Today in history: Nov. 29
In 1961, Enos the chimp was launched from Cape Canaveral aboard the Mercury-Atlas 5 spacecraft, which orbited earth twice before returning, and more events that happened on this day in history.
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1864: The Sand Creek Massacre
In 1864, a Colorado militia killed at least 150 peaceful Cheyenne Indians in the Sand Creek Massacre.
1910: Robert F. Scott
In 1910, British explorer Robert F. Scott’s ship Terra Nova set sail from New Zealand, carrying Scott’s expedition on its ultimately futile — as well as fatal — race to reach the South Pole first.
1947: U.N. General Assembly
In 1947, the U.N. General Assembly passed a resolution calling for the partitioning of Palestine between Arabs and Jews; 33 members, including the United States, voted in favor of the resolution, 13 voted against while 10 abstained. (The plan, rejected by the Arabs, was never implemented.)
1961: Enos the Chimp
In 1961, Enos the chimp was launched from Cape Canaveral aboard the Mercury-Atlas 5 spacecraft, which orbited earth twice before returning.
1963: Warren Commission
In 1963, President Lyndon B. Johnson named a commission headed by Earl Warren to investigate the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
1981: Natalie Wood
In 1981, film star Natalie Wood drowned in a boating accident off Santa Catalina Island, California, at age 43.
2001: George Harrison
In 2001, former Beatle George Harrison died in Los Angeles following a battle with cancer; he was 58.
2008: Mumbai
In 2008, Indian commandos killed the last remaining gunmen holed up at a luxury Mumbai hotel, ending a 60-hour rampage through India’s financial capital by suspected Pakistani-based militants that killed 166 people.
2011: American Airlines
Ten years ago: American Airlines’ parent company, AMR Corp., filed for bankruptcy protection, citing high labor and fuel costs and the weak economy. (American Airlines emerged from bankruptcy protection in December 2013 as it merged with US Airways.)
2011: Iran
Ten years ago: Hard-line Iranian protesters stormed British diplomatic compounds in what began as an apparent state-approved show of anger over the latest Western sanctions to punish Tehran for its nuclear program.
2016: Cabinet
Five years ago: President-elect Donald Trump continued to fill out his Cabinet, choosing former Goldman Sachs executive Steven Mnuchin (mih-NOO’-shin) as secretary of the Treasury Department, Georgia Rep. Tom Price to oversee the nation’s health care system, and Elaine Chao, a former labor secretary and the wife of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, to lead the Department of Transportation.
2016: Cuba
Five years ago: Regional leaders and tens of thousands of Cubans jammed the Plaza of the Revolution in Havana, celebrating the late Fidel Castro on the spot where he delivered fiery speeches to mammoth crowds in the years after he seized power.
2017: Garrison Keillor
In 2017, Garrison Keillor, who’d entertained public radio listeners for 40 years on “A Prairie Home Companion,” was fired by Minnesota Public Radio following allegations of inappropriate workplace behavior.
2017: Matt Lauer
In 2017, “Today” host Matt Lauer was fired for what NBC called “inappropriate sexual behavior” with a colleague; a published report accused him of crude and habitual misconduct with women around the office.
2020: Airports
One year ago: Nearly 1.2 million people went through U.S. airports, according to the Transportation Security Administration; it was the highest daily number since before the pandemic.