Today November 14th 2009 this day in history Read more below to view events, deaths, births, Holidays observances and video clips. Last database updated: Jan 17th, 2009
Events
1533 – Conquistadors from Spain under the leadership of Francisco Pizarro arrive in Cajamarca, Inca empire
1862 – American Civil War: President Abraham Lincoln approves General Ambrose Burnside s plan to capture the Confederate capital at Richmond, Virginia, leading to the Battle of Fredericksburg.
1889 – Pioneering female journalist Nellie Bly (aka Elizabeth Cochrane) begins a successful attempt to travel around the world in less than 80 days. She completes the trip in seventy-two days.
1896 – The Glasgow Subway, the third-oldest underground metro system in the world, opened.
1910 – Aviator Eugene Ely performs the first take off from a ship in Hampton Roads, Virginia. He took off from a makeshift deck on the USS Birmingham in a Curtiss pusher.
1918 – Czechoslovakia becomes a republic.
1921 – The Communist Party of Spain is founded.
1922 – The BBC begins radio service in the United Kingdom.
1923 – Kentaro Suzuki completes his ascent of Mount Iizuna.
1940 – World War II: In England, the city of Coventry is heavily bombed by German Luftwaffe bombers. Coventry Cathedral is almost completely destroyed.
1941 – World War II: The aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal sinks due to torpedo damage from U-81 sustained on November 13.
1952 – The first regular UK singles chart published by the New Musical Express.
1957 – The Apalachin Meeting outside Binghamton, New York is raided by law enforcement, and many high level Mafia figures are arrested.
1965 – Vietnam War: The Battle of the Ia Drang begins – the first major engagement between regular American and North Vietnamese forces.
1967 – The Congress of Colombia, in commemoration of the 150 years of the death of Policarpa Salavarrieta, declares this day as Day of the Colombian Woman.
1969 – Apollo program: NASA launches Apollo 12, the second manned mission to the surface of the Moon.
1970 – Soviet Union enters ICAO, making Russian the fourth official language of organization.
1970 – Southern Airways Flight 932 crashes in the mountains near Huntington, West Virginia, killing 75, including members of the Marshall University football team.
1971 – Enthronment of Pope Shenouda III as Pope of Alexandria
1971 – Mariner program: Mariner 9 reaches Mars, becoming the first spacecraft to orbit another planet.
1973 – In the United Kingdom, Princess Anne marries Captain Mark Phillips, in Westminster Abbey.
1975 – Spain abandons Western Sahara.
1979 – Iran hostage crisis: US President Jimmy Carter issues Executive order 12170, freezing all Iranian assets in the United States in response to the hostage crisis.
1982 – Lech Walesa, the leader of Poland s outlawed Solidarity movement, is released after eleven months of internment near the Soviet border.
1984 – Zamboanga City mayor Cesar Climaco, a prominent critic of the government of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, is assassinated in his home city.
1990 – After German reunification, the Federal Republic of Germany and the Republic of Poland sign a treaty confirming the Oder-Neisse line as the border between Germany and Poland.
1991 – American and British authorities announce indictments against two Libyan intelligence officials in connection with the downing of the Pan Am Flight 103.
1991 – Cambodian Prince Norodom Sihanouk returns to Phnom Penh after thirteen years of exile.
1991 – In Royal Oak, Michigan, a fired United States Postal Service employee goes on a shooting rampage, killing four and wounding five before committing suicide.
1995 – A budget standoff between Democrats and Republicans in the U.S. Congress forces the federal government to temporarily close national parks and museums and to run most government offices with skeleton staffs.
2001 – War in Afghanistan: Afghan Northern Alliance fighters take over the capital Kabul.
2002 – Argentina defaults on an $805 million World Bank payment.
2002 – The United States House of Representatives votes not to create an independent commission to investigate the September 11 attacks.
2003 – Astronomers Michael E. Brown, Chad Trujillo, and David L. Rabinowitz discover 90377 Sedna, a Trans-Neptunian object.
2007 – The last direct-current electrical distribution system in the United States is shut down in New York City by Con Edison.
