Today in History

Births On This Day, November 15th 🎂

1942 Daniel Barenboim
Argentine/Israeli conductor, pianist

1891 Erwin Rommel
German field marshal

1887 Georgia O'Keeffe
American painter

1886 René Guénon
French/Egyptian author

1708 William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham
English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

Deaths On This Day, November 15th🪦

1983 John Le Mesurier
English actor

1978 Margaret Mead
American anthropologist

1917 Émile Durkheim
French sociologist

1908 Empress Dowager Cixi
of China

1630 Johannes Kepler
German astronomer
 

15th November

1940 The German Luftwaffe bombed Coventry in a massive raid which lasted more than 10 hours and left much of the city devastated. Relays of enemy aircraft dropped bombs indiscriminately. One of the many buildings hit included the 14th century cathedral, which was all but destroyed.

1985 Britain and the Republic of Ireland signed a deal giving Dublin a role in Northern Ireland for the first time in more than 60 years. Britain's Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher said it brought new hope of ending the violence in Northern Ireland.

1899 Winston Churchill was captured by the Boers while covering the war as a reporter for the Morning Post. He escaped a few weeks later.

1969 ATV (Midland) screened the first colour TV commercial in Britain; for Birds Eye Peas. It cost £23 for the off peak 30 second slot.

1994 The launch of Britain's first Internet newspaper, The Electronic Telegraph.

1998 Britain and America pulled back from the brink of war with Iraq after an offer to let UN weapons inspectors back into the country. American and British bombers were on their way to Baghdad when they were called off after Iraq's letter was delivered to the United Nations Security Council on Saturday.
 
1763
Charles Mason & Jeremiah Dixon begin surveying Mason-Dixon line between Pennsylvania&Maryland
1904
businessman/ inventor, King C Gillette patents the Gillette razor blade
1920
League of Nations holds its 1st meeting in Geneva
1969
2 million people across U.S. take part in Vietnam War demostrations
2017
painting by Leonardo Da Vinci' Salvator Mundi' sells for a world record price $450 mill at NYC auction
2022
According to United Nations, world's population reaches 8 billion
 

17th November 1963
John Weightman, the Headmaster of a Surrey Grammar School, banned all students from having Beatle haircuts.
In announcing his decision he said "This ridiculous style brings out the worst in boys physically. It makes them look like morons."
 
Nov 17th:
1827
one of the oldest U.S. social fraternitys, 'Delta Phi' is founded at Union College in Schnectady, NY
1869
Suez Canal in Egypt opens linking Mediterrean&Red Seas
1922
Mehemed VI, last sultan of Ottoman Empire is expelled to Malta
1968
NBC cuts away from NFL game Oakland Raiders vs NY Jets to show TV movie' Heidi' instead.The Raiders came from behind to win 43-32
1970
Douglas Englebart receives patent for 1st computer mouse
 
On This Day In History, November 18th

1978 Mass suicides in Jonestown
Over 900 people committed suicide at the behest of Jim Jones the founder and head of a group called Peoples Temple. Formed in Indianapolis, Indiana, in the mid-1050s, members of the group moved to Guyana in 1974 and set up a settlement outside Georgetown called Jonestown.

1963 Push button phones are used for the first time
Bell systems started replacing rotary dial phones with push-button phones in the United States. Push button phones use keys or buttons to dial a number.

1916 End of the Somme Offensive
The battle was fought between German forces on one side and British and French forces on the other during the First World War. Thought to be one of the bloodiest battles of the 20th century - the conflict started on July 1, 1916, and was fought on the banks of the river Somme in France.

1903 Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty signed between Panama and the US
The treaty created the Panama Canal Zone and set up the terms for the construction of the Panama Canal. Until 1979, the Panama Canal Zone was a territory of the United States. The French began construction on the Panama Canal in 1881 but had to stop due to engineering problems. The US took over the construction in 1904 and finished building the canal in 1914.

