By The Associated Press

Today in History

Today is Thursday, Nov. 30, the 334th day of 2017. There are 31 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On Nov. 30, 1835, Samuel Langhorne Clemens — better known as Mark Twain — was born in Florida, Missouri.

On this date:

In 1016, Edmund II, King of the English, died after a reign of seven months.

In 1782, the United States and Britain signed preliminary peace articles in Paris for ending the Revolutionary War; the Treaty of Paris was signed in Sept. 1783.

In 1803, Spain completed the process of ceding Louisiana to France, which had sold it to the United States.

In 1874, British statesman Sir Winston Churchill was born at Blenheim Palace.

In 1900, Irish writer Oscar Wilde died in Paris at age 46.

In 1939, the Winter War began as Soviet troops invaded Finland. (The conflict ended the following March with a Soviet victory.)

In 1954, Ann Elizabeth Hodges of Oak Grove, Alabama, was slightly injured when an 8-1/2-pound chunk of meteor crashed through the roof of her house, hit a radio cabinet, then struck her as she lay napping on a couch.

In 1966, the former British colony of Barbados became independent.

In 1977, Bing Crosby’s final Christmas TV special, “Bing Crosby’s Merrie Olde Christmas,” aired on CBS.

In 1982, the Michael Jackson album “Thriller” was released by Epic Records. The motion picture “Gandhi,” starring Ben Kingsley as the Indian nationalist leader, had its world premiere in New Delhi.

In 1987, American author James Baldwin died in Saint Paul de Vence, France, at age 63.

In 1993, President Bill Clinton signed the Brady Bill, which required a five-day waiting period for handgun purchases and background checks of prospective buyers.

Ten years ago: A man took hostages at a Hillary Clinton campaign office in Rochester, New Hampshire; he surrendered about five hours later. An Atlasjet plane crashed in southwest Turkey, killing all 57 people on board. An Amtrak train and a freight train collided on a track on the South Side of Chicago, injuring dozens of people.