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Archives: November 21, 2000
"Others Award" Goes to Kit Menkin

Chairman Ken Kelly, Councilman Linda LaZotte, Kit Menkin,
Captain James Sloan.

"It meant a lot to me to receive the Salvation Army 'Others' Award. It is a high honor. I have been awarded the San Francisco District Award, "Silver Tambourine" several years ago for organization of the Santa Clara County Board. I have been active in all phases of Salvation Army work for thirty years as a volunteer.

"For my two year service as chairman of the San Jose Salvation Army Adult Rehabilitation Center Advisory Board, the Northern California District granted the 'Others' Award. Our area takes in Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, San Benito and Monterey Counties, where we run a six month "free" rehabilitation program, solely supported by our Salvation Army Thrift Stores. I ended my term, increasing donations and sales at the thrift stores, increasing automobiles donation sales, creating http://www.salvationthrift.com, helping to, activating a Speaker's Bureau program, implementing many programs along with a great board of advisors, active in the committee system to accomplish our goals."

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Please Donate to the Salvation Army Kettle

(Please click on kettle to learn more)

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Classified Ads---Sales

(These ads are “free” to those seeking employment
or looking to improve their position)

Boston, Mass.
Accomplished Sales & Relationship Management Professional with business development experience in the financial services industry. Recognized by market leaders as industry expert in Professional Practice financing, as well as Residential Mortgage Lending. Keen insight and understanding of transaction process and financial requirements of customer. Proven record of exceeding sales goals. deb.harold@hotmail.com

Work Remotely
Business Development - Are you looking to enter/increase your Healthcare lending? Let me identify and qualify healthcare (all verticals) vendors, distributors, and end users who utilize leasing/financing as a tool to sell equipment for you. Many years experience - contact Mitchell Utz at mitutz@msn.com or
(215) 460-4483.

Free Posting for those seeking employment in Leasing:
http://www.leasingnews.org/Classified/Jwanted/Jwanted-post.htm

All “free” categories “job wanted” ads:
http://www.leasingnews.org/Classified/Jwanted/Jwanted.htm

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Classic Tom McCurnin on “Origin of Suretyship Defenses”
Robin Hood, The Evil Prince John, The Knights Templar,
and the Magna Carta

By Tom McCurnin
Leasing News Legal Editor

King John
(No portrait when prince)

Equipment lessors take personal guaranties for granted, and many of the more complex ones have waivers of certain defenses. How did those suretyship defenses come into existence?

The story begins with Robin Hood and Prince John.

As the story goes, England’s wealth was being diverted to fight the Crusades, and was further diminished when King Richard was captured and held for ransom by Leopold V, Duke of Austria on the way back from the Crusades. Money was funneled to the Knights Templar (the bankers of the day) to pay the Duke of Austria. Sir Walter Scott’s version of the tale had Robin Hood further diverting the wealth of the northern shires of England with robberies. Prince John was in a bad financial predicament.

So Prince John did what other wealthy people in trouble do—he borrowed money from The Knights Templar and asked the barons, dukes and earls to guaranty the obligations. Being loyal subjects of Prince John, the noblemen agreed. After all, Prince John was rich and he wouldn’t default on his obligations, would he?

Well, of course, he defaulted. That was his plan and he never intended to pay the obligations, and the guaranties were simply another form of tax on the barons, dukes and earls. And against the powerful Knights Templar, the noblemen could not refuse the Knights’ demands. The wealth of the noblemen was in jeopardy. Something had to be done.

The barons organized into a military faction and congregated at Northampton in May, 1215 and marched on London. Although John, now King, gave lip service to the baron’s demands, he quickly repudiated his promises. John met the rebel leaders at Runnymede, near the royal fortress of Windsor Castle. The document contained 48 articles and took 4 days of negotiation before it was signed. On June 10, 1215, King John signed “The Magana Carta.”

Article 12 contains the protections against unjust guaranties, what we now know as suretyship defenses:

Article 12: “We nor our bailiffs will not seize the lands or rent of a debtor for any debt so long as his goods are sufficient to pay the debt [creditor must resort to collateral first]; not shall the pledges be distrained upon whilst the principal debtor is able to pay the debt [creditor must proceed against the principal debtor first]. But if the principal debtor has not the wherewith to pay the debt, the pledges shall answer for it: and if they will, they shall have the lands and rents of the debtor till they have received the debt which they paid for him, if the principal debtor cannot shew that is quit against the pledges [the right of subrogation].

Thus, the barons, through sword point, negotiated the concept that a creditor must resort to the principal obligor and collateral first, before pursuing the guarantor. And this legal principal was codified in the laws of the England and the United States.

Of course, these suretyship defenses are capable of being waived, but such waivers are sometimes absent in smaller deals.

So the next time you ask for a personal guaranty in a deal, you might want to think about Robin Hood, Prince John, and the Knights Templar.

Tom McCurnin is a partner at Barton, Klugman & Oetting
in Los Angeles, California.

Tom McCurnin
Barton, Klugman & Oetting
350 South Grand Ave.
Suite 2200
Los Angeles, CA 90071
Direct Phone: (213) 617-6129
Cell (213) 268-8291
Email: tmccurnin@bkolaw.com
Visit our web site at www.bkolaw.com
Previous Tom McCurnin Articles:
http://www.leasingnews.org

Previous Tom McCurnin Articles:
http://www.leasingnews.org/Conscious-Top%20Stories/leasing_cases.html

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New Hires---Promotions in the Leasing Industry

Chris Byrnes was hired as head of new St. Louis office for Cole Taylor Equipment Finance, a subsidiary of MB Financial Bank, N.A. "(He)... will be responsible for building client relationships and developing new lease and loan originations in Missouri, Kansas, western Kentucky, and western Tennessee. Mr. Byrnes brings more than 15 years of financial industry and equipment leasing experience to Cole Taylor Equipment Finance. His areas of expertise include transportation, construction, mining and manufacturing. Byrnes joins Cole Taylor from BancorpSouth Equipment Finance, where he was a vice president and regional account executive."

Bill Miller was hired as Vice President, Business Development, Key Equipment Finance, Superior, Colorado, to focus on “the mid-market/ emerging technology space.” “Miller most recently was vice president sales – enterprise with CIT Group supporting the Avaya Communications and Lenovo national account programs. Previously, he was a regional sales vice president with Newcourt Communications Finance and has held sales, business development, and general management positions with AT&T Capital and Eaton Financial. Miller is a graduate of California State University-Chico.

