Did you know
The UK singles chart is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC) on behalf of the British record industry.
November 14 in History
1952 — The New Musical Express publishes the first regular UK Singles Chart
November 14 spans 49 recorded events across recorded history, from 332 BC to 2019. Below is a curated digest of the most significant moments tied to this date.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
Historical Events
49 events
332 BC – 2019
Today in history
More major events on November 14
The featured story and these ranked highlights form a quick summary. Every recorded event remains available in the chronology below.
- 1680 German astronomer Gottfried Kirch discovers the Great Comet of 1680, the first comet to be discovered by telescope. Source
- 1921 The Communist Party of Spain is founded, and issues the first edition of Mundo obrero. Source
- 1965 Vietnam War: The Battle of Ia Drang begins. This is the first major engagement between regular American and North Vietnamese forces. Source
Did you know
The Official Chart is broadcast on BBC Radio 1 and formerly MTV, serving as the UK music industry's recognised official measure of singles and albums popularity.
Did you know
The chart surveys over 15,000 retailers and digital services daily, capturing 99.9% of all singles consumed in Britain across the week.
Did you know
Digital downloads were incorporated into the chart in 2005, reflecting changes in music consumption technology.
Did you know
Streaming was added to the chart in July 2014, further expanding the chart's scope to include online music platforms.
-332
Alexander the Great is crowned pharaoh of Egypt.
King of Macedon from 336 to 323 BC
1680
German astronomer Gottfried Kirch discovers the Great Comet of 1680, the first comet to be discovered by telescope.
German astronomer (1639–1710)
1770
James Bruce discovers what he believes to be the source of the Nile.
Scottish traveller (1730–1794)
1812
Napoleonic Wars: At the Battle of Smoliani, French Marshals Victor and Oudinot are defeated by the Russians under General Peter Wittgenstein.
1803–1815 series of wars led by Napoleon
1851
Moby-Dick, a novel by Herman Melville, is published in the USA.
1851 novel by Herman Melville
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.
1910
Aviator Eugene Burton Ely performs the first takeoff from a ship in Hampton Roads, Virginia, taking off from a makeshift deck on the USS Birmingham in a Curtiss pusher.
Person controlling an aircraft in flight
1914
The Joensuu City Hall, designed by Eliel Saarinen, was inaugurated in Joensuu, Finland.
City hall and cultural center of Joensuu, Finland
1918
The Provisional National Assembly of the new republic of Czechoslovakia meets to devise a constitution.
1918–1992 country in Central Europe
1920
Pesäpallo, the Finnish version of baseball developed by Lauri Pihkala, is played for the first time at Kaisaniemi Park in Helsinki.
Finnish bat-and-ball sport
1921
The Communist Party of Spain is founded, and issues the first edition of Mundo obrero.
Political party in Spain
1922
The British Broadcasting Company begins radio service in the United Kingdom.
British commercial radio broadcaster; predecessor to the BBC (1922–1926)
1938
The Lions Gate Bridge, connecting Vancouver to the North Shore region, opens to traffic.
Suspension bridge in Vancouver, Canada
1940
World War II: In England, 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 the German submarine U-81 sustained on November 13.
Warship that serves as a seagoing airbase
1941
World War II: German troops, aided by local auxiliaries, murder nine thousand residents of the Słonim Ghetto in a single day.
Nazi ghetto in occupied Belarus
1957
The "Apalachin meeting" in rural Tioga County in upstate New York is raided by law enforcement; many high-level Mafia figures are arrested while trying to flee.
Large meeting of the American Mafia held in 1957
1960
Ruby Bridges becomes the first black child to attend an all-white elementary school in Louisiana.
American civil rights activist (born 1954)
1965
Vietnam War: The Battle of Ia Drang begins.
This is the first major engagement between regular American and North Vietnamese forces.
1967
The Congress of Colombia, in commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the death of Policarpa Salavarrieta, declares this day as "Day of the Colombian Woman".
