From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
November 2 is the 306th day of the year (307th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 59 days remaining.
[edit] Events
- 676 - Donus became Pope.
- 1675 - A combined attack by the Plymouth, Rhode Island, Massachusetts Bay and Connecticut colonies attacks the Great Swamp Fort, owned by the Narragansetts during King Philip's War.
- 1772 - American Revolutionary War: Samuel Adams and Joseph Warren form the first Committee of Correspondence.
- 1783 - In Rocky Hill, New Jersey, US General George Washington gives his "Farewell Address to the Army".
- 1795 - The French Directory succeeds the French National Convention as the government of Revolutionary France.
- 1861 - American Civil War: Western Department Union General John C. Fremont is relieved of command and replaced by David Hunter.
- 1868 - Time zone: New Zealand officially adopts a standard time to be observed nationally
- 1889 - North and South Dakota are admitted as the 39th and 40th U.S. states.
- 1895 - The first gasoline-powered race in the United States. First prize: $2,000
- 1899 - The Boers started their 118 day siege of British held Ladysmith during the Second Boer War.
- 1914 - Russia declares war on the Ottoman Empire.
- 1917 - The Balfour Declaration proclaims support for Jewish settlement in Palestine.
- 1920 - In the United States, KDKA of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania starts broadcasting as the first commercial radio station. The first broadcast was the results of the U.S. presidential election, 1920.
- 1930 - Haile Selassie is crowned emperor of Ethiopia.
- 1936 - The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation is established.
- 1936 - Italian dictator Benito Mussolini proclaims the Rome-Berlin Axis, establishing the alliance of the Axis Powers.
- 1936 - the British Broadcasting Corporation initiates the BBC Television Service, the world's first regular, high-definition (then defined as at least 200 lines) service. Renamed BBC1 in 1964, the channel still runs to this day.
- 1947 - In California, Designer Howard Hughes performs the maiden (and only) flight of the Spruce Goose; the largest fixed-wing aircraft ever built.
- 1948 - U.S. presidential election, 1948: Harry S. Truman defeats Thomas E. Dewey for the US presidency.
- 1953 - The Constituent Assembly of Pakistan names the country The Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
- 1957 - The Levelland UFO Case in Levelland, Texas, generates national publicity, and remains one of the most impressive UFO cases in American history.
- 1959 - Quiz show scandals: Twenty One game show contestant Charles Van Doren admits to a Congressional committee that he had been given questions and answers in advance.
- 1959 - Ice Hockey: After being struck in the face with a puck, goalkeeper Jacques Plante returns to play wearing a protective mask for the first time in professional play.
- 1959 - The first section of the M1 motorway, the first inter-urban motorway in the United Kingdom, was opened between the present junctions 5 and 18, along with the M10 motorway and M45 motorway
- 1960 - Penguin Books is found not guilty of obscenity in the Lady Chatterley's Lover case
- 1963 - South Vietnamese President Ngô Ðìhn Diệm is assassinated following a military coup.
- 1964 - King Saud of Saudi Arabia was deposed by a family coup, and replaced by his half-brother King Faisal.
- 1965 - Norman Morrison, a 31-year-old Quaker, sets himself on fire in front of the river entrance to the Pentagon to protest the use of napalm in the Vietnam war.
- 1966 - The Cuban Adjustment Act enters force, allowing 123,000 Cubans the opportunity to apply for permanent residence in the United States.
- 1967 - Vietnam War: US President Lyndon B. Johnson and "The Wise Men" conclude that the American people should be given more optimistic reports on the progress of the war.
- 1973 - The Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Communist Party of India forms a 'United Front' in the state of Tripura.
- 1974 - 78 die when the Time Go-Go Club in Seoul, South Korea burns down. Six of the victims jumped to their deaths from the seventh floor after a club official barred the doors after the fire started.
- 1976 - U.S. presidential election, 1976: Jimmy Carter defeats Gerald R. Ford for the US presidency, becoming the first U.S. president from the Deep South since Reconstruction.
- 1981 - Antigua and Barbuda become independent from the United Kingdom.
- 1982 - Channel 4 in the United Kingdom was launched.
- 1983 - U.S. President Ronald Reagan signs a bill creating Martin Luther King Day, currently the only national holiday honoring an individual American.
- 1984 - Capital punishment: Velma Barfield becomes the first woman executed in the United States since 1962.
- 1988 - The Morris worm, the first internet-distributed computer worm to gain significant mainstream media attention, was launched from MIT.
- 1991 - Bartholomew I becomes the Patriarch of Constantinople.
- 2000 - The first crew arrives at the International Space Station.