Eric Moore was promoted to Sales Manager at LEAF Commercial Capital, Inc., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is located in Orange, California. He joined the firm September, 2011 and his last position before this promotion was Senior Account Executive. Previously, he was National Sales Executive Access Capital (July, 2007–September, 2011). In April, 2014, he was LEAF Quarterly Champion Runner-Up. Education: California State University-Fullerton, College of Business and Economics, BA, Economics (2004–2007). Activities and Societies: Economics Association. Mater Dei, Varsity Golf Team Captain - 2000 & 2001.
www.linkedin.com/pub/eric-moore/9/b70/28b

Aimee J. Ridgway was promoted to the position of National Director of Sales for LEAF Commercial Capital's Business Technologies Finance Group, where Ms. Ridgway will be responsible for leading LEAF's extensive sales organization in the technology, communications, building controls and systems furniture sectors. In her new role, she will spearhead the promotion of LEAF's key value propositions to national program partners, along with value-added resellers and distributors." April, 2012, she was promoted to regional sales manager, Midwest at LEAF Commercial Capital, Columbia, Missouri area. “She joined LEAF in 2007 as an account executive when LEAF acquired Dolphin Capital, where she had worked since 2005. Prior to Dolphin, Ridgway was employed by the Bank of Cairo & Moberly, as well as for CitiCapital Business Technology Finance. She is charged with expanding LEAF’s dealer relationships throughout the Midwest in the office equipment segment;" located in Charleston, South Carolina area.
www.linkedin.com/pub/aimee-j-ridgway/11/27a/65a

Dave Saxe was hired as Director of Sales, Quiktrak, Portland, Oregon. Previously, he was a Broker for Hasson Realtors (January, 2013-Present); VP, Radio and Community Newspapers, Pamplin Communications (January, 2011–Present); VP Sales, Entercom – Portland (June, 2009–November, 2010); Vice President - Market Manager, Entercom Madison (October, 2007–July, 2009); Partner, Workshop Tools Partners, LLC (2004–2007); VP- Market Manager, Journal Broadcast Group (1997–2004); General Sales Manager, Clear Channel Radio (1991–1997). Education: University of Idaho
University of Idaho, BS.
www.linkedin.com/pub/dave-saxe/a/447/48a

Stephanie Severin was promoted to Vice President, Chief Credit Officer at GreatAmerica Financial Services, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. She joined the firm June, 2003 as Credit Analyst. Prior, she was Office Manager, Linn County Sheriff's Office (July, 2000 – June, 2003); Assistant to Superintendent & School Board, Marion Independent School District (1997 – 2000). Volunteer: Treasurer, Waypoint Services, July, 2014. Education: University of Iowa - Henry B. Tippie College of Business, MBA (2001 – 2005); Mount Mercy College, BA, Psychology (1998 – 2000). Activities and Societies: Christine L. Woodruff award for outstanding psychology graduate.
www.linkedin.com/pub/stephanie-severin/0/3a/38b

Todd W. Tucker was hired as Risk Data Manager, IRIS Leader, at GE Capital, Greater New York Area. Previously, he was at Canon Financial Services where he joined in January, 2010 as Senior Portfolio Manager, then was promoted January, 2013 as Director of Servicing. Prior he was Vice President of Operations, Siemens Financial Services, Inc. (April, 2007 – February, 2010); Operations Leader, GE Commercial Finance (October, 2005 – April, 2007); Operations Manager, GE (1995 – 2007). Education: State University of New York College at Oswego, Bachelor of Science, Accounting (1988 – 1993).
www.linkedin.com/pub/todd-w-tucker/6/71b/4a4

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Leasing Industry Help Wanted

Rosemont, Illinois

Billing Specialist

Leasing Experience, knowledge LeasePlus preferred,
click here for more information

Accounts Receivable Specialist

Experienced Collector/AR Associate
click here for more information

http://www.elasalle.com
Awards & Recognition

STRADA Capital recently moved into its new facility and is hiring Top Sales Producers to work in our Equipment Financing and Working Capital Divisions.

High Level Performance, Collaborative Creativity, Integrity and Transparency define our Culture. The Company offers generous commission plans, industry leading support and benefits.

Email your resume to: SalesCareers@STRADAcapital.com

www.STRADAcapital.com
The Place where Professionals Prosper

For information on placing a help wanted ad, please click here:
http://www.leasingnews.org/Classified/Hwanted/Hwanted-post.htm

##### Press Release ############################

Equipment Leasing & Finance Industry Confidence at Six-Month High

Washington, DC,–- The Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation (the Foundation) yesterday released the November 2014 Monthly Confidence Index for the Equipment Finance Industry (MCI-EFI). Designed to collect leadership data, the index reports a qualitative assessment of both the prevailing business conditions and expectations for the future as reported by key executives from the $903 billion equipment finance sector. Overall, confidence in the equipment finance market is 64.2, an increase from the October index of 60.4 and the highest level since May.

Valerie Hayes Jester,
President, Brandywine Capital Associates, Inc

When asked about the outlook for the future, MCI-EFI survey respondent Valerie Hayes Jester, President, Brandywine Capital Associates, Inc., said, “The mid-term elections are now over and consumer confidence seems to be improving as gas prices and unemployment statistics continue to decrease. We have experienced an increase in demand for capital equipment purchases and, more importantly, financing for those orders. Another important note is that the equipment being requisitioned appears to be associated with business expansion and not just replacement of older assets.”

Independent Small Ticket

David Schaefer,
CEO, Mintaka Financial, LLC

“Volume of new applications has been steady for the past six months. Approval rates have been climbing slightly and fundings have remained good despite the lackluster application growth. We are hopeful that 2015 will see growth again as the federal government gets back to being more functional.”

Independent Middle Ticket

George Booth, Managing Director,
Black Rock Capital, LLC

“We expect a slightly higher level of demand and see sources much more aggressive as year-end nears. We’re concerned about margins since banks have become more active.”

Bank Middle Ticket

Mike Romanowski, President,
CoBank Farm Credit Leasing

“Overall, we expect capital expenditures for the industries we serve to be mixed next year with some sectors taking a pause and others continuing to expand. We are projecting growth in 2015 but not at the same growth rates that we have seen over the past couple of years.” Mike Romanowski, President, CoBank Farm Credit Leasing

November 2014 Survey Results:

The overall MCI-EFI is 64.2, an increase from the October index of 60.4.

