Today in History - Nov. 19

Today is Wednesday, Nov. 19, the 324th day of 2008. There are 42 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Nov. 19, 1863, President Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address as he dedicated a national cemetery at the site of the Civil War battlefield in Pennsylvania.

On this date:

In 1794, the United States and Britain signed Jay's Treaty, which resolved some issues left over from the Revolutionary War.

In 1831, the 20th president of the United States, James Garfield, was born in Orange Township, Ohio.

In 1917, Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was born in Allahabad.

In 1919, the Senate rejected the Treaty of Versailles by a vote of 55 in favor, 39 against, short of the two-thirds majority needed for ratification.

In 1942, during World War II, Russian forces launched their winter offensive against the Germans along the Don front.

In 1959, Ford Motor Co. announced it was halting production of the unpopular Edsel.

In 1969, Apollo 12 astronauts Charles Conrad and Alan Bean made the second manned landing on the moon.

In 1977, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat became the first Arab leader to visit Israel.

In 1984, some 500 people died in a firestorm set off by a series of explosions at a petroleum storage plant on the edge of Mexico City.

In 1985, President Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev met for the first time as they began their summit in Geneva.

Ten years ago: Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr laid out his evidence against President Clinton, then defended his investigation under withering questions from Democrats during a daylong appearance before the House Judiciary Committee. Movie director Alan Pakula died in a car accident on Long Island, N.Y., at age 70.

Five years ago: During his state visit to London, President Bush urged Europe to put aside bitter war disagreements with the United States and work to build democracy in Iraq or risk turning the nation over to terrorists. A U.S.-Canadian investigation found that the Aug. 14, 2003, blackout should have been contained by operators at Ohio's FirstEnergy Corporation; the investigators also faulted Midwest regional monitors.

One year ago: In Pakistan, a Supreme Court hand-picked by President Gen. Pervez Musharraf dismissed legal challenges to his continued rule, opening the way for him to serve another five-year term — solely as a civilian president. The FBI reported hate crime incidents rose nearly 8 percent in 2006. President Bush announced that Fran Townsend, the leading White House-based terrorism adviser, was stepping down. Milo Radulovich, the Air Force Reserve lieutenant championed by CBS newsman Edward R. Murrow when the military threatened to decommission him during the anti-communist crackdown of the 1950s, died in Vallejo, Calif., at age 81. Actor Dick Wilson, who played the fussy, mustachioed grocer who told customers, "Please, don't squeeze the Charmin," died in Woodland Hills, Calif., at age 91.

Thought for Today: "The facts are always less than what really happened." — Nadine Gordimer, South African Nobel Prize-winning author.