EVENTS
- 1110 – The Crusaders conquer Sidon
- 1619 – 38 colonists arrive in Virginia and give thanks to God. This is considered by many to be the first Thanksgiving in the Americas.
- 1783 – US General George Washington formally bids his officers farewell.
- 1791 – ‘The Observer’, now the oldest Sunday newspaper in the world, was first published in Britain.
- 1829 – The British banned the practice of “suttee” in India in which Indian females traditionally burned themselves to death on their husband’s funeral pyre.
- 1918 – The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes was proclaimed.
- 1943 – During World War II, the second Cairo Conference took place, attended by Prime Minister Churchill, President Roosevelt and President Inonu of Turkey.
- 1969 – Surfer Greg Noll rides a 65-foot wave, the largest on record.
- 1978 – Dianne Feinstein became the first female mayor of San Francisco. A United States Senator from California, Feinstein became the 38th mayor of San Francisco after the murder of George Moscone.
- 1980 – Led Zeppelin disbands. The British rock band announced that it was disbanding 12 years after coming on the music scene after the death of drummer John Bonham.
- 1982 – China adopts its current constitution. The Constitution of the People’s Republic of China replaced the Constitutions of 1954, 1975, and 1978.
- 1991 – Pan Am ceases operations. The Pan American World Airways, the largest airline in the United States began operations in October 1927.
- 1991 – The last American hostage held in Lebanon was released. Journalist Terry Anderson of the Associated Press had been kidnapped on March 16, 1985 and held for 2,454 days by Islamic Jihad (Holy War) captors. He was one of 15 Americans held hostage for periods ranging from two months to more than six years. Three of the hostages; William Buckley, Peter Kilburn and Lieutenant Colonel William Higgins, were killed during their captivity. The others were released one or two at a time.
BIRTHDAYS
- 1795 – Scottish essayist and historian Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881) was born in the village of Ecclefechan, Scotland. He wrote a three volume history of the French Revolution. Other works included; Heroes and Hero-Worship, Life and Letters of Oliver Cromwell and Frederick the Great.
- 1892 – Francisco Franco (Spanish general, politician, Caudillo of Spain)
- 1923 – Charles Keating (American lawyer, businessman)
- 1933 – Wink Martindale (Game Show Host)
- 1949 – Jeff Bridges (Actor)
- 1964 – Marisa Tomei (Actress)
- 1969 – Jay -Z (Rapper)
- 1973 – Tyra Banks (Supermodel/TV Reality Host)
DEATHS
- 1123 – Omar KhayyΓ‘m (Persian mathematician, astronomer, poet)
- 1893 – John Tyndall (British physicist)
- 1975 – Hannah Arendt (German/American theorist, philosopher)
- 1976 – Benjamin Britten (English composer, conductor, pianist)
- 1993 – Frank Zappa (American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer)