November 22 in History

November 22 spans 36 recorded events across recorded history, from 498 to 2022. Below is a curated digest of the most significant moments tied to this date.

Holidays and observances on November 22

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Canadian journalist and politician William Lyon Mackenzie calls for a rebellion

1837 — Canadian journalist and politician William Lyon Mackenzie calls for a rebellion against the United Kingdom in his essay "To the People of Upper Canada", published in his newspaper The Constitution.

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Historical Events 36 events 498 – 2022

More major events on November 22

The featured story and these ranked highlights form a quick summary. Every recorded event remains available in the chronology below.

  1. 1943 Lebanon gains independence from France, nearly two years after it was first announced by the Free French government. Source
  2. 1935 The China Clipper inaugurates the first commercial transpacific air service, connecting Alameda, California with Manila. Source

Did you know

In 1837, Canadian journalist and politician William Lyon Mackenzie calls for a rebellion against the United Kingdom in his essay "To the People of Upper Canada", published in his newspaper The Constitution. This featured entry focuses on the immediate decision and its direct historical impact.

Did you know

The Upper Canada Rebellion was an insurrection against the oligarchic government of the British colony of Upper Canada in December 1837. This helps explain why the event mattered beyond the initial announcement.

Did you know

While public grievances had existed for years in Upper Canada, what emboldened rebels there to revolt was the rebellion which started the previous month in Lower Canada. This clarifies the institutional and public response around the event.

Did you know

In 1837, Canadian journalist and politician William Lyon Mackenzie calls for a rebellion against the United Kingdom in his essay "To the People of Upper Canada", published in his newspaper The Constitution had consequences that extended beyond the first headline. The key context is the institutions involved, the policy shift, and how the public response evolved afterward.

Did you know

In 1837, Canadian journalist and politician William Lyon Mackenzie calls for a rebellion against the United Kingdom in his essay "To the People of Upper Canada", published in his newspaper The Constitution had consequences that extended beyond the first headline. The key context is the institutions involved, the policy shift, and how the public response evolved afterward.


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Showing all 35 events

498

After the death of Anastasius II, Symmachus is elected Pope in the Lateran Palace, while Laurentius is elected Pope in Santa Maria Maggiore.

Pope Anastasius II (died 19 November 498) was the bishop of Rome from 24 November 496 to his death on 19 November 498. He was an important figure in trying to end the Acacian schism, but his efforts resulted in the Laurentian schism, which followed his death. Anastasius was born in Rome, the son of a priest, and is buried in St. Peter's Basilica. Pope Anastasius II is one of only two popes in the first 500 years of church history not to be canonized a saint in the Catholic Church. Pope Liberius is also omitted from sainthood in the Catholic Church, although he is considered a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church.
845 Brittany

The first duke of Brittany, Nominoe, defeats the Frankish king Charles the Bald at the Battle of Ballon near Redon.

Brittany is a peninsula, historical region and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an independent kingdom and then a duchy before being united with the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province governed as a separate nation under the crown. Brittany is the traditional homeland of the Breton people and is one of the six Celtic nations, retaining a distinct cultural identity that reflects its history.
1210 Château_de_Termes

The Castle of Termes falls to Simon de Montfort after a four-month siege during the Albigensian Crusade.

The Château de Termes is a ruined castle near the village of Termes in the Aude département of France. It is one of the so-called Cathar castles.
1220 Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor

Frederick II is crowned Holy Roman Emperor in Rome by Pope Honorius III.

