Historical Events
- 1492 Christopher Columbus learns how to grow and harvest maize (corn) from Cuba's indigenous population
- 1556 Second Battle of Panipat: Hindu Emperor of north India Hem Chandra Vikramaditya defeated by forces of Mughal Emperor Akbar, who captures and later beheads Hem Chandra
- 1605 Gunpowder Plot: Catholic conspirator Guy Fawkes attempts to blow up King James I and the British Parliament. Plot discovered, Guy Fawkes caught, tortured and later executed along with seven others. Celebrated ever since as Guy Fawkes Day, where his effigy is traditionally burned on a bonfire, accompanied by fireworks.
- 1937 Adolf Hitler informs his military leaders in a secret meeting of his intentions of going to war
- 1956 Britain and France land airborne forces at Port Said in Egypt, escalating the Suez Crisis
- 1979 Supreme Leader of Iran Ayatollah Khomeini describes the United States as "The Great Satan" amid accusations of imperialism and the sponsoring of corruption
- More Historical Events
Nov 5 in Film & TV
- 1956 "The Nat King Cole Show" debuts on NBC, the first variety program to be hosted by an African-American
Nov 5 in Music
- 1955 The rebuilt Vienna State Opera reopens after it was destroyed in World War II, with Ludwig van Beethoven's "Fidelio"
Nov 5 in Sport
- 1992 "Revenge Match of the 20th century" American chess grandmaster Bobby Fischer defeats Russian Boris Spassky to win an unofficial match in Belgrade
Will Durant
Vivien Leigh
Bill Walton
Kris Jenner
Bryan Adams
Tilda Swinton
Would You Believe?
Louisa Woosley first women to be ordained as a minister in any Presbyterian denomination (US Cumberland Presbyterian Church).
On November 5, 1889
Famous Weddings
- 1940 American "A Farewell to Arms" novelist Ernest Hemingway (41) weds for a third time, to American novelist and war correspondent Martha Gellhorn (31); divorce in 1945
- 1941 Writer and veterinary surgeon James Herriot (25) weds Joan Catherine Danbury
- 1977 Future Texas governor and 43rd US President George W. Bush (31) weds Laura Welch (31) at The First United Methodist Church in Midland, Texas
More Weddings
James Clerk Maxwell
Christiaan Eijkman
George M. Cohan
René Goscinny
Vinnette Carroll
Bülent EcevitArticles, Photos and Quiz
400 Years of Celebration After Plotters Fail to Kill a King
Seething after years of persecution over their religion, a group of 13 English Catholics decided on this day in history to take action. Extreme action.
November 5, 1605
Weekly Quiz for November 4 -10
Who discovered the tomb of Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamun in 1922? Which world leader declared the United States The Great Satan in 1979?