- 2004 - U.S. presidential election, 2004: George W. Bush defeats John Kerry for the US presidency.
[edit] Births
- 1082 - Emperor Huizong of China (d. 1135)
- 1636 - Edward Colston, English merchant and philanthropist (d. 1721)
- 1667 - James Sobieski, Crown Prince of Poland (d. 1737)
- 1692 - Unico Wilhelm van Wassenaer, Dutch composer (d. 1766)
- 1696 - Conrad Weiser, Pennsylvania's ambassador to the Native Americans (d. 1760)
- 1699 - Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin, French painter (d. 1779)
- 1709 - Anne, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange (d. 1759)
- 1734 - Daniel Boone, American frontiersman (d. 1820)
- 1739 - Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf, Austrian composer (d. 1799)
- 1741 - Joan van der Capellen tot den Pol, Dutch politician (d. 1784)
- 1755 - Marie Antoinette, Queen of France (d. 1793)
- 1766 - Joseph Radetzky von Radetz, Austrian field marshal (d. 1858)
- 1777 - Fortunat Alojzy Gonzaga Żółkowski, Polish actor (d. 1822)
- 1795 - James Knox Polk, 11th President of the United States (d. 1849)
- 1808 - Jules Barbey d'Aurevilly, French writer (d. 1889)
- 1815 - George Boole, English mathematician and philosopher (d. 1864)
- 1821 - Sir George Bowen, British provincial governor (d. 1899)
- 1837 - Émile Bayard, French artist, illustrator (d. (1891)
- 1844 - Mehmed V, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1918)
- 1865 - Warren G. Harding, 29th President of the United States (d. 1923)
- 1877 - Joseph De Piro, Maltese founder of the Missionary Society of St. Paul (d. 1933)
- 1877 - Victor Trumper, Australian cricketer (d. 1915)
- 1877 - Aga Khan III, Shia Imam (d. 1957)
- 1883 - Jean-Marie-Rodrigue Villeneuve, cardinal and archbishop of Quebec (d. 1947)
- 1885 - Harlow Shapley, American astronomer (d. 1972)
- 1886 - Dhirendranath Datta, Bangladeshi politician (d. 1971)
- 1893 - Battista Pininfarina, founder of Pininfarina company (d.1966)
- 1894 - Alexander Lippisch, German scientist (d. 1976)
- 1903 - Travis Jackson, baseball player (d. 1987)
- 1905 - James Dunn, American actor (d. 1967)
- 1906 - Daniil Andreev, Russian poet (d. 1959)
- 1906 - Luchino Visconti, Italian director (d. 1976)
- 1908 - Fred Bakewell, English cricketer (d. 1983)
- 1910 - Fouad Serageddin, Egyptian politician (d. 1999)
- 1911 - Odysseus Elytis, Greek writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1996)
- 1911 - Raphael Robinson, US mathematician (d. 1995)
- 1913 - Burt Lancaster, American actor (d. 1994)
- 1914 - Johnny Vander Meer, baseball player (d. 1997)
- 1915 - Sidney Luft, American movie director (d. 2005)
- 1920 - Ann Rutherford, American actress
- 1921 - Shepard Menken, American voice actor (d. 1999)
- 1921 - Bill Mosienko, National Hockey League player (d. 1994)
- 1924 - Father David Bauer, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1988)
- 1927 - Steve Ditko, American artist
- 1929 - Muhammad Rafiq Tarar, President of Pakistan
- 1929 - Richard E. Taylor, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1934 - Bill Gothard, American speaker
- 1934 - Ken Rosewall, Australian tennis player
- 1936 - Jack Starrett, American actor and director (d. 1989)
- 1936 - Abdullah the Butcher, wrestler
- 1938 - Pat Buchanan, American journalist and politician
- 1938 - Queen Sofia of Spain
- 1938 - Jay Black, American singer (Jay and the Americans)
- 1941 - Bruce Welch, English musician and songwriter (The Shadows)
- 1942 - Shere Hite, American author
- 1942 - Stefanie Powers, American actress
- 1944 - Keith Emerson, British keyboardist and composer (Emerson, Lake & Palmer)
- 1944 - Patrice Chéreau, French director, actor and producer
- 1946 - Alan Jones, Australian race car driver
- 1946 - Giuseppe Sinopoli, Italian conductor and composer (d. 2001)
- 1949 - Simon Augustini, Albanian politician
- 1951 - Thomas Mallon, American novelist and critic
- 1952 - Maxine Nightingale, English singer
- 1954 - Pat Croce, American entrepreneur
- 1955 - Chris Burnett, American musician