1883 Canadian and American railroads adopted time zones
Prior to this, most cities had their own local time, making it difficult for railways to be on time and confusing passengers. To solve this problem, private railways decided to divide the continent into 4 distinct time zones - the lines of which are very close to the time zone lines today.
 

Births On This Day, November 18th 🎂

1974 Chloë Sevigny
American actress, fashion designer

1953 Alan Moore
English author, illustrator

1939 Margaret Atwood
Canadian poet, author, critic

1933 Bruce Conner
American painter, photographer, director

1923 Ted Stevens
American politician

Deaths On This Day, November 18th 🪦

1987 Jacques Anquetil
French cyclist

1978 Jim Jones
American cult leader founded the People's Temple

1962 Niels Bohr
Danish physicist, Nobel Prize laureate

1922 Marcel Proust
French writer

1886 Chester A. Arthur
American politician, 21st President of the United States
 
18th November

1720 The English pirate of the Caribbean, John Rackham (born 26th Dec. 1682) was hanged On This Day after being captured by the Royal Navy in mid October. He was often called Calico Jack, from the calico clothing that he wore, while Jack is a nickname for John. He is most remembered for two things: the design of his Jolly Roger flag, a skull with crossed swords, which contributed to the popularization of the design, and for having two female crew members, Mary Read and his lover Anne Bonny.

1852 The state funeral of the Duke of Wellington took place at St Paul’s Cathedral. It was one of the biggest ever held in London. Known as the Iron Duke, he was Tory Prime Minister from 1828-30. Over a million people lined the streets of London to catch a glimpse of the funeral Procession which ‘moved off at eight o'clock precisely’.

1983 The world's first all-girl sextuplets were born, to Mrs. Janet Walton at Liverpool Maternity Hospital. They were named Hannah, Lucy, Ruth, Sarah, Kate and Jenny.

1987 The worst fire in the history of the London Underground killed 30 people. The blaze began in the machinery below a wooden escalator in King’s Cross Underground station and soon filled the tunnels with dense, choking smoke and intense heat.

1991 Church envoy Terry Waite was freed by the Islamic extremists who kidnapped him in Beirut in 1987.
 
On This Day In History, November 19th

1977 Egyptian president Anwar Sadat visits Israel
Sadat was the first Arab head of state to visit Israel and address the Israeli parliament, the Knesset. His visit came under severe criticism both in Israel and in the Arab world. Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1978 for their attempts to bring a resolution to the Arab-Israeli conflict.

1969 Second Moon Landing
The second spacecraft to land on the Moon, Apollo 12 was the 6th manned flight of NASA’s Apollo program. Crew members Charles Conrad Jr. and Alan L. Bean became the 3rd and 4th humans to step on the surface of the Moon. The first 2 were Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin.

1969 Pelé’s 1000th goal
The Brazilian footballer, often considered to be the greatest athlete of the 20th century, made his 1,000th professional goal against Vasco da Gama at the Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro.

1943 Janowska camp uprising
The concentration camp in occupied Poland was set up in 1941. In November 1943, in anticipation of the advancement of Soviet troops, the Nazis tried to evacuate the camp and used the inmates to remove traces of executions and mass killings in the past. On this day, the inmates staged an uprising and attempted to escape. Most escapees, however, were recaptured and killed.

1794 Signing of the Jay Treaty
The treaty, officially known as, the Treaty of Amity Commerce and Navigation, between His Britannic Majesty and The United States of America, was signed between representatives of the United States and Britain. It called for the British to surrender northwestern posts to the U.S. and for them to consider the United States as the most favored nation for trade between the two countries.
 
