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On This Day November 26

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Celebrity Birthdays

1922 – Peanuts cartoonist Charles M. Schulz (d. 2000)

1933 – Grammy, Tony and Emmy-winning singer-actor Robert Goulet (d. 2007)

1938 – Impressionist-comedian Rich Little, known as “the man of a thousand voices”

1939 – Grammy-winning rock singer-songwriter Tina Turner, born Anna Mae Bullock and dubbed the “Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll” (“River Deep – Mountain High,” “Proud Mary,” “What’s Love Got to Do With It,” “Better Be Good to Me,” “Private Dancer,” “Typical Male”)

1981 – British pop star Natasha Bedingfield (“Unwritten,” “Soulmate,” “I Wanna Have Your Babies”)

History Highlights

1789 – November 26 is the day that President George Washington officially proclaims as Thanksgiving Day after Congress asks him to recommend “a day of public thanksgiving and prayer.” It is next proclaimed by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863 for the last Thursday in November. In 1939, President Franklin Roosevelt moves Thanksgiving to the next to last Thursday in November, but facing criticism for the move, he signs a bill in 1941 officially establishing the fourth Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day.

1922 – British archaeologists Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon become the first people to enter King Tutankhamen’s tomb in more than 3,000 years. The sealed burial chambers in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings are found intact along with a collection of several thousand priceless objects, including a gold coffin containing the mummy of the teenage king.

1956 – TV’s longest-running game show, “The Price is Right,” premieres with Bill Cullen as host and Don Pardo as announcer.

1973 – Rose Mary Woods, President Richard Nixon’s personal secretary, tells a federal court that she accidentally erased 18 minutes from a key Watergate tape.

1975 – A federal jury finds Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme guilty of the attempted assassination of President Gerald Ford. Fromme receives a life sentence and manages to escape from prison in 1987. However, she was captured and returned to prison until her 2009 release.

Musical Milestones

1958 – Johnny Cash debuts on the country music chart when “Cry! Cry! Cry!” makes it to No. 14. His next seven singles would all make the country Top 10, with “I Walk the Line” and “There You Go” both reaching No. 1.

1962 – Four lads from Liverpool, England enter Abbey Road Studios for their first recording session as The Beatles, laying down “Please Please Me” and “Ask Me Why.”

1968 – The British rock band Cream, featuring guitarist-vocalist Eric Clapton, plays its farewell concert at London’s Royal Albert Hall. Considered rock music’s first “super-group,” Cream is most remembered for the 1968 hits “Sunshine of Your Love” (Billboard No. 5) and “White Room” (Billboard No. 6).

1977 – Debby Boone maintains her 10-week hold on the No, 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 with “You Light Up My Life.”

1983 – “All Night Long (All Night),” by Lionel Richie, is in the middle of four weeks as a No. 1 single.

1994 – “I’ll Make Love to You,” by Boyz II Men, begins its 14th and final week on top of the pop chart.

1994 – The Eagles kick off two weeks on top of the Billboard album chart with “Hell Freezes Over,” the band’s second live album.

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