- 1957 - Carter Beauford, drummer for Dave Matthews Band
- 1958 - Willie McGee, baseball player
- 1960 - Tihomir Blaškić, Croatian war criminal
- 1961 - Twan, L.A. Burning Man Regional Director
- 1961 - k.d. lang, Canadian musician
- 1962 - Mireille Delunsch, French soprano
- 1963 - Craig Saavedra, American filmmaker
- 1965 - Shahrukh Khan, Indian actor
- 1966 - Tim Kirkman, American filmmaker
- 1967 - Kurt Elling, American jazz vocalist
- 1967 - Marc van Roon, Dutch improvising musician
- 1969 - Reginald Arvizu, American bassist (KoЯn)
- 1970 - Sharmell Sullivan, American professional wrestling valet
- 1972 - Samantha Janus, British entertainer
- 1972 - Darío Silva, Uruguayan footballer
- 1972 - Vladimir Vorobiev, Russian ice hockey player
- 1973 - Marisol Nichols, American actress
- 1974 - Prodigy, American rapper (Mobb Deep)
- 1974 - Orlando Cabrera, baseball player
- 1974 - Stéphane Sarrazin, French rally driver
- 1975 - Nelly, American rapper (St. Lunatics)
- 1976 - Sidney Ponson, Aruban baseball player
- 1977 - Randy Harrison, American actor
- 1977 - Jason Cerbone, American actor (The Sopranos)
- 1979 - Julie Lund, Danish actress
- 1980 - Kim So-yeon, South Korean actress
- 1981 - Wilson Betemit, baseball player
- 1982 - Kyoko Fukada, Japanese actress, model and singer
- 1984 - Julia Stegner, German supermodel
- 1986 - Erika Jo, American musician
- 1986 - Lara Sacher, Australian actress
- 1988 - Lindze Letherman, American actress (General Hospital)
- 1989 - Katelyn Tarver, American singer
[edit] Deaths
- 1083 - Matilda of Flanders, Queen consort (b. 1031)
- 1285 - King Peter III of Aragon (b. 1239)
- 1327 - King James II of Aragon (b. 1267)
- 1483 - Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, English politician (b. 1454)
- 1610 - Richard Bancroft, Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 1544)
- 1618 - Archduke Maximilian III of Austria (b. 1568)
- 1716 - Engelbert Kaempfer, German physician and traveler (b. 1651)
- 1807 - Baron de Breteuil, French statesman (b. 1730)
- 1852 - Pyotr Kotlyarevsky, Russian general (b. 1782)
- 1863 - Theodore Judah, American railroad engineer (b. 1826)
- 1877 - Friedrich Graf von Wrangel, Prussian field marshal (b. 1784)
- 1887 - Jenny Lind, Swedish soprano (b. 1820)
- 1898 - George Goyder, English-born surveyor-general of South Australia (b. 1826)
- 1905 - Albert von Kölliker, Swiss anatomist (b. 1817)
- 1935 - Jock Cameron, South African cricketer (b. 1905)
- 1944 - Thomas Midgley, American chemist and inventor (b. 1889)
- 1945 - Princess Thyra, daughter of Frederick VIII of Denmark (b. 1880)
- 1950 - George Bernard Shaw, Irish writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1856)
- 1960 - Dimitris Mitropoulos, Greek conductor and composer (b. 1896)
- 1961 - James Thurber, American humorist (b. 1894)
- 1963 - Ngô Đình Diệm, President of South Vietnam (b. 1901)
- 1966 - Peter Debye, Dutch chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1884)
- 1966 - Mississippi John Hurt, American blues singer (b. 1892)
- 1970 - Richard Cardinal Cushing, archbishop of Boston (b. 1895)
- 1975 - Pier Paolo Pasolini, Italian film director (b. 1922)
- 1979 - Jacques Mesrine, French criminal (b. 1936)
- 1984 - Velma Barfield, American murderer (b. 1932)
- 1986 - Paul Frees, American voice actor (b. 1920)
- 1991 - Mort Shuman, American singer and songwriter (b. 1936)
- 1991 - Irwin Allen, American film producer (b. 1916)
- 1992 - Hal Roach, American director and producer (b. 1892)
- 1996 - Eva Cassidy, American singer (b. 1963)
- 2002 - Tonio Selwart, German actor (b. 1896)
- 2002 - Charles Sheffield, American author and physicist (b. 1935)
- 2003 - Frank McCloskey, American politician (b. 1939)
- 2004 - Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahayan, President of the United Arab Emirates (b. 1918)
- 2004 - Theo van Gogh, Dutch filmmaker (b. 1957)
- 2004 - Gerrie Knetemann, Dutch cyclist (b. 1951)
[edit] Holidays and observances
[edit] External links
