This Day in History
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31th October 1938
"War of the Worlds" panics millions
Radio program Mercury Theater on the Air presents Orson Welles' production of H.G. Wells' "War of the Worlds," a fictional drama about a Martian invasion in Grovers Mill, New Jersey. The program, which aired on Halloween, sparked a panic among listeners who believed the play was an actual news broadcast. Of the six million listeners who heard the show, more than 1.7 million reportedly believed the story was true. -
31th October 1926
HOUDINI IS DEAD
Harry Houdini, the most celebrated magician and escape artist of the 20th century, dies of peritonitis in a Detroit hospital. Twelve days before, Houdini had been talking to a group of students after a lecture in Montreal when he commented on the strength of his stomach muscles and their ability to withstand hard blows. Suddenly, one of the students punched Houdini twice in the stomach.
The magician hadn't had time to prepare, and the blows ruptured his appendix. He fell ill on the train to Detroit, and, after performing one last time, was hospitalized. Doctors operated on him, but to no avail. The burst appendix poisoned his system, and on October 31 he died. -
1st Novembr 1512
Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel opens
The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome, one of Italian artist Michelangelo's finest works, is exhibited to the public for the first time. -
2nd Novemer 1947
SPRUCE GOOSE FLIES
The Hughes Flying Boat--the largest aircraft ever built--is piloted by designer Howard Hughes on its first and only flight. Built with laminated birch and spruce, the massive wooden aircraft had a wingspan longer than a football field and was designed to carry more than 700 men to battle. -
3rd November 1903
Panama declares independence
With the support of the U.S. government, Panama issues a declaration of independence from Colombia. The revolution was engineered by a Panamanian faction backed by the Panama Canal Company, a French-U.S. corporation that hoped to connect the Atlantic and Pacific oceans with a waterway across the Isthmus of Panama. 3rd November 1957
The Soviet space dog
The Soviet Union launches the first animal into space--a dog name Laika--aboard the Sputnik 2 spacecraft. 3rd November 1928
Mickey Mouse debuts
Cartoon star Mickey Mouse appears in Steamboat Willie, an animated short produced by Walt Disney. Steamboat Willie was the first fully synchronized sound cartoon ever produced, with Mickey's squeaky voice provided by Walt Disney himself. -
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4th November 1939
The first air-conditioned car
On this day, the 40th National Automobile Show opened in Chicago, Illinois, with a cutting-edge development in automotive comfort on display: air-conditioning. A Packard prototype featured the expensive device, allowing the vehicle's occupants to travel in the comfort of a controlled environment even on the most hot and humid summer day.
After the driver chose a desired temperature, the Packard air-conditioning system would cool or heat the air in the car to the designated level, and then dehumidify, filter, and circulate the cooled air to create a comfortable environment. The main air-conditioning unit was located behind the rear seat of the Packard, where a special air duct accommodated two compartments, one for the refrigerating coils and one for the heating coils.
The capacity of the air-conditioning unit was equivalent to 1.5 tons of ice in 24 hours when the car was driven at highway driving speeds. The innovation received widespread acclaim at the auto show, but the expensive accessory would not be within the reach of the average American for several decades. However, when automobile air-conditioning finally became affordable, it rapidly became a luxury that U.S. car owners could not live without. -
5th November 1968
Nixon wins presidential election
Eight years after being defeated by John F. Kennedy in the 1960 election, Richard Nixon defeats Hubert H. Humphrey and is elected president. -
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6th November 1860
Abraham Lincoln elected president
Abraham Lincoln is elected the 16th president of the United States over a deeply divided Democratic Party, becoming the first Republican to win the presidency. Lincoln received only 40 percent of the popular vote but handily defeated the three other candidates. -
7th November 1972
Nixon re-elected president
Richard Nixon defeats Senator George McGovern (D-South Dakota) and is re-elected President of the United States. -
8th November 1960
John F. Kennedy elected president
John F. Kennedy becomes the youngest man ever to be elected president of the United States, narrowly beating Republican Vice President Richard Nixon. -
9th November 1961
Brian Epstein meets the Beatles
Record store manager Brian Epstein goes to a Liverpool nightclub called the Cavern to hear the Beatles. Two months later, he became their manager and helped them land their first record deal, in 1962. The "Fab Four"-Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Ringo Starr, and George Harrison--recorded "Love Me Do," the group's first Top 20 hit in the United Kingdom, in September 1962. -
10th November 1775
BIRTH OF THE U.S. MARINES CORPS
During the American Revolution, the Continental Congress passes a resolution stating that "two Battalions of Marines be raised" for service as landing forces for the recently formed Continental Navy. The resolution, drafted by future U.S. president John Adams and adopted in Philadelphia, created the Continental Marines and is now observed as the birth date of the United States Marine Corps. -
11th November 1918
WORLD WAR I ENDS
At the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, the Great War ends. At 5 a.m. that morning, Germany, bereft of manpower and supplies and faced with imminent invasion, signed an armistice agreement with the Allies in a railroad car outside Compiégne, France. The First World War left nine million soldiers dead and 21 million wounded, with Germany, Russia, Austria-Hungary, France, and Great Britain each losing nearly a million or more lives. In addition, at least five million civilians died from disease, starvation, or exposure. -
12th November 1889
DeWitt Wallace, founder of Reader's Digest, is born
On this day in 1889, DeWitt Wallace is born in St. Paul, Minnesota, to a minister and his wife. -
13th November 1949
Whoopi Goldberg is born
Caryn Johnson, later known as Whoopi Goldberg, is born in New York City. -
14th November 1969
Apollo 12 lifts off
Apollo 12, the second manned mission to the surface of the moon, is launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, -
15th November 1956
Elvis' first film opens
Love Me Tender, Elvis Presley's first movie, opens at the Paramount Theater in New York. The movie earned back its $1 million cost in just three days. During the next 13 years, Elvis appeared in 33 movies. -
16th November 1907
OKLAHOMA ENTERS THE UNION
Indian Territory and Oklahoma Territory collectively enter the United States as Oklahoma, the 46th state. -
17th November 1942
Martin Scorsese born
Film director Martin Scorsese is born in Flushing, New York. 17th November 1944
1944 Danny DeVito
Actor and director Danny DeVito is born in Neptune, New Jersey. -
18th November 1968
Owen Wilson is born. -
19th November 1969
Pelè scores 1,000th goal
Brazilian soccer great Pelè scores his 1,000th professional goal in a game, against Vasco da Gama in Rio de Janeiro's Maracana stadium.