November 9th: This Day in History

 

Once again, it should be reiterated, that this does not pretend to be a very extensive history of what happened on this day (nor is it the most original - the links can be found down below). If you know something that I am missing, by all means, shoot me an email or leave a comment, and let me know!

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history 

On this day in the year 694, Spanish King Egica accused Jews of providing assistance to Muslims, and then sentenced them to slavery. In 1729 on this day, Spain, France & Britain signed the Treaty of Seville. Russian troops occupied Warsaw on this day in 1794. Napoleon became a dictator (1st Consul) of France on this day in 1799. American president Teddy Roosevelt established a naval base in the Philippines on this day in 1901.In 1938 on this day, the Nazis launched Kristallnacht (which translates to "night of broken glass) when they attacked businesses and homes of Jewish people. On this day in 1989, one of the most memorable historical events in my lifetime occurred, when East Germany opened it's borders. People scaled the Berlin Wall, and many took sledgehammers and chisels to break the wall and take home their own souvenirs of this event. For all intents and purposes, this seemed to mark the beginning of the mostly (but not exclusively) peaceful revolutions that spread across eastern Europe in the fall of 1989. It felt like the fall of the Berlin Wall signaled the end of the Cold War. 

Here's a more detailed look at events that transpired on this date throughout history:

• 694 - Spanish King Egica accuses Jews of aiding Moslems/sentenced to slavery

1282 - Pope Martinus IV excommunicates king Pedro III of Aragonorth

1313 - Louis the Bavarian defeats his cousin Frederick I of Austria at the Battle of Gamelsdorf.

1330 - Battle of Posada, Wallachian Voievode Basarab I defeats the Hungarian army in an ambush

• 1492 - Peace of Etaples (Henry VII of England & Charles VIII of France)

1494 - Family de' Medici become rulers of Florence

1520 - Swedish King Christian II executes 600 nobles

• 1526 - Jews are expelled from Pressburg (Bratislava), Hungary, by Maria of Hapsburg

• 1541 - Queen Catharine Howard confined in Tower of London

• 1569 - Catholic uprising under Northumberland & Westmoreland

• 1580 - Spanish troops lands in Ireland

• 1673 - British king Charles II dismisses Earl of Shaftesbury

1681 - Hungarian parliament promises protestants freedom of religion

1697 - Pope Innocent XII founds the city of Cervia.

1720 - Rabbi Yehuda Hasid synagogue set afire

• 1729 - Spain, France & Britain sign Treaty of Seville

• 1764 - Mary Campbell, a captive of the Lenape during the French and Indian War, is turned over to forces commanded by Colonel Henry Bouquet.

• 1794 - Russian troops occupy Warsaw

Napoleon Bonaparte

The dome of the Hôtel des Invalides in Paris, where Napoleon is buried.

Napoleon with his iconic pose, his hand tucked in his shirt.

• 1799 - Napoleon becomes dictator (1st consul) of France

1821 - 1st US pharmacy college holds 1st classes, Philadelphia

1848 - Post office at Clay & Pike opens

1848 - Robert Blum, a German revolutionary and MP (Liberal), is executed in Vienna.

1851 - Kentucky marshals abduct abolitionist minister Calvin Fairbank from Jeffersonville, Indiana, and take him to Kentucky to stand trial for helping a slave escape.

1853 - Origin of Carrington rotation numbers for rotation of Sun

Composer/Pianist Franz LisztComposer/Pianist Franz Liszt 1854 - Franz Liszt's "Fest-Long," premieres

1857 - Atlantic Monthly magazine 1st published

1858 - 1st performance of NY Symphony Orchestra

• 1861 - 1st documented Canadian football game (at U of Toronto)

• 1861 - Battle of Piketon, Ky

• 1862 - US Grant issues orders to bar Jews from serving under him

1864 - 1st export of goods from Burrard Inlet, BC to a foreign country

1864 - Sherman issues preliminary plans for his "March to the Sea"

• 1872 - The Great Boston Fire of 1872. Close to 1,000 buildings destroyed

• 1877 - American Chemical Society chartered in NY

1885 - Opera "Ermine," premieres in London

• 1888 - Jack Ripper's 5th and probably last victim, Mary Jane Kelly, found on her bed

1904 - 1st airplane flight to last more than 5 minutes

1905 - Swedish mine workers win 5 month strike for minimum wages

• 1906 - Theodore Roosevelt is 1st US President to visit other countries (P Rico and Panama)

1907 - Edmonton Rugby Foot-ball Club 1st game, loses to Calgary City Rugby Foot-ball Club 26-5 at Edmonton Exhibition Grounds

1907 - The Cullinan Diamond is presented to King Edward VII on his birthday.

1912 - Ferenc Molnàrs "Farkas," premieres in Budapest

1913 - Storm "Freshwater Fury" sinks 8 ore-carriers on Great Lakes

1915 - Italian liner Ancona sinks by German torpedos, killing 272

• 1918 - Bavaria proclaims itself a republic

• 1918 - Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicates after German defeat in WW I

• 1918 - Republic Germany proclaimed

Italian Dictator Benito MussoliniItalian Dictator Benito Mussolini 

• 1921 - Partito Nazionalista Fascista, forms in Italy by Mussolini

1923 - Beer Hall Putsch-Nazis fail to overthrow government, 16 die/Hitler flees

1924 - Miriam (Ma) Ferguson becomes 1st elected woman governor (of Texas)

1925 - German NSDAP form Schutzstaffel (SS)

1927 - Giant Panda discovered, China

1927 - Pastor of Have begins blessing of motorcars/motors

1930 - 1st nonstop airplane flight from NY to Panama

1932 - Hurricane storm wave sweeps over Santa Cruz del Sur Cuba kills 2,500

1932 - Riots between conservative and socialist supporters in Switzerland kill 12 and injure 60. 

