Today in History: November 28, the debut of the Grand Ole Opry

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Today is Friday, Nov. 28, the 332nd day of 2025. There are 33 days left in the year. Today is Thanksgiving in the United States.

Today in history:

On Nov. 28, 1925, the Grand Ole Opry (known then as the WSM Barn Dance) debuted on radio station WSM in Nashville, Tennessee; it continues today as the longest-running radio broadcast in U.S. history.

Also on this date:

In 1520, Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan reached the Pacific Ocean after passing through the South American strait that now bears his name.

In 1942, fire engulfed the Cocoanut Grove nightclub in Boston, killing 492 people in the deadliest nightclub blaze ever.

In 1943, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Josef Stalin met in Tehran, Iran, for the first time to discuss Allied cooperation during World War II.

In 1961, halfback Ernie Davis of Syracuse University became the first Black college football player to be named winner of the Heisman Trophy.

In 1964, the United States launched the space probe Mariner 4 on a course toward Mars, which it flew past in July 1965, sending back pictures of the red planet.

In 2001, Enron Corp., once the world’s largest energy trader, collapsed after would-be rescuer Dynegy Inc. backed out of an $8.4 billion takeover deal. (Enron filed for bankruptcy protection four days later.)

In 2022, Payton Gendron, a white gunman who massacred 10 Black people at a Buffalo supermarket, pleaded guilty to murder and hate-motivated terrorism charges in an agreement that gave him life in prison without parole.

Today’s Birthdays: Recording executive Berry Gordy Jr. is 96. Football Hall of Famer Paul Warfield is 83. Former “Late Show” band leader Paul Shaffer is 76. Actor Ed Harris is 75. Actor S. Epatha (eh-PAY’-thah) Merkerson is 73. Actor Judd Nelson is 66. Film director Alfonso Cuarón (kwahr-OHN’) is 64. Rock drummer Matt Cameron is 63. Comedian and talk show host Jon Stewart is 63. Actor Colman Domingo is 56. Musician apl.de.ap (Black Eyed Peas) is 51. Actor Mary Elizabeth Winstead is 41. R&B singer Trey Songz is 41. Actor Karen Gillan is 38. Actor-rapper Bryshere Gray is 32.