Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift.

Historical Events on November 22

  • 498 St Symmachus begins his reign as Pope replacing Anastasius II
  • 845 First King of all Brittany, Nominoe defeats Frankish King Charles the Bald at the Battle of Ballon, near Redon
  • 1220 Frederick II crowned Holy Roman Emperor in Rome by Pope Honorius III
  • 1346 Street fights in Utrecht, Hollandsgezinde Gunterlingen statements

Pinta Separates from Columbus

1492 Ship Pinta under Martín Alonso Pinzón separates from Christopher Columbus's fleet

Gama Rounds the Cape

1497 Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama rounds Cape of Good Hope on way to first voyage from Europe to reach India

  • 1542 Spain delegates "New Laws" against slavery in America
  • 1573 The Brazilian city of Niterói is founded
  • 1574 Discovery of uninhabited Juan Fernández Islands off Chile by Spanish sailor Juan Fernández - later famous home of marooned sailor Alexander Selkirk (inspired Robinson Crusoe story)

English Attack Puerto Rico

1595 English fleet led by Francis Drake and John Hawkins unsuccessfully attack San Juan, Puerto Rico during the Anglo-Spanish War [1]

  • 1621 English Poet and preacher John Donne is made Dean of St Paul’s Cathedral in London aged 49

The Long Prorogation

1675 English King Charles II adjourns parliament - beginning of the "Long Prorogation" (parliament doesn't resume until February 1677)

  • 1683 Purcell's "Welcome to All the Pleasures" premieres in London
  • 1699 Treaty of Preobrasjensku Denmark, Russia, Saksen and Poland divide Sweden

Prince John William Friso

1707 Prince John William Friso sworn in as Stadtholder of Friesland

  • 1714 King Karel XII leaves Turkish captivity to return to Sweden
  • 1794 Strasbourg Alsace-Lorraine, prohibits circumcision and wearing of beards
  • 1809 Peregrine Williamson of Baltimore patents a steel pen

First Whig Government

1830 Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey, becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom at the head of the first Whig government

  • 1842 Mount St Helens in Washington erupts
  • 1851 Opera "La Perle Du Brésil" is produced (Paris)
  • 1861 Battle of Fort McRee, Florida

La Forza del Destino

1862 Opera "La Forza del Destino" by Giuseppe Verdi debuts at Bolshoi Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia [Nov 10 O.S.]

  • 1864 American Civil War Battle at Griswoldville, Georgia, ends after 650 casualties
  • 1864 Union General O Howard orders plunderers be shot to death
  • 1872 Franz Grillparzer's "Die Judin von Toledo" premieres in Prague

Without a Dowry

1878 Aleksandr Ostrovsky's classic play "Without a Dowry" (Bespridannitsa) premieres in Moscow [OS 10 Nov]

  • 1884 T Thomas Fortune starts NY Freeman (NY Age) newspaper
  • 1886 Victoria Street Cable Tram route begins in Melbourne, Australia
  • 1898 Construction begins on the Simplon tunnel through the Alps, linking Italy and Switzerland; it becomes the world's longest railroad tunnel
  • 1898 Pietro Mascagni's opera "Iris" premieres at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome, Italy
  • 1899 -23] Battle at Willow Grange, Natal (British vs Boer army)

Kruger lands at Marseille

1900 Paul Kruger, exiled President of the Boer Republic of South Africa, is given a popular welcome when he lands at Marseilles, France

  • 1905 British, Italian, Russian, French and Austro-Hungarian fleet attacks Lesbos
  • 1906 Peter Stolypin, Prime Minister of Russia, introduces agrarian reforms allowing peasants to withdraw from the communes and take their share of land for private ownership
  • 1908 1st US-Japanese baseball game Reach All-Americans defeat Waseda U, 5-0
  • 1910 Arthur Knight patents steel shaft golf clubs
  • 1914 Indian troops take Basra in Mesopotamia
  • 1914 Ypres, Belgium, burned by German bombing
  • 1918 Grand Duke Frederik II, the last Grand Duke of Baden, resigns

Piłsudski Made Chief of State

1918 Józef Piłsudski appointed Provisional Chief of State of newly independent Poland by the government

  • 1918 King Albert I's triumphant procession through Brussels
  • 1918 Polish forces attack Jewish community of Lemberg (Lvov)
  • 1919 15,000 men are cremated at Domela Newenhouse, Amsterdam
  • 1919 Labor conference committee in US urges 8-hour work day and 48-hour week

