1252 Death of Blanche of Castile, Queen of Louis VIII of France (b. 1188)
1288 Birth of Emperor Go-Daigo of Japan (d. 1339)
1326 Death of Hugh the younger Despenser, English knight (b. 1286)
1436 Birth of Princess Catherine of Portugal, writer (d. 1463)
1497 King Hans of Denmark and Norway is acclaimed King of Sweden.
1504 Death of Queen Isabella I of Castile (b. 1451)
1607 Birth of John Harvard England, clergyman/scholar, major benefactor to Harvard University (library and half his estate).
1609 Birth of Henry Dunster, English president of Harvard College (d. 1659)
1621 Death of Radulph Agas, English surveyor
1639 Death of John Spottiswoode, Scottish historian (b. 1565)
1651 Death of Henry Ireton, English Civil War general (b. 1611)
1657 Birth of William Derham, English minister and writer (d. 1735)
1678 Birth of Jean Jacques d’Ortous de Mairan, French geophysicist (d. 1771)
1686 Death of Nicolas Steno, Danish geologist (b. 1638)
1688 Death of Philippe Quinault, French writer (b. 1635)
1689 Death of Marquard Gude, German archaeologist (b. 1635)
1703 A severe storm destroys the Eddystone lighthouse off Plymouth, Devon, England, killing resident designer Mr. Winstanley.
1703 Birth of Theophilus Cibber, English actor and writer (d. 1758)
1703 Bristol England damaged by hurricane, Royal Navy loses 15 warships.
1716 First lion exhibited in America (Boston).
1717 Death of Daniel Purcell, British composer (b. 1664)
1719 Death of John Hudson, British classical scholar (b. 1662)
1731 Birth of William Cowper England, preromantic poet (His Task).
1778 Captain Cook discovers Maui (Sandwich Islands).
1778 In the Hawaiian Islands, Captain James Cook becomes the first European to visit Maui.
1780 Death of Sir James Denham Steuart, 4th Baronet, British economist (b. 1712)
1789 First national thanksgiving.
1792 Birth of Sarah Moore GrimkT American antislavery, women’s rights advocate.
1793 Republican calendar replaces Gregorian calendar in France.
1805 Official opening of Thomas Telford’s Pontcysyllte Aqueduct.
1825 At Union College in Schenectady, New York a group of college students form Kappa Alpha Society, the first college social fraternity.
1825 First college fraternity founded (Kappa Alpha (Union College, New York)).
1828 Birth of RenT Goblet, French politician (d. 1905)
1832 Birth of Mary Edwards Walker US, doctor/women’s rights leader.
1832 First streetcar railway in America starts operating (New York City) (12-cent fare).
1836 Death of John MacAdam, British road builder (b. 1756)
1847 Birth of Maria Fyodorovna, Princess of Denmark and Empress of Russia (d. 1928)
1851 Death of Nicolas Jean de Dieu Soult, French marshal (b. 1769)
1855 Death of Adam Mickiewicz, Polish poet (b. 1798)
1857 Birth of Ferdinand de Saussure Switzerland, linguist (Cours de Laguistique Generale).
1857 Death of Joseph von Eichendorff, German poet (b. 1788)
1861 At Wheeling, a convention adopts a constitution for new state West Virginia.
1862 Charles Dodgson (AKA Lewis Carroll) sends the handwritten manuscript of Alice’s Adventures Underground to 10-year-old Alice Liddell.
1863 American Civil War: Mine Run – Union forces under General George Meade position against troops led by Confederate General Robert E. Lee.
