This Day in History: Nov. 30

Also on this day:

1782: The United States and Britain sign preliminary peace articles in Paris for ending the Revolutionary War; the Treaty of Paris would be signed in Sept. 1783.1835: Samuel Langhorne Clemens — better known as Mark Twain — is born in Florida, Mo.1900: Irish writer Oscar Wilde dies in Paris at age 46.1939: The Winter War begins as Soviet troops invade Finland. (The conflict would end the following March with a Soviet victory.)1960: The last DeSoto is built by Chrysler, which had decided to retire the brand after 32 years.1966: The former British colony of Barbados becomes independent.1981: The United States and the Soviet Union open negotiations in Geneva aimed at reducing nuclear weapons in Europe.1982: The Michael Jackson album “Thriller” is released by Epic Records.1982: The motion picture “Gandhi,” starring Ben Kingsley as the Indian nationalist leader, has its world premiere in New Delhi.1988: Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Co. is declared the winner of the corporate free-for-all to take over RJR Nabisco Inc. with a bid of $24.53 billion.1993: President Bill Clinton signs the Brady Bill, which requires a five-day waiting period for handgun purchases and background checks of prospective buyers.2000: Al Gore’s lawyers battle for his political survival in the Florida and U.S. Supreme Courts; meanwhile, GOP lawmakers in Tallahassee move to award the presidency to George W. Bush in case the courts did not by appointing their own slate of electors.2004: “Jeopardy!” fans see Ken Jennings’ 74-game winning streak end as he loses to real estate agent Nancy Zerg.2008: Space shuttle Endeavour returns to Earth after a nearly 16-day mission to repair and upgrade the international space station.2008: The world’s most comprehensive legalized heroin program becomes permanent with overwhelming approval from Swiss voters who simultaneously reject the decriminalization of marijuana.2013: Paul Crouch, 79, an American televangelist who’d built what has been called the world’s largest Christian broadcasting network, dies in Orange, Calif.2017: House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi calls on veteran Democratic congressman John Conyers to resign in the face of multiple accusations of sexual misconduct. (Conyers would resign five days later.)Video2017: A jury finds Jose Ines Garcia Zarate, who had been deported five times, not guilty in the killing of Kate Steinle on a San Francisco pier, a shooting that touched off a fierce national immigration debate. (Zarate did not deny shooting Steinle but said it was an accident. He is found guilty of felony possession of a firearm.)2017: Rapper DMX pleads guilty to tax fraud, admitting he concealed millions of dollars in revenue to dodge $1.7 million in taxes.2017: Actor Jim Nabors, best known as TV’s “Gomer Pyle,” dies at the age of 87.