November 11th in History

Michael Dobson | November 11

Part of the US Numbered Highway System, established 11/11/26

On This Day in History

  • Gottfried Leibniz demonstrates integral calculus for the first time (1675)
  • Union General William Tecumseh Sherman begins the burning of Atlanta (1864)
  • Washington becomes the 42nd US state (1889)
  • World War I fighting officially ends on the 11th hour of the 11th month on the 11th day (1918)
  • The Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery is dedicated (1921)
  • The US Numbered Highway System is established (1926)
  • Albert Einstein and Leó Szilárd received a patent for a refrigerator design (1930)
  • Gemini 12 takes off (1966)
  • RMS Queen Elizabeth II begins her final voyage (2008)

Birthdays

  • Paracelsus, physician (1493)
  • Фёдор Достое́вский (Fyodor Dostoyevsky), author (1821)
  • George S. Patton, US general (1885)
  • Pat O’Brien, actor (1899)
  • Alger Hiss, spy (1904)
  • Stubby Kaye, actor (1918)
  • Kurt Vonnegut, author (1922)
  • Jonathan Winters, comedian (1925)
  • Mose Allison, singer-songwriter and pianist (1927)
  • Marshall Crenshaw, singer-songwriter (1953)
  • Carl Williams, boxer (1959)
  • Stanley Tucci, actor and director (1960)
  • Demi Moore, actress (1962)
  • Calista Flockhart, actress (1964)
  • Alison Doody, actress (1966)
  • Leonardo DiCaprio, actor (1974)

Deaths

  • Nat Turner, rebel slave (1831)
  • Ned Kelly, Australian killer and folk hero (1880)
  • Liliuokalani, Hawaiian monarch (1917)
  • Typhoid Mary, disease carrier (1938)
  • Jerome Kern, composer (1945)
  • Alexander Calder, sculptor (1976)
  • ياسر عرفات‎ (Yasser Arafat), PLO chairman (2004)
  • Peter Drucker, management theorist (2005)
  • Baby Marie Osborne, silent film child star (2010)

Holidays

  • Armistice Day (New Zealand, France, Belgium, Serbia)
  • 光棍节 (Guānggùn Jié, or Singles’ Day) (China)
  • Independence Day (Poland, Angola)
  • Lāčplēsis Day (Latvia)
  • National Sundae Day (US food holidays)
  • Origami Day (International)
  • プリッツ(Pretz) and ポッキ (Pocky) Day (Japanese food holidays)
  • 빼빼로 (Pepero) Day (South Korea, similar to Valentine’s Day but named after a snack food)
  • Remembrance Day (UK and Commonwealth nations)
  • Republic Day (Maldives)
  • Veterans Day (US; Armistice Day until 1954)
  • Women’s Day (Belgium)
  • World Orphans’ Day (International)

November 11 is the 315th day of the year (316th in leap years), with 50 days remaining until year’s end.