Bust of Carl Sagan

• On this day in 1934, American scientist Carl Sagan was born in Brooklyn, New York City, New York. 

1935 - Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) labor union forms

• 1935 - Japan invades Shanghai, China

• 1936 - Albanian government of Frasheri falls

• 1937 - Japanese army conquers Shanghai

1937 - St Louis Cards Triple Crown winner Joe Medwick is named NL MVP

1938 - Al Capp, cartoonist of Lil' Abner creates Sadie Hawkins Day

Dictator of Nazi Germany Adolf HitlerDictator of Nazi Germany Adolf Hitler 

• 1938 - Kristallnacht, Nazi Germany's first large-scale physical act of anti-Jewish violence, begins. 1938 - Nazi troops and sympathizers destroyed and looted 7,500 Jewish businesses, burned 267 synagogues, killed 91 Jews, and rounded up over 25,000 Jewish men in an event that became known as Kristallnacht or "Night of Broken Glass." 

1939 - "Ninotchka," with Greta Garbo premieres

1939 - Nobel for physics awarded to Ernest O Lawrence (cyclotron)

1939 - Venlo-incident: German Abwehr kills 2 English agents

1941 - Hitler threatens Clemens August, Graf von Galen, Bishop of Münster

1942 - German occupiers put Erik Scavenius as Danish premier

• 1942 - Transport number 44 departs with French Jews to nazi-Germany

1944 - Red Cross wins Nobel peace prize

1944 - Walcheren purged of nazi troops

1946 - Pres Harry Truman ends wage/price freeze

1949 - Costa Rica adopts Constitution

1950 - Boston Brave Sam Jethroe wins NL Rookie of Year

1950 - Phillies skipper Eddie Sawyer selected as Manager of Year

1950 - White Sox release Luke Appling, who had been a Sox since 1930

• 1953 - Cambodia (aka Kampuchea) gains independence from France, within the French Union

33rd US President Harry Truman33rd US President Harry Truman 1953 - KTVQ TV channel 2 in Billings, MT (CBS/NBC) begins broadcasting

1953 - Supreme Court rules Major League baseball exempt from anti-trust laws

1955 - Michael Gazzo's "Hatful of Rain," premieres in NYC

1955 - NZ all out for 70 v Pakistan at Dacca

• On this day in 1955, the United Nations General Assembly's Special Political Committee adopted a resolution which condemned South Africa's policy of strict racial segregation, known as apartheid. Also, while the major adoption of the Freedom Charter happened earlier in the year, a significant number of residents from the suburb of Sophiatown were forcibly removed from their homes on or around this date, as part of the government's Group Areas Act's implementation.  

1956 - Lou Thesz beats Whipper Billy Watson in St Louis, to become NWA champ

1961 - PGA eliminates caucasians only rule

1961 - Paddy Chayefsky's "Gideon," premieres in NYC

1961 - USAF Major Robert M White takes X-15 to 30,970m

1962 - Catharina Lodders of the Netherlands elected Miss World

1962 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site

1963 - "Tovarich" closes at Broadway Theater NYC after 264 performances

1963 - 450 die in a coal-dust explosion & 160 die in train crash (Japan)

1964 - "Comedy in Music-Opus 2" opens at John Golden NYC for 192 perfs

1964 - Eisaku Sato becomes premier of Japan

1965 - 1st NY Knick game postponed (black-out) vs St Louis

1965 - Hurricane hits north east US/Canada

1965 - Willie Mays named NL MVP

• 1965 - Several U.S. states and parts of Canada are hit by a series of blackouts lasting up to 13 hours in the Northeast Blackout of 1965.

Artist & Musician Yoko OnoArtist & Musician Yoko Ono 

 Ran into this image of John Lennon, and just thought it was cool, as well as appropriate for the day, given that Paul McCartney was in town (Syracuse, New York, June 2022). 

• 1966 - John Lennon meets Yoko Ono at an avante-garde art exposition at Indica Gallery in London

1966 - "Let's Sing Yiddish" opens at Brooks Atkinson NYC for 107 perfs

1966 - Oakland Coliseum Arena opens

1967 - 1st unmanned Saturn V flight to test Apollo 4 reentry module  1967 - A Saturn V rocket carrying an unmanned Apollo spacecraft blasted off from Cape Kennedy on a successful test flight.  

• 1967 - Surveyor 6 soft lands on Moon  

1968 - USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR

1970 - Trial of Seattle 8 anti-war protesters begins

 

French President Charles de Gaulle

• French General and President Charles De Gaulle, who was also a writer, a statesman, and the architect of France's Fifth Republic, died on this day in 1970 his home at Colombey-les-Deux-Églises.

1971 - David Storey's "Changing Room," premieres in London

1971 - John List kills family & moves to Colorado

1972 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site

1973 - Fire at Taiyo dept store, kills 101 & injures 84 (Kumamoto Japan)

1973 - Government De Uyl decides Palestijnse fugitives to support

1973 - Ringo Starr releases "Ringo" album

1976 - Oakland releases Billy Williams, ending his Hall of Fame career

Flag of South Africa during the apartheid era

• In 1976 on this day, the United Nations General Assembly approved ten resolutions condemning the white minority apartheid government in South Africa.  

