So many things have happened throughout history. It is easy to forget everything good or bad that has been recorded happened to people just like you and me. It is easy to say “oh that is just history,” and not give things a second thought. What if we told you major things in history happened all throughout November? It can be mind blowing to think, things which we never thought could happen to us, happened to people just like us, on days much like any other day we have. As you read this list, the hope is you can gain perspective about time and the world we live in… or maybe just learn random facts, and that’s okay too.
November 1, 1969
The Beatles’ “Abbey Road” album went #1 in the US for 11 weeks. The Beatles went on to be a worldwide sensation for a few years before breaking up.
November 2, 2020
Baby Shark by Pinkfong became the most-watched video on YouTube with over 7.04 billion views during the height of the pandemic.
November 3, 1970
US President Richard Nixon promised gradual troop removal of Vietnam.
November 4, 1922
British archeologist, Howard Carter, discovered the intact tomb of the Pharaoh Tutankhamun in Egypt, underneath the tomb of his father Ramsey.
November 5, 1937
Adolf Hitler informed his military leaders in a secret meeting of his intentions of going to war. The holocaust would follow shortly after.
November 6, 1860
Republican Abraham Lincoln of Illinois elected the 16th President of the United States of America. Lincoln ended up abolishing slavery durning his time as president before being assinated by John Wilkes Booth.
November 7, 2020
Former Vice-President Joe Biden was declared the winner of the US Presidential race, four days after the US election, ending the time of President Donald Trump. Many believe this election was won by voter-fraud.
November 8, 1965
US, Australian and New Zealand forces launched Operation Hump, a search-and-destroy operation near Bien Hoa in South Vietnam. Lawrence Joll, a medic, was wounded and risked his life to save his battlemates. He became the first living person of color to receive the US Medal of honor since the Spanish-American War.
November 9, 1984
Wes Craven’s horror film “A Nightmare on Elm Street” premieres in the US. The franchise ended up having many different movies and remakes.
November 10, 1940
Walt Disney began serving as eyes for both of the happiest places on earth. He became an informer for the Los Angeles office of the FBI; his job is to report back information on Hollywood subversives.
November 11, 1918
WWI Armistice signed by the Allies and Germany comes into effect and World War I hostilities end at 11am, “the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.” All fighting ceased and the battlefields had what witnesses called “ an eerie peaceful silence.”
November 12, 1890
Mabel Loomis Todd publishes the first edition of “Poems by Emily Dickinson.”
November 13, 1992
Riddick Bowe wins the undisputed world heavyweight boxing crown with a unanimous points decision over Evander Holyfield in Las Vegas; first of their 3 meetings.
November 14, 2002
Film “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” is released, based on the 2nd book of the series by J. K. Rowling. The Harry Potter franchise went on to be one of the most best selling book and movie franchises of all time.
November 15, 1777
Articles of Confederation, the first constitution of the United States, is approved by the Continental Congress.
Al Capone was freed from Alcatraz jail. He went right back to a life of gangster mafia crime and would end up back in prison in a few years.
November 17, 1558
Elizabeth I, took the English throne upon the death of her cousin, Queen “Bloody” Mary of scotland. Mary attempted to take Elizabeth’s life in order to have no one opposed to her taking the English throne for herself.
November 18, 1978
In Jonestown, Guyana, 918 members of the Peoples Temple were murdered and committed suicide under the leadership and direction of cult leader Jim Jones.
November 19, 1998
Vincent van Gogh’s “Portrait of the Artist Without Beard” sold at auction for $71.5 million.
November 20, 1945
The Nuremberg war trials began as 24 Nazi leaders were put on trial before judges representing the victorious Allied powers. Many Nazis were sentenced to death and prison, or used by the government.
November 21, 1989
Law banning smoking on most domestic flights was signed by US President George H. W. Bush. Shortly after, most restaurants and public spaces banned smoking other than in designated areas. In modern times the law even includes vaping.
November 22, 1963
US President John F. Kennedy was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald while he rode in an open-topped motorcade in Dallas, Texas.
November 23, 2019
The Sumatran rhino was officially declared extinct in Malaysia after the last known specimen, 25-year-old Iman, died of cancer in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo.
November 24, 2020
Covid-19 surge in the US gathered further pace with the death toll of 2,200 highest since May and new cases averaging 175,000 a day. This was the peak of the pandemic in the US.
November 25, 2019
Baltimore’s 2nd-year quarterback Lamar Jackson becomes first QB in NFL history to throw for 3,000 passing yards and rush for 1,500 yards in his first 2 NFL seasons as the Ravens beat LA Rams, 45-6.
November 26, 1791
The 1st US cabinet meeting was held at George Washington’s home in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of War Henry Knox, and Attorney General Edmund Randolph attended.
November 27, 1895
Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel established the Nobel Prize, which went on for years and years after him.
November 28, 1720
Anne Bonny and Mary Read were tried, found guilty of pirating, and sentenced to death in Spanish Town, Jamaica, although their discovered pregnancies won them stays of execution. The two women pirates were believed to be in a ployamorous relationship with each other and a member of their crew.
November 29, 1935
Physicist Erwin Schrödinger published his famous thought experiment “Schrödinger’s cat”, a paradox that illustrated the problem of the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics. The experiment would go on to be taught to psychology students world-wide.
November 30, 2004
Longtime “Jeopardy!” champion Ken Jennings of Salt Lake City, Utah finally lost, leaving him with $2,520,700 USD, television’s all-time biggest game show win.
Written by: Erinn Malloy