1864 Birth of Edward Higgins, the 3rd General of The Salvation Army (d. 1947)
1865 Alice in Wonderland published.
1865 Battle of Papudo: The Spanish navy engages a combined Peruvian-Chilean fleet north of Valparaiso, Chile.
1868 First baseball game played in enclosed field in San Francisco, at 25th and Folsom.
1869 Birth of Maud, Queen of Norway (d. 1938)
1876 Birth of Willis Haviland Carrier developed air-conditioning equipment.
1876 Death of Karl Ernst von Baer, German biologist (b. 1792)
1877 Birth of Alfred Cortot, Swiss pianist (d. 1962)
1883 Sojourner Truth abolitionist, women’s rights advocate, dies.
1885 Birth of Heinrich Brnning, Chancellor of Germany (d. 1970)
1885 Death of Thomas Andrews, Irish chemist (b.1813)
1889 Birth of Albert DieudonnT, French actor, screenwriter and novelist (d. 1976)
1892 Birth of Joe Guyon NFL halfback (Canton, Cleveland, Oorang, Rock I, etc).
1894 Birth of Norbert Wiener US, mathematician/discovered cybernetics.
1895 Hawaiian Sugar Planters Association formed.
1896 A.A. Stagg of University of Chicago creates the football huddle.
1896 Death of Emil du Bois-Reymond, German physician (b. 1818)
1896 First large indoor football game, University of Chicago beats University of Michigan 7-6.
1898 Birth of Karl Ziegler, German chemist, Nobel Prize laurete (d. 1973)
1899 Birth of Bruno Hauptmann, German kidnapper of Charles Lindbergh III (d. 1936)
1902 Birth of Alberto Morin PR; actor (Armando-Dallas).
1905 Birth of Emlyn Williams Wales; actor/playwright (David Copperfield).
1907 Birth of Frances Dee US actress (Of Human Bondage).
1908 Birth of Lefty Gomez, American baseball player (d. 1989)
1910 Birth of Cyril Cusack South Africa, actress (Day of the Jackal).
1912 Birth of Eric Sevareid Velva North Dakota, newscaster (CBS Weekend News).
1913 Birth of Foy Draper US, relay runner (Olympic-gold-1936).
1915 Birth of Earl Wild Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, pianist (Caesar’s Hour, NBC Symphony 1942).
1917 The National Hockey League is formed, with the Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers, Ottawa Senators, Quebec Bulldogs, and Toronto Arenas as its first teams.
1918 The Podgorica Assembly votes for “union of the people”, declaring assimilation into the Kingdom of Serbia
1922 At a burial tomb (of King Tutankhamen) in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings, Howard Carter views inside a second doorway into the burial chamber, seeing “everywhere the glint of gold”.
1922 Birth of Adele Jergens Brooklyn New York, actress (Dark Past, Fuller Brush Man).
1922 Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon become the first people to enter the tomb of Egyptian King Tutankhamun in over 3000 years.
1922 Toll of the Sea debuts as the first general release film to use two-tone Technicolor (The Gulf Between was the first film to do so but it was not widely distributed).
1924 Birth of George Segal, American Pop Sculptor (d. 2000)
1924 Mongolian People’s Republic proclaimed.
1925 Birth of Eugene Istomin in New York City, New York, USA; pianist (Leventritt Award-1943).
1927 Birth of Ernie Coombs, American children’s entertainer (d. 2001)
1931 Birth of Adolfo Perez Esquivel in Buenos Aires, Argentina; activist (1980 Nobel Peace Prize).
1933 Birth of Robert Goulet, American singer and actor
1934 Birth of Ludmila Shevtsova in USSR; 800m runner (Olympic-gold-1960).
1934 Death of Mykhailo Hrushevsky, Ukrainian historian and statesman (b.1866)
1937 Birth of Boris Yegorov; cosmonaut (Voskhod 1).
1938 Birth of Tina Turner [Anna Mae Bullock] in Brownsville, Texas, USA; singer (“Proud Mary”).
1939 Birth of Tina Turner, American singer and actress
1939 Finland rejects the Soviet demand for military bases on her territory.
1939 Shelling of Mainila: The Soviet Army orchestrates the incident which is used to justify the start of the Winter War with Finland four days later.
1940 Germans force 500,000 Warsaw Jews to live in walled ghetto.
1941 A Japanese task force of six aircraft carriers, two battleships, and several destroyers and cruisers begins sailing from northern Japan to Hawaii.
1941 Amateur tennis champion Bobby Riggs turns pro.
1941 Death of Niels Hansen Jacobsen, Danish sculptor and ceramist (b. 1861)
1941 Lebanon gains independence from France.
1941 US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signs a bill establishing the fourth Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day in the United States.
1941 US President Franklin Roosevelt signs a bill officially establishing the fourth Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day.
1941 World War II: Attack on Pearl Harbor – A fleet of six aircraft carriers commanded by Japanese Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo leaves Hitokapu Bay for Pearl Harbor under strict radio silence.
1941 World War II: The Hull note ultimatum is delivered to Japan by the United States.
1942 The film Casablanca premieres at the Hollywood Theater in New York City.
1942 World War II: Yugoslav Partisans convene the first meeting of the Anti-Fascist Council of National Liberation of Yugoslavia at Biha? in northwestern Bosnia.
1943 Birth of Jan Stenerud in Norway; NFL place kicker (Kansas City Chiefs).
1945 Birth of John McVie; rocker (Fleetwood Mac – “Rumours”, “Tusk”).
1945 During snow storm, school bus crashes, killing 15 (Washington).
1946 Birth of Art Shell, American football player and coach
1947 Birth of Susanne Zenor, American actress
1948 Birth of Galina Prozumenschikova in USSR; 200m backstroke (Olympic-gold-1964).
1949 Birth of Vincent A. Mahler, Political Scientist and professor at Loyola University Chicago
1949 India adopts a constitution as a British Commonwealth Republic.
1949 The Indian Constituent Assembly adopts India’s constitution.
1950 China enters Korean conflict, sending troops across Yalu River.
1950 Korean War: Troops from the People’s Republic of China move into North Korea and launch a massive counterattack against South Korean and American forces (Battle of Chosin Reservoir), ending any hopes of a quick end to the conflict.
1951 Birth of Cicciolina, Italian actress and politician
1952 Birth of Wendy Turnbell in Australia; tennis player (1979,1982 US Opens Double).
1952 Death of Sven Hedin, Swedish explorer (b. 1865)
1953 Birth of Harry Carson, American football player
1956 Birth of Dale Jarrett, American race car driver
1956 Death of Tommy Dorsey, American bandleader (b. 1905)
1959 Death of Albert KetFlbey, British composer (b. 1875)
1962 Birth of Chuck Finley, American baseball pitcher
1962 Death of Albert Sarraut, French politician (b. 1872)
1963 Death of Amelita Galli-Curci, Italian soprano (b. 1882)
1964 Birth of Vreni Schneider, Swiss skier
1965 France launches first satellite, 92 pounds (42kg) A1-capsule (Asterix), becoming third nation in space.
1965 In the Hammaguira launch facility in the Sahara Desert, France launches a Diamant-A rocket with its first satellite, Asterix-1 on board, becoming the third country to enter space.
1966 First major tidal power plant opens at Rance estuary, France.
1968 British rock band Cream play their farewell concert at the Royal Albert Hall.
1968 Vietnam War: United States Air Force helicopter pilot James P. Fleming rescues an Army Special Forces unit pinned down by Viet Cong fire and is later awarded the Medal of Honor.
1969 Birth of Shawn Kemp, American basketball player
1969 Cream’s final concert (Royal Albert Hall).
1970 Birth of Dave Hughes, Australian comedian
1970 B O Davis Sr, first American black general, dies at age 93 in Chicago, Illinois.
1970 In Basse-Terre, Guadeloupe, 1.5 inches (38.1mm) of rain fall in a minute, the heaviest rainfall ever on record.
1971 Birth of Ronald “Winky” Wright, American boxer
1972 Birth of Arjun Rampal, Indian actor
1972 Pete Gogolak scores New York Giants record 8 points after a touchdown.
1973 Albert DiSalvo, Boston strangler, stabbed to death.
1973 Birth of Peter Facinelli, American actor
1973 US President Richard Nixon’s personal secretary, Rose Mary Woods, tells a federal court she accidentally caused part of 18-minute gap in a key Watergate tape.
1974 Approximately 140 die when suspension bridge collapses (Nepal).
1975 US Federal jury finds Lynette Fromme guilty of attempted assassination of President Gerald Ford.
1976 Birth of Maven Huffman, American professional wrestler
1976 The Band play their final concert, dubbed The Last Waltz. One of the guest performers is Eric Clapton, whose band Cream also played their farewell concert on November 26, 8 years earlier.
1977 Birth of Ivan Basso, Italian professional road bicycle racer
1977 ‘Vrillon’, representative of the ‘Ashtar Galactic Command’, takes over Britain’s Southern Television for five minutes at 5:12 PM.