1977 - Reds' George Foster wins NL MVP

1978 - NASL realligns its 24 teams into 6 divisions

Flag of the United Nations

• On this day in 1979, the United Nations Security Council unanimously called upon Iran to release all American hostages "without delay." Militants, mostly students had taken 63 Americans hostage at the U.S. embassy in Tehran, Iran, on November 4. 

• 1980 - Iraqi President Saddam Hussein declares holy war against Iran

1982 - Sugar Ray Leonard retires for 1st time

1983 - Amsterdam brewer Freddie Heineken kidnapped

1983 - Discovery flies from Vandenberg AFB to Kennedy Space Center

1984 - 1st-class cricket debut for Brian McMillan, Transvaal B v N Tvl B

1984 - Larry Holmes TKOs Bonecrusher Smith in 12 for heavyweight boxing title

1984 - Most shots in an Islander game-88-Isles 45, Rangers 43

• 1984 - Vietnam Veterans Memorial ("3 Servicemen") completed

1985 - "News" closes at Helen Hayes Theater NYC after 4 performances

1985 - Gary Kasparov becomes world chess champion

1985 - Richard Hadlee takes 9-52 v Australia at the Gabba

1985 - Surprise attack on Belgium supermarket in Aalst, 8 killed

1986 - Ai-Yu Tu wins LPGA Mazda Japan Golf Classic

1986 - Pakistan all out for 77 v West Indies at Lahore

1988 - "Prince of Central Park" opens at Belasco Theater NYC for 4 perfs

1988 - MLB All-Star team beat Japan 8-2 in Nishinomya, (Game 4 of 7)

Throughout the city of Beerlin, there is now a marker line, like the one pictured above, to identify where the Wall once stood.

The longest single piece of the Wall still standing, I believe, is at the Topographie des Terrors, which is within easy walking distance of Checkpoint Charlie, and not too far from the Potsdam Platz, either. 

• In 1989, the Berlin Wall fell. The government of East Germany opened its borders in the then still divided city of Berlin. People on both sides gathered at the wall and climbed on top in frankly unforgettable images that endure. It signaled a close of the historical chapter of the East-West divide in Germany and Europe, and marked the beginning of the end of the Cold War.

• 1990 - Tanzania government of Malecela forms

• 1990 - New democratic constitution is issued in Nepal.

1992 - Prix Goncourt awarded to Patrick Chamoiseau for "Texaco"

1993 - "Cinderella" opens at New York State Theater NYC for 14 performances

• 1993 - Serbian army fires on school in Sarajevo, 9 children died

1993 - Stari Most (the "old bridge", built in 1566) in Mostar, Bosnia, collapses after several days of bombing.

• 1994 - Chandrika Kumaratunga chosen 1st female president of Sri Lanka

• 1994 - The chemical element Darmstadtium is discovered.

1997 - "Scarlet Pimpernel," opens at Minskoff Theater NYC

1997 - Energizer Senior Golf Tour Championship

1997 - Liselotte Neumann wins LPGA Toray Japan Queens Cup

1997 - Toray Japan Queens Cup

1998 - Brokerage houses are ordered to pay 1.03 billion USD to cheated NASDAQ investors to compensate for their price-fixing. This is the largest civil settlement in United States history.

 

• 1998 - Capital punishment in the United Kingdom, already abolished for murder, is completely abolished for all remaining capital offences.

1999 - TAESA Flight 725, crashes a few minutes after leaving the Uruapan airport en-route to Mexico City. 18 people were killed in the accident.

2003 - A suicide-terrorist attack in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, kills 17 people.

2004 - Video game Halo 2 a first person shooter first released on Xbox by Bungie Studios

2005 - Suicide bombers attacked three hotels in Amman, Jordan, killing at least 60 people.

• 2005 - The Venus Express mission of the European Space Agency is launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

2009 - Joe Cada becomes the youngest champion of the World Series of Poker's main event.

2012 - 2 Iranian fighter jets fire on a US General Atomics MQ-1 Predator drone in international air space

2012 - 25 people are killed and 62 injured after a train carrying liquid fuel bursts into flames in Burma

• 2012 - An Algerian C-295 military transport plane crashes near Avignon, France, killing 6 people

