November 19th, 2008

Today in History

2004:
The largest brawl in the history of American professional sports breaks out between fans and NBA players during a game between the Detroit Pistons and the Indiana Pacers. The melee is instigated after an altercation between Detroit's Ben Wallace and Indiana's Ron Artest when a fan throws a cup of beer and hits Artest in the chest.

1942:
Soviet Union forces under General Georgy Zhukov launch the Operation Uranus counterattacks at Stalingrad, turning the tide of the battle in the USSR's favor.

1924:
In Los Angeles, California, famous silent film director Thomas Ince ("The Father of the Western") dies of a heart attack in his bed (rumors soon surface that he was shot dead by publishing tycoon William Randolph Hearst.)

1881:
A meteorite lands near the village of Großliebenthal, southwest of Odessa, Ukraine.

1863:
American Civil War: Union President Abraham Lincoln delivers the Gettysburg Address at the military cemetery dedication ceremony in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.