1978 Ten die as fire erupts at Holiday Inn in Rochester, New York.
1981 Birth of Stephan Andersen, Danish international footballer
1981 Death of Max Euwe, Dutch chess player (b. 1901)
1982 Birth of Karl Henry; professional football player.
1982 Clyde King named New York Yankees’ manager.
1982 Howard Cossell calls his last fight after being disgusted by the Larry Holmes-Tex Cobb mismatch.
1983 Brinks Mat robbery: In London, 6,800 gold bars worth nearly £26 million are taken from the Brinks Mat vault at Heathrow Airport
1984 John W Mercom Jr announces New Orleans Saints are up for sale for US$75 million.
1985 Birth of Lil’ Fizz, American singer
1985 U.S. President Ronald Reagan sells the rights to his autobiography to Random House for a record US$3 million.
1985 US President Ronald Reagan signs over rights to his autobiography to Random House for a record US$3 million.
1986 Iran-Contra scandal: US President Ronald Reagan announces the members of what will become known as the Tower Commission.
1986 The New Yorker publishes Susan Sontag’s AIDS short story, “The Way We Live Now”
1986 U.S. President Ronald Reagan announces that former Senator John Tower, former Secretary of State Edmund Muskie, and former National Security Adviser Brent Scowcroft will serve as members of the Special Review Board looking into the Iran-Contra arms scandal (they became known as the Tower Commission). Reagan denies involvement in the scandal.
1987 Tokyo Disneyland welcomes its 50-millionth guest.
1988 Alexander Volkov, Sergei Krikalev, and Jean-Loup Chretien launch.
1988 Pioneer 6’s closest approach to Earth since 1965 launch (1.87 million km).
1989 Death of Ahmed Abdallah, Comorian politician (born 1919).
1990 Buffalo Bills become 6th first place NFL team to lose on same weekend.
1990 Death of David White, American actor (born 1916).
1990 Matsushita purchases MCA for $6.6 billion.
1990 Russia’s Mikhail Gorbachev tells Iraq to get out of Kuwait.
1996 Death of Mark Lenard, American actor (born 1924).
1996 Near San Luis, Santa Barbara, Honduras, a meteorite slams into a sparsely populated area, leaving a 165-foot-wide crater.
1998 Death of Jonathan Kwitny, American investigative reporter (b. 1941)
1998 Japan-China Joint Declaration On Building a Partnership of Friendship and Cooperation for Peace and Development.
1998 Tony Blair becomes the first Prime Minister of the United Kingdom to address the D�il +ireann, the Republic of Ireland’s parliament.
1998 Tony Blair becomes the first Prime Minister of the United Kingdom to address the Republic of Ireland’s parliament.
1999 In Vanuatu Islands, a magnitude 7.5 earthquake and tsunami occur. At least ten people are killed.
2000 The BC Lions win the Canadian Football League Championship for the first time since 1994, defeating the Montreal Alouettes 28-26 in the 88th Grey Cup at McMahon Stadium in Calgary, Alberta.
2002 Death of Verne Winchell, American doughnut entrepreneur (born 1915).
2002 Legislation by the European Court of Human Rights and Law Lords, ruling in favour of convicted murderer Anthony Anderson, officially ends the right of the Home Secretary to set minimum terms for convicted murderers. This gives hope of a quicker release for more than 200 convicted murderers whose minimum terms were increased by politicians, including an estimated 70 who have already served longer than their original recommended minimum term.
2003 Concorde makes its last ever flight over Bristol, UK.
2003 Death of Abed Hamed Mowhoush, Iraqi general.
2004 A group of Iraqi political leaders, primarily from Sunni and Kurdish parties, advocate a six-month delay in popular elections scheduled for January 2005.
2004 An oil tanker sppills as much as 1.8 million litres of crude oil into the Delaware River between Philadelphia and southern New Jersey, USA.
2005 B.J. Ryan agrees to a $47 million, five-year deal with the Toronto Blue Jays.
2005 Death of Irving Ludwig, president of Buena Vista Distribution.
2005 The Safeway (United Kingdom) brand in the United Kingdom retail disappears after 43 years of operation due to its takeover by Wm Morrison Supermarkets.
2006 Death of Dave Cockrum, American comic book artist (born 1943).
2006 US Judge James Robertson orders the US Treasury to change the dollar bill.
2008 Death of the oldest living person, Edna Parker of Shelbyville, Indiana, at age 115.
2008 Ten heavily-armed gunmen launch co-ordinated attacks at five locations across India’s financial capital of Mumbai, killing 174 people, wounding 295, and holding several people hostage through the night at two luxury hotels, the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower and the Oberoi. An organization calling itself the Deccan Mujahedeen claims responsibility for the attacks
