Today in History: November 1
November 1 in History
1512 – Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel ceiling is unveiled to the public when Pope Julius II celebrates Mass there on All Saints’ Day (the frescoes, including The Creation of Adam, had been completed shortly before).
1755 – The Great Lisbon Earthquake (followed by a tsunami and fires) devastates Lisbon, Portugal, on All Saints’ Day morning, killing an estimated 30,000–60,000 people and prompting early scientific study of earthquakes.
1765 – The Stamp Act takes effect in the American colonies, imposing direct taxation on printed materials and helping fuel colonial resistance to British rule.
1800 – John Adams becomes the first U.S. president to live in the White House (then known as the President’s House).
1814 – The Congress of Vienna opens to redraw the political map of Europe after the Napoleonic Wars.
1922 – The Grand National Assembly of Turkey abolishes the Ottoman sultanate, formally ending the Ottoman Empire (the caliphate continued until 1924; the Republic of Turkey was proclaimed in 1923).
1950 – Puerto Rican nationalists Oscar Collazo and Griselio Torresola attempt to assassinate President Harry S. Truman at Blair House (while the White House was under renovation). One White House police officer is killed; Torresola is killed and Collazo is wounded and later imprisoned.
1952 – The United States detonates “Ivy Mike,” the first full-scale thermonuclear (hydrogen) bomb, at Enewetak Atoll in the Marshall Islands.
1993 – The Maastricht Treaty enters into force, formally establishing the European Union.
November 1 is observed as All Saints’ Day (All Hallows’ Day) in the Christian calendar.
Born on November 1
1757 – Antonio Canova, Italian Neoclassical sculptor.
1762 – Spencer Perceval, British statesman and Prime Minister (the only British PM assassinated while in office).
1871 – Stephen Crane, American author (The Red Badge of Courage, Maggie: A Girl of the Streets).
1880 – Alfred Wegener, German geophysicist and meteorologist who proposed the theory of continental drift.
1935 – Gary Player, South African professional golfer (multiple major championship winner).
1935 – Edward Said, Palestinian-American literary critic, scholar, and author of Orientalism.
1942 – Larry Flynt, American publisher (founder of Hustler).
1949 – David Foster, Canadian music producer, composer, and songwriter.
1957 – Lyle Lovett, American singer-songwriter and actor.
1960 – Tim Cook, American business executive (CEO of Apple).
1962 – Anthony Kiedis, American singer and songwriter (lead vocalist of the Red Hot Chili Peppers).
1972 – Toni Collette, Australian actress (Muriel’s Wedding, The Sixth Sense, Hereditary).
1972 – Jenny McCarthy, American television personality, actress, and model.
1973 – Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Indian actress and model.
