Today in HistoryToday is Wednesday, November 22, the 326th day of 2006. There are 39 days left in the year.

ON THIS DATE<$>

In 1718, English pirate Edward Teach — better known as Blackbeard — was killed during a battle off the Virginia coast.

In 1890, French president Charles de Gaulle was born in Lille, France.

In 1928, Bolero by Maurice Ravel made its debut in Paris.

In 1935, a flying boat, the China Clipper, took off from Alameda, California, carrying more than 100,000 pieces of mail on the first trans-Pacific airmail flight.

In 1943, Prime Minister Winston Churchill, US president Franklin Roosevelt and Chinese leader Chiang Kai-shek met in Cairo to discuss measures for defeating Japan.

In 1963, US president Kennedy was shot to death while riding in a motorcade in Dallas. Texas Gov. John B. Connally, in the same limousine as Kennedy, was seriously wounded. Suspect Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested.

In 1975, Juan Carlos was sworn in as the first Spanish king since 1931. General Francisco Franco, ruler of Spain since 1939, had died two days earlier.

Thought for Today

“Nothing great will ever be achieved without great men, and men are great only if they are determined to be so.” — Charles de Gaulle (1890-1970).