Today in History....November 21

On this day in …

1861, Confederate President Jefferson Davis names Judah Benjamin the secretary of war. A Sephardic Jew from South Carolina, Judah Benjamin was an exception to the rule in the Protestant South
1877, Thomas Edison announces his invention of the phonograph. Edison set aside this invention in 1878 to work on the incandescent light bulb, and other inventors moved forward to improve on the phonograph. In 1887, Edison resumed work on the device, using the wax-cylinder technique developed by Charles Tainter. Although initially used as a dictating machine, the phonograph proved to be a popular tool for entertainment, and in 1906 Edison unveiled a series of musical and theatrical selections to the public through his National Phonograph Company. Continuing to improve on models and cylinders over the years, the Edison Disc Phonograph debuted in 1912 with the aim of competing in the popular record market. Edison's discs offered superior sound quality but were not compatible with other popular disc players.

1942, the Alaska highway across Canada was formally opened

1964, the upper level of New York's Verrazano Narrows Bridge, which connected Brooklyn and Staten Island, was opened

1973, President Nixon's attorney, J. Fred Buzhardt, revealed the existence of an 18 1/2-minute gap in one of the White House tape recordings related to Watergate

1980, 350 million people around the world tune in to television's popular primetime drama "Dallas" to find out who shot J.R. Ewing, the character fans loved to hate. J.R. had been shot on the season-ending episode the previous March 21, which now stands as one of television's most famous cliffhangers

1995, the Dow Jones industrial average closed above the 5,000 mark for the first time

2005, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon broke away from the more conservative Likud with the intention of forming a new party