Updated Dec. 30, 2013, 12:12 pm

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On Nov. 9, 1989, East Germany lifted restrictions on emigration or travel to the West, and within hours tens of thousands of East and West Berliners swarmed across the infamous Berlin Wall for a boisterous celebration.

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On Nov. 9, 1934, Carl Sagan, the astronomer whose books and television show informed millions of Americans, was born. Following his death on Dec. 20, 1996, his obituary appeared in The Times.

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On Nov. 9, 1989, Communist East Germany threw open its borders, allowing citizens to travel freely to the West. Joyous Germans danced atop the Berlin Wall.

1918	Germany's Kaiser Wilhelm II announced that he would abdicate.
1935	United Mine Workers president John L. Lewis and other labor leaders formed the Committee for Industrial Organization.
1938	Nazis looted and burned synagogues and Jewish-owned stores and houses in Germany and Austria on Kristallnacht, the "night of broken glass."
1965	Several northeastern states and parts of Canada were hit by a series of power failures lasting up to 13 1/2 hours.
1970	Former French president Charles De Gaulle died at age 79.
1976	The United Nations General Assembly approved 10 resolutions condemning apartheid in South Africa.
2001	The northern Afghan city of Mazar-e-Sharif fell to the northern alliance in the first major territorial advance for the rebels against the ruling Taliban.
2004	Houston Astros pitcher Roger Clemens won his record seventh Cy Young award.
2005	Three suicide bombers carried out nearly simultaneous attacks on three U.S.-based hotels in Amman, Jordan, killing 60 victims and wounding hundreds.
2011	Penn State fired longtime head football coach Joe Paterno and university president Graham Spanier over their handling of child sex abuse allegations against former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky..

Historic Birthdays

74	Benjamin Banneker 11/9/1731 - 10/25/1806 American mathematician, astronomer, inventor and writer
72	Gail Borden 11/9/1801 - 1/11/1874 American businessman
34	Elijah Lovejoy 11/9/1802 - 11/7/1837 American abolitionist
52	Stanford White 11/9/1853 - 6/25/1906 American architect
64	Marie Dressler 11/9/1869 - 7/28/1934 Canadian-born American actress
81	Florence Sabin 11/9/1871 - 10/3/1953 American anatomist
79	Ed Wynn 11/9/1886 - 6/19/1966 American actor
37	Mabel Normand 11/9/1892 - 2/23/1930 American actress
77	Spiro Agnew 11/9/1918 - 9/17/1996 American politician; 39th vice president of the United States (1969-73)
67	James Schuyler 11/9/1923 - 4/12/1991 American poet, playwright and novelist
42	Dorothy Dandridge 11/9/1922 - 9/8/1965 American actress
45	Anne Sexton 11/9/1928 - 10/4/1974 American poet