On November 27

On this day in ...

... 1967, French President Charles de Gaulle announced that he would veto Britain's application to become a member of the European Economic Community. It was the 2d time that de Gaulle had said "Non," even though the other 5 members, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Italy and Germany, were willing to begin negotiations to admit Britain. Britain would not be accepted until 1969, after de Gaulle had fallen from power.

... 1992, in Caracas, "[d]isgruntled air force units, allied with civilian leftists," attempted a military coup against the President of Venezuela (flag at right). The attempt failed. But the President was removed on account of corruption charges several months later, and eventually a leader of the 1992 unrest, Hugo Chávez, would gain power in the country.

On January 22, ...

... 1963 (45 years ago today), the Treaty between the Republic of France and the Federal Republic of Germany on French-German Cooperation, better known as the Elysée Treaty, was signed in Paris by Président Charles de Gaulle and Bundeskanzeller Konrad Adenauer. The treaty aimed to "brin[g] an end to the age-old rivalries" between the French and German peoples and to stress "the solidarity which unites the two peoples both with respect to their security and with respect to their economic and cultural development."
... 1973 (35 years ago today), by a vote of 7 to 2, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Roe v. Wade that the Constitution forbids criminal punishment of any woman who seeks to terminate an early pregnancy, and established a framework for regulation of abortions in later stages of pregnancy. The New York Times wrote then:

In a historic resolution of a fiercely controversial issue, the Court drafted a new set of national guidelines that will result in broadly liberalized anti-abortion laws in 46 states but will not abolish restrictions altogether.

As we've posted, in succeeding judgments the Court has cut back on the ruling in this case, argued for petitioner by a 26-year-old attorney, Sarah Weddington (above).
... 1962, U.S. Rep. Melissa Bean (D-Ill.) was born in Chicago.

On May 13, ....

... 1968, workers joined students and teachers in a 1-day general strike, marching 800,000 strong through the streets of Paris to protest the force with which police had in recent days quelled riots against the government of President Charles de Gaulle. Demonstrations would continue throughout mai 68 and daw as many as 10 million participants throughout France. On May 29 tanks were stationed just outside Paris. The crisis ended when Gaullists won a June election, then moved toward educational reform.
...1888, Princess Isabel (right), acting as Imperial Princess Regent of Brazil in the absence of her father, Emperor Dom Pedro II, promulgated Lei Áurea, the "Golden Law" that abolished slavery in Brazil. According to a UNESCO report: "This provoked an economic chaos since the farmers were not prepared to replace the slave labor by free workers." The monarchy fell 1 year later.