MacDonald Elected Party Leader

1922 British Labour party elects Ramsay MacDonald as leader

  • 1922 Library Ave in Bronx named
  • 1922 Wilhelm Cuno forms new German government

Lothar Witzke Sentenced to Death

1923 Calvin Coolidge pardons WWI German spy Lothar Witzke, sentenced to death - later deported to Germany

  • 1924 Britain orders Egyptians out of Sudan
  • 1926 Imperial Conference ends, giving autonomy inside British Commonwealth
  • 1927 1st snowmobile patent granted to Carl Eliason (Sayner, Wisconsin)
  • 1927 Belgian government of Henri Jaspar falls but is reformed the same day
  • 1927 Neil Simon Theater (Alvin) opens at 250 W 52nd St NYC

Bolero

1928 Orchestral work "Bolero" by Maurice Ravel first performed publicly in Paris, France

  • 1930 1st Irish Sweepstake run
  • 1930 1st US football game broadcast to England (Harvard 13, Yale 0)

Nation of Islam Forms

1930 Elijah Muhammad forms Nation of Islam in Detroit

  • 1931 1st performance of Ferde Grofé's "Grand Canyon Suite" given by Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra at Studebaker Theater, Chicago
  • 1932 Pump patented that computes quantity and price delivered
  • 1934 "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" 1st heard on Eddie Cantor's show
  • 1935 Flying boat "China Clipper" takes off from Alameda, California, carrying 100,000 pieces of mail on 1st trans-Pacific airmail flight

Harry Greenberg Killed

1939 Bugsy Siegel, Whitey Krakower, Frankie Carbo and Albert Tannenbaum kill Harry "Big Greenie" Greenberg outside his apartment after Greenberg had threatened to become a police informant

  • 1940 500 students in Delft demonstrate against Nazis
  • 1941 British cruiser Devonshire sinks German auxiliary cruiser Atlantis
  • 1941 NZ troops conquer Ft Capuzzo Libya

Hitler Order To Africa Korps

1942 Adolf Hitler orders Rommel's Africa Korps to fight to the last man

  • 1942 General-major Rodins 26th Pantser corp recaptures Ostrov
  • 1943 British RAF begins air bombing of Berlin, Germany
  • 1943 France officially recognises the independence of Lebanon, releasing the imprisoned Lebanese government

Cairo Conference

1943 The Cairo Conference: FDR, Churchill and Chinese President Chiang Kai-shek meet in Egypt to discuss ways to defeat Japan

  • 1943 US troops land on Abemada, Gilbert Island in the South Pacific
  • 1944 Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry occupies Hoven at Geilenkirchen

Meet Me In St Louis

1944 Film musical "Meet Me In St Louis", starring Judy Garland, and directed by Vincente Minnelli, premieres at Loew’s State Theater on Washington Avenue in St. Louis, Missouri

  • 1945 Cleveland Rams end Jim Benton gains 303 yards in 28-21 win over Detroit Lions; NFL single game rushing record - stands for 40+ years
  • 1950 7,021 see Fort Wayne Pistons edge Minneapolis Lakers, 19-18 at Minneapolis Auditorium; lowest ever NBA score of 37 combined points
  • 1950 79 die in a train crash in Richmond Hills, NY
  • 1952 As' Harry Byrd selected AL Rookie of Year
  • 1954 Humane Society (US) forms in Washington, D.C.

RCA Records' Elvis Bargain

1955 RCA Records make its best investment, paying $35,000 to Sun Records for Elvis Presley's contract

  • 1955 USSR performs nuclear test at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in northeast Kazakhstan
  • 1956 Boston shooting guard Bill Sharman hits 10 free throws in Celtics 101-78 over Philadelphia Warriors at Philadelphia Civic Center
  • 1956 XVI Summer Olympic Games open in Melbourne, Australia; first to be staged in Southern Hemisphere and Oceania, as well as first to be held outside Europe and North America