Bicameral national legislature of Colombia
1967
American physicist Theodore Maiman is given a patent for his ruby laser systems, the world's first laser.
American physicist (1927–2007)
1969
Apollo program: NASA launches Apollo 12, the second crewed mission to the surface of the Moon.
1961–1972 American crewed lunar exploration program
1970
Soviet Union enters ICAO, making Russian the fourth official language of organization.
Country in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991
1970
Southern Airways Flight 932 crashes in the mountains near Huntington, West Virginia, killing 75, including almost all of the Marshall University football team.
1970 aircraft accident in West Virginia
1971
Mariner 9 enters orbit around Mars.
First spacecraft to enter orbit around Mars (1971–1972)
1973
In the United Kingdom, Princess Anne marries Captain Mark Phillips, in Westminster Abbey.
British princess (born 1950)
1973
The Athens Polytechnic uprising, a massive demonstration of popular rejection of the Greek military junta of 1967–74, begins.
1973 student uprising against the Greek junta
1975
With the signing of the Madrid Accords, Spain abandons Western Sahara.
1975 treaty between Spain, Morocco, and Mauritania to end Spanish presence in the Sahara
1977
During a British House of Commons debate, Labour MP Tam Dalyell poses what would become known as the West Lothian question, referring to issues related to devolution in the United Kingdom.
Lower house of the UK Parliament
1978
France conducts the Aphrodite nuclear test as 25th in the group of 29 1975–78 French nuclear tests.
Country primarily in Western Europe
1979
US President Jimmy Carter issues Executive Order 12170, freezing all Iranian assets in the United States in response to the hostage crisis.
1979 US presidential order freezing all Iranian government assets in the US
1982
Lech Wałęsa, the leader of Poland's outlawed Solidarity movement, is released after eleven months of internment near the Soviet border.
President of Poland from 1990 to 1995
1984
Zamboanga City mayor Cesar Climaco, a prominent critic of the government of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, is assassinated in his home city.
Highly-urbanized city in Zamboanga Peninsula, Philippines
1990
After German reunification, the Federal Republic of Germany and Poland sign a treaty confirming the Oder–Neisse line as the border between Germany and Poland.
1989–1991 unification process of Germany
1990
While on approach to Zurich Airport, Alitalia Flight 404 crashes into Stadlerberg Mountain near Weiach, killing 46.
International airport serving Zurich, Switzerland
1991
American and British authorities announce indictments against two Libyan intelligence officials in connection with the downing of the Pan Am Flight 103.
Evaluation of sensitive state, military, commercial, or scientific information
1991
Cambodian Prince Norodom Sihanouk returns to Phnom Penh after thirteen years in exile.
King of Cambodia (1941–1955; 1993–2004)
1992
In poor conditions caused by Cyclone Forrest, Vietnam Airlines Flight 474 crashes near Nha Trang, killing 30.
Pacific tropical storm and North Indian cyclone in 1992
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.
U.S Armed conflict in South Asia
2001
A magnitude 7.8 earthquake strikes a remote part of the Tibetan Plateau.
It has the longest known surface rupture recorded on land (~400 km) and is the best documented example of a supershear earthquake.
2003
Astronomers discover Sedna, a distant trans-Neptunian dwarf planet.
Distant body in the outer Solar System
2008
2008
Space Shuttle Endeavour launches on STS-126 to continue assembly of the International Space Station.
Space Shuttle orbiter (1992–2011)
2012
Israel launches a major military operation in the Gaza Strip in response to an escalation of rocket attacks by Hamas.
Country in West Asia
2016
A magnitude 7.8 earthquake strikes Kaikōura, New Zealand, at a depth of 15 km (9 miles), resulting in the deaths of two people.
Earthquake in New Zealand
2017
A gunman kills four people and injures 12 others during a shooting spree across Rancho Tehama, California.
He had earlier murdered his wife in their home.
2019
A mass shooting occurs at Saugus High School in Santa Clarita, California, resulting in three deaths, including that of the perpetrator, and three injuries.
2019 mass shooting in California, U.S.