- 1380 King Charles VI of France crowned at age 12
Historic Expedition
1524 Francisco Pizarro begins his 1st great expedition, near Colombia
Francisco Pizarro
- 1550 Pope Julius III proclaims new seat on Council of Trente
Event of Interest
1666 Samuel Pepys reports on 1st blood transfusion (between dogs)
Samuel Pepys
- 1675 Pope Clemens X declares Gorcumse martyrs divine
- 1680 Gottfried Kirch discovers the Great Comet of 1680 (Kirch's Comet/Newton's Comet)
- 1698 Spanish king Carlos appoints grandson prince Jozef Ferdinand as heir
- 1732 First professional librarian in north America, Louis Timothee, hired in Philadelphia
- 1755 Henry Fox appointed British 'Secretary of State for the Southern Department'
- 1775 -15] Floods ravage Dutch coast provinces
- 1792 Captain George Vancouver is first Englishman to enter San Francisco Bay
- 1832 First streetcar (horse-drawn) (John Mason) debuts in NYC; fare 12 cents rode on 4th Avenue between Prince and 14th Sts
Event of Interest
1834 William Thomson enters Glasgow University at 10 yrs 4 months
William Thomson
Historic Publication
1851 "Moby-Dick" by Herman Melville first published by Harper and Brothers in the US
Herman Melville
Historic Invention
1856 American Gail Borden is issued a patent for technology related to his invention of condensed milk
Gail Borden
Event of Interest
1863 Nathan Bedford Forrest is assigned to command of West Tennessee
Nathan Bedford Forrest
- 1863 Skirmish at Danville, Mississippi
Assassination
1881 Charles J. Guiteau put on trial for the assassination of US President Garfield
Charles J. Guiteau
- 1881 Leon Gambetta forms French government
Historic Publication
1883 "Treasure Island" by Robert Louis Stevenson is first published as a book by Cassell & Co.
Robert Louis Stevenson
Event of Interest
1889 New York World reporter Nellie Bly (Elizabeth Cochrane) begins her attempt to surpass fictitious journey of Jules Verne's Phileas Fogg by traveling around the world in under 80 days. She succeeds, finishing the trip in 72 days, 6 hours
Jules Verne
Theater Premiere
1893 Gerhart Hauptmann's play "Hanneles Himmelfahrt" premieres in Berlin
Gerhart Hauptmann
Event of Interest
1906 US President Theodore Roosevelt visits Panama
Theodore Roosevelt
Meeting of Interest
1907 The Third Duma (Parliament) meets in Russia; following Tsar Nicholas II's limiting of the franchise, a conservative majority holds sway and suppresses the radical elements
Nicholas II
Event of Interest
1908 Albert Einstein presents his quantum theory of light
Albert Einstein
Event of Interest
1915 Tomáš Masaryk demands independence for Czechoslovakia
Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk
- 1918 Republic of Czechoslovakia created with Tomáš Masaryk as its 1st president
- 1919 Red Army captures Omsk, Siberia
- 1920 American Pro Football League's Chic Tiger Joe Guyon punts 95 yards
- 1920 The Russian Bolshevik army occupies Sebastopol, ending anti-communist attempts to regain the government of Russia
- 1921 The Communist Party of Spain is founded
Historic Communication
1922 BBC begins daily radio broadcasts from the 2LO transmitter at Marconi House
Guglielmo Marconi
Franklin D. Roosevelt
- 1935 Nazis deprive German Jews of their citizenship
Event of Interest
1936 Bradman scores 192 for South Australia v Victoria before a MCG crowd of 21000
Donald Bradman
- 1938 Dutch DC3 crashes at Schiphol, 6 die
- 1939 Oil refinery fire kills 500 & destroys Lagunillas, Venezuela
- 1940 During WW II, German planes destroy most of Coventry, England
- 1941 British aircraft carrier Ark Royal sank in Mediterranean, having been torpedoed by a German submarine the day before
- 1941 Governr-General Wouters of Dutch Antilles refuses Jews refuge
- 1942 -Nov 15th) Japanese/US sea battle at Savo-Island in Guadalcanal
- 1942 Last Vichy-French troops in Algeria surrender
- 1943 Chic Bear Sid Luckman passes for 7 touchdowns vs NY Giants (56-7)
- 1943 J Postma, C Schalker, D Goulooze arrested for leading illegal CPN
- 1945 H Lindsay and R Crouse's "State of the Union" premieres in NYC
