As the eleventh month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars, November has 30 days. The month derives its name from way back in Roman times when under the Romulus calendar (c.750 BC) it was the ninth month and the Latin word for nine was ‘novem’.
November is late autumn in the northern hemisphere where there’s a distinct chill in the air, the winds may have picked up, and the trees are steadily losing their leaves. By 3 November, the US has reset its clocks to accommodate Daylight Savings Time. By contrast, it’s late spring in the Southern Hemisphere, and countries in South America, Southern Africa, and Oceania are enjoying longer days, warmer temperatures, and more rainfall.
In the month of November, constellations including Scorpio and Sagittarius can be seen in the night sky, while meteor showers including the Andromedids, Leonids, Alpha Monocerotids, and the Taurids peak at various times during this month.
November is a month of many celebrations, including Native American Heritage Month, which is celebrated across the US since 1990, National Diabetes Month, and the popular NaNoWriMo in which the month is dedicated to writing a 50,000-word novel. In many countries around the world, Catholic Christians observe All Saints’ Day (01 November).
In Latin American countries, the Day of the Dead is observed on 2 November as a time to remember lost loved ones. In the United Kingdom, Remembrance Day is observed on 11 November to honor the lives of military service people who died in World War One and World War Two. It is symbolized by a red poppy flower. Veteran’s Day is also observed when Americans honor all living military veterans, including the many working moms who are veterans of military service.
Thanksgiving is observed in the US on the fourth Thursday of the month of November. Originally a harvest festival, it celebrates the Pilgrim Fathers’ successful harvests with the help of Native Americans. In modern times it’s a period of gratitude and of spending time with family and loved ones.
In history, the Black Death is believed to have arrived in London early in November 1348. The epidemic devastated the medieval world killing up to one-third of the population of Europe. In the centuries after the Black Death, the Renaissance took on renewed gusto, and a prime example is Michelangelo’s painting of the Sistine Chapel, which was unveiled in November 1512.
William Shakespeare’s Othello was also presented for the first time in November 1604, as part of the Golden Age of Elizabethan England. On the heels of the High Renaissance was the Age of Enlightenment. Part of the Modern era, it brought scientific ideas to the fore, including Charles Darwin’s publication of Origin of the Species in November 1859.
November is an important month in British history too: in 1429, Henry VIII, one of the most famous monarchs of England, was crowned king. The religious and political upheavals he brought rippled through time and in 1605, Guy Fawkes was arrested after attempting to blow up Parliament.
Following the death of Henry VIII, his daughter Mary, Tudor would become queen. She was highly unpopular and brutally persecuted Protestants, earning the nickname Bloody Mary. She died in November 1558 and would eventually be replaced by the famous Queen Elizabeth I.
In the 18th century, Britain imposed the Stamp Act on its American colonies in November 1765, which led to tensions that would eventually cause the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War. Fast-forward 35 years later, John Adams would go on to be the first American President to live in the White House in 1800.
On the other side of the world, at the end of the 19th century, Tsar Nicholas II would become the ruler of Russia on 1 November 1894 after the death of his father. It was a tumultuous time, however, and the Russian Empire would soon fall to revolution and communism.
In the 20th century, 1957 Soviet Union launched Sputnik II, which carried a dog named Laika. It would form part of the Cold War Space Race, 2000, One American astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts became the first to move into the International Space Station.
Notable figures born in November include: Daniel Boone (1734), Marie Curie (1867), Carl Sagan (1934), Sojourner Truth (1797), Mark Twain (1835), Louis Daguerre (1787), James K. Polk (1795), Warren G. Harding (1865), Marie Antoinette (1755), Johann Alois Senefelder (1771), Martin Luther (1483), Abigail Adams (1744), Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815), Joe Biden (1942), Franklin Pierce (1804), Billy The Kid (1859), Zachary Taylor (1784), Anders Celsius (1701), C.S. Lewis (1898), Winston Churchill (1874)
Notable deaths in November include: George Bernard Shaw (1950), Eleanor Roosevelt (1962), Nat Turner (1831), Catherine the Great (1796), Leo Tolstoy (1910), C.S. Lewis (1963), John F. Kennedy (1963), Roald Dahl (1990), Ada Lovelace (1852), Oscar Wilde (1900)