When asked to assess their business conditions over the next four months, 27.3% of executives responding said they believe business conditions will improve over the next four months, up from 23% in October. 69.7% of respondents believe business conditions will remain the same over the next four months, down from 74% in October. 3% believe business conditions will worsen, unchanged from the previous month.

30.3% of survey respondents believe demand for leases and loans to fund capital expenditures (capex) will increase over the next four months, up from 25.7% in October. 66.7% believe demand will “remain the same” during the same four-month time period, down from 71.4% the previous month. 3% believe demand will decline, unchanged from October.

21.2% of executives expect more access to capital to fund equipment acquisitions over the next four months, up from 11.4% in October. 78.8% of survey respondents indicate they expect the “same” access to capital to fund business, down from 88.6% in October. None expect “less” access to capital, unchanged from the previous month.

When asked, 45.4% of the executives reported they expect to hire more employees over the next four months, an increase from 40% in October. 48.5% expect no change in headcount over the next four months, unchanged from last month. 6.1% expect fewer employees, down from 11.4% in October.

3% of the leadership evaluate the current U.S. economy as “excellent,” unchanged from last month. 97% of the leadership evaluate the current U.S. economy as “fair,” up from 94.3% in October. None rate it as “poor,” down from 3% the previous month.

42.4% of the survey respondents believe that U.S. economic conditions will get “better” over the next six months, an increase from 28.6% who believed so in October. 54.6% of survey respondents indicate they believe the U.S. economy will “stay the same” over the next six months, down from 68.6% in October. 3% believe economic conditions in the U.S. will worsen over the next six months, unchanged from last month.

In November, 42.4% of respondents indicate they believe their company will increase spending on business development activities during the next six months, an increase from 34.3% in October. 54.6% believe there will be “no change” in business development spending, a decrease from 63% last month. 3% believe there will be a decrease in spending, unchanged from last month.

Why an MCI-EFI?

Confidence in the U.S. economy and the capital markets is a critical driver to the equipment finance industry. Throughout history, when confidence increases, consumers and businesses are more apt to acquire more consumer goods, equipment and durables, and invest at prevailing prices. When confidence decreases, spending and risk-taking tend to fall. Investors are said to be confident when the news about the future is good and stock prices are rising.

Who participates in the MCI-EFI?

The respondents are comprised of a wide cross section of industry executives, including large-ticket, middle-market and small-ticket banks, independents and captive equipment finance companies. The MCI-EFI uses the same pool of 50 organization leaders to respond monthly to ensure the survey’s integrity. Since the same organizations provide the data from month to month, the results constitute a consistent barometer of the industry's confidence.

How is the MCI-EFI designed?

The survey consists of seven questions and an area for comments, asking the respondents’ opinions about the following:

1. Current business conditions
2. Expected product demand over the next four months
3. Access to capital over the next four months
4. Future employment conditions
5. Evaluation of the current U.S. economy
6. U.S. economic conditions over the next six months
7. Business development spending expectations
8. Open-ended question for comment

How may I access the MCI-EFI?

Survey results are posted on the Foundation website, http://www.leasefoundation.org/research/mci/, included in the Foundation Forecast newsletter and included in press releases. Survey respondent demographics and additional information about the MCI are also available at the link above.

About the Foundation

The Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation is a 501c3 non-profit organization that provides vision for the equipment leasing and finance industry through future-focused information and research. Funded through charitable individual and corporate donations, the Foundation is the only organization dedicated to future-oriented, in-depth, independent research for the leasing industry. In 2014, the Foundation celebrates its 25th anniversary. Visit the Foundation online at http://www.LeaseFoundation.org

### Press Release ############################

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Fernando's View
By Fernando F. Croce

Box-office releases offer ventures into outer space ("Interstellar") and snowy expanses ("Force Majeure"), while nostalgic drama ("Jersey Boys"), melancholy animation ("The Wind Rises") and a romantic classic ("It Happened One Night") come to DVD.

In Theaters:

Interstellar (Paramount Pictures): Never a director to be afraid of ambitious risks, Christopher Nolan ("Inception") ventures into outer space in this large-scale science-fiction drama. Set in a near future that finds the world plagued by severe natural disasters, the story centers on Cooper (Matthew McConaughey), a former engineer who's recruited by a team of explorers to lead a salvation journey. Their objective is to travel beyond the solar system and find another planet able to sustain life, the only way to save humanity. The emotional dilemma falls on Cooper's shoulders, as the family man must enter a mission that means he may never see his children again. Embracing unabashed emotion after a career of tough hits, Nolan envisions a blockbuster where intimate moments of hope and sacrifice are as monumental as the epic cosmic sequences.

Force Majeure (Magnolia Pictures): A holiday takes a striking turn in this exceptional Swedish drama, superbly directed by Ruben Ostlund. The story unfolds amid the snowy expanses and deep ravines of the French Alps, where family members enjoy their time away from work. Taking a break from skiing, Tomas (Johannes Kuhnke), Ebba (Lisa Loven Kongsli) and their children savor the view from a mountainside restaurant, when suddenly an avalanche threatens to engulf them all. The disaster turns out to be a false alarm, but Tomas' actions during the event leave a lasting mark. Suspended between denial and shame, he must struggle to regain the respect and love of the rest of his family. Examining familial and gender expectations with a ruthless yet blackly comic eye, the film is a terse, smart experience that weaves a haunting effect. With subtitles.

Netflix Tip: "Interstellar" is only the latest in a long and honorable legacy of ambitious, cerebral science-fiction projects. So after checking out Nolan's latest, revisit such earlier classics as Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey" (1968), Douglas Trumbull's "Silent Running" (1972), Andrei Tarkovsky's "Solaris" (1972), and Steven Spielberg's "Minority Report" (2002).

On DVD:

Jersey Boys (Warner Bros.): At a time in his career when he could simply be resting on his laurels, Clint Eastwood is still experimenting with genres. In his new movie, the legendary star directs a screen version of the popular jukebox musical about the rise and fall of the 1960s group The Four Seasons. Unfolding like a self-commenting biopic, the film centers on the friendship between Frankie Valli (John Lloyd Young) and Tommy DeVito (Vincent Piazza), two members of the quartet of streetwise kids from New Jersey whose exceptional voices brought them fame and fortune. Success with audiences is just the beginning, however, as romantic affairs, Mafia deals, and tensions within the group soon threaten their bond. Made with heart and panache, the movie is both a smart season release and proof that Eastwood still has a few directorial surprises in him.

