November 11 ...

In 1620 41 Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower, anchored off Massachusetts, signed a compact calling for a "body politick." In 1821 author Fyodor Dostoyevsky was born in Moscow, Russia. In 1831 former slave Nat Turner, who'd led a violent insurrection, was executed in Jerusalem, VA. In 1885 General George S. Patton, Jr. was born in San Gabriel, CA. In 1889 Washington became the 42nd state. In 1904 American diplomat and Soviet spy Alger Hiss was born in Baltimore, MD. In 1918 fighting in World War I came to an end with the signing of an armistice between the Allies and Germany. In 1921 President Harding dedicated the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery. In 1938 Kate Smith first sang Irving Berlin's God Bless America on network radio. In 1940 a deadly blizzard, known as the Armistice Day Storm, struck the Midwest, killing 150 nationwide, 49 in Minnesota alone. In 1942 during World War II, Germany completed its occupation of France. In 1965 Rhodesia proclaimed its independence from Britain. In 1966 Gemini 12 blasted off from Cape Kennedy, FL with astronauts James A. Lovell and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin Jr. aboard. In 1995 with a partial government shutdown looming, President Clinton and Republican congressional leaders clashed over Medicare and bickered over who to include in compromise budget talks.