What Happened in November 1954

Historical Events

Election of Interest

Nov 1 General Fulgencio Batista elected President of Cuba

Cuban President and Dictator Fulgencio Batista — Cuban President and Dictator
Fulgencio Batista

Event of Interest

Nov 1 US Senate admonishes Joseph McCarthy because of his slander campaigns

US Senator Joseph McCarthy — US Senator
Joseph McCarthy

Nov 1 The Front de Libération Nationale fires the first shots of the Algerian War of Independence against France.
Nov 1 Lee Petty with 32 top-10 finishes from 34 races wins NASCAR Grand National Championship by 283 points from Herb Thomas; Petty fails to finish season ending Wilkes 160
Nov 2 Charles Diggs Jr is elected Michigan's 1st black congressman to the House of Representatives
Nov 2 Strom Thurmond is the 1st senator elected by write-in vote (South Carolina)

Event of Interest

Nov 2 BBC radio comedy "Hancock's Half Hour" debuts starring Tony Hancock and Sid James, written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson

Comedian Tony Hancock — Comedian
Tony Hancock

Nov 3 Nobel for physics awarded to Max Born & Walter Bothe
Nov 4 "Fanny" opens at Majestic Theater NYC for 888 performances
Nov 4 Philadelphia A's move to Kansas City

Event of Interest

Nov 5 Montreal Canadien center Jean Béliveau scores 3 goals in 44 seconds on future Hall of Fame goaltender Terry Sawchuk in 4-2 win v Boston Bruins; 2nd fastest NHL hat trick

NHL Legend Jean Beliveau — NHL Legend
Jean Beliveau

Nov 7 US spy plane shot down North of Japan
Nov 7 Cleveland Browns' Chet Hanulak sets club record with 7 punt returns & win by their largest margin of victory (59) beating Wash 62-3
Nov 8 AL approves Philadelphia A's move to Kansas City

Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima

Nov 10 "Marine Corps War Memorial" unveiled in Arlington County, Virginia, dedicated to US Marine Corps who died in defense of US since 1775 (inspired by 1945 Iwo Jima photo of servicemen raising US flag)
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United States Marines raise the U.S. flag atop Mount Suribachi, during the Battle of Iwo Jima

Nov 10 Lt Col John Stapp travels at 632 mph in a rocket sled

Event of Interest

Nov 11 Publication of "Two Towers", 2nd volume of "Lord of the Rings", by J. R. R. Tolkien by George Allen and Unwin in London

Writer and Academic J. R. R. Tolkien — Writer and Academic
J. R. R. Tolkien

Nov 12 Ellis Island, immigration station in NY Harbor, closed

Event of Interest

Nov 12 Lee Kuan Yew and others form the People's Action Party (PAP) in Singapore to work towards self-rule in Singapore

Founder of Modern Singapore Lee Kuan Yew — Founder of Modern Singapore
Lee Kuan Yew

Nov 13 1st Rugby League World Cup: Great Britain beats France 16-12
Nov 14 Egyptian President Naguib resigns, state of emergency declared
Nov 15 1st regularly scheduled commercial flights over North Pole begins
Nov 20 KTRK TV channel 13 in Houston, TX (ABC) begins broadcasting
Nov 22 Humane Society (US) forms in Washington, D.C.
Nov 23 For the first time, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above the peak it reached just before the 1929 crash.
Nov 24 Air Force One, 1st US Presidential airplane, christened
Nov 24 France sends 20,000 soldiers to Algeria
Nov 26 Test Cricket debut of Colin Cowdrey v Australia at Gabba
Nov 27 "By the Beautiful Sea" closes at Majestic Theater NYC after 270 performances
Nov 27 CFL Grey Cup, Varsity Stadium, Toronto: Edmonton Eskimos win first of 3 straight Championships; defeat Montreal Alouettes, 26-25
Nov 27 Alger Hiss is released from prison after serving 44 months for perjury.
Nov 27 19th Iron Bowl: Auburn beats Alabama 28-0 in Birmingham
Nov 28 1st pro football game in The Netherlands
Nov 28 KCKT (now KSNC) TV channel 2 in Great Bend, KS (NBC) 1st broadcast
Nov 30 Ann Hodges is bruised by a meteor at Sylacauga, Alabama in first modern instance of a meteorite striking a human
Nov 30 20th Heisman Trophy Award: Alan Ameche, Wisconsin (FB)
Nov 30 John Strydom succeeds D. F. Malan as premier of South Africa