1857 - The "Atlantic Monthly" first appeared on newsstands and featured the first installment of "The Autocrat of the Breakfast Table" by Oliver Wendell Holmes.   1872 - A fire destroyed about 800 buildings in Boston, MA.   1906 - U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt left for Panama to see the progress on the new canal. It was the first foreign trip by a U.S. president.   1911 - George Claude of Paris, France, applied for a patent on neon advertising signs.   1918 - Germany's Kaiser Wilhelm II announced he would abdicate. He then fled to the Netherlands.   1923 - In Munich, the Beer Hall Putsch was crushed by German troops that were loyal to the democratic government. The event began the evening before when Adolf Hitler took control of a beer hall full of Bavarian government leaders at gunpoint.   1935 - United Mine Workers president John L. Lewis and other labor leaders formed the Committee for Industrial Organization.    1953 - The U.S. Supreme Court upheld a 1922 ruling that major league baseball did not come within the scope of federal antitrust laws.   1961 - Major Robert White flew an X-15 rocket plane at a world record speed of 4,093 mph.   1961 - The Professional Golfer's Association (PGA) eliminated its "caucasians only" rule.   1963 - In Japan, about 450 miners were killed in a coal-dust explosion.   1963 - In Japan, 160 people died in a train crash.   1965 - The great Northeast blackout occurred as several states and parts of Canada were hit by a series of power failures lasting up to 13 1/2 hours.  1981 - U.S. troops began arriving in Egypt for a three-week Rapid Deployment Force excercise. Somalia, Sudan and Oman were also involved in the operation.   1981 - The Internation Monetary Fund approved a $5.8 billion load to India. It was the highest loan to date.   1982 - Sugar Ray Leonard retired from boxing. In 1984 Leonard came out of retirement to fight one more time before becoming a boxing commentator for NBC.   1984 - A bronze statue titled "Three Servicemen," by Frederick Hart, was unveiled at the site of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC.   1989 - Communist East Germany opened its borders, allowing its citizens to travel freely to West Germany.   1990 - Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev signed a non-aggression treaty with Germany.   1992 - Russian President Boris Yeltsin, visiting London, appealed for assistance in rescheduling his country's debt, and asked British businesses to invest.   1997 - Barry Sanders (Detroit Lions) became the first player in NFL history to rush for over 1,000 yards in nine straight seasons. In the same game Sanders passed former Dallas Cowboy Tony Dorsett for third place on the all-time rushing list.   1998 - A federal judge in New York approved the richest antitrust settlement in U.S. history. A leading brokerage firm was ordered to pay $1.03 billion to investors who had sued over price-rigging of Nasdaq stocks.   1998 - PBS aired its documentary special "Chihuly Over Venice."   2004 - U.S. First Lady Laura Bush officially reopened Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House to pedestrians.

1888 Jack the Ripper killed his last victim, Mary Jane Kelly. 1938 Nazis burned and looted temples and Jewish-owned stores and houses in Germany and Austria in what became known as Kristallnacht (Crystal Night—referring to broken glass on streets). 1953 Author-poet Dylan Thomas died in New York at age 39. 1965 A switch at a station near Niagara Falls failed. The Northeast and parts of Canada went dark for more than 13 hours. 1970 Former French president Charles De Gaulle died at age 79. 1989 Borders between East and West Germany were opened and the Berlin Wall began to be dismantled the next day.

The following links are to web sites that were used to complete this blog entry:

http://www.historyorb.com/today/events.php

http://on-this-day.com/onthisday/thedays/alldays/nov09.htm

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory

CFL 2026 Playoffs: West & East Finals Weekend Review

 

Grey Cup/Coupe Grey

Well, we now know the two teams who will meet in next weekend's Grey Cup to determine the CFL champion for this season.

In the East Division Final, Montreal downed Winnipeg to advance to the Grey Cup. With the win, the Alouettes will make their third Grey Cup appearance in the last four years. They won it all, also by beating Winnipeg, back in 2023. They made it last year also, but fell short against Saskatchewan.

In the West, it was the Edmonton Elks who beat the BC Lions. They now advance to the Grey Cup for the first time in franchise history since 2015, when they won it against the Ottawa Redblacks.

Let's take a closer look at the games yesterday:

Montreal Alouettes 33, Winnipeg Blue Bombers 23

Montreal was pretty much the best team in the CFL throughout the regular season. They were ahead in the East from very early on and finished 14-4, the best overall record in the league. 

Now comes the question as to whether all of that success in the regular season will translate to the postseason.

Both of these teams have plenty of experience in big games and in the playoffs. So that should not be a deciding factor.

One thing that should definitely help the Alouettes is having home field advantage. Yes, this game will be played in Montreal at BMO Field. That is good news for the Alouettes, as they sported a perfect 9-0 record playing at home. Indeed, they were the only team to have won every single home game this season in the CFL. So that was critical to their success, no small part of the reason why they were this year's best team during the regular season. 

That is a huge part of the reason why they are the team I am going with to win this one and punch their ticket into next week's Grey Cup.

My pick: Accurate

Edmonton Elks 28, BC Lions 16

Last week, picking against the Lions cost me. I had indeed predicted a win by Saskatchewan. And while it looked promising early on in the game, when the Roughriders took a big lead, the BC Lions proved to be the better team at the end of the sixty minutes.

So you might think that I learned something from that.

However, I am going to pick against them this weekend, as well.

Why?

Well, as undeniably impressive as the BC Lions have been in the second half of the season, including last week's playoff game, it feels like the Elks are the better overall team. They were easily the best team in the West this season, and more consistent than the Lions were.

Edmonton's defense should match up well against that potent Lions offense. And the conservative, methodical Edmonton offense likely will wear down the BC Lions, much as they have been doing to opponents all season long.

Also, remember that the Elks are playing this one in the comfortable confines of home, where they went 8-1 this season. They lost only one home game all season, and that was a very close game to Saskatchewan. 

The weather should be mild for this one, so that should not be a factor. Still, I like Edmonton's methodical, physical approach to earn them a win over the Lions to earn a date in the Grey Cup next weekend.