Births
1567 – Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange (d. 1625)
1601 – Jean Eudes, French missionary (d. 1680)
1650 – King William III of England (d. 1702)
1719 – Leopold Mozart, Austrian composer (d. 1787)
1740 – Johann van Beethoven, Ludwig van Beethoven s father and first teacher (d. 1792)
1746 – Giulio Gabrielli the Younger, Italian Cardinal (d. 1822)
1765 – Robert Fulton, American inventor (d. 1815)
1771 – Marie François Xavier Bichat, French anatomist and physiologist (d. 1802)
1776 – Henri Dutrochet, French physiologist (d. 1847)
1777 – Nathaniel Claiborne, U.S. politician (d. 1859)
1778 – Johann Nepomuk Hummel, Austrian pianist and composer (d. 1837)
1779 – Adam Gottlob Oehlenschläger, Danish poet (d. 1850)
1797 – Charles Lyell, British geologist (d. 1875)
1803 – Jacob Abbott, American writer (d. 1879)
1805 – Fanny Mendelssohn, German composer and pianist (d. 1847)
1812 – Aleardo Aleardi, Italian poet (d. 1878)
1812 – Maria Christina of Savoy, queen of the Two Sicilies (d. 1836)
1828 – James B. McPherson, American Civil War general (d. 1864)
1838 – August Senoa, Croatian writer (d. 1881)
1840 – Claude Monet, French painter (d. 1926)
1863 – Leo Hendrik Baekeland, Flemish-American chemist and inventor of the first synthetic plastic, Bakelite (d. 1944)
1875 – Gregorio del Pilar, Filipino general (d. 1899)
1875 – Jakob Schaffner, Swiss novelist (d. 1944)
1878 – Julie Manet, French painter, daughter of Berthe Morisot (d. 1966)
1878 – Leopold Staff, Polish poet (d. 1957)
1889 – Jawaharlal Nehru, First Prime Minister of India (d. 1964)
1891 – Frederick Banting, Canadian physician, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1941)
1895 – Louise Huff, American actress (d. 1973)
1895 – Walter Freeman, American physician (d. 1972)
1896 – Mamie Eisenhower, First Lady of the United States (d. 1979)
1898 – Benjamin Fondane, Romanian-French writer and filmmaker (d. 1944)
1900 – Aaron Copland, American composer (d. 1990)
1904 – Dick Powell, American actor (d. 1963)
1904 – Harold Larwood, English cricketer (d. 1995)
1905 – John Henry Barbee, American guitarist and singer (d. 1964)
1906 – Louise Brooks, American dancer, actress, and movie historian (d. 1985)
1907 – Astrid Lindgren, Swedish writer (d. 2002)
1907 – Howard W. Hunter, American religious leader (d. 1995)
1907 – William Steig, American children s book author (d. 2003)
1908 – Joseph McCarthy, U.S. Senator from Wisconsin (d. 1957)
1910 – Eric Malpass, English novelist (d. 1996)
1912 – Barbara Hutton, American socialite (d. 1979)
1912 – T. Y. Lin, Chinese-born civil engineer (d. 2003)
1915 – Martha Tilton, American singer (d. 2006)
1916 – Roger Apéry, Greek-French mathematician (d. 1994)
1916 – Sherwood Schwartz, American television writer and producer
1919 – Johnny Desmond, American singer (d. 1985)
1919 – Lisa Otto, German soprano
1919 – Veronica Lake, American actress (d. 1973)
1921 – Brian Keith, American actor (d. 1997)
1922 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Egyptian UN Secretary-General
1924 – Leonid Borisovitch Kogan, Russian violinist (d. 1982)
1927 – Bart Cummings, Australian race horse trainer
1927 – McLean Stevenson, American actor (d. 1996)
1927 – Narciso Yepes, Spanish classical guitarist (d. 1997)
1929 – Shirley Crabtree, aka Big Daddy, professional wrestler (d. 1997)
1929 – Jimmy Piersall, American baseball player
1930 – Charles De Sorgher, Belgian bobsledder
1930 – Edward White, American astronaut (d. 1967)
1930 – Michael Robbins, British actor (d. 1992)