Births On This Day, November 19th 🎂

1941 Tommy Thompson
American politician, 42nd Governor of Wisconsin

1917 Indira Gandhi
Indian politician, 3rd Prime Minister of India

1888 José Raúl Capablanca
Cuban chess player

1831 James A. Garfield
American politician, 20th President of the United States

1600 Charles I of England

Deaths On This Day, November 19th🪦

1924 Thomas H. Ince
American actor, director, producer

1918 Joseph F. Smith
American religious leader, 6th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

1850 Richard Mentor Johnson
American politician, 9th Vice President of the United States

1828 Franz Schubert
Austrian composer

1798 Wolfe Tone
Irish patriot
 
20th November 1955
After the staff of The Ed Sullivan Show requested he sing "Sixteen Tons", Bo Diddley instead performs "Bo Diddley" live on the Sunday night TV show.
Sullivan was so infuriated, Bo would never be invited back. The singer later recalled, "Ed Sullivan said that I was one of the first coloured boys to ever double-cross him. Said that I wouldn't last six months."
Diddley would prove Sullivan wrong, as he released 11 albums between 1958 and 1963 and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.
 
20th November 1992
Fire damages a major part of Windsor Castle and a number of important works of art, books and furniture are lost some through fire damage but also many through water damage caused by the 35 fire engines that fought the fire .
 
On This Day In History, November 20th

1998 First module of the International Space Station launched
Called Zarya, the module is Russian-built and American-owned. The International Space Station (ISS) is a manned artificial satellite that was built and operated by 5 space agencies – the Canadian Space Agency, the European Space Agency, the US NASA, Russia's Roscosmos, and the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency. The brightest man-made object visible to the naked eye from Earth, ISS orbits the Earth at a speed of 17,500 miles per hour (28,000 kilometers per hour) at an average distance of 248 miles (400 kilometers) from Earth.

1985 Windows 1.0 released
Nearly two years after it was announced, Microsoft released its first graphical operating system. The OS made it easier for users to navigate on their computer screens. It came with Paint, Notepad, Calculator, and a game called Reversi.

1959 Declaration of the Rights of the Child
The United Nations General Assembly adopted the document that laid out the rights of children around the world. The day is also annually celebrated as Universal Children's Day.

1945 Nuremberg trials begin
The trials were led by the International Military Tribunal and were held to prosecute high-ranking members of the Nazi party for war crimes committed during the Second World War. Of the 23 people tried, 14 were sentenced to death.

1923 Traffic signal patented
American Garret Morgan was awarded the patent for an automated traffic signal. Morgan’s invention was not the first of its kind, but unlike the other traffic signals which just had stop-and-go signals, his traffic light had a third signal that warned drivers about changes in the stop-and-go lights. This signal was the precursor for today’s yellow light.
 
Births On This Day, November 20th 🎂

1981 Sam Fuld
American baseball player

1942 Joe Biden
American politician, 46th President of the United States

1925 Robert F. Kennedy
American politician, 64th United States Attorney General

1912 Otto von Habsburg
Austrian/German son of Charles I of Austria

1750 Tipu Sultan
Indian army officer, king

Deaths On This Day, November 20th 🪦

2006 Robert Altman
American director, screenwriter

1975 Francisco Franco
Spanish general, politician, Caudillo of Spain

1925 Alexandra of Denmark

1910 Leo Tolstoy
Russian author

1737 Caroline of Ansbach
 
On This Day In History, November 21st

1979 Mob burns down US embassy in Pakistan
The mob was allegedly incensed by a rumor that the United States was involved in an attack on a mosque in the holy city of Mecca.

1964 Verrazano Narrows Bridge opens in NYC
The suspension bridge connects Staten Island and Brooklyn in New York City and at the time of its opening, it was the world’s longest suspension bridge until the Humber Bridge in the UK opened in 1981.

1962 War between China and India ends
The month-long war began over a border dispute between the two countries and ended with a unilateral ceasefire by the Chinese.

1941 Tweety Bird makes its debut
The fictional cartoon canary also called Tweety made his first appearance in A Tale of Two Kitties, a Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon. Tweety was created by animator Bob Clampett who worked on Loony Tunes cartoons.

1920 Bloody Sunday in Ireland
A key event in the Irish War of Independence, which was a conflict between the British government and Irish revolutionaries in Ireland, Bloody Sunday began with the killings of 14 people by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) under the leadership of Michael Collins. Two other violent incidents against civilian and IRA members during the day added to the death count, which was over 30 by the end of the day.
 

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