Mantle AL MVP

1957 Mickey Mantle wins AL MVP for the 2nd time

Miles Davis Quintet

1957 Miles Davis Quintet debuts a jazz concert at Carnegie Hall, NYC

  • 1957 Simon & Garfunkel appear on "American Bandstand" as "Tom & Jerry"
  • 1959 American Football League (AFL) conducts its first draft in Minneapolis with the 8 clubs selecting their playing rosters for the inaugural 1960 season
  • 1960 French National Meeting decide to build own nuclear weapons

Robinson NL MVP

1961 Frank Robinson, Cincinnati Reds outfielder, selected as NL MVP

Making Connery a Star

1961 Producers Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman announce expensive publicity campaign to make Sean Connery (James Bond) a star

Pettit's Free Throw Record

1961 St. Louis Hawk Bob Pettit sets NBA record, hitting 19 of 19 free throws

  • 1962 7th British Empire Games and Commonwealth Games open in Perth, Australia

Lyndon B. Johnson Sworn In

1963 Lyndon B. Johnson sworn in as the 36th US President after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy

  • 1963 The Beatles release their second album "With the Beatles" in UK

John F. Kennedy Assassinated

1963 US President John F. Kennedy assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald while riding in an open-topped motorcade in Dallas, Texas

  • 1964 WITF TV channel 33 in Harrisburg-Hershey, PA (PBS) begins broadcasting

Miss Goodall and the Wild Chimpanzees

1965 "Miss Goodall and the Wild Chimpanzees" broadcast on CBS, watched by 25 million, brings Jane Goodall to international attention

Ali vs. Patterson

1965 In his second title defense, Muhammad Ali scores 12th-round KO of Floyd Patterson at Las Vegas Convention Center to retain his world heavyweight boxing championship

  • 1966 32nd Heisman Trophy Award: Steve Spurrier, Florida (QB)
  • 1967 BBC unofficially bans "I Am the Walrus" by Beatles, due to the suggestive lyric “Boy, you've been a naughty girl you let your knickers down."

The Producers

1967 Mel Brooks' first film, "The Producers" starring Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder has a disastrous premiere and is almost shelved - later goes on to win an Oscar and achieve cult status

  • 1967 Silver hits record $2.17 an ounce in New York
  • 1967 UN Security council passes resolution 242; Israel must give back occupied land
  • 1967 USSR performs nuclear test at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in northeast Kazakhstan
  • 1968 1st interracial TV kiss (Star Trek - Captain Kirk and Uhura)

Northern Ireland Catholic Concessions

1968 Terence O'Neill, then Northern Ireland Prime Minister, announced a package of reform measures granting concessions to the Catholic minority, in response to protest movement

  • 1968 The Beatles release "The Beatles" (White Album), their only double album
  • 1968 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
  • 1969 Isolation of a single gene announced by scientists at Harvard University
  • 1971 A member of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) is killed in a premature bomb explosion in Lurgan, County Armagh
  • 1972 Belgium government of Eyskens resigns
  • 1972 In Pittsburgh, Penguins set NHL record for scoring fastest 5 goals (2:07) in 10-4 win over St. Louis Blues
  • 1972 Philadelphia Flyers beat New York Islanders and start them on 15 game winless streak
  • 1972 US ends 22 year travel ban to China
  • 1973 Italian Fascist organization Ordine Nuovo disbands
  • 1974 Lake Buena Vista Club opens
  • 1974 Test Cricket debut of Gordon Greenidge and Viv Richards, at Bangalore
  • 1974 UN General Assembly recognizes Palestine right to sovereignty
  • 1975 Drummuckavall Ambush: 3 British Army soldiers are killed and one captured when the Provisional Irish Republican Army attack a watchtower in South Armagh, North Ireland

Monarchy Restored

1975 Juan Carlos I proclaimed King of Spain as monarchy restored after 31 years

  • 1976 Algeria Constitution goes into effect
  • 1976 Comic strip "Cathy" by Cathy Guisewite debuts
  • 1977 Regular Concorde supersonic jet passenger service between New York City's JFK airport and Europe begins (Air France from Paris; British Airways from London) [1]

Peter Goldmark Recognised

1977 US President Jimmy Carter presents engineer Peter Goldmark with the National Medal of Science for his work communication and entertainment technology

  • 1980 Georgia tanker at Pilottown Louisiana, spills 1.3 million gallons of oil after an anchor chain causes a ship to leak
  • 1981 Browns' QB Brian Sipe sets club record by being intercepted 6 times
  • 1981 SD Charger Dan Fouts passes for 6 touchdowns vs Oakland (55-21)
  • 1981 USSR performs nuclear test at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in northeast Kazakhstan
  • 1982 Columbia returns to Kennedy Space Center via Kelly AFB, Texas

