TODAY IN HISTORY

Today is Monday, Nov. 12, the 316th day of 2018. There are 49 days left in the year.

HIGHLIGHT IN HISTORY

On Nov. 12, 1927, Josef Stalin became the undisputed ruler of the Soviet Union as Leon Trotsky was expelled from the Communist Party.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS

• Singer Brian Hyland is 75. • Actor-playwright Wallace Shawn is 75. • Sportscaster Al Michaels is 74. • Singer-songwriter Neil Young is 73. • Rock musician Donald “Buck Dharma” Roeser (Blue Oyster Cult) is 71. • Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., is 69. • Country/gospel singer Barbara Fairchild is 68. • Actress Megan Mullally is 60. • Actor Vincent Irizarry is 59. • Olympic gold medal gymnast Nadia Comaneci is 57. • Actor Sam Lloyd is 55. • Retired MLB All-Star Sammy Sosa is 50. • Figure skater Tonya Harding is 48. • Singer Tevin Campbell is 42. • Actress Anne Hathaway is 36. • Actress Macey Cruthird is 26.

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

“It’s all right to have a train of thoughts, if you have a terminal.” — Richard R. Bowker, American publisher (1848-1933).

ON THIS DATE

In 1920, baseball got its first “czar” as Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis was elected commissioner of the American and National Leagues.

In 1936, the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge opened as President Franklin D. Roosevelt pressed a telegraph key in Washington, D.C., giving the green light to traffic.

In 1942, the World War II naval Battle of Guadalcanal began. The Allies ended up winning a major victory over Japanese forces.

In 1977, the city of New Orleans elected its first black mayor, Ernest “Dutch” Morial, the winner of a runoff.

In 1987, the American Medical Association issued a policy statement saying it was unethical for a doctor to refuse to treat someone solely because that person had AIDS or was HIV-positive.

In 2001, American Airlines Flight 587, an Airbus A300 headed to the Dominican Republic, crashed after takeoff from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, killing all 260 people on board and five people on the ground.