The Wind Rises (Walt Disney Pictures): The man behind such modern classics as "Princess Mononoke" and "Spirited Away," Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki has announced his retirement after this project. We can only hope that it's not really his final film, but, if it is, he could not have gone out on a more graceful note. Unfolding over the course of many years, the story follows the life of real-life designer Jiro Horikoshi (voiced, in the new dubbed version, by Joseph Gordon-Levitt), who since his flight-obsessed childhood dreamed of working on flying machines. It's the film's gentle irony that, when his dream does come true, it is to put together Japanese fighter planes during WWII. Offering plenty of Miyazaki's trademark mix of soaring fantasy and pure feelings, this is a beautifully realized, poignantly personal tale about the artist's place in a changing world.

It Happened One Night (Criterion): An early high-mark of the romantic comedy genre, this Oscar-winner has lost none of its freshness and humor since its 1934 release. Claudette Colbert stars as Ellie, a spoiled young heiress who, determined to avoid her father's disapproval over her impending marriage, runs off from her wealthy family. That's when she meets King Westley (Clark Gable), a brash down-on-his-luck reporter who quickly realizes he has the scoop of a lifetime in his hands. The two of them strike up a tentative, at times combative truce for the duration of their journey together, but can they resist their growing feelings towards each other? The legendary Frank Capra ("It's a Wonderful Life") directed this irresistible classic, which transcends its Depression setting with a mix of wisecracking snap and breezy sentimentality.

News Briefs----

Mortgage rates shift lower on muted outlook
http://www.bankrate.com/finance/mortgages/mortgage-analysis.aspx

Historic Trammell Crow estate in Dallas, Texas Highland Park for sale
for $59.4 million
http://bizbeatblog.dallasnews.com/2014/11/historic-trammell-crow-estate-in-highland-park-for-sale.html/

DOJ collected more than $24B during Fiscal Year 2014
http://legalnewsline.com/news/federal-government/253503-doj-collected-more-than-24b-during-fiscal-year-2014

Boeing loses $6B Delta order; gives a big boost to Airbus
http://seattletimes.com/html/businesstechnology/
2025059475_deltaairbusxml.html

Washington Post Releases Free App for Kindle,
in First Collaboration With Amazon
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/20/business/media/jeff-bezos-makes-his-mark-on-washington-post-with-new-kindle-app.html

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--You May Have Missed It

Top 5 Digital Banking Myths
http://thefinancialbrand.com/45323/digital-online-mobile-banking-myths/

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SparkPeople--Live Healthier and Longer

Cold and Flu center
http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/fighting-cold-and-flu.asp

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Football Poem

LEIF ERICSON

Leif the Viking bent his knees
And prayed to God in ten-o-three
"With your help I’ll set the sail
With your wisdom we’ll prevail."

Across the sea to a far off land
The Vikings sailed under Leif’s command
In winds and waves the ship was tossed,
But through it all the bark did cross.

A new world waited for Leif to view
Adventure, wonder, farmland too
Clear waters, fish and hunting grounds
A finer land could not be found

A man of courage, faith, and prayer
Leif the Norseman did his share
To open the worlds beyond the sea
A noble Viking, great was he!

Written by Carol Naevestad-Billings of Oxford, CT

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Sports Briefs----

Raiders stun Chiefs for first win of the season
http://www.mercurynews.com/raiders/ci_26982310/raiders-stun-chiefs-first-win-season

Aldon Smith was double- and triple-teamed in his first game back
http://www.ninersnation.com/2014/11/20/7253913/aldon-smith-was-double-and-triple-teamed-in-his-first-game-back

Purdy: Giants have no excuse not to sign Sandoval
http://www.contracostatimes.com/mark-purdy/ci_26973491/purdy-giants-have-no-excuse-not-sign-sandoval

((Please Click on Bulletin Board to learn more information))
(Leasing News provides this ad “gratis” as a means
to help support the growth of Lease Police)

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California Nuts Briefs---

State OKs $4.8B nuke-plant settlement
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/nov/20/san-onofre-settlement-vote/

Sunset Magazine headquarters may be saved by Menlo College
http://www.contracostatimes.com/business/ci_26980274/sunset-magazine-headquarters-may-be-saved-by-menlo

California Sued Over Old Movie Star Hangout
http://www.courthousenews.com/2014/11/20/california-sued-over-old-movie-star-hangout.htm

University of California approves tuition increase proposal
http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article4032711.html

California revenue projected to exceed budget estimates by $2 billion
http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article4016095.html#emlnl=Morning_Newsletter

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“Gimme that Wine”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJnQoi8DSE8

2014 Vintage Report: France Wine Harvest
http://www.winespectator.com/webfeature/show/id/50915

Free Mobile Wine Program
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Feb2010/2_26.htm#mobile

Wine Prices by vintage
http://www.winezap.com
http://www.wine-searcher.com/

US/International Wine Events
http://www.localwineevents.com/

Leasing News Wine & Spirits Page
http://two.leasingnews.org/Recommendations/wnensprts.htm

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     1620 – The Mayflower Compact was signed by Pilgrims on Cape Cod.
    1654 - Richard Johnson, a free black man, was granted 550 acres in Virginia
    1694 – The French historian, Voltaire, born François-Marie Arouet, was born in Paris. A writer, historian and philosopher, he is famous for his wit, his attacks on the established Catholic Church, and his advocacy of freedom of religion and expression, and separation of church and state.
    1729 - Birthday of Josiah Bartlett (also the name of the “president” in the TV series, “West Wing”), in Amesbury, MA. President of New Hampshire, Signer of the Declaration of Independence.
http://www.josiahbartlett.com/
    1784 - James Armistead is cited by French General Lafayette for his valuable service to the American forces in the Revolutionary War. Born into slavery 24 years earlier, had worked as a double agent for the Americans while employed as a servant of British General Cornwallis.
http://staff.harrisonburg.k12.va.us/~paigner/gifted/
James_Armistead_Lafayette/
JamesLafayette.html
http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0886828.html
http://russell.gresham.k12.or.us/Colonial_America/James_Armistead_.html
    1785 - Birthday of William Beaumont, US Army surgeon whose contribution to classic medical literature and world fame resulted from another man's shotgun wound. When Canadian fur trapper Alexis St. Martin received an apparently mortal wound on June 6, 1822---a nearly point-blank blast to the abdomen---Dr. Beaumont began observing his stomach and digestive processes through an opening in his abdominal wall. His findings were published in 1833 in”Experiments and Observations on the Gastric Juice and the Physiology of Digestion.” St. Martin returned to Canada in 1834 and resisted Beaumont's efforts to have him return for further study. He outlived his doctor by 20 years and was buried at a depth of eight feet to discourage any attempt at posthumous examination. Beaumont, born at Lebanon, CT, died April 25, 1853 at St. Louis, Mo.
    1789 - North Carolina becomes the12th state to ratify the Constitution.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/nov21.html
    1800 - Congress met at Philadelphia from 1790 to 1800, when the north wing of the new Capitol at Washington, DC, was completed. The House and the Senate had been scheduled to meet in the new building Nov 17, 1800, but a quorum wasn't achieved until Nov 21, 1800. Primary reason was the poor travel and highways became a priority with the new congress.
    1800 - Formation of the Society of the Sacred Heart, a Roman Catholic religious order of women pledged to the education of girls. Founded by Madeleine Sophie Barat, it was brought to the U.S. at New Orleans in 1818 by Rose Philippine Duchesne.
    1801 - "Federal Bonfire Number Two", a mysterious fire swept the offices of the Department of Treasury, destroying books and papers, after Republicans demanded proof that the expenditures of Timothy Pickering, the recently replaced Federalist Secretary of War, could be properly accounted for. Most records in War Department custody were destroyed by fire, November 8, 1800. Many of the remaining Revolutionary War records were lost during the War of 1812. As a result there were, until 1873, few records for the period before 1789 in War Department custody. In 1873, Secretary of War William Belknap purchased for the Federal Government the papers of Timothy Pickering, who between 1777 and 1785 had been a member of the Board of War, Adjutant General of the Continental Army, and Quartermaster General; the papers of Samuel Hodgdon, Commissary General of Military Stores for several years during the war; miscellaneous contemporary papers; and some minor groups of records and single record items. And in 2013, no one can find the emails of Lois Lerner and other IRS officials because the hard drives from their computers and smartphones were destroyed in ‘routine maintenance procedures’.
http://www.cr.nps.gov/museum/exhibits/revwar/
image_gal/indeimg/pickering.htm
http://www.qmfound.com/COL_Timothy_Pickering.htm
    1820 - Thirteen-year-old Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's first poem, "The Battle of Lovell's Pond" is published in the Portland, Maine, Gazette.
http://classicreader.com/author.php/aut.58/
    1824 - The first Jewish congregation in the Reform movement was the Reform Society of Israelites, organized by dissident members of Congregation Beth Elohim of Charleston, SC, an Orthodox synagogue that had been founded by Sephardic Jews in 1750. The group was formed after the trustees of the synagogue refused a request to modernize the prayer service. Its leader was Isaac Harby, a teacher and journalist. The society disbanded in 1833, but many of its members rejoined the synagogue after the arrival of Rabbi Gustav Poznanski, who approved radical alterations in the service.
    1835 - Birthday of Henrietta Howland Robinson Green, better known as Hetty Green, at New Bedford, MA. Reported to have been the richest woman in America, she inherited a large fortune from her father and invested it so shrewdly that she was considered the greatest woman financier in the world. She was an able financier who managed her own wealth, which was estimated to have been in excess of $185 million in today's money. At one point in time, Hetty Green held the mortgages on 60 churches. Died at New York, NY, July 3, 1916.
http://www.brfwitness.org/Bread/witchws.htm
http://www.scripophily.net/wesshorrrsto.html
    1852 - Union Institute was chartered by the Methodists in Randolph County, NC. Renamed Trinity College in 1859, the campus moved to Durham in 1892. Tobacco magnate James B. Duke endowed the school with $40 million in 1924, upon which its name was changed to Duke University.
    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. As a young man, he moved to New Orleans and lived in a largely Jewish community. He married the daughter of a wealthy Catholic couple, but the marriage was distant--Natalie Benjamin moved to Paris soon after the birth of their daughter and the couple spent little of their fifty-plus-year marriage together. Benjamin practiced law and bought a sugar plantation near New Orleans. He became a representative in the Louisiana state legislature in 1842, and he was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1852. While there, he became a close friend of Jefferson Davis, who was then a Mississippi senator. Benjamin resigned during the secession crisis of 1860 and 1861, even before Louisiana officially left the Union. Davis selected Benjamin as the Confederacy's first attorney general, and he quickly became the president's most trusted advisor. After the Battle of First Bull Run, Secretary of War Leroy Walker resigned amid criticism that the Confederate army did not pursue the defeated Yankees. Davis appointed Benjamin to the position. Although Benjamin had no military experience, his appointment allowed Davis to dominate Confederate military affairs. Placing his trusted friend in the position of secretary of war ensured that Davis would not be challenged on important military decisions. Benjamin efficiently managed the day-to-day work of the war department, but he began to quarrel with some of the top generals who resented taking orders from a non-military bureaucrat. Benjamin also drew unfair criticism because of his religion--many openly questioned his loyalty because of his Jewish faith. When Roanoke Island fell to