Today is Thursday, Nov. 20, the 325th day of 2008. There are 41 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On Nov. 20, 1947, Britain’s future queen, Princess Elizabeth, married Philip Mountbatten, Duke of Edinburgh, at Westminster Abbey.

On this date:

• In 1789, New Jersey became the first state to ratify the Bill of Rights.

• In 1908, Anglo-American journalist and broadcaster Alistair Cooke was born in Salford, England.

• In 1910, revolution broke out in Mexico, led by Francisco I. Madero.

• In 1925, Robert F. Kennedy was born in Brookline, Mass.

• In 1929, the radio program “The Rise of the Goldbergs” debuted on the NBC Blue Network.

• In 1945, 22 out of 24 indicted Nazi officials went on trial (one in absentia) before an international war crimes tribunal in Nuremberg, Germany.

• In 1959, the United Nations issued its “Declaration of the Rights of the Child.”

• In 1967, the Census Clock at the Commerce Department ticked past 200,000,000.

• In 1975, after nearly four decades of absolute rule, Spain’s General Francisco Franco died, two weeks before his 83rd birthday.

• In 1992, fire seriously damaged Windsor Castle, the favorite weekend home of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II.

Today’s Birthdays: Actress Estelle Parsons is 81. TV personality Richard Dawson is 76. Comedian Dick Smothers is 70. Singer Norman Greenbaum is 66. Vice President-elect Joe Biden is 66. Actress Veronica Hamel is 65. Broadcast journalist Judy Woodruff is 62. Actor Samuel E. Wright is 62. Singer Joe Walsh is 61. Actor Richard Masur is 60. Actress Bo Derek is 52. Reggae musician Jim Brown (UB40) is 51. Actress Sean Young is 49. Pianist Jim Brickman is 47. Rock musician Todd Nance (Widespread Panic) is 46. Actress Ming-Na is 45.

Thought for Today: “People, when they first come to America, whether as travelers or settlers, become aware of a new and agreeable feeling: that the whole country is their oyster.”—Alistair Cooke, British-born American journalist and broadcaster (1908-2004).