Fred Roger's Sweater

1984 Fred Rogers of PBS "Mr Rogers, Neighborhood" presents a sweater to Smithsonian Institution

  • 1985 Columbia moves to Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center (Florida) for mating of STS 61-C
  • 1985 Largest swearing-in ceremony, 38,648 immigrants become US citizens
  • 1985 PNP/MAN win Antilian parliamentary election

Tyson Youngest Heavyweight

1986 20-year-old Mike Tyson becomes youngest heavyweight champion in boxing history when he stops titleholder Trevor Berbick in round 2 at Las Vegas Hilton to earn the WBC title

Gretzky's Makes 500

1986 Edmonton Oiler Wayne Gretzky becomes the 13th NHLer to score 500 goals

  • 1987 Jack Sikma (Milwaukee) ends his NBA free throw streak of 51 games
  • 1987 NFL New England Patriots shutout Indianapolis Colts 24-0 at Sullivan Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts
  • 1987 Two Chicago television stations are hijacked by an unknown pirate dressed as Max Headroom.
  • 1989 Conjunction of Venus, Mars, Uranus, Neptune, Saturn, and the Moon
  • 1989 Eastern Airlines pilots and flight attendants end their strike, but most are not rehired

Puckett's $3M Contract

1989 MLB center fielder Kirby Puckett signs record $3,000,000 per year contract with Minnesota Twins

  • 1989 US 63rd manned space mission STS 33 (Discovery 9) launches into orbit

Bush's Saudi Visit

1990 George H. W. Bush visits US troops in Saudi Arabia

Thatcher Resigns

1990 Margaret Thatcher announces her resignation as British Prime Minister

  • 1990 Professor Amos Sawyer installed as interim President of Liberia

Phool Aur Kaante

1991 "Phool Aur Kaante", the film debut of famous Indian actor Ajay Devgan, is released

The Addams Family

1991 Film "The Addams Family" starring Raul Julia, Anjelica Huston and Christina Ricci is released

Ewing's $18.8 Million

1991 NY Knicks pay Patrick Ewing a record $18.8 million for 2 yr extension

  • 1992 Sandra Volker swims world record 50m backstroke (28.57 sec)

Bob Packwood Scandal

1992 Washington Post reports Oregon Senator Bob Packwood sexually harassed 10 women

Seles Wins WTA

1992 Yugoslavian tennis star Monica Seles beats Martina Navratilova for the second consecutive year to win WTA Tour Championship 7–5, 6–3, 6–1 in NYC; her 3rd straight end of season title

Toy Story

1995 "Toy Story", the first feature-length film created completely using computer-generated imagery, directed by John Lasseter and starring Tom Hanks and Tim Allen, is released

  • 1995 OPEC states that it will roll over its current oil production quota of 25.42 million barrels per day
  • 1995 Rosemary West found guilty in England of killing 10 women

O. J. Simpson Takes the Stand

1996 O.J. Simpson takes stand as hostile witness in the wrongful death lawsuit filed against him, saying it is "absolutely not true"

Hingis Wins WTA

1998 Swiss tennis star Martina Hingis beats American Lindsay Davenport 7–5, 6–4, 4–6, 6–2 in the WTA Tour Championship final at Madison Square Garden, NYC

How Do You Like Me Now?!

1999 "How Do You Like Me Now?!" single released by Toby Keith (Billboard Song of the Year 2000)

  • 1999 Elian Gonzalez, Cuban boy at the center of a heated 2000 controversy involving the governments of Cuba and the United States, and his mother are sighted off of Florida's coast by U.S. Coast Guard

Manager of the Century

1999 Fortune Magazine names General Electric CEO Jack Welch 'Manager of the Century"

England World Champions

2003 5th Rugby World Cup Final, Stadium Australia, Sydney: Fly-half Jonny Wilkinson lands winning drop goal in extra time as England beats Australia, 20-17

Georgia's Rose Revolution

2003 Rose Revolution : In Tbilisi, Georgia, opponents of President Eduard Shevardnadze seize the parliament building and demand the president's resignation

  • 2004 The Orange Revolution begins in Ukraine, resulting from the presidential elections