1930 – Monique Mercure, French Canadian actress
1933 – Fred Haise, American astronaut
1934 – Catherine McGuinness, Irish Supreme Court Justice
1934 – Kurt Hamrin, Swedish football player
1935 – King Hussein of Jordan (d. 1999)
1936 – Cornell Gunter, American singer (The Coasters) (d. 1990)
1936 – Freddie Garrity, English singer (Freddie and the Dreamers) (d. 2006)
1936 – Carey Bell, American blues musician (d. 2007)
1937 – Murray Oliver, Canadian ice hockey player
1939 – Wendy Carlos, American composer
1943 – Peter Norton, American software engineer
1945 – Paul Hirsch, American film editor
1945 – Stella Obasanjo, Nigerian First Lady (d. 2005)
1947 – Bharathan, Malayalam film director (d. 1998)
1947 – P. J. O Rourke, American writer
1948 – Charles, Prince of Wales
1949 – James Young, American guitarist (Styx)
1949 – Gary Grubbs, American actor
1951 – Frankie Banali, American rock drummer
1951 – Alec John Such, American musician (Bon Jovi)
1951 – Stephen Bishop, American musician
1951 – Zhang Yimou, Chinese film director
1953 – Dominique de Villepin, Prime Minister of France
1953 – Phil Baron, American voice actor
1954 – Bernard Hinault, French cyclist
1954 – Condoleezza Rice, United States Secretary of State
1954 – Yanni, Greek musician & composer
1955 – Jack Sikma, American basketball player
1957 – Michael J Fitzgerald, American writer
1959 – Paul McGann, British actor
1960 – Tom Judson, American actor and composer
1961 – Antonio Flores, Spanish singer and songwriter (d. 1995)
1961 – Elizabeth Keifer, American actress
1961 – Gordon Jennison Noice, American actor
1961 – D. B. Sweeney, American actor
1962 – Harland Williams, Canadian-born actor
1962 – Laura San Giacomo, American actress
1964 – Bill Hemmer, American television news reporter
1964 – Patrick Warburton, American actor
1964 – Rev Run, American rapper
1966 – Curt Schilling, American baseball player
1966 – Petra Roßner, German cyclist
1967 – Letitia Dean, British actress
1967 – Nina Gordon, American singer
1968 – Janine Lindemulder, American porn actress
1968 – Serge Postigo, Canadian actor
1969 – Butch Walker, recording artist
1970 – Brendan Benson, American musician (The Raconteurs)
1970 – David Wesley, American basketball player
1971 – Adam Gilchrist, Australian cricketer
1971 – Marco Leonardi, Italian-Australian actor
1972 – Aaron Taylor, American football player
1972 – Edyta Górniak, Polish singer
1972 – Josh Duhamel, American actor
1972 – Martin Pike, Australian rules footballer
1972 – Matthew Bloom, American professional wrestler
1973 – Dana Snyder, American voice actor
1973 – Lawyer Milloy, American football player
1973 – Moka Only, Canadian musician
1974 – David Moscow, American actor
1974 – Matt Cedeño, Cuban-American actor
1975 – Faye Tozer, British musician (Steps)
1975 – Travis Barker, American musician (Blink-182, +44)
1975 – Gary Vaynerchuk, Russian/American wine expert
1977 – Obie Trice, American rapper
1978 – Bobby Allen, American ice hockey player
1978 – Michala Banas, New Zealand actress
1978 – Xavier Nady, American baseball player
1979 – Jean-Alain Boumsong, French footballer
1979 – Mavie Hörbiger, German actress
1979 – Olga Kurylenko, Ukrainian model and actress
1980 – Brock Pierce, American actor
1981 – Tom Ferrier, British racing driver
1982 – Kyle Orton, American football player
1983 – Lil Boosie, American rapper
1984 – Courtney Johns, Australian rules footballer
1984 – Lisa De Vanna, Australian footballer
1984 – Marija Šerifovic, Serbian singer
1985 – Thomas Vermaelen, Belgian footballer
