Today in History

[Tamrin]

11 November

1918: Armistice Day

Armistice Day is the anniversary of the symbolic end of World War I on 11 November 1918. It commemorates the armistice signed between the Allies and Germany at Rethondes, France, for the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front, which took effect at eleven o'clock in the morning — the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month". While this official date to mark the end of the war reflects the cease fire on the Western Front, hostilities continued in other regions, especially across the former Russian Empire and in parts of the old Ottoman Empire.

1975: The Dismissal

The Dismissal of the Whitlam Government on November 11, 1975 was the most dramatic political event in the history of Australia's Federation... The new government was elected in a climate of great hope and optimism. It's demise a mere three years later at the hands of the Senate and the Governor-General is a fascinating political story that is still relevant to this day.

[Tamrin]

12 November

1927 - Joseph Stalin became the ruler of the Soviet Union.

[Tamrin]

13 November

1862 - Rev. Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (Lewis Carrol) begins writing Alice in Wonderland

[Tamrin]

14 November

1839 - 1st US anti-slavery party, Liberty Party, convenes in NY

1931 - Hattie Caraway (D-AK) appointed 1st US woman senator

1956 - [US] Supreme Court strikes down segregation of races on public buses

[Tamrin]

15 November

1889 - New York World reporter Nellie Bly (Elizabeth Cochrane) began her attempt to surpass fictitious journey of Jules Verne's Phileas Fogg by traveling around world in less than 80 days She succeeded, by finishing trip following January in 72 days, 6 [hours]

1972 - Dow Jones closes above 1,000 for 1st time (1003.16)

[Tamrin]

16 November

1380 - French King Charles VI declares no taxes for ever

1948 - Operation Magic Carpet - 1st plane from Yemen carrying Jews to Israel

1950 - US pres Truman proclaims emergency crisis caused by communist threat

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17 November

1558 - Elizabeth I ascends English throne upon death of Queen Mary

1875 - Theosophical Society founded by Mme Blavatsky & Col Olcott [& others]

[Tamrin]

18 November

1307 - William Tell shoots apple off his son's head

1928 - Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse debuts in NY in "Steamboat Willie"

1964 - J Edgar Hoover describes Martin Luther King as "most notorious liar"

[Tamrin]

19 November

1863 - Lincoln delivers his address in Gettysburg; "4 score & 7 years..."

1941 - World War II: The Royal Australian Navy cruiser HMAS Sydney and the German auxiliary cruiser Kormoran sink each other off the coast of Western Australia, with the loss of 645 Australians and about 77 German seamen.

[Tamrin]

20 November

1541 - In Switzerland, French reformer John Calvin, 32, established a theocratic government at Geneva, thereby creating a home base for emergent Protestantism throughout Europe

1888 - William Bundy patents the timecard clock