.
Whitey Herzog, Hall of Fame baseball manager, 84
Bob Graham, Former U.S. senator, D-Fla., 79
Robert David Hall, Actor (“CSI”), 67
Lou Ferrigno, Actor (“The Incredible Hulk”), 64
Sherrod Brown, U.S. senator, D-Ohio, 63
Pepa, Rapper (Salt-N-Pepa), 46
Eric Dane, Actor (“Grey’s Anatomy”), 43
Nick Lachey, Singer (98 Degrees), 42
Actress Nikki Blonsky (“Hairspray”) turns 27 years old today.