My pick: Accurate

2026 NFL Season Week 9 Preview

     

Cincinnati versus Atlanta in Madrid, Spain - This game just started as I am writing this. Yes, once again, I forgot to do this one earlier, so there is a need to hurry up and get this published. This should be a tough game. But if Joe Burrow is on, he will probably find a way to lift the Bengals past the Falcons, and that is what I am betting on. If not, all bets are off. My pick: Cincinnati

NY Giants at Philadelphia - Traditionally, the G-Men have struggled against the Eagles in recent years. I remember the same thing being true in the late 1980's and early 1990's, as well. But the G-Men are playing well, in first place, and well-rested. Meanwhile, the Eagles have dropped six straight and are watching their season spiral out of control. It's time for Big Blue to get it done. If not now, when? My pick: NY Giants

NY Jets at Kansas City - Granted, the Chiefs have lost two in a row. But the Jets have returned to their losing ways after a promising start to the season. Plus, this will be played at Arrowhead in Kansas City. All of that feels like a bit too much to expect Gang Green to pull off what would be a pretty amazing upset. But we can hope. My pick: Kansas City

Cleveland at New Orleans - The Browns will not have an easy time of it in this one against the Saints. Despite their horrendous record, I suspect that the Saints are better than their record suggests. Still, the Browns are fighting to still have a chance in the tough AFC North division, and this should be a winnable game for them. My pick: Cleveland

Dallas at Indianapolis - There are all sorts of rumors swirling about Dak Prescott possibly being traded to the Vikings. Might not be a bad move for him. As for today with his present team, the Cowboys, they should - key word being should - have enough to get past the Colts in this game. Then again, the Colts are probably feeling the same way, feeling this should be a win. My pick: Dallas

Denver at Carolina - Remember when these teams met in the Super Bowl? That was a long time ago, of course. The Broncos look like they may be competing to get back to the big game, but the Panthers are really struggling at the moment. The Broncos are better and should be able to win. My pick: Denver

Detroit at Miami - Right now, the Lions are playing like one of the hottest teams in the league. I like them to win comfortably in this one, even if they are on the road and playing an unfamiliar team. Quite simply, the Fins just are not that good. My pick: Detroit

LA Rams at Washington - Interesting game. Neither team is where they want to be. In terms of talent, the Rams are likely the better team. But Washington is better than their record suggests. Still, there are too many questions surrounding the Commanders, not least of which is their questionable clock management at key points. Going with the road team in this one. My pick: LA Rams

Houston at LA Chargers - As the team's sole remaining winless team, the Chargers are desperate for a win. The Texans are not going to make it easy on them, especially with that defense. I would like to pick the Chargers. Sooner or later, they are bound to win a game at some point this season. But that does not give me confidence that this will be the game. My pick: Houston

Las Vegas at San Francisco - Remember when this was a local rivalry, when these two teams played on the opposite side of the Bay? Well, those days are over now. But home field advantage will still mean a lot for the 49ers, as they should be able to pick apart the Silver & Black. My pick: San Francisco

Arizona at Seattle - Granted, the Cardinals seem to pull off some upsets from time to time. But they are not reliable in that capacity. And going into Seattle and beating the defending champs would be a pretty huge upset. Too much of an upset for me to actually pick them to do it in reality. My pick: Seattle

Green Bay at New England - The Packers are likely going to be contending for the playoffs this season. But heading to Foxboro to take on the Pats, who are a Super Bowl contender? That feels like a very tall order. Expect the Pats to find a way, whether it's close or not. My pick: New England

Sunday Night Football: Tampa Bay at Chicago - After a horrific start to the season, the Bucs finally are showing signs of life. But right now, the Bears just might be the hottest team in the league right now. They should have enough to get past Tampa in this one. My pick: Chicago

Monday Night Football: Buffalo at Minnesota - What a game this one should be! Two 6-1 teams, two teams with the best records in the league facing off. The Vikings were unbeaten until that loss last weekend to the Lions. But the Bills are hot and should be very tough. They are my pick to pull off their biggest win of the season so far, and on the road. My pick:Buffalo 

November 8th: This Day in History

 

Once again, it should be reiterated, that this does not pretend to be a very extensive history of what happened on this day (nor is it the most original - the links can be found down below). If you know something that I am missing, by all means, shoot me an email or leave a comment, and let me know!

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history 

On this day in the year 392, Emperor Theodosius declared Christianity the state religion. In 1895 German scientist discovered x-rays. On this day in 1917m Lenin, as the new leader in Russia, asked for an immediate armistice with Germany to get out of World War I. On this day in 1923 in Munich, Hitler and his Nazis attempted the ill-fated Beer Hall Putsch. More than a decade and a half later, on this day in 1939, a firmly in power Hitler survived an assassination attempt. In 1942 on this day, American President Franklin D. Roosevelt sent a message to Petain and the people of Vichy France, warning them that they needed to assist the Allies in throwing out the Axis forces, or France's powerful empire would be at risk. 

Here's a more detailed look at events that transpired on this date throughout history:

• 392 - Emperor Theodosius declares Christian religion, state religion

• 911 - Duke Koenraad I chosen German king

• 1322 - Pope John XXII names John van Diest, bishop of Utrecht

• 1494 - Uprising against Piero de' Medici in Florence Italy

• 1519 - 1st meeting of Montezuma & Hernán Cortés in Mexico

• 1520 - Stockholm Bloodbath begins: A successful invasion of Sweden by Danish forces results in the execution of around 100 people.

• 1575 - French Roman Catholics & Huguenots signs treaty

• 1576 - Eighty Years' War: Pacification of Ghent - 17 Dutch provinces sign anti-Spanish covenant

• 1598 - Spanish troops under Bernardino de Mendoza conquer Doetinchem

• 1602 - The Bodleian Library at Oxford University is opened

• 1620 - Battle of White Mountain, Prague

• 1627 - English fleet under George Villiers leaves Île de Ré

• 1638 - Anne Hutchinson banished from Massachusetts

1656 - Edmond Halley was born. Halley, an astronomer-mathmatician, was the first to calculate the orbit that was named after him. The comet makes an appearance every 76 years.   

