By The Associated Press

Today in History

Today is Thursday, Nov. 16, the 320th day of 2017. There are 45 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On Nov. 16, 1907, Oklahoma became the 46th state of the union.

On this date:

In 1776, British troops captured Fort Washington in New York during the American Revolution.

In 1885, Canadian rebel leader Louis Riel was executed for high treason.

In 1917, Georges Clemenceau again became prime minister of France.

In 1933, the United States and the Soviet Union established diplomatic relations.

In 1939, mob boss Al Capone, ill with syphilis, was released from prison after serving 7 1/2 years for tax evasion and failure to file tax returns.

In 1945, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) was founded at the conclusion of a conference in London.

In 1959, the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical “The Sound of Music” opened on Broadway.

In 1960, Academy Award-winning actor Clark Gable died in Los Angeles at age 59.

In 1966, Dr. Samuel H. Sheppard was acquitted in Cleveland at his second trial of murdering his pregnant wife, Marilyn, in 1954.

In 1973, Skylab 4, carrying a crew of three astronauts, was launched from Cape Canaveral on an 84-day mission.

In 1982, an agreement was announced in the 57th day of a strike by National Football League players.

In 1997, China’s most prominent pro-democracy campaigner, Wei Jingsheng (way jeeng-shuhng), arrived in the United States after being released following nearly 18 years of imprisonment in his country.

Thought for Today: “No matter how dull, or how mean, or how wise a man is, he feels that happiness is his indisputable right.” — Helen Keller, American author and lecturer