the Yankees in March 1862, criticism of Benjamin peaked. Many censured him for not sending men and supplies to the island's garrison. Furthermore, the war was going badly for the Confederates in the West. Davis recognized that the storm of complaints was crippling Benjamin's ability to perform his duty, so he appointed Benjamin secretary of state when Robert M. T. Hunter resigned that position. As the outlook for the Confederacy grew bleaker in 1863 and 1864, Benjamin floated the idea that the South could obtain foreign recognition only by promising emancipation. This radical concept fell on deaf ears until the last weeks of the war. When the Confederacy finally collapsed, Benjamin fled with the rest of the Confederate government to Danville, Virginia. When President Lincoln was assassinated, it was discovered that Benjamin had ties to the Surratt family, which was implicated in the conspiracy. Fearing capture and prosecution, Benjamin fled the country. He settled in England and practiced law there, often visiting his wife and daughter in Paris. During the rest of his life, Benjamin rarely spoke of his service to the Confederacy. He died in Paris in 1884.
    1865 - Shaw University was founded, the oldest black university in the South.
http://www.shawuniversity.edu/profile.htm
    1871 - The cigar lighter was patented by M.F. Gale of New York City.
    1877 - Thomas Edison announced his invention of the phonograph, Menlo Park, NJ.
    1902 - Phoebe Jane Fairgrave Omlie’s birthday in Des Moines. She was an aviator who used an inheritance at age 17 to buy her own plane and then sold stunt flying to a movie studio to justify the expense. Her mother supported her endeavors. Her diminutive size handicapped her. She and her husband did barn-storming, which included walking on wings and other death-defying acts that were the mainstays of early aviation exhibitions. She was the first woman to get a federal pilot's license. With Amelia Earhart, she painted markers on roofs throughout the country that guided pilots to the nearest airport (long before radar and plane-to-ground radios). Omlie headed and coordinated a project to train 5,000 airport ground personnel. She also opened a school for the training of women instructors after the Civilian Pilot Training schools fired all women instructors. She died in Indianapolis in 1975.
http://www.anb.org/articles/20/20-00742.html
    1902 - Baseball's Philadelphia Athletics and Phillies form pro football teams, joining the Pittsburgh Stars in the first attempt at a National Football League. Coincidentally, it was Philadelphia that was the NFL’s first headquarters as it was the home city of its first commissioner, Bert Bell.
    1902 – In the first night football game, the Philadelphia Athletics beat Kanaweola AC, Elmira, NY, 39-0.
    1904 – Saxophonist Coleman Hawkins' birthday at St. Joseph, MO.   While Hawkins is strongly associated with the swing and big band era, he had a role in the development of bebop in the 1940s. Miles Davis once said: "When I heard Hawk, I learned to play ballads." Hawkins died in NYC in 1969. http://www.redhotjazz.com/hawkins.html
    1905 – Albert Einstein’s paper, "Does the Inertia of a Body Depend Upon Its Energy Content?" is published in the journal “Annalen der Physik”. This paper reveals the relationship between energy and mass. This leads to the formula E = mc².
    1905 - Frederick Charles (Freddie) Lindstrom, Baseball Hall of Fame third baseman and outfielder born at Chicago, IL. Lindstrom played for the New York Giants in the 1920s and 1930s. In the 1924 World Series, a ground ball hit a pebble and bounced over his head, allowing the run that gave the championship to the Washington Senators. Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1976. Died at Chicago, Oct 4, 1981.
    1908 - Birthday of Paul Rapier Richards, baseball player, manager and executive, at Waxahachie, TX. Richards was a catcher with marginal ability, but an innovative manager and executive. He invented the oversized catcher's mitt to handle knuckleball pitchers and the “Iron Mike” pitching machine. Died at Waxahachie, May 4, 1986.
    1912 – Actress and dancer Eleanor Powell was born in Springfield, MA. A star of the 1930s and 40s, she appeared in several movies with the leading men of that era. She died in Beverly Hills in 1982.
    1916 – Chicago Bears Hall of Fame QB Sid Luckman was born in Brooklyn. During his 12 seasons with the Bears he led them to four NFL championships. Luckman was the first modern T-formation QB and is considered the greatest long range passer of his time, one that was dominated by run-first offenses. He was named the NFL's MVP in 1943. Following his retirement from playing, Luckman continued his association with football by tutoring college coaches, focusing on the passing aspect of the game. Luckman was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1965. He died in 1998.
    1920 – Birthday of Stan ‘The Man' (Stanley Frank) Musial at Donora, PA. Baseball Hall of Famer. St. Louis Cardinals outfielder, first baseman [World Series: 1942, 1943, 1944, 1946/all-star: 1943, 1944, 1946-1963/Baseball Writers' Award: 1946, 1948]. Musial topped .300 mark 18 times, won seven N.L. batting titles with his famed corkscrew stance and ringing line drives; 3-time MVP played in 24 All-Star games; nicknamed ‘The Man' by Dodger fans for the havoc he wrought at Ebbets Field. He was one of the more beloved ball players of his era and even more so in retirement. Musial died near St. Louis in 2013.
    1922 – Rebecca L. Felton, of Georgia, was sworn in as the first female U.S. Senator
    1925 - Birthday of guitarist Sal Salvador at Monson, MA.
    1925 - Red Grange plays his final University of Illinois game, and then signs with Chicago Bears of the NFL.
    1933 – The first U.S. Ambassador to U.S.S.R., W.C. Bullitt, begins service.
    1934 - The New York Yankees paid the San Francisco Seals $25,000 and four players for Joe DiMaggio. Despite DiMaggio's 61-game hitting streak in 1933 and his .341 batting average in 1934, the Yankees kept him with the Seals for 1935. He hit .398.
    1934 - Cole Porter's "Anything Goes" opened at the Alvin Theatre in New York City. The show ran for 420 performances.
    1935 – Pan Am’s China Clipper is the first commercial crossing of the Pacific Ocean by plane.
    1937 – “That Girl!” Marlo Thomas was born in Detroit.
    1940 - Birthday of piano player Dr. John (Malcom John Rebennack), New Orleans, LA. (also known as “The Night Tripper.”)
http://www.jazzvalley.com/musician/dr.john
http://www.frankspicks.com/reviews/doc.htm
    1942 - The Alcan Highway, also known as the Trans-Alaskan Highway, opens.
(lower half of: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/nov21.html )
    1942 – The debut of Tweety Bird, as Tweety Pie, in “A Tale of Two Kitties.”
    1944 - *MINICK, JOHN W., Medal of Honor.