- 1945 Java: Sutan Sjahrir appointed as forming government
- 1946 Dutch Dakota flight to Schiphol crashes, kills 11
- 1952 Greek General Alexander Papagos wins elections
- 1952 First regular UK singles chart published by the New Musical Express
- 1953 WCIA TV channel 3 in Champaign, IL (CBS) begins broadcasting
- 1954 Egyptian President Naguib resigns, state of emergency declared
- 1956 Hungarian revolt put down by Soviet invasion
- 1957 Dick Hutton beats Lou Thesz in Toronto, to become NWA wrestling champion
- 1957 Henry Aaron wins NL MVP
- 1957 The Apalachin Meeting outside Binghamton, New York is raided by law enforcement, and many high level Mafia figures are arrested
- 1959 "Girls against the Boys" closes at Alvin Theater NYC after 16 performances
- 1959 Kilauea's most spectacular eruption (in Hawaii)
- 1960 2 passenger trains collided at high-speed killing 110 (Czech)
- 1960 Belgium threatens to leave UN due to criticism on its policy on Congo
#1 in the Charts
1960 Ray Charles' "Georgia On My Mind" reaches #1
Ray Charles
NHL Record
1964 Detroit Red Wings Gordie Howe sets NHL record 627th career goal
Gordie Howe
Boxing Title Fight
1966 Muhammad Ali TKOs Cleveland Williams in 3 for heavyweight title
Muhammad Ali
- 1967 The Congress of Colombia in commemoration of the 150 years of the death of Policarpa Salavarrieta, declares this day as "Day of the Colombian Woman"
- 1968 "National Turn in Your Draft Card Day" features draft card burning
- 1968 First European lung transplant
- 1968 Yale University announces it is going co-educational
- 1968 U.S. premiere of film version of Morris L. West's best seller "The Shoes of the Fisherman"
- 1969 2nd Vietnam Moratorium Day in US
- 1969 Apollo 12 (Conrad/Gordon/Bean) launched for 2nd manned Moon landing
- 1970 Marshall U football team wiped out in DC-9 air crash at Kenova, West Virginia, killing 75
- 1971 Enthronment of Pope Shenouda III as Pope of Alexandria
- 1972 Dow Jones closes above 1,000 for 1st time (1003.16)
- 1973 "Good Evening" opens at Plymouth Theater NYC for 438 performances
- 1973 Canada begins production of Olympic coins
- 1973 Jim Palmer is named AL Cy Young winner
- 1975 Spain, Morocco and Mauretania sign accord about Spanish Sahara
- 1976 "Don't Step on My Olive Branch" closes at Playhouse NYC after 16 performances
- 1976 Cleveland Browns' Jerry Sherk sets club record with 4 sacks
- 1976 War criminal Pieter Menten captured 1 day after fleeing
Film Premier
1976 "Network", directed by Sidney Lumet, starring Faye Dunaway, Peter Finch and William Holden, premieres in Los Angeles and New York City (Finch - Academy Awards Best Actor 1977)
Event of Interest
1977 Egyptian President Anwar Sadat repeats willingness to visit Israel to Walter Cronkite
Anwar Sadat
Walter Cronkite
- 1979 California's Don Baylor, wins AL MVP
- 1980 Guinee-Bissau Premier Vieira fires President Luis Cabral
- 1980 Kimberley Santos, 19 of Guam, crowned 30th Miss World
- 1980 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
- 1981 2nd Space Shuttle Mission-Columbia 2-returns to Earth
- 1981 Old Dutch Windmill in Golden Gate Park repaired and working again
- 1981 Pakistan all out 62 v Australia at WACA, Lillee 5-18
- 1981 Paul 'Bear' Bryant ties Amos Alonzo Stagg with 314 football wins
- 1981 "Raise!" 11th studio album by Earth, Wind & Fire is released (Billboard Album of the Year 1982)
- 1981 In the first world championship fight between 2 Puerto Ricans in boxing history, WBC Super Welterweight champion Wilfred Benitez beats Carlos Santos in a 15-round unanimous decision at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas
Event of Interest
1982 Polish Solidarity chairman Lech Wałęsa freed
Lech Wałęsa
- 1983 First cruise missile placed at Greenham Common, England
- 1984 Astronauts aboard "Discovery" pluck a 2nd satellite from orbit
- 1984 NASA launches NATO-3D
- 1984 Zamboanga City mayor Cesar Climaco, a prominent critic of the government of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, is assassinated in his home city.