Frederick II (Italian: Federico, Sicilian: Fidiricu, German: Friedrich, Latin: Fridericus; 26 December 1194 – 13 December 1250) was King of Sicily from 1198, King of Germany from 1212, King of Italy and Holy Roman Emperor from 1220, and King of Jerusalem from 1225 to 1228. He was the son of Emperor Henry VI, of the Hohenstaufen dynasty (the second son of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa), and Queen Constance I of Sicily, of the Hauteville dynasty. Frederick is considered to be one of the most brilliant and powerful figures of the Middle Ages and ruled a vast area, extending from Sicily in the south, through much of Italy, to Germany in the north. Viewing himself as a direct successor to the Roman emperors of antiquity, he was Emperor of the Romans from his papal coronation in 1220 until his death and also a claimant to the title of King of the Romans from 1212 and unopposed holder of that dignity from 1215. As such, he was King of Germany, Italy, and Burgundy. At the age of three, he was crowned King of Sicily as co-ruler with his mother, Constance, Queen of Sicily, the daughter of Roger II of Sicily. His other royal title was King of Jerusalem by virtue of marriage and his connection with the Sixth Crusade. Frequently at war with the papacy, which was hemmed in between Frederick's lands in northern Italy and his Kingdom of Sicily (the Regno) to the south, he was "excommunicated four times between 1227 and his own death in 1250" and was often vilified in pro-papal chronicles of the time and after. Pope Innocent IV went so far as to declare him preambulus Antichristi (forerunner of the Antichrist). For his many-sided activities, dynamic personality and talents, Frederick II has been called the greatest of all the German emperors, perhaps even of all medieval rulers. In the Kingdom of Sicily and much of Italy, Frederick built upon the work of his Norman predecessors and forged an early absolutist state bound together by an efficient secular bureaucracy. He was known by the appellation Stupor mundi ('Wonder of the World') and maintains a reputation as a Renaissance man avant la lettre and polymath: a visionary statesman, an inspired naturalist, scholar, mathematician, architect, poet and composer. Frederick also reportedly spoke six languages: Latin, Sicilian, Middle High German, Old French, Greek, and Arabic. As an avid patron of science and the arts, he played a major role in promoting literature through the Sicilian School of poetry. His Sicilian imperial-royal court in Palermo, beginning around 1220, was the cultural and intellectual hub of the early 13th century and saw the first use of a literary form of an Italo-Romance language, Sicilian. The poetry that emanated from the school had a significant influence on literature and on what was to become the modern Italian language. He was also the first monarch to formally outlaw trial by ordeal, which had come to be viewed as superstitious. Though Frederick's line was still in a strong position at the time of his death, it did not survive for long, and the House of Hohenstaufen came to an end. Furthermore, the Holy Roman Empire entered a long period of decline during the Great Interregnum. His complex political and cultural legacy has continued to attract fierce debate and fascination to this day.
1307 Pope_Clement_V

Pope Clement V issues the papal bull Pastoralis Praeeminentiae which instructed all Christian monarchs in Europe to arrest all Templars and seize their assets.

Pope Clement V was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1305 until his death. He is remembered for suppressing the order of the Knights Templar and allowing the execution of many of its members. A Frenchman by birth, Clement moved the Papacy from Rome to Avignon, ushering in the period known as the Avignon Papacy.
1574

Spanish navigator Juan Fernández discovers islands now known as the Juan Fernández Islands off Chile.

Juan Fernández (c. 1536 – c. 1604) was a Spanish explorer and navigator in the Pacific regions of the Viceroyalty of Peru and Captaincy General of Chile west of colonial South America. He is best known for the discovery of a fast maritime route from Callao (Peru) to Valparaíso (Chile) as well as for the discovery of the Juan Fernández Islands off the coast of Chile.
1635 Dutch_Formosa

Dutch colonial forces on Taiwan launch a pacification campaign against native villages, resulting in Dutch control of the middle and south of the island.

The island of Taiwan, also commonly known as Formosa, was partly under colonial rule by the Dutch Republic from 1624 to 1662. In the context of the Age of Discovery, the Dutch East India Company established its presence on Formosa to trade with neighboring Ming China and Tokugawa Japan, and to interdict Portuguese and Spanish trade and colonial activities in East Asia.
1718 Royal_Navy

Royal Navy Lieutenant Robert Maynard attacks and boards the vessels of the British pirate Edward Teach (best known as "Blackbeard") off the coast of North Carolina.

The casualties on both sides include Maynard's first officer Mister Hyde and Teach himself.
The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom, responsible for defending the country, the Crown Dependencies, and the Overseas Territories from naval attack or invasion. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against France. The modern Royal Navy traces its origins to the English Navy of the early 16th century, making it the oldest of the United Kingdom's armed services. It is consequently known as the Senior Service.
1855 Birmingham

In Birmingham, England, Albert, Prince Consort lays the foundation stone of the Birmingham and Midland Institute.

Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the centre of the West Midlands region of England. It is the largest local authority district in England by population and the second-largest city in Britain – commonly referred to as the second city of the United Kingdom – with a population of 1.2 million people in the city proper in 2025. Birmingham is the centre of the ceremonial West Midlands county, and borders the Black Country to its west and, together with the city of Wolverhampton and towns including Walsall, West Bromwich, Dudley and Solihull, forms the West Midlands conurbation. The Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield is incorporated within the city limits to the north and northeast. Birmingham's urban area has a population of 2.7 million and its wider metropolitan area has a population of 4.3 million. The city of Coventry lies to the east of the city, separated by the Meriden Gap. The cathedral city of Lichfield lies to the north of the city, separated by the M6 Toll.
1869 Dumbarton

In Dumbarton, Scotland, the clipper Cutty Sark is launched.

Dumbarton is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. In 2006, it had an estimated population of 19,990.
1873 SS_Ville_du_Havre

The French steamer SS Ville du Havre sinks in 12 minutes after colliding with the Scottish iron clipper Loch Earn in the Atlantic, with a loss of 226 lives.

Ville du Havre was a French iron steamship that operated round trips between the northern coast of France and New York City. Launched in November 1865 under her original name of Napoléon III, she was converted from a paddle steamer to single propeller propulsion in 1871 and, in recognition of the recent defeat and removal from power of her imperial namesake, the Emperor Napoleon III, was renamed Ville du Havre. It was named after Le Havre, a major port city in the Normandy region of northern France.
1908 Congress of Manastir

The Congress of Manastir establishes the Albanian alphabet.

The Congress of Manastir (Albanian: Kongresi i Manastirit) was a national conference held in the city of Manastir (now Bitola) from November 14 to 22, 1908, with the goal of standardizing the Albanian alphabet. November 22 is now a commemorative day in Albania, Kosovo, and North Macedonia as well as among the Albanian diaspora known as Alphabet Day (Albanian: Dita e Alfabetit). Prior to the Congress, the Albanian language was represented by a combination of six or more distinct alphabets, plus a number of sub-variants.
1921 The_Troubles_in_Ulster_(1920–1922)

During The Troubles in Ulster (1920–1922), 15 Irish Nationalists are killed in Belfast in one day.

The Troubles in Ulster of the 1920s was a period of conflict in the Irish province of Ulster, from June 1920 until June 1922, during and after the Irish War of Independence and the partition of Ireland. In Ulster, it was mainly a communal conflict between unionists, who wanted to remain part of the United Kingdom, and nationalists, who backed Irish independence: the unionists were mainly Ulster Protestants and the nationalists were mainly Irish Catholics. During this period, more than 500 people were killed in Belfast alone, 500 interned and 23,000 people were made homeless in the city, while approximately 50,000 people fled the province due to intimidation. Most of the victims were Nationalists (73%) with civilians being far more likely to be killed compared to the military, police or paramilitaries. In Belfast where Catholics made up only a third of the population, the disproportionate number of Catholic casualties combined with sustained attacks upon Catholic civilians involving police or special constabulary forces, led to the troubles being known as the 'Belfast Pogrom(s)'.
1935 China Clipper

The China Clipper inaugurates the first commercial transpacific air service, connecting Alameda, California with Manila.

China Clipper (NC14716) was the first of three Martin M-130 four-engine flying boats built for Pan American Airways and was used to inaugurate the first commercial transpacific airmail service from San Francisco to Manila on November 22, 1935. Built at a cost of $417,000 by the Glenn L. Martin Company in Baltimore, Maryland, it was delivered to Pan Am on October 9, 1935. It was one of the largest airplanes of its time. On November 22, 1935, it took off from Alameda, California, on commission to deliver the first airmail cargo across the Pacific Ocean. Although its inaugural flight plan called for the China Clipper to fly over the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge (still under construction at the time), upon take-off the pilot realized the plane would not clear the structure, and was forced to fly narrowly under instead. On November 29, the airplane reached its destination, Manila, after traveling via Honolulu, Midway Island, Wake Island, and Sumay, Guam, and delivered over 110,000 pieces of mail. The crew for this flight included Edwin C. Musick as pilot and Fred Noonan as navigator. The inauguration of ocean airmail service and commercial air flight across the Pacific was a significant event for both California and the world. Its departure point is California Historical Landmark #968 and can be found in Naval Air Station Alameda.
1940 World_War_II

World War II: Following the initial Italian invasion, Greek troops counterattack into Italian-occupied Albania and capture Korytsa.