Famous Birthdays

Nov 1 Ruben Guerrero, Mexican relay swimmer (Olympic-1968)
Nov 2 Pat Croce, American entrepreneur, sports team executive and owner, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Nov 3 Adam Ant, [Stuart Goddard], English punk rocker (If I Strip For You), born in London, England
Nov 3 Godzilla, Japanese monster (Godzilla)
Nov 3 Kevin P Chilton, American General, test pilot and NASA astronaut (STS 49, 59, 76), born in Los Angeles, California
Nov 3 Brigitte Lin, Taiwanese actress (Red Dust, Swordsman II), born in Taipei, Taiwan
Nov 4 Chris Difford, British guitarist/vocalist (Squeeze), born in Greenwich, London
Nov 6 Catherine Crier, American journalist and author (The Case Against Lawyers, A Deadly Game), born in Dallas, Texas
Nov 7 Kamal Haasan, Indian actor (Vishwaroopam), born in Paramakudi, Tamil Nadu
Nov 8 Rickie Lee Jones, American singer (Chuck E's in Love), born in Chicago, Illinois
Nov 8 David Bret, Anglo-French biographer and broadcaster
Nov 8 Michael D. Brown, U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency director
Nov 8 Kazuo Ishiguro, British author (An Artist of the Floating World, The Remains of the Day, When We Were Orphans), born in Nagasaki, Japan
Nov 8 Jeanette McGruder, American musician (P Funk)
Nov 8 Ricky Lawson, American musician, born in Detroit, Michigan (d. 2013)
Nov 9 Dennis Stratton, rock guitarist (Iron Maiden), born in London, England
Nov 9 Sue Upton, English actress and dancer
Nov 10 Mario Cipollina, California, rock bassist (Huey Lewis & The News)
Nov 11 Gail Marquis, WBL forward (NY Stars, Olympic silver 1976)
Nov 11 Mary Gaitskill, American novelist
Nov 12 Bharat Reddy, cricket wicket-keeper (India 1979)
Nov 12 Paul McNamee, Australia, tennis star
Nov 13 Scott McNealy, American CEO of Sun Microsystems
Nov 13 Chris Noth, American actor (Tyrant), born in Madison, Wisconsin
Nov 14 Bernard Hinault, French cyclist (Tour de France)
Nov 14 Yanni [Chryssomallis], Greek new age musician (Live at the Acropolis, Sand Dance), born in Kalamata

Condoleezza Rice

Nov 14 Condoleezza Rice, 1st female African-American U.S. Secretary of State (2005-09), born in Birmingham, Alabama