• 1658 - Battle of Sont: Swedish fleet beats Dutch

• 1701 - William Penn presents Charter of Priviliges

Altered picture that I took of the Benjamin Franklin Memorial in Philadelphia some years ago. 

Benjamin Franklin National Memorial in the rotunda of the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, PA. This statue was sculpted by James Earle Fraser between 1932 and 1938, and it was dedicated in 1938.

Altered picture that I took of the Benjamin Franklin Memorial in Philadelphia some years ago. 

• In 1731 on this day in Philadelphia, Founding Father Benjamin Franklin opened the first subscription library in the American colonies, or what would become the United States.

• 1734 - Vincent la Chapelle, master cook to various nobility and royalty, forms Free Masons Lodge in Netherlands

• 1789 - Bourbon Whiskey, 1st distilled from corn (by Elijah Craig, Bourbon Ky)

1793 - Louvre in Paris opens  1793 - The Louvre Museum, in Paris, opened to the public for the first time.   

•  1833 - Train derails at Hightstown NJ; 2 die

• 1837 - Mount Holyoke Seminary in Mass-1st US college founded for women

Picture of a bust of Victor Hugo

• Victor Hugo's "Ruy Blas" premiered in Paris on this day in 1838.

• 1842 - Belgium King Leopold I proclaims child labor laws (for 1889)

• 1861 - Battle of Mount Ivy, KY

• 1861 - US removes Confederate officials from British steamer Trent

   

Statue of Abraham Lincoln outside of the New York Historical Society

Lincoln Memorial Sculpture by Daniel French i Washington, D.C.

• Abraham Lincoln (Republican) was elected to his second term as American President on this day in 1864.

1870 - Democratic governor elected in Tennessee

1880 - Sarah Bernhardt, French actress, made US debut at NY's Booth Theater

1883 - English freighter Nisero stranded at Atjeh (crew taken hostage)

1884 - German government recognizes King Leopold II's Congo Free State

• Doc Holliday of Tombstone's gunfight at the OK Corral fame died at the age of 35 on this day in 1887. The gunfighting dentist died from tuberculosis in a sanitarium in Glenwood Springs, Colorado.  

• Montana was admitted as 41st state of the Union on this day in 1889.

1892 - Grover Cleveland (D) elected president

• 1895 - German physicist Wilhelm Röntgen produces and detects electromagnetic radiation in a wavelength range today known as X-rays or Röntgen rays

1900 - Theodore Dreiser's novel "Sister Carrie" is published

Physicist and Nobel Laureate Wilhelm RöntgenPhysicist and Nobel Laureate Wilhelm Röntgen 

• 1901 - Bloody clashes take place in Athens following the translation of the Gospels into demotic Greek.

• 1904 - American President Theodore Roosevelt (R) defeats Alton B Parker (D)

1910 - 1st Washington State election in which women could vote

1917 - People's Commissars gives authority to Lenin, Trotsky & Stalin

1917 - Telephone Co runs 1st ad for Army operators, gets 7,000 applicants

• 1918 - Pro-German supreme commander general Cutters lay-offs

1920 - Actress Edna Lewis Thomas debuts at Putnam Theatre Brooklyn

1920 - Baseball meeting to depose Ban Johnson is set for Nov 12th

• 1923 - Hitler stages unsuccessful "Beer Hall Putsch" in Muenchen (Munich)

1924 - Austria chancellor Ignaz Seipel, resigns after assassination attempt

1924 - Fortune Theatre opens in London

1926 - George Gershwin's musical "Oh, Kay" premieres in NYC

1928 - George & Ira Gershwin's musical "Treasure Girl" premieres in NYC

1929 - Jean Giraudoux' "Amphitryon '38" premieres in Paris

1929 - NYC Museum of Modern Art opens in Hecksher Building

Dictator of Nazi Germany Adolf HitlerDictator of Nazi Germany Adolf Hitler 1930 - Friedrich Wolf's "Die Matrosen von Cattaro" premieres in Berlin

1932 - "Make Mine Music" debuts

• Franklin Delano Roosevelt (Democrat) was elected to be the 32nd President of the United States on this day in 1932, while the country was still in the grips of the Great Depression.

Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial in Washington, D.C.

• American President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the Civil Works Administration on this day in 1933.

1934 - Ford Frick, NL publicity director, is named league president

• 1937 - The Nazi exhibition Der ewige Jude ("The Eternal Jew") opens in Munich.

1938 - 1st black woman legislator, Crystal Bird Fauset of Phila

• 1938 - A pogrom against the Jews of Germany and Austria takes place in response to the assassination of a German diplomat in Paris.

• 1939 - Failed assassination attempt on Hitler in Burgerbraukeller, Munich

1939 - H Lindsay & R Crouse' "Life with Father" premieres in NYC

1940 - RAF bombs Munich

• 1941 - The Albanian Communist Party is founded.

• 1942 - 1st WW II American expeditionary force lands in Africa (Gold Coast)

• 1942 - Hitler proclaims fall of Stalingrad from Munich beer hall

World War II General Dwight Eisenhower, 34th President of the United States

• On this day in 1942 during World War II, Operation Torch began as US and British forces under General Dwight Eisenhower landed in French North Africa.