1989 – Jake Livermore, English footballer
1990 – Jessie Jacobs, Australian actress and singer (d. 2008)
Deaths
565 – Justinian the Great, Byzantine Emperor (b. 483)
1226 – Frederick of Isenberg, German politician (executed) (b. 1193)
1263 – Alexander Nevsky, Grand Prince of Novgorod and Vladimir
1359 – Gregory Palamas, Archbishop of Thessalonica (b. 1296)
1391 – Nikola Tavelic, First Croatian saint (b. 1340)
1522 – Anne of France, Princess and Regent of France (b. 1461)
1556 – Giovanni della Casa, Italian poet (b. 1504)
1633 – William Ames, English philosopher (b. 1576)
1687 – Nell Gwynne, English mistress of Charles II of England (b. 1650)
1691 – Tosa Mitsuoki, Japanese painter (b. 1617)
1716 – Gottfried Leibniz, German philosopher and mathematician (b. 1646)
1734 – Louise de Kérouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth, French-born mistress of Charles II of England (b. 1649)
1746 – Georg Steller, German naturalist (b. 1709)
1817 – Policarpa Salavarrieta, Colombian revolutionary (b. 1795)
1825 – Jean Paul, German writer (b. 1763)
1829 – Louis Nicolas Vauquelin, French pharmacist (b. 1763)
1831 – Georg Hegel, German philosopher (b. 1770)
1831 – Ignaz Pleyel, Austrian-born French composer, music publisher and piano manufacturer (b. 1757)
1832 – Charles Carroll of Carrollton, American statesman (b. 1737)
1844 – John Abercrombie, British physician (b. 1780)
1866 – King Miguel of Portugal (b. 1802)
1872 – Pavel Kiselyov, Russian general and politician (b. 1788)
1907 – Andrew Inglis Clark, Australian politician (b. 1848)
1908 – The Guangxu Emperor of China, (b. 1871)
1914 – Vengayil Kunhiraman Nayanar, Malayalin journalist (b. 1861)
1915 – Booker T. Washington, American educator, lecturer, and African-American activist (b. 1856)
1916 – Henry George, Jr., American politician (b. 1862)
1916 – Saki, British writer (b. 1870)
1937 – Jack O Connor, American baseball player (b. 1869)
1944 – Carl Flesch, Hungarian violinist (b. 1873)
1946 – Manuel de Falla, Spanish composer (b. 1876)
1947 – Joseph Allard, French Canadian fiddler (b. 1873)
1971 – William Bendeck, Bolivian rally driver (b. 1934)
1972 – Martin Dies, Jr., American politician (b. 1900)
1974 – Johnny Mack Brown, American actor (b. 1904)
1977 – A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder-Acarya of ISKCON (b. 1896)
1981 – Robert Bradford, Northern Irish footballer (b. 1941)
1984 – Cesar Climaco, Filipino politician (b. 1916)
1991 – Tony Richardson, English film director (b. 1928)
1992 – Ernst Happel, Austrian football coach (b. 1925)
1994 – Tom Villard, American actor (b. 1953)
1996 – John A. Cade, American politician (b. 1929)
1997 – Eddie Arcaro, American jockey (b. 1916)
1997 – Jack Pickersgill, Canadian politician (b. 1905)
2000 – Robert Trout, American journalist (b. 1908)
2001 – Charlotte Coleman, British actress (b. 1968)
2001 – Juan Carlos Lorenzo, Argentine footballer (b. 1922)
2002 – Eddie Bracken, American film actor (b. 1915)
2003 – Gene Anthony Ray, American actor (b. 1962)
2004 – Michel Colombier, French composer (b. 1939)
Holidays and observances
Roman festivals – Equorum Probatio (The official cavalry parade of the equites)
India – Birthday of Jawaharlal Nehru: Children s Day
National Day of Burma/Myanmar
United States – National Children s Book Week begins
Colombia – Day of the Colombian Woman
Christian feast days
St. Josaphat Kuncevyc on the General Roman Calendar as in 1954
Barlaam of Kiev
Serapion of Algiers
Saint Philip, celebrated in Eastern Orthodox Church
World Diabetes Day