World War II, or the Second World War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated, with many engaging in total war on an unprecedented scale. World War II was the deadliest conflict in history, causing the deaths of 60 to 75 million people, a majority of whom were civilians. Millions died as a result of massacres, starvation, disease, and genocides including the Holocaust. After the Allied victory, Germany, Austria, Japan, and Korea were occupied, and German and Japanese leaders were tried for war crimes.
1942 Battle_of_Stalingrad

World War II: Battle of Stalingrad: General Friedrich Paulus sends Adolf Hitler a telegram saying that the German 6th Army is surrounded.

The Battle of Stalingrad was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II in which Nazi Germany and its Axis allies fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad in southern Russia. Marked by intense close-quarters combat and heavy civilian losses during aerial bombardment, the battle is considered the largest and deadliest urban battle in military history and the deadliest battle in World War II. By the end of the fighting, the German 6th Army had been destroyed, the 4th Panzer Army had suffered severe losses, and Army Group B was routed. The defeat ended Germany’s 1942 summer offensive and passed the strategic initiative on the Eastern Front to the Soviet Union. The Soviet victory at Stalingrad is generally regarded as the pivotal turning point of the European theatre of the war.
1943 Cairo Conference

World War II: Cairo Conference: U.S.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Chinese Premier Chiang Kai-shek meet in Cairo, Egypt, to discuss ways to defeat Japan.
The Cairo Conference (codenamed Sextant), also known as the First Cairo Conference, was one of fourteen summit meetings during World War II, which took place on 22–26 November 1943. The Conference was held at Cairo in Egypt between China, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Attended by Chairman of the National Government of China Chiang Kai-shek, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and US President Franklin D. Roosevelt, it outlined the Allied position against the Empire of Japan during World War II and made decisions about post-war Asia. The Conference agenda was to formulate a strategy to counterattack the Empire of Japan, make arrangements for the post-war international situation and coordinate the counter-attack on Burma and the aid to China. The Cairo Declaration, issued after the conference, demanded Japan's unconditional surrender, the return to China of all occupied lands, and the shaping of a new post-war East Asia. The Cairo Conference established China's status as one of four world powers, which was of great political and strategic significance to China. Although many of the resolutions and promises made at the conference were not implemented, and the plan of action was repeatedly postponed and changed, the aim of a joint Chinese, British, and American counter-attack on Burma was eventually achieved.
1943 Lebanon

Lebanon gains independence from France, nearly two years after it was first announced by the Free French government.

Lebanon, officially the Lebanese Republic, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west; Cyprus lies a short distance from the coastline. Lebanon has a population of more than five million and an area of 10,452 square kilometres (4,036 sq mi). Beirut is the country's capital and largest city.
1952 Douglas_C-124_Globemaster_II

A Douglas C-124 Globemaster II crashes into Mount Gannet, Alaska, killing all 52 aboard.

The Douglas C-124 Globemaster II, nicknamed "Old Shaky", is a retired American heavy-lift cargo aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company in Long Beach, California.
1955 Soviet_Union

The Soviet Union launches RDS-37, a 1.6 megaton two stage hydrogen bomb designed by Andrei Sakharov.

The bomb was dropped over Semipalatinsk.
The Soviet Union, officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from its formation in 1922 until its dissolution in 1991. It was the world's third-most populous country, the largest by area, and bordered twelve other countries. A diverse multinational state, it was organized as a federal union of national republics, with the largest and most populous being the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (SFSR). The world's flagship communist state, it was governed by the Communist Party under Marxism–Leninism, through soviet councils. The Soviet economy was also centrally planned. Its capital and largest city was Moscow.
1963 John F. Kennedy

U.S.