Nov 15 Ab Bryant, rock bassist/vocalist (Chilliwack)
Nov 15 Aleksander Kwaśniewski, Białogard Poland, politician and President of Poland (1995-2005)
Nov 15 Mitch Easter, American record producer (REM), born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Nov 16 Andrea Barrett, American author
Nov 16 Bruce Edwards, American golf caddy (d. 2004)
Nov 16 Dick Gross, Australian politician
Nov 17 Mark "Chopper" Read, Australian criminal and crime author (Chopper: From the Inside), born in Melbourne, Australia (d. 2013)
Nov 18 Guy Innes-Ker duke of Roxburghe, English large landowner
Nov 18 John Parr, British pop singer (St. Elmo's Fire), born in Worksop, Nottinghamshire
Nov 18 Evan Gray, New Zealand cricketer
Nov 19 Annette Guest, US singer (First Choice)
Nov 19 Gail Stanton playmate (Jun, 1978), born in Memphis, Tennessee
Nov 19 Kathleen Quinlan, California, actress (Never Promised You a Rose Garden)
Nov 19 Tom Scheckel, rock drummer (Buckinghams), born in Chicago, Illinois
Nov 19 Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, 6th President of Egypt (2014-present), born in Zagazig, Cairo
Nov 20 Frank Marino, rock guitarist (Mahogany Rush), born in Montreal, Quebec
Nov 20 Steve Dahl, California, Chicago's anti-disco DJ (WLS-FM)
Nov 20 Berit Andnor, Swedish politician
Nov 21 Thomas Rothman, American film executive
Nov 22 Paolo Gentiloni, Italian politician, Prime Minister (2016-2018), born in Rome, Italy
Nov 23 Bruce Hornsby, Williamsburg Va, rock vocalist
Nov 23 Ferry Hoogendijk, Dutch editor in chief (Elsevier Magazine)
Nov 23 Ken Schrom, baseball player
Nov 23 Glenn Brummer, American baseball player
Nov 24 Emir Kusturica, Serbian filmmaker
Nov 26 Roz Chast, American cartoonist
Nov 26 Velupillai Prabhakaran, Sri Lankan militant leader
Nov 27 Patricia McPherson, American actress (Knight Rider), born in Oak Harbor, Washington
Nov 27 Kimmy Robertson, American actress best known for her role as Lucy Moran in the TV series Twin Peaks
Nov 29 Joel Coen, filmmaker (Fargo, No Country for Old Men), born in St. Louis Park, Minnesota
Nov 30 George McArdle, rock bassist (Little River Band Melbourne
Nov 30 June Pointer, singer (Pointer Sisters-I'm So excited)
Nov 30 Simonetta Stefanelli, Italian Actress (The Godfather)

Famous Weddings

Wedding of Interest

Nov 1 Actor John Wayne (47) weds actress Pilar Pallete in Kona, Hawaii

Wedding of Interest

Nov 19 Actress Vera-Ellen (33) weds millionaire Victor Rothschild at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Los Angeles

Wedding of Interest

Nov 20 NFL quarterback Johnny Unitas (21) weds his high school sweetheart Dorothy Hoelle

Famous Divorces

Divorce of Interest

Nov 1 Actor John Wayne (47) divorces actress Esperanza Baur due to drunken violence after 7 years of marriage

Famous Deaths

Henri Matisse

Nov 3 Henri Matisse, French painter and sculptor (Dance II), dies at 84

Nov 4 Stig Dagerman, Swedish author (Burned Child), dies at 31
Nov 10 Hussein Fatemi, Iran Foreign minister, executed
Nov 11 John Rosamund Johnson, composer, dies at 81
Nov 13 Fay Baker, actress (Sorority Girl), dies at 60

Lionel Barrymore

Nov 15 Lionel Barrymore, [Blythe], American actor (Dr Kildare, Key Largo), dies at 76

Nov 16 Albert Francis Blakeslee, American botanist, dies at 80
Nov 19 Walter Bartley Wilson, founding member of Cardiff City F.C. (b. 1870)
Nov 20 Clyde Cessna, American aviator and airplane manufacturer, dies at 74
Nov 21 Karol Rathaus, composer, dies at 59
Nov 21 Werner Elert, German Lutheran theologian, dies at 69
Nov 22 Andrej J. Vysjinski, Russian lawyer and UN ambassador, dies at 70
Nov 22 Moroni Olsen, American actor (Annie Oakley, Black Gold, Snow White), dies at 65
Nov 22 Roderick McMahon, Professional Wrestling/Boxing Booker (b. 1882)
Nov 26 Bill Doak, former Major League Baseball pitcher (b. 1891)

Enrico Fermi

Nov 28 Enrico Fermi, Italian-American nuclear physicist (Nobel 1938), dies of stomach cancer at 53

Nov 29 George Robey, English musical theatre actor and comedian, dies at 85
Nov 29 Dink Johnson, American musician (b. 1892)
Nov 30 Wilhelm Furtwängler, German conductor (b. 1886)

1953
On This Day
1955