On This Day In History
4 November 1979. A group of Muslim Iranian students seized the US embassy in Tehran, and took 90 hostages in total, including, 52 American diplomats and then held them for 444 days until 20 January 1981. pic.twitter.com/zbdY05UlRa
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) November 4, 2022
4 November 1995. Israeli Prime Minister, Yitzhak Rabin (aged 73), was shot dead by 27-year-old right-wing Israeli law student, Yigal Amir, as he walked towards his car at the end of a peace rally in Tel Aviv. Amir told police he acted alone. pic.twitter.com/1l4RqUjeXP
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) November 4, 2022
4 November 2008. Best selling author, Michael Crichton, died (aged 66). His novels Disclosure and Jurassic Park were No.1 best sellers and became hugely successful Hollywood films. He also created the TV series ER, which was the best-rated programme on US television. pic.twitter.com/QKMzdFVOz8
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) November 4, 2022
PHOTO OF THE DAY. The Tollund Man, a naturally mummified corpse of a man who lived during the 4th century BC. He was found in 1950, preserved in a peat bog on the Jutland peninsula in Denmark. pic.twitter.com/NoagUNXGr1
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) November 4, 2022
November 5th
1492 Christopher Columbus learns how to grow and harvest maize (corn) from Cuba's indigenous population
1556 Second Battle of Panipat: Hindu Emperor of north India Hem Chandra Vikramaditya defeated by forces of Mughal Emperor Akbar, who captures and later beheads Hem Chandra
1605 Gunpowder Plot: Catholic conspirator Guy Fawkes attempts to blow up King James I and the British Parliament. Plot discovered, Guy Fawkes caught, tortured and later executed along with seven others. Celebrated ever since as Guy Fawkes Day, where his effigy is traditionally burned on a bonfire, accompanied by fireworks.
1937 Adolf Hitler informs his military leaders in a secret meeting of his intentions of going to war
1956 Britain and France land airborne forces at Port Said in Egypt, escalating the Suez Crisis
1979 Supreme Leader of Iran Ayatollah Khomeini describes the United States as "The Great Satan" amid accusations of imperialism and the sponsoring of corruption
Did You Know?
Parker Brothers launches the board game Monopoly
Today in History in 1935
Would You Believe?
Louisa Woosley first women to be ordained as a minister in any Presbyterian denomination (US Cumberland Presbyterian Church).
Today in History in 1889
This day 73 years ago – 5 November 1946 – the ESB (Electricity Supply Board) began its Rural Electrification Scheme to bring electricity to remote parts of Ireland.
It became known as “the Quiet Revolution.”
The first electricity pole was erected at Kilsallaghan in Co. Dublin. pic.twitter.com/sXfWOxBZ9W
— This Day in Irish History (@ThisDayIrish) November 5, 2019
#OTD in 1913, the Tacoma Times announced that it had employed journalist Nixola Greeley-Smith, 'the foremost interviewer in the world', claiming that she was one of the 'few really authoritative writers dealing vitally with the "feminist" questions today'. https://t.co/qFd96CZqSi pic.twitter.com/OGIOoiSpDA
— On This Day She (@OnThisDayShe) November 5, 2022
On this day in 1901, deputy sheriffs in Ohio arrested and imprisoned several Black people for allegedly going to the wrong polling place, disenfranchising them. To overcome racial inequality, we must confront our history. https://t.co/ZIfvsHf02z
— Equal Justice Initiative (@eji_org) November 5, 2022
5 November 1909. F.W. Woolworth & Company opened its first British store, in Church Street, Liverpool. It sold children’s clothing, household goods, stationery, toys and sweets at discount prices. In 2009, the last ‘Woolies’ store in UK closed. pic.twitter.com/y7vmw6dQKG
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) November 5, 2022
5 November 1912. Democratic candidate, Woodrow Wilson, easily defeated the incumbent Republican President, William Howard Taft, and the former President, Theodore Roosevelt, who ran under the banner of a “New Progressive”. Wilson won the electoral college by 435 to 88. pic.twitter.com/jEvSgOgnhu
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) November 5, 2022
5 November 1927. Britain’s first automatic traffic lights were demonstrated at Princess Square in Wolverhampton by the Siemens & General Railway Signal Company. They were so successful they were permanently installed in October 1928. pic.twitter.com/ycN2Yoz2x0
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) November 5, 2022
5 November 1935. The popular board game, Monopoly, was put on sale by Parker Brothers Company in the USA. In the game, players roll two six-sided dice to move around the game board, buying and trading properties, with the aim of driving their opponents into bankruptcy. pic.twitter.com/ihZzNal2Q7
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) November 5, 2022
5 November 1940. The incumbent US Democratic President, Franklin D. Roosevelt, defeated Republican businessman, Wendell Willkie, to be elected for an unprecedented 3rd term in office. Nowadays a US President can only serve a maximum of 2 terms in office. pic.twitter.com/kS6GAxkdJi
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) November 5, 2022
5 November 1946. John F Kennedy was elected to the US House of Representatives at the age of 29. Kennedy was elected 3 times to the House in total, and 2 times to the US Senate before becoming president. Health problems often kept Kennedy from attending Congress for long periods. pic.twitter.com/Rlwb0aA0fu
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) November 5, 2022
5 November 1967. A Sunday evening train service from Hastings to London Charing Cross derailed near the Hither Green maintenance depot in London. Of the 12 coaches, 11 were derailed, resulting in 49 fatalities. Bee Gee, Robin Gibb, survived the crash. pic.twitter.com/MT7rgEJOum
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) November 5, 2022
5 November 1968. Republican former Vice President, Richard Nixon, defeated the Democrat nominee and incumbent Vice President, Hubert Humphrey, and the Independent Party nominee, Governor George Wallace, to win the US Presidential Election. pic.twitter.com/xxE8RBYW00
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) November 5, 2022
5 November 1991. Publishing tycoon, Robert Maxwell (aged 68), mired in financial trouble, drowned, after disappearing from his luxury yacht. After his death, it was revealed he had fraudulently misappropriated the Mirror Group pension fund. pic.twitter.com/HSnrne48rN
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) November 5, 2022
5 November 2006. Saddam Hussein, the former president of Iraq, was sentenced to death for war crimes. The sentence was carried out on 30 December 2006. pic.twitter.com/DiA8onAtW6
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) November 5, 2022
5 November 1605. The Gunpowder Plot, which aimed to overthrow Protestant rule failed when Guy Fawkes was arrested in the early hours of the morning in a cellar under the House of Lords, next to 36 kegs of gunpowder. He had intended to blow up the Houses of Parliament. pic.twitter.com/3LJnIlPNLL
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) November 5, 2022