November 6, 1528: Shipwrecked Spanish conquistador Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca becomes the first known European to set foot in Texas. (Bastard.)
November 7, 1967: Carl B. Stokes is elected as Mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, becoming the first elected African American mayor of a major American city.
November 7, 1872: The *Mary Celeste * sets sail from New York harbor. It’s anybody’s guess what happened aboard her afterwards.
November 7, 1492: The Ensisheim Meteorite strikes earth in a wheat field near the village of Ensisheim in Alsace, France, the oldest meteorite with a known date of impact.
November 8, 1960: John F. Kennedy defeats Richard Nixon in one of the closest presidential elections of the 20th century, to become the 35th president of the United States.
November 8, 1914 - Norman Perlmutter, later known as actor Norman Lloyd, was born in Jersey City, NJ. Turner Classic Movies will honor him on his 102nd birthday, live tonigh,t at its Classic Film Festival.
November 8, 1602: The Bodleian Library at Oxford University opens.
November 9, 1965: Several U.S. states and parts of Canada are hit by a series of blackouts lasting up to 13 hours in the Great Northeast Blackout of 1965.
An Urban Legend has grown out of this in which supposedly the birthrate spiked nine months later, However, it’s not true.
November 9, 1888: Jack Ripper’s fifth and probably last victim, Mary Jane Kelly, is found on her bed.
November 10, 1983: Bill Gates introduces Windows 1.0.
November 11, 1918: An armistice signed by the Allies and Germany takes effect at 11am, ending WWI hostilities at 11am and giving us Veterans Day.
November 12, 1970: The Oregon Highway Division attempts to destroy a rotting beached sperm whale with explosives, leading to the now infamous “exploding whale” incident.
November 12, 1912: British explorer Robert Scott’s diary and body are found in Antarctica.
November 13, 1940: Walt Disney’s animated musical film Fantasia is first released.
November 13, 1789: Ben Franklin writes “Nothing . . . certain but death & taxes”
Nov 13, 1979 - Chocolate-Thunder-Flying, Robinzine-Crying, Teeth-Shaking, Glass-Breaking, Rump-Roasting, Bun-Toasting, Wham-Bam Glass-Breaker-I-Am Jam
aka Darryl Dawkins does his first backboard-breaking slam dunk.
November 14, 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 72 days.
November 14, 1904: King Gillette patents the Gillette razor blade.
November 16, 1938: Albert Hofmann first synthesizes LSD.
Nov 16, 42BC Tiberius Claudius Nero, Roman Emperor was born.