This Day in History: Nov. 11

President Warren G. Harding places a wreath on the casket of an unknown soldier from World War I in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol, Nov. 11, 1921 in Washington. (AP Photo)

On this day, Nov. 11 …

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

Also on this day:

  • 1620: Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower, anchored off Massachusetts, sign a compact calling for a “body politick.”
  • 1831: Former slave Nat Turner, who led a violent insurrection, is executed in Jerusalem, Va.
  • 1909: President William Howard Taft accepts the recommendation of a joint Army-Navy board that Pearl Harbor in the Hawaiian Islands be made the principal U.S. naval station in the Pacific.

American troops cheer after hearing the news that the Armistice has been signed, ending World War I in Nov. 1918. They are located on the front northeast of St. Mihiel, France. Similar celebrations took place all along the line where the Americans were engaged in an offensive. (AP photo)

  • 1918: Fighting in World War I ends as the Allies and Germany sign an armistice in the Forest of Compiegne.

The Atlas booster lifting off with the Gemini 12 Space Capsule atop, Nov. 11, 1966. (AP Photo)

  • 1966: Gemini 12 blasts off on a four-day mission with astronauts James A. Lovell and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin Jr. aboard; it is the 10th and final flight of NASA’s Gemini program.
  • 1972: The U.S. Army turns over its base at Long Binh to the South Vietnamese, symbolizing the end of direct U.S. military involvement in the Vietnam War.
  • 1987: Following the failure of two Supreme Court nominations, President Ronald Reagan announces his choice of Judge Anthony M. Kennedy, who would go on to win confirmation.
  • 1992: The Church of England votes to ordain women as priests.
  • 1998: President Clinton orders warships, planes and troops to the Persian Gulf as he lays out his case for a possible attack on Iraq. Iraq, meanwhile, shows no sign of backing down from its refusal to deal with U.N. weapons inspectors.
  • 2014: Iran and the United States blame each other for the failure to reach agreement on a deal to limit Iran’s uranium enrichment in exchange for an easing of Western sanctions.
  • 2018: The annual Pacific Rim summit sticks to its tradition of promoting free trade and closer regional ties, shrugging off the “America First” approach brought to the summit by President Trump.  

Source: Read Full Article