Today is Friday, Nov. 12, the 316th day of 2021. There are 49 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On Nov. 12, 1942, the World War II naval Battle of Guadalcanal began. (The Allies ended up winning a major victory over Japanese forces.)

On this date:

In 1920, baseball got its first “czar” as Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis was elected commissioner of the American and National Leagues.

In 1927, Josef Stalin became the undisputed ruler of the Soviet Union as Leon Trotsky was expelled from the Communist Party.

In 1936, the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge opened as President Franklin D. Roosevelt pressed a telegraph key in Washington, D.C., giving the green light to traffic.

In 1969, news of the My Lai Massacre carried out by U.S. forces in South Vietnam in March 1968 was broken by investigative reporter Seymour Hersh.

In 1975, Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas retired because of failing health, ending a record 36-year term.

In 1987, the American Medical Association issued a policy statement saying it was unethical for a doctor to refuse to treat someone solely because that person had AIDS or was HIV-positive.

In 1996, a Saudi Boeing 747 jetliner collided shortly after takeoff from New Delhi, India, with a Kazak Ilyushin-76 cargo plane, killing 349 people.

In 2001, American Airlines Flight 587, an Airbus A300 headed to the Dominican Republic, crashed after takeoff from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, killing all 260 people on board and five people on the ground.

Today’s Birthdays: Singer Brian Hyland is 78. Rock musician Booker T. Jones (Booker T. & the MGs) is 77. Sportscaster Al Michaels is 77. Singer-songwriter Neil Young is 76. Actor Megan Mullally is 63. Olympic gold medal gymnast Nadia Comaneci is 60. Retired MLB All-Star Sammy Sosa is 53. Figure skater Tonya Harding is 51. Actor Ryan Gosling is 41. Actor Anne Hathaway is 39. Pop singer Omarion is 37. NBA All-Star Russell Westbrook is 33.