Chancellor Merkel

2005 Angela Merkel becomes the first female Chancellor of Germany

  • 2005 Ted Koppel retires from late night television news program "Nightline with Ted Koppel", after 25 years with the show, 41 Emmy Awards, and 42 years with ABC

Roy's Jersey Retired

2008 Patrick Roy's #33 jersey is retired by the Montreal Canadiens

  • 2008 YouTube hosts the largest ever live broadcast, YouTube Live

Venezuela in Recession

2009 President Hugo Chávez states that Venezuela is in recession as the economy contracted 4.5% in the third quarter

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

2010 Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella Records release American rapper and producer Kanye West's 5th studio album, "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy"

Pink Friday

2010 Universal-Motown Records releases Trinidadian-born American rapper Nicki Minaj's debut album "Pink Friday"

  • 2012 2 people are killed and 120 injured after a 100-vehicle pile-up in dense fog in Texas
  • 2012 6 attacks across Pakistan kill 37 people and injure 92

Carlsen World Chess Champion

2013 Norwegian, Magnus Carlsen defeats Viswanathan Anand to win the 2013 World Chess Championship

Messi's Goal Record

2014 Lionel Messi of FC Barcelona sets a new goal scoring record in La Liga of 253 goals

  • 2014 Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old boy, is shot dead by police in Cleveland, after brandishing what turned out to be a fake gun in a playground
  • 2015 In Argentine elections Mauricio Macri (PRO) wins a narrow election victory over his left-wing opponent

Đoković Wins ATP, Defeats Federer

2015 Serbian tennis star Novak Đoković makes it 4 straight season-ending ATP World Tour Finals tennis titles beating Roger Federer 6-3, 6-4 in the final in London, England

  • 2016 'Vegas Golden Knights' is revealed as the Las Vegas NHL expansion team's name
  • 2016 Spirit Cave Mummy, North America's oldest at 10,600 years old, is returned to the Fallon Paiute Shoshone tribe for reburial after DNA sequencing proved he is an ancestor of contemporary tribes [1]

Grace Hopper Honored

2016 US President Barack Obama posthumously awards the Presidential Medal of Freedom to pioneering computer scientist and Navy Admiral Grace Hopper

Craig Coley Pardoned

2017 Californian man Craig Coley pardoned for a double murder after serving 39 years by Governor Jerry Brown. Longest prison term to be overturned in the state.

Butcher of Bosnia Convicted

2017 Ratko Mladic the "Butcher of Bosnia" is convicted of genocide and other atrocities during the Bosnian war and jailed for life in The Hague

  • 2017 Uber admits hackers stole personal information affecting 57 million people worldwide and paid $100,00 to keep quiet
  • 2017 Vanellope Wilkins, born with her heart outside her body, is first UK baby to survive birth and operations to reinsert her heart
  • 2018 Leaning Tower of Pisa's tilt reduced by 4 cm in 20 year project to stabilise it

Cohen on Facebook and Hitler

2019 Sacha Baron Cohen says if Facebook existed in the 1930s it would have run Hitler's ads on his "solution to the Jewish problem", in speech to Anti-Defamation League summit

Medvedev Wins ATP

2020 24-year-old Russian Daniil Medvedev wins ATP World Tour Finals tennis title beating Dominic Thiem of Austria 4-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-4 in London

Tigray War

2020 Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed gives Tigrayan forces 72 hours to surrender before the military begins offensive on regional capital of Mekelle

  • 2020 G20 virtual two-day summit ends with pledge to ensure affordable access to vaccines for all
  • 2022 An out-of-control rebellion by terrorist groups in West Africa’s Sahel area is threatening the entire region, warns Ghana's President Nana Akufo-Addo at a security conference in Accra [1]
  • 2022 UK faces a bigger hit to its economy from the global energy crisis than any other advanced economy according to the OECD, projected to shrink by 0.4% [1]

Charles III Hosts Ramaphosa

2022 UK's King Charles hosts his first state visit - welcoming South African President Cyril Ramaphosa at Buckingham Palace [1]

  • 2023 Finland closes all but one border with Russia after an influx of migrants orchestrated, it said, by Russia [1]
  • 2023 Right-wing Dutch populist Geert Wilders' Freedom Party unexpectedly wins more seats than any other party in the country's general election [1]