Rank and organization: Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company I, 121st Infantry, 8th Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Hurtgen, Germany, 21 November 1944. Entered service at: Carlisle, Pa. Birth: Wall, Pa. Citation: He displayed conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his own life, above and beyond the call of duty, in action involving actual conflict with the enemy on 21 November 1944, near Hurtgen, Germany. S/Sgt. Minick's battalion was halted in its advance by extensive minefields, exposing troops to heavy concentrations of enemy artillery and mortar fire. Further delay in the advance would result in numerous casualties and a movement through the minefield was essential. Voluntarily, S/Sgt. Minick led 4 men through hazardous barbed wire and debris, finally making his way through the minefield for a distance of 300 yards. When an enemy machinegun opened fire, he signaled his men to take covered positions, edged his way alone toward the flank of the weapon and opened fire, killing 2 members of the gun crew and capturing 3 others. Moving forward again, he encountered and engaged single-handedly an entire company killing 20 Germans and capturing 20, and enabling his platoon to capture the remainder of the hostile group. Again moving ahead and spearheading his battalion's advance, he again encountered machinegun fire. Crawling forward toward the weapon, he reached a point from which he knocked the weapon out of action. Still another minefield had to be crossed. Undeterred, S/Sgt. Minick advanced forward alone through constant enemy fire and while thus moving, detonated a mine and was instantly killed.
    1944 - Top Hits
“The Trolley Song” - Judy Garland
“I'll Walk Alone” - Dinah Shore
“Together” - Helen Forrest & Dick Haymes
“Smoke on the Water” - Red Foley
    1945 – Actress Goldie Hawn was born in Washington, DC.
    1945 – United Auto Workers at General Motors strike 92 plants in 50 cities to back up worker demands for a 30-percent raise.
    1948 - The Sunday morning religious program "Lamp Unto My Feet" first aired over CBS television. It became one of TV's longest running network shows and aired through January 1979.
    1948 - Birthday of drummer Alphonse Mouzon, Charleston, SC
http://www.tenaciousrecords.com/bio.html
http://www.drummerworld.com/drummers2/Alphonse_Mouzon.html
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000003P0Q/inktomi-musicasin-20/
104-6368463-9838304
http://www.angelfire.com/mac/keepitlive/drummers/Mouzen/mouzen.htm
    1952 - Top Hits
“You Belong to Me” - Jo Stafford
“Glow Worm” - The Mills Brothers
“Because You're Mine” - Mario Lanza
“Jambalaya (On the Bayou)” - Hank Williams
    1953 - "Rags to Riches" by Tony Bennett topped the charts and stayed there for 8 weeks.
    1955 - The first lady of the American stage, Helen Hayes, was honored for her many remarkable years in show business, and the Fulton Theatre in New York City was renamed the Helen Hayes Theatre.
    1956 - Don Newcombe of the Brooklyn Dodgers won the first Cy Young Award, given to the most outstanding pitcher in the major leagues. He added the National League Most Valuable Player Award to his trophy case as well, one of the very few pitchers to win both awards in the same year. In 1967, it was decided to name a Cy Young Award winner for each league.
    1959 – DJ Alan Freed, who had popularized the term "rock and roll" and that music, is fired from WABC in New York for refusing to deny allegations that he had participated in the payola scandal. Following his firing, Freed refused “on principle” to sign a statement that he never received money or gifts (payola) for plugging records, a common practice of that era. Incidentally, few may remember, but Freed left WABC while he was on the air. He was replaced in mid-record by Fred Robbins, who later became a nationally-known entertainment reporter for Mutual Radio. Freed’s career plummeted thereafter, and he worked at a succession of small market radio stations. In 1960, payola was made illegal. In 1962, Freed pleaded guilty to two charges of commercial bribery, for which he received a fine and a suspended sentence. He died from the effects of alcoholism in 1965.
    1960 - "Stay" by Maurice Williams & the Zodiacs topped the charts and stayed there for a week.
    1960 - Top Hits
Stay - Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs
Are You Lonesome To-night? - Elvis Presley
Last Date - Floyd Cramer
Wings of a Dove - Ferlin Husky
    1963 – President John F. Kennedy flew to Dallas to ameliorate the warring factions of his party in the Lone Star State.
    1964 - The Verrazano Narrows Bridge opened. Actually, the upper deck was opened to traffic on this day. The bridge, linking Brooklyn and Staten Island, was the world's longest suspension bridge at 4,260 ft.
    1966 - Birthday of Troy Kenneth Aikman at West Covina, CA. He spent his entire 12-year career as the QB of the Dallas Cowboys, winning three Super Bowls in five years in the early 1990s, after being selected #1 overall in the 1989 NFL draft. In retirement, Aikman is one of Fox’s lead NFL announcers.
    1967 - Gen. William Westmoreland, commander of U.S. Military Assistance Command Vietnam, tells U.S. news reporters: "I am absolutely certain that whereas in 1965 the enemy was winning, today he is certainly losing." Having been reassured by the general, most Americans were stunned when the communists launched a massive offensive during the Vietnamese Tet New Year holiday on January 30, 1968. During this offensive, communist forces struck 36 of 44 provincial capitals, 5 of 6 autonomous cities, 64 of 242 district capitals and about 50 hamlets. At one point during the initial attack on Saigon, communist's troops actually penetrated the ground floor of the U.S. Embassy.
    1968 - A portrait of Frederick Douglass appears on the cover of Life magazine. The cover story, "Search for a Black Past," is the first in a four-part series of stories in which the magazine examines African-Americans, a review of 50 years of struggle, with interviews of Jesse Jackson, Julian Bond, Eldridge Cleaver, Dick Gregory, & others.
http://www.life.com/Life/covers/1968/cv112268.html
    1968 - Top Hits
“Hey Jude” - The Beatles
“Those Were the Days” - Mary Hopkin
“Love Child” - Diana Ross & The Supremes
“I Walk Alone” - Marty Robbins
    1969 - The “internet” began when the first computer network was ARPANET, a data communications network developed by J.C.R. Lieklider, Robert Taylor, and other researchers for the Department of Defense's Advanced Research Projects Agency. The first ARPANET link was put into service on November 21, 1969. It connected a computer in the computer science department at the University of California at Los Angeles with a laboratory computer at the Stanford Research Institute, Stanford, CA. Over the next decade, ARPANET grew to include many government and university computers. In 1973, Dr. Vinton Cerf and Robert E. Kahn were commissioned by the federal government to create a national computer network for military, governmental, and institutional use. The network was based on ARPANET sites and employed packet-switching, flow-control, and fault-tolerance techniques developed by ARPANET. Historians consider this world wide network the origin of the Internet.
    1969 – President Richard Nixon and Japanese Premier Sato agree on the return of Okinawa to Japanese control in 1972. Under the terms of the agreement, the U.S. is to retain its rights to bases on the island, but these are to be nuclear-free. Okinawa was strategically very important to the US during World War II in that it gave us a base close to Japan from which to stage military operations.
    1969 – Ken Griffey, Jr. was born in Donora, PA. In 1990 and 1991, Griffey and his father became the first son and father to play on the same team at the same time. In his father's first game as a Mariner, on August 31, 1990, the pair hit back-to-back singles in the first inning and both scored. On September 14, the pair hit back-to-back home runs, becoming the first father-son duo to hit back-to-back home runs. The duo played a total of 51 games together before Griffey, Sr., retired in June 1991. Griffey, Jr hit 630 HRs in his 22 year Major League career and was a 13-time All-Star.
    1970 - Two months after launching their TV series, The Partridge Family reaches the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 with "I Think I Love You". The only members of the cast who actually sang on the record were David Cassidy and his real-life step mother, Shirley Jones.
    1970 - A special task force of Green Berets raided Son Tay prison located in the province near Hanoi in an attempt to free American POWs thought to be held there. The raid failed when it was discovered there were no prisoners there, but managed to depart with minimal loss in equipment and no loss of life for the raiding force.
    1971 – NFL Hall of Famer and current TV host Michael Strahan was born in Houston.
    1973 – In testimony before Congress in the investigation of the Watergate burglary, President Nixon's attorney, J Fred Buzhardt, revealed the presence of an 18 minute gap in a White House tape recording. Up to that point, White House tape recordings were not widely known.
    1976 - Top Hits
“Tonight's the Night (Gonna Be Alright)” - Rod Stewart
“The Wreck of the Edmond Fitzgerald” - Gordon Lightfoot
“Love So Right” - Bee Gees
“Somebody Somewhere (Don't Know What He's Missin' Tonight)” - Loretta Lynn
    1979 – The US Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan is attacked by a mob and set afire, killing four.
    1980 - The largest TV audience ever, an estimated 82 million people, watched as Sue Ellen's sister, Kristin Shepard, shot J.R. Ewing on "Dallas". The jilted mistress was seen holding the smoking gun after a summer of viewers asking that haunting question, “Who Shot J.R.?” Eighty percent of all viewers watched the show.
    1980 – In a fire at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas, 84 people lost their lives.
    1981 - Olivia Newton-John started the first of 10 weeks at the top of the pop music charts when "Physical" became the music world's top tune.
    1982 - After a strike that commenced on September 23, the NFL resumed play with the seven intervening weeks of the season having been canceled.
    1984 - Top Hits
“Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” - Wham!
“Purple Rain” - Prince & The Revolution
“I Feel for You” - Chaka Khan
“Give Me One More Chance” – Exile
    1985 –U.S. Navy intelligence analyst Jonathan Pollard is arrested for spying after being caught giving Israel classified information on Arab nations. He is subsequently sentenced to life in prison.
    1986 - National Security Council member Oliver North and his secretary, Fawn Hall, begin shredding documents that would have exposed their participation in a range of illegal activities regarding the sale of arms to Iran and the diversion of the proceeds to a rebel Nicaraguan group. On November 25, North was fired but Hall continued to sneak documents to him by stuffing them in her skirt and boots. The Iran-Contra scandal, as it came to be known, became an embarrassment and a sticky legal problem for the Reagan administration. Only six years earlier, Iran had become an enemy of the United States after taking hostages at the U.S. embassy in Tehran. At the time, President Reagan had repeatedly insisted that the United States would never deal with terrorists. When the revelation surfaced that his top officials at the National Security Council had begun selling arms to Iran, it was a public relations disaster.
During the televised Iran-Contra hearings, the public learned that the money received for the arms was sent to support the Contras in Nicaragua, despite Congress' Boland Amendment, which expressly prohibited U.S. assistance to the Contras. Though the communist Sandinistas had been legitimately elected in Nicaragua, the Reagan administration sought to oust them by supporting the Contras, an anti-Communist group. During the Iran-Contra hearings, North claimed that the entire Reagan administration had known about the illegal plan. After admitting that he had lied to Congress, he was convicted of shredding documents, obstruction of justice, and illegally receiving a security fence for his own residence. He received a light sentence of a fine and probation. A year later in July 1990, an appellate court voted 2-1 to overturn his conviction based on the possibility that some of the evidence may have come from testimony that Congress had immunized in their own hearings on the matter. President Reagan and Vice President George Bush maintained that they had no knowledge of the scheme. In fact, when Reagan was deposed, he claimed to have little memory of anything that happened in the White House in the mid-1980s. See 1801 above for an early episode of “Destruction of Incriminating Government Documents So We Don’t Get Caught”, coming to a theater near you!
    1987 - Cuban prisoners at a detention center in Oakdale, Louisiana riot and take control when the US announces reactivation of a 1984 agreement allowing Cuba to take back 2,000 "undesirables" in the U.S. A federal prison in Atlanta was commandeered two days later. The Oakdale standoff ended 29 November with release of hostages; the Atlanta crisis was resolved 4 December after the government agreed to grant a fair review of each Cuban's case.
http://dwardmac.pitzer.edu/Anarchist_Archives/
bright/dolgoff/cubanrevolution/toc.html
    1987 - "Mony Mony" by Billy Idol topped the charts and stayed there for a week.
    1989 - President George H.W. Bush signed a law banning smoking on most domestic flights.
    1990 – Trader Michael Milken is sentenced to 10 years for security law violations
    1992 - "I Will Always Love You" by Whitney Houston topped the charts and stayed there for 14 weeks.
    1995 - The Beatles' "Anthology I" sold 450,000 copies in its first day of release. According to Capitol Records, it was the most single-day sales ever for an album. Yeah, yeah, yeah...
    1995 - The first entirely computer-animated movie “Toy Story”,81 minutes long, was released Walt Disney Pictures, Burbank, CA. It was produced at Pixar Corporation and directed by former Disney animator John Lasseter. The plot involves the adventures of two dolls, a cowboy and a space hero, who are rivals for the attention of a young boy. “Toy Story” was one of the year's top-grossing films, earning close to $300 million worldwide in its first 12 months of release.
    1995 - The Dow-Jones Index of 30 major industrial stocks topped the 5,000 mark for the first time.
    1995 - The Dayton Peace Agreement is initialed at the Wright Patterson AFB in Dayton, OH, ending three and a half years of war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The agreement is formally ratified in Paris in December.
    1996 - CompuServe announced it would shut down its family-oriented service, WOW! just eight months after it was launched. The company had tried to enter the family market and enhance its computer presence earlier in the year, but it backed off after investing some $70 million in the high-profile launch. The service attracted only about 100,000 subscribers during its short life.
    2002 - In an effort to appeal more to women and families, Major League Baseball announces a partnership with 5-year-old Women's Pro Softball League recently renamed National Pro Fastpitch. MLB will provide sponsorship support along with giving the softball players a presence at big league events.

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