Today is Friday, Nov. 26, or the 21st day of the 10th month of the Year of the Tiger according to the lunar calendar. Following is a list of important events that have occurred on this date in the past: 1688: Louis XIV, king of France also known as 'the Sun King,' declares war on the Netherlands. His reign, the longest in French history, was characterized by the construction of a magnificent court at Versailles and the expansion of French influence in Europe. 1836: John McAdam, Scottish inventor of the macadam road surface which has done so much to improve the comfort of travel on roads, dies at the age of 80. 1905: The 'Min Pao,' a newspaper founded by the Revolutionary Alliance, publishes its first issue in Tokyo. Dr. Sun Yat-sen's article introducing his political ideas in a set of doctrines called the Three Principles of the People, appears in the newspaper. 1906: The Southern Manchuria Railway Company is established in Tokyo, through which Japan dominates much of the southern Manchurian economy. 1906: Theodore Roosevelt returns to Washington, D.C. from Central America, becoming the first U.S. president to travel abroad while in office. 1922: Charles Schultz, American cartoonist who created the highly successful 'Peanuts' comic strip, is born. 1936: Chungshan Hall (formerly Taipei City Hall) is inaugurated. 1941: Lebanon gains independence from France. 1942: Soviet troops encircle a quarter of a million German troops at Stalingrad, relieving the siege and routing Gen. von Paulus' Sixth Army. 1965: France launches its first satellite into orbit. 1957: The Republic of China Navy sinks six Communist Chinese warships north of Kinmen. 1966: The world's first tidal power station is opened by Gen. de Gaulle on the Rance Estuary near St. Malo in Brittany. 1971: British law bans schools from punishing students with the lash. 1974: Kakuei Tanaka, Japanese prime minister, resigns after allegations of irregularities concerning the Rockheed scandal. 1976: The ROC Cabinet approves a trade agreement with Uruguay. 1976: The Fourth Conference of the Asian Composers' League and the Second Asia- Pacific Music Conference opens in Taipei. 1976: Paraguayan Ambassador Brig. Gen. Timoteo Alvarenga presents his credentials to ROC President Yen Chia-kan. 1979: The International Olympic Committee votes to admit Communist China. 1980: Dr. Shen Chung-han, an expert in agriculture, dies of illness in Taipei at the age of 86. 1982: The 'China's Spring' magazine is founded in New York by a group of Chinese democracy movement activists including Wang Pin-chang. 1983: A gang of thieves breaks into the Brinks-Mat security warehouse at Hethrow Airport, neutralizes the alarm system, ties up six guards, and pulls off Britain's biggest ever robbery, getting away with 25 million pounds (US$46 million) worth of gold bullion. 1990: Feng Yu-lan, a noted Chinese philosopher, dies of illness in Beijing at the age of 94. 1990: Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore resigns after 31 years in office and is succeeded by Goh Chok Tong. 1998: Japan expresses 'deep remorse' for its actions in China during World War II in a joint declaration during a visit by Jiang Zemin. 1999: President Rene Harris of the Republic of Nauru reaffirms his support for the Republic of China's bid to participate in international organizations. 2000: Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush is certified the winner of Florida's decisive 25 Electoral College votes. 2001: Republic of China Overseas Chinese Affairs Commission (OCAC) Chairperson Chang Fu-mei inspects the Taiwan Science and Technology College of Thailand in the northern province of Parnam. Mencius' lesson of the day: 'Of all seeds, the best are the five kinds of grain, but if they are not ripe, they are not equal to the `ti' and the `pai'. So the value of benevolence lies simply in its being brought to maturity.' 