• 1942 - Vichy-France drops diplomatic relations with US

• 1944 - 25,000 Hungarian Jews are loaned to Nazis for forced labor

• 1944 - Last German troops at Walcheren surrenders

1945 - "Girl from Nantucket" opens at Adelphi Theater NYC for 12 performances

1945 - Riverboat sinks off Hong Kong; kills 1,550

• 1946 - Jean-Paul Sartre's "La Putain Respecteuse" premieres in Paris

1947 - Bradman scores his 99th 1st-class cricket century, 100 SA v Victoria

1950 - 1st jet-plane battle ever, in Korean War

1950 - Boston Red Sox 1B Walt Dropo wins AL Rookie of Year

1950 - Walt Dropo of Boston Red Sox selected AL Rookie of Year

1951 - NY Yankee Catcher Yogi Berra wins 1st of his 3 MVP awards

1953 - Salazar's party wins all parliamentary seats in Portugal

1954 - AL approves Philadelphia A's move to Kansas City

1956 - UN demands USSR leave Hungary

1957 - Great Britain performs atmospheric nuclear test at Christmas Island

Writer Jean-Paul SartreWriter Jean-Paul Sartre 1958 - "Maria Golovin" closes at Martin Beck Theater NYC after 5 performances

1959 - KJTV (now KGET) TV channel 17 in Bakersfield, CA (NBC) 1st broadcast

• 1959 - Tunisian president Habib Bourguiba's Nes Destour party wins every seat

• 1960 - JFK (Sen-D-Mass) beats VP Richard Nixon (R) to become 35th US president

1961 - Whitey Ford is voted Cy Young Award winner over Warren Spahn

 

• 1962 - Canada government orders changing nickel back to round shape

1964 - IMF grants Great Britain credit of $1 billion

1964 - KUPK TV channel 13 in Garden City, KS (ABC) begins broadcasting

1964 - Mickey Wright wins LPGA Tall City Golf Open

1964 - Orioles Frank Robinson unanimous choice as AL MVP

1965 - "Days of Our Lives" premieres on TV

1965 - British Indian Ocean Territory formed

1966 - Edward W Brooke (Rep-R-Mass) becomes 1st black elected to Senate

1966 - Frank Robinson selected AL MVP

1966 - Movie actor Ronald Reagan elected Governor of California

US President & Actor Ronald ReaganUS President & Actor Ronald Reagan 1966 - Pres Johnson signs anti-trust immunity to AFL-NFL merger

1967 - 1st local British radio station begins broadcasting (Radio Leicester)

1967 - Silver hits record $1.951 an ounce in London

1967 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site

1968 - Cynthia Lennon is granted a divorce from John

1970 - Tom Dempsey of New Orleans Saints kicks NFL record 63 yard field goal

1973 - Nevada approves pari-mutuel betting on Jai Alai

1974 - British Lord ('Lucky') Lucan disappears

1974 - Ted Bundy victim Debi Kent disappears in Salt Lake City, Utah

1975 - Nick Bockwinkle beats Verne Gagne in St Paul, to become NWA champ

1976 - A series of earthquakes spreads panic in the city of Thessaloniki, which is evacuated.

• 1977 - Manolis Andronikos, a Greek Archaeologist and professor at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, discovers the tomb of Philip II of Macedon at Vergina.

1978 - Tom Stoppard's "Night & Day" premieres in London

1979 - Bernard Slade's "Romantic Comedy" premieres in NYC

1979 - ABC broadcasts "Iran Crisis: American Held Hostage" with Frank Reynolds (forerunner to "Nightline")

Playwright Tom StoppardPlaywright Tom Stoppard 

Flag of Chile

• 1979 - The Chilean Communist Party (Proletarian Action) is formed.

• 1980 - Voyager 1 space probe discovers 15th moon of Saturn

Flag of Belgium

• 1981 - Christian Democrats looses Belgium parliamentary election

1981 - Patty Sheehan wins LPGA Mazda Japan Golf Classic

1983 - Martha Layne Collins (D) elected 1st female governor of Kentucky

1983 - STS-9 vehicle again moves to launch pad

1983 - W Wilson Goode (D) elected 1st black mayor of Philadelphia

1984 - 1st-class cricket debut of Wasim Akram, 2 months before his 1st Test

1984 - Anna Fisher becomes 1st "mom" to go into orbit

1984 - STS 51-A mission launches

1985 - Atlantis moves to Vandenberg AFB for mating of STS 61-B mission

1986 - "Song & Dance" closes at Royale Theater NYC after 474 performances

1987 - Australia beat England by 7 runs to win cricket World Cup

1987 - IRA bomb attack in Enniskillen, North Ireland, 11 killed

1987 - Yuko Moriguchi wins LPGA Mazda Japan Golf Classic

1988 - 900 die as earthquake hits China

1988 - Arco Arena in Sacramento CA opens, Sac Kings lose to Seattle, 97-75

• 1988 - George W H Bush (R) beats Mike Dukakis (D) for presidency

1988 - Rafael Fernandez Colón elected as president of Puerto Rico

1989 - Cubs Jerome Walton wins the NL Rookie of Year

1989 - David Dinkins elected 1st black mayor of NYC

1989 - Douglas Wilder elected 1st US black governor (Virginia)

1989 - Hong Kong's MTR Lam Tin Station comes into service.