President John F. Kennedy is assassinated and Texas Governor John Connally is seriously wounded by Lee Harvey Oswald, who also kills Dallas Police officer J. D. Tippit after fleeing the scene. Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson is sworn in as the 36th President of the United States afterwards.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the youngest person elected president, at 43 years, and the first Catholic president. Kennedy served at the height of the Cold War, and the majority of his foreign policy concerned relations with the Soviet Union and Cuba. A member of the Democratic Party, Kennedy represented Massachusetts in both houses of the United States Congress before his presidency. Born into the prominent Kennedy family in Brookline, Massachusetts, Kennedy graduated from Harvard University in 1940, joining the U.S. Naval Reserve the following year. During World War II, he commanded PT boats in the Pacific theater. Kennedy's survival following the sinking of PT-109 and his rescue of his fellow sailors made him a war hero and earned the Navy and Marine Corps Medal, but left him with serious injuries. After a brief stint in journalism, Kennedy represented a working-class Boston district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1947 to 1953. He was subsequently elected to the U.S. Senate, serving as the junior senator from Massachusetts from 1953 to 1960. While in the Senate, Kennedy published his book Profiles in Courage, which won a Pulitzer Prize. Kennedy ran in the 1960 presidential election. His campaign gained momentum after the first televised presidential debates in American history, and he was elected president, narrowly defeating Republican opponent Richard Nixon, the incumbent vice president. Kennedy's presidency saw high tensions with communist states in the Cold War. He increased the number of American military advisers in South Vietnam, and the Strategic Hamlet Program began during his presidency. In 1961, he authorized attempts to overthrow the Cuban government of Fidel Castro in the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion and Operation Mongoose. In October 1962, U.S. spy planes discovered Soviet missile bases had been deployed in Cuba. The resulting period of tensions, termed the Cuban Missile Crisis, nearly resulted in nuclear war. In August 1961, after East German troops erected the Berlin Wall, Kennedy sent an army convoy to reassure West Berliners of U.S. support, and delivered one of his most famous speeches in West Berlin in June 1963. In 1963, Kennedy signed the first nuclear weapons treaty. He presided over the establishment of the Peace Corps, Alliance for Progress with Latin America, and the continuation of the Apollo program with the goal of landing a man on the Moon before 1970. He supported the civil rights movement but was only somewhat successful in passing his New Frontier domestic policies. On November 22, 1963, Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. His vice president, Lyndon B. Johnson, assumed the presidency. Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested for the assassination, but Jack Ruby shot and killed him two days later. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Warren Commission both concluded Oswald had acted alone, but conspiracy theories about the assassination persist. After Kennedy's death, Congress enacted many of his proposals, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Revenue Act of 1964. He ranks highly in polls of U.S. presidents with historians and the general public. His personal life has been the focus of considerable sustained interest following public revelations in the 1970s of his chronic health ailments and extramarital affairs. Kennedy is the most recent U.S. president to have died in office.
1963 1963 Poonch Indian Air Force helicopter crash

Five Indian generals are killed in a helicopter crash, due to collision with two parallel lines of telegraph cables.

On Friday, 22 November 1963, an Aérospatiale Alouette III helicopter of the Indian Air Force crashed in Poonch district of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region. The aircraft was en route to Poonch town, killing all six people on board. Six Indian Armed Forces officers were on board, including three general officers, an air officer and a brigadier. Among those killed in the crash were Lieutenant General Daulet Singh, Lieutenant General Bikram Singh and Air Vice Marshal Erlic Pinto and the pilot Flight Lieutenant S. S. Sodhi.
1967 United Nations Security Council Resolution 242

UN Security Council Resolution 242 is adopted, establishing a set of the principles aimed at guiding negotiations for an Arab–Israeli peace settlement.

