World Diabetes Day raises awareness to the rising rate of diabetes and helps to educate people on preventive measures.  According to the World Health Organization, more than 346 million people worldwide have diabetes, a number that could double by 2030 without intervention.  Nov. 14 was chosen because it is the birth date of Frederick Banting, a Canadian scientist credited with the discovery of insulin.  Buildings around the world will light up blue on the night of Nov. 14, including the Empire State Building in New York City and Niagara Falls. Visit the International Diabetes Federation for resources on prevention, types of diabetes and management methods.

Also on This Day:

1948 Prince Charles Is Born

Queen Elizabeth II’s first child, Charles Phillip Arthur George, is born.  He was invested with the title Prince of Wales in 1969, and is the oldest heir apparent in the royal family’s history.

1969 Apollo 12 Liftoff

NASA’s Apollo 12 was the second manned mission to the moon.  It launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.  Astronauts Charles Conrad and Alan L. Bean walked on the surface of the moon and collected lunar samples.  Also aboard Apollo 12 was Command Module Pilot Richard F. Gordon, Jr.  Apollo 12 returned to Earth on Nov. 24 with a successful splash landing.

1970 Marshall University Football Team in Plane Crash

A plane crash killed nearly the entire Marshall football team, along with their coach, doctors, athletic director and 25 supporters.  The team was returning to their Huntington, West Virginia, campus after a game against East Carolina University when their plane clipped trees and crashed.  A 2006 movie, “ We Are Marshall” tells the story of the plane crash and the football program’s comeback in 1971.

1973 Princess Anne’s Wedding

Royal Wedding: Queen Elizabeth II’s only daughter married Mark Phillips at Westminster Abbey.

2004 Battle in Fallujah

U.S. Marines occupied the Iraq city that was once a stronghold for insurgency.

Famous Birthdays

1840 Claude Monet

1891 Frederick Banting

1908 Joseph McCarthy

1935 King Hussein of Jordan

1948 Prince Charles

1954 Condoleeza Rice

1954 Yanni

1961 D.B. Sweeney

1966 Curt Schilling

1969 Butch Walker

1972 Josh Duhamel

1975 Travis Barker

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