- 1985 Brewers release 39-year-old pitcher Rollie Fingers
- 1985 Holmfriour Karlsdottir of Iceland, 22, crowned 35th Miss World
- 1985 Volcano Nevado del Ruiz Colombia erupts, 1000s killed
- 1986 Doubleday Publishing sells NY Mets to Nelson Doubleday and Fred Wilpon
- 1986 FCC issues Notice Of Apparent Liability to WYSP Philadelphia
- 1986 SEC imposes a record $100 million penalty against Ivan Boesky
- 1987 "La Cage aux Folles" closes at Palace Theater NYC after 1761 performances
- 1987 Sam's Town National Bowling Pro-Am won by Debbie Bennett
- 1988 Sitcom "Murphy Brown" starring Candice Bergen premieres on CBS
- 1989 Padres reliever Mark Davis wins NL Cy Young Award
- 1990 Doug Drabek (22-6) wins NL Cy Young Award
- 1990 France performs nuclear test at Mururoa atoll
- 1990 Great Britain performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
Event of Interest
1990 Michael Heseltine contests Margaret Thatcher's leadership of the British Conservative Party
Margaret Thatcher
- 1990 Philippines hit by typhoon, 110 die
Event of Interest
1990 James Worthy is arrested in Houston and charged with two counts of solicitation of prostitution
James Worthy
Television Premiere
1991 Michael Jackson's "Black or White" video premieres on FOX TV
Michael Jackson
Event of Interest
1991 Cambodian Prince Norodom Sihanouk returns to Phnom Penh after thirteen years of exile
Norodom Sihanouk
- 1993 Puerto Rico votes against becoming the 51st US state
- 1993 43rd NASCAR Sprint Cup: Dale Earnhardt wins
- 1994 1st trains for public run in Channel Tunnel under English Channel
- 1994 Space shuttle STS-66 (Atlantis 13), lands
- 1996 "Chicago" opens at Richard Rodgers Theater NYC
- 1996 Texas Ranger Juan Gonzalez wins AL MVP
- 1997 Colo Rockie Larry Walker wins NL MVP
- 1997 Disney's "Lion King" sets Broadway record of $2,700,000 daily sale
- 2001 War in Afghanistan: Afghan Northern Alliance fighters takeover the capital Kabul
- 2001 OPEC announces that it intends to cut its crude oil output quotas by 1.5 million barrels per day effective, but only if non-OPEC producers cut their output by 500,000 barrels per day as well
- 2002 Argentina defaults on an $805 million World Bank payment.
9/11 Attack on New York's World Trade Towers
2002 The United States House of Representatives votes not to create an independent commission to investigate the September 11 attacks
Learn More >>
Film Release
2002 Film "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" is released, based on the second book by J. K. Rowling
Music Awards
2004 31st American Music Awards: Sheryl Crow, Usher & Kenny Chesney win
Sheryl Crow
Usher
- 2006 "Casino Royale", 21st James Bond film premieres in London, starring Daniel Craig for the 1st time and Eva Green, premieres in London
- 2007 the last direct-current distribution by Con Edison was shut down.
- 2008 Italy plunges into recession, its first since the start of 2005, after GDP contracts a steeper-than-expected 0.5% in the third quarter
- 2008 Hong Kong becomes the second Asian economy to tip into recession, its exports hit by weakening global demand
- 2008 Eurozone officially slips into recession for the first time since its creation in 1999, pushed down by recessions in Germany and Italy
Appointment of Interest
2008 Elizabeth Warren is appointed to chair a Congressional Oversight Panel for the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act
Elizabeth Warren
- 2009 The National Statistical Service of Greece states that the country has been in recession since the beginning of the year
Event of Interest
2010 German Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel wins the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Yas Marina Circuit to claim his first F1 World Drivers Championship by 4 points from Fernando Alonso; Red Bull's first Constructors title
Sebastian Vettel
Film Release
2012 "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2", based on the book by Stephenie Meyer, directed by Bill Condon, starring Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson, is released
Event of Interest
2013 Boston gangster Whitey Bulger is sentenced to two consecutive life terms plus five years for his crimes
Whitey Bulger
- 2014 American harness racing trainer/driver Dave Palone sets the world record for wins when he drive Missy Tap Tina to the winner's circle for his 16,754th career victory
- 2015 Second Democratic presidential candidates debate, broadcast by CBS, held in Des Moines, Iowa
- 2016 7.8 earthquake cuts off town of Kaikoura, New Zealand, raising sea bed by 4m, and killing 2 people
Robert Mugabe Ousted
2017 Zimbabwe Army seizes key sites in capital Harare following tensions over Robert Mugabe's dismissal of vice-president Emmerson Mnangagwa
Learn More >>
Event of Interest
2018 Jewellery that belonged to French Queen Marie Antoinette is auctioned off in Geneva, after not being seen for 200 years
Marie Antoinette
Event of Interest
2018 UK Prime Minister Theresa May’s cabinet approves draft plan for country's exit from the European Union (Brexit)
Theresa May
- 2018 Astronomers announce discovery of Super-Earth planet (3.2x bigger than Earth) orbiting red dwarf Barnard's star, 6 light years away
- 2018 New York Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom wins NL Cy Young Award; his 10 wins fewest ever by a Cy Young winner in a non-strike-shortened season; MLB-leading 1.70 ERA; 29 consecutive start streak longest in MLB history
November in History
The War's Over, But Don't Get Too Excited
It was 'the war to end all wars' that came to a weary climax on this day. But this was no time to lose your inhibitions, at least not for one famous Englishman.
November 11, 1918Bulls Finally Spared 700 Years of Cruelty
The dangerous and despicably cruel “sport” of bull-running came to an end on this day in an English market town. It had been going on for 700 years.
November 13, 1839Nell Gwyn, the Whore Who Enchanted a King
Nell Gwyn, who was brought up in a bawdy-house in London, caught the eye of King Charles II and became one of England’s most famous royal mistresses.
November 14, 1687All Eyes on Birthplace of British Rock 'n' Roll
Tommy Steele, Britain's first rock 'n' roll star, was discovered on this day at a coffee bar in central London, appearing live on the BBC's first pop music show.
November 16, 1957