United Nations Security Council Resolution 242 (S/RES/242) was adopted unanimously by the UN Security Council on 22 November 1967, in the aftermath of the Six-Day War. It was adopted under Chapter VI of the UN Charter. The resolution was sponsored by British ambassador Lord Caradon and was one of five drafts under consideration. The preamble refers to the "inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war and the need to work for a just and lasting peace in the Middle East in which every State in the area can live in security". Operative Paragraph One "Affirms that the fulfillment of Charter principles requires the establishment of a just and lasting peace in the Middle East which should include the application of both the following principles: (i) Withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from territories occupied in the recent conflict; (ii) Termination of all claims or states of belligerency and respect for and acknowledgment of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of every State in the area and their right to live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force." Egypt, Jordan, Israel and Lebanon entered into consultations with the UN Special representative over the implementation of 242. After denouncing it in 1967, Syria "conditionally" accepted the resolution in March 1972. Syria formally accepted UN Security Council Resolution 338, the cease-fire at the end of the Yom Kippur War (in 1973), which embraced Resolution 242. On 1 May 1968, the Israeli ambassador to the UN expressed Israel's position to the Security Council: "My government has indicated its acceptance of the Security Council resolution for the promotion of agreement on the establishment of a just and lasting peace. I am also authorized to reaffirm that we are willing to seek agreement with each Arab State on all matters included in that resolution." Resolution 242 is one of the most widely affirmed resolutions on the Arab–Israeli conflict and formed the basis for later negotiations between the parties. These led to peace treaties between Israel and Egypt (1979) and Jordan (1994), as well as the 1993 and 1995 agreements with the Palestinians.
1968 Japan Air Lines Flight 2

Japan Air Lines Flight 2 accidentally ditches in San Francisco Bay while on approach to San Francisco International Airport.

No one is injured.
Japan Air Lines Flight 2 was a scheduled passenger flight on November 22, 1968. The plane was a six-month-old Douglas DC-8-62 named Shiga (志賀), flying from Tokyo International Airport (Haneda) to San Francisco International Airport (SFO). Due to heavy fog and other factors, Captain Kohei Asoh crashed the plane near Coyote Point in the shallow waters of San Francisco Bay, two and a half miles short of the runway. All 107 people on board survived the accident without any injuries. Despite the abrupt ditching, and being immersed in salt-water, the aircraft was recovered, repaired, and returned to service.
1971 Cairngorm Plateau disaster

In Britain's worst mountaineering tragedy, the Cairngorm Plateau Disaster, five children and one of their leaders are found dead from exposure in the Scottish mountains.

The Cairngorm Plateau disaster, also known as the Feith Buidhe disaster, occurred in November 1971 when six fifteen-year-old students from Edinburgh's Ainslie Park High School and their two leaders embarked on a two-day navigational expedition in a remote area of the Cairngorms in the Scottish Highlands. While the group was on the high plateau, the weather deteriorated and so they decided to head for the Curran shelter, a rudimentary refuge. When they failed to reach it, the group became stranded in the open for two nights in a blizzard. Five youths and the leader's assistant died of exposure. A sixth student and the group's leader survived the ordeal with severe hypothermia and frostbite. The disaster is regarded as Britain's worst mountaineering accident. A fatal accident inquiry led to formal requirements being placed on leaders for school expeditions. After acrimony in political, mountaineering and police circles, the Curran shelter was demolished in 1975.
1975 Juan Carlos I

Juan Carlos is declared King of Spain following the death of Francisco Franco two days earlier.

Juan Carlos I (Spanish: [xwaŋˈ kaɾlos]; Juan Carlos Alfonso Víctor María de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias; born 5 January 1938) is a member of the Spanish royal family who reigned as King of Spain from 1975 until his abdication in 2014. Although chosen by Francisco Franco as his successor, Juan Carlos helped dismantle the Francoist system and oversee the Spanish transition to democracy. Juan Carlos is the son of Infante Juan, Count of Barcelona, and grandson of Alfonso XIII, the last king of Spain before the abolition of the monarchy in 1931 and the subsequent declaration of the Second Spanish Republic. Juan Carlos was born in Rome, Italy, during his family's exile. General Francisco Franco took over the government of Spain after his victory in the Spanish Civil War in 1939, yet in 1947 Spain's status as a monarchy was affirmed and a law was passed allowing Franco to choose his successor. Juan Carlos's father assumed his claims to the throne after former king Alfonso XIII died in February 1941. However, Franco saw Juan Carlos's father to be too liberal and in 1969 declared Juan Carlos to be Prince of Spain, his successor as head of state. Juan Carlos spent his early years in Italy and came to Spain in 1947 to continue his studies. After completing his secondary education in 1955, he began his military training and entered the General Military Academy at Zaragoza. Later, he attended the Naval Military Academy and the General Academy of the Air, and finished his tertiary education at the University of Madrid. In 1962, Juan Carlos married Princess Sophia of Greece and Denmark in Athens. The couple have three children: Elena, Cristina, and Felipe. Due to Franco's advanced age and declining health amid his struggle with Parkinson's disease, Juan Carlos first began periodically acting as Spain's head of state in the summer of 1974. In November the following year, Franco died and Juan Carlos became king. Juan Carlos was expected to continue Franco's legacy, but instead introduced reforms to dismantle the Francoist regime and to begin Spain's transition to democracy soon after his accession. This led to the 1977 general election, the first free election in Spain since 1936, followed by the approval of the Spanish Constitution of 1978 in a referendum which re-established a constitutional monarchy. In 1981, Juan Carlos played a major role in preventing a coup that attempted to revert to Francoist government in the King's name. In 2008, he was considered the most popular leader across all Ibero-America. Hailed for his role in Spain's transition to democracy, the King and the monarchy's reputation began to suffer after controversies surrounding his family arose, exacerbated by the public controversy centering on an elephant-hunting trip he undertook during a time of financial crisis in Spain. In June 2014, Juan Carlos abdicated in favour of his son, who acceded to the throne as Felipe VI. Since August 2020, Juan Carlos has lived in self-imposed exile from Spain over allegedly improper ties to business deals in Saudi Arabia. The New York Times estimated in 2014 that Juan Carlos's fortune was around €1.8 billion ($2.3 billion). Juan Carlos is the second-oldest-living member of the Spanish royal family after Teresa de Borbón-Dos Sicilias.
1987 Max Headroom signal hijackings

