Celebrated in the U.S. as Veterans Day (formerly called Armistice Day) with parades and military memorial ceremonies.
EVENTS
- 1675 – Integral calculus is demonstrated for the first time to find the area under the graph of y = f(x) function.
- 1834 – The Ugly Duckling was first published by Hans Christian Andersen.
- 1889 – Washington is admitted as the 42nd U.S. state.
- 1918 – At 5 a.m., in Marshal Foch’s railway car in the Forest of Compiegne, the Armistice between the Allied and Central Powers was signed, silencing the guns of World War I effective at 11 a.m. β the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. In many places in Europe, a moment of silence in memory of the millions of fallen soldiers is still observed.
- 1926 – Approval of numbered highways in the US. Under this system odd numbered highways run north to south while even numbered highways run east to west. Lower odd numbers are in the west, and higher odd number are in the east. Lower even numbers are in the south, and higher even numbers are in the north.
- 1938 – Irving Berlin’s God Bless America was first performed. He had written the song especially for radio entertainer Kate Smith who sang it during her regular radio broadcast. It soon became a patriotic favorite of Americans and was one of Smith’s most requested songs.
- 1965 – Rhodesia declares its independence. Rhodesia, a region that is comprised of present day Zimbabwe declared its freedom from the United Kingdom under the leadership of predominantly white leaders. It lasted for 14 years when it was renamed the Republic of Zimbabwe after being recognized by the UN and the UK.
- 1972 – The U.S. turned over its military base at Long Binh to the South Vietnamese, symbolizing the end of direct American military participation in the Vietnam War.
- 1973 – Egypt and Israel signed a cease-fire agreement sponsored by the U.S.
- 1975 – Angola independence. Angola gained its independence after over 300 years of Portuguese rule.
- 1987 – In Russia, Boris Yeltsin was removed as Moscow Communist Party chief for criticizing the slow pace of Soviet reform.
- 1992 – The Church of England voted to allow women to become priests.
- 1999 – House of Lords Act 1999 passed. The act removed the right to a place in the House of Lords based on peerage and hereditary rights.
BIRTHDAYS
- 1744 – Abigail Adams (1744-1818) was born in Weymouth, Massachusetts (She was the wife of John Adams, the 2nd U.S (President.
- 1821 – Fyodor Dostoevsky (Author – Crime and Punishment)
- 1885 – George Patton (WWII US General)
- 1922 – Kurt Vonnegut (Author)
- 1945 – Daniel Ortega (Nicaraguan politician, President of Nicaragua)
- 1962 – Demi Moore (Actress)
- 1964 – Calista Flockhart (Actress)
- 1974 – Leonardo DiCaprio (Actor)
- 1986 – Mark Sanchez (NFL Quarterback)
DEATHS
- 1855 – SΓΈren Kierkegaard (Danish philosopher, author)
- 1880 – Ned Kelly (Australian murderer)
- 1887 – Haymarket affair (defendants:)
- 1938 – Typhoid Mary (Irish/American carrier of Typhoid fever)
- 2004 – Yasser Arafat (Palestinian engineer, politician)