The Max Headroom signal hijacking incident takes place, in which a pirate broadcast interrupts television broadcasts in Chicago.

On November 22, 1987, two television stations based in Chicago, Illinois, were hijacked two hours apart from one another by unidentified perpetrators. Both hijackings briefly sent pirate broadcasts of an unidentified person wearing a Max Headroom mask and costume to thousands of homes in the Chicago metropolitan area. The first hijacking took place on the independent TV station WGN-TV's nightly newscast. An unidentified person wearing a Max Headroom mask swayed erratically in front of a semi-swiveling metal panel, likely meant to resemble the background often featured in the Max Headroom series. The perpetrators were unable to broadcast any audio; the only sound viewers heard was a loud buzz. The interruption went on for nearly 17 seconds before engineers at WGN-TV were able to regain control of their broadcast tower. The second hijacking occurred about two hours later, during PBS member station WTTW's broadcast of the Doctor Who serial Horror of Fang Rock. With nobody on duty at the tower that was hijacked, the perpetrators were able to broadcast audio and stay on the air longer than they did during the first hijacking. As with the first incident a person wearing a Max Headroom mask made reference to Max Headroom advertisements and other seemingly unrelated topics, before concluding by presenting their bare buttocks to a woman with a flyswatter. At that point, the hijackers ended the pirate broadcast, and normal programming resumed after an interruption of about 90 seconds. A criminal investigation conducted by the Federal Communications Commission in the immediate aftermath of the intrusion could not find the people responsible for the hijacking. Despite many unofficial inquiries and speculation since the hijackings, the perpetrators have yet to be identified.
1989 NASA

NASA launches Space Shuttle Discovery on STS-33, a classified mission for the United States Department of Defense.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government responsible for the United States' civil space program, as well as research in aeronautics and space. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., NASA operates ten field centers across the US and is organized into three mission directorates: Human Spaceflight, Research and Technology, and Science. Established in 1958 amid the Space Race, NASA succeeded the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) to give the US space program a distinct civilian orientation focused on peaceful applications. Since then, it has led most American spaceflight programs, including Project Mercury, Project Gemini, the Apollo program, Skylab, the Space Shuttle, the International Space Station (ISS), and the ongoing multinational Artemis program. NASA maintains extensive ground and communications infrastructure, including the Deep Space Network and the Near Earth Network. Its science programs focus on Earth observation through the Earth Observing System, heliophysics research, Solar System exploration with robotic missions such as New Horizons and the Perseverance rover, and astrophysics investigations using space-based observatories including the James Webb Space Telescope and the Hubble Space Telescope. The Launch Services Program oversees operations for uncrewed launches. The agency supports the ISS through international partnerships and highly successful commercial initiatives, such as the Commercial Crew Program and Commercial Resupply Services. NASA also leads the development of the Orion spacecraft and the Space Launch System rocket for the Artemis program. NASA collaborates globally with organizations including the European Space Agency (ESA), the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), and Russia's Roscosmos (for ISS operations), as well as domestically with US agencies such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the United States Geological Survey, and the United States Space Force. NASA's missions and media initiatives, including the NASA+ streaming service, contribute significantly to its public visibility and outreach. The agency has also influenced popular culture since the historic Apollo 11 Moon landing in 1969. For fiscal year 2026, NASA was authorized a budget of $24.4 billion and employs approximately 18,400 civil servants; since December 2025
1990 Prime_Minister_of_the_United_Kingdom

British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher withdraws from the Conservative Party leadership election, confirming the end of her Premiership.

The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet, and selects its ministers. Modern prime ministers hold office by virtue of their ability to command the confidence of the House of Commons, so they are invariably members of Parliament.
1994 Trans_World_Airlines

A Trans World Airlines McDonnell Douglas MD-80 and Cessna 441 Conquest II aircraft collide on the runway at St.

Louis Lambert International Airport in Bridgeton, Missouri, killing two people and injuring eight.
Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a trunk carrier, a scheduled airline in the United States that operated from 1930 until it was acquired by American Airlines in 2001. It was formed as Transcontinental & Western Air to operate a route from New York City to Los Angeles via St. Louis, Kansas City, and other stops, with Ford Trimotors. With American, United, and Eastern, it was one of the "Big Four" domestic airlines in the United States formed by the Spoils Conference of 1930.
2003 2003_Baghdad_DHL_attempted_shootdown_incident

Baghdad DHL attempted shootdown incident: Shortly after takeoff, a DHL Express cargo plane is struck on the left wing by a surface-to-air missile and forced to land.

On 22 November 2003, shortly after takeoff from Baghdad, Iraq, an Airbus A300 cargo plane, registered OO-DLL and owned by the Belgian division of European Air Transport, was struck on the left wing by a surface-to-air missile while on a scheduled flight to Muharraq, Bahrain. Severe wing damage resulted in a fire and complete loss of hydraulic flight control systems.
2004 Orange_Revolution

The Orange Revolution begins in Ukraine, resulting from the presidential elections.

The Orange Revolution was a series of protests that led to political upheaval in Ukraine from late November 2004 to January 2005. It gained momentum primarily due to the initiative of the general population, sparked by the aftermath of the 2004 Ukrainian presidential election runoff which was claimed to be marred by massive corruption, voter intimidation, and electoral fraud. Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, was the focal point of the movement's campaign of civil resistance, with thousands of protesters demonstrating daily. Nationwide, this was highlighted by a series of acts of civil disobedience, sit-ins, and general strikes organized by the opposition movement.
2010 Bon_Om_Touk

During the Cambodian water festival, a stampede in Koh Pich, Phnom Penh, kills 347 people.

Bon Om Touk, also known as the Cambodian Water and Moon Festival, is celebrated in late October or early November, often corresponding with the lunar Mid-Autumn Festival. It marks the end of the monsoon season. The festivities are accompanied by dragon boat races, similar to those seen in the Lao Boun Suang Huea festival.
2014 African_Americans

While playing with a toy gun in Cleveland, 12-year-old African American Tamir Rice is killed by a white police officer.

African Americans or Black Americans, also formerly called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group. As defined by the United States census, they are Americans who have ancestry from "any of the Black racial groups of Africa". African Americans constitute the third-largest racial and ethnic group in the U.S., following White Americans and Hispanic and Latino Americans. In the ethnic group sense, the term "African American" generally denotes descendants of Africans enslaved in the United States. According to annual estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau, as of July 1, 2024, the overall Black population was estimated at 42,951,595, representing approximately 12.63% of the total U.S. population.
2022 2022_Chesapeake_shooting

A shooting at a Walmart in Chesapeake, Virginia leaves seven workers dead, including the shooter, and four others injured.

On November 22, 2022, a mass shooting took place at a Walmart in Chesapeake, Virginia, United States. Andre Bing, a night-supervisor at the store, killed six co-workers and injured four others before committing suicide. Bing committed the attack out of perceived workplace harassment, with his suicide note additionally citing "social deficitis" and loneliness.

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