1990 - "6 Degrees of Separation" opens at Vivian Beaumont NYC for 496 perfs

1990 - 100,000 additional US troops are sent to Persian gulf

Baseball Player Darryl StrawberryBaseball Player Darryl Strawberry 1990 - Darryl Strawberry signs 5-year contract with LA Dodgers

1990 - Gina Marie Tolleson of USA, 21, crowned 40th Miss World

• 1990 - Saddam fires his army chief & threatens to destroy Arabian peninsula

1991 - Carol Burnette Show premieres on CBS-TV

1991 - Paul Coffey sets NHL defensman soring mark with 311th goal

1992 - "Solitary Confinement" opens at Nederlander Theater NYC for 25 perfs

1992 - 300,000 demonstrate against racism in Berlin

1992 - Betsy King wins LPGA Mazda Japan Golf Classic

1994 - Cleveland Cavaliers 1st game at Gund Arena, lose to Hous Rockets, 100-98

Flag of Haiti

• 1994 - Haitian government of Smarck Michel forms

1997 - Tampa Bay Devil Rays name their 1st manager Larry Rothschild

1997 - Horse Racing Breeders' Cup Champs: Countess Diana, Elmhurst, Ajina, Spinning World, Favorite Trick, Chief Bearhart, Skip Away

1998 - Japan Golf Classic

• 2002 - Iraq disarmament crisis: UN Security Council Resolution 1441 - The United Nations Security Council unanimously approves a resolution on Iraq, forcing Saddam Hussein to disarm or face "serious consequences".

• 2004 - War in Iraq: More than 10,000 U.S. troops and a small number of Iraqi army units participate in a siege on the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah.

• 2011 - The potentially hazardous asteroid 2005 YU55 passed 0.85 lunar distances from Earth (about 324,600 kilometres or 201,700 miles), the closest known approach by an asteroid of its brightness since 2010 XC15 in 1976.

1880 - French actress Sarah Bernhardt made her American stage debut in "Adrienne Lecouvreur" in New York City.   1887 - Doc Holliday died at the age of 35. The gun fighting dentist died from tuberculosis in a sanitarium in Glenwood Springs, CO.   1889 - Montana became the 41st U.S. state.   1895 - Wilhelm Roentgen while experimenting with electricity discovered the scientific principle involved and took the first X-ray pictures.   1910 - William H. Frost patented the insect exterminator.   1923 - Adolf Hitler made his first attempt at seizing power in Germany with a failed coup in Munich that came to be known as the "Beer-Hall Putsch."   1933 - The Civil Works Administration was created by executive order by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The organization was designed to create jobs for more than 4 million unemployed people in the U.S.   1939 - "Life With Father" premiered on Broadway in New York City.   1942 - The U.S. invaded Morocco and Algeria.   1942 - During World War II, Operation Torch began as U.S. and British forces landed in French North Africa.   1950 - During the Korean conflict, the first jet-plane battle took place as U.S. Air Force Lt. Russell J. Brown shot down a North Korean MiG-15.   1954 - The American League approved the transfer of the Philadelphia Athletics baseball team to Kansas City, MO.   1956 - After turning down 18,000 names, the Ford Motor Company decided to name their new car the "Edsel," after Henry Ford's only son.   1959 - Elgin Baylor of the Minneapolis Lakers, scored 64 points and set a National Basketball Association scoring record.   1965 - The soap opera "Days of Our Lives" debuted on NBC-TV.   1966 - Edward W. Brooke of Massachusetts became the first African-American elected to the U.S. Senate by popular vote.   1966 - Ronald Reagan was elected governor of California.   1979 - The program, "The Iran Crisis: America Held Hostage", premiered on ABC-TV. The show was planned to be temporary, but it evolved into "Nightline" in March of 1980.   1979 - U.S. Senators John Warner (R-VA) and Mac Mathias (R-MD) introduced legislation to provide a site on the National Mall for the building of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.   1980 - Scientists at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California announced that they had discovered a 15th moon orbiting the planet Saturn.   1981 - Egyptian President Hosni Mubarek asserted that Egypt was "an African State" that was "neither East nor West".   1985 - A letter signed by four American hostages in Lebanon was delivered to The Associated Press in Beirut. The letter, contained pleas from Terry Anderson, Rev. Lawrence Jenco, David Jacobsen and Thomas Sutherland to President Reagan to negotiate a release.   1986 - Vyacheslav M. Molotov died at age 96. During World War II, Molotov ordered the mass production of bottles filled with flammable liquid later called the "Molotov cocktail."   1987 - A bomb planted by the Irish Republican Army exploded in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, at a ceremony honoring Britain's war dead. Eleven people were killed.   1990 - U.S. President George H.W. Bush ordered more troop deployments in the Persian Gulf, adding about 150,000 soldiers to the multi-national force fighting against Iraq.   1991 - The European Community and Canada imposed economic sanctions on Yugoslavia in an attempt to stop the Balkan civil war.   1992 - About 350,000 people rallied in Berlin against racist violence.   1993 - Five Picasso paintings and other artwork were stolen from the Museum of Modern Art in Stockholm, Sweden. The works were valued at $52 million.   1997 - Chinese engineers diverted the Yangtze River to make way for the Three Gorges Dam.   2000 - In Florida, a statewide recount began to decide the winner of the 2000 U.S. presidential election.   2000 - Waco special counsel John C. Danforth released his final report that absolved the government of wrongdoing in the 1993 seige of the Branch Davidian compound in Texas.   2001 - The "Homage to Van Gogh: International Artists Pay Tribute to a Legend" exhibit opened at the Appleton Museum of Art in Florida.

1889 Montana became the 41st state. 1892 Former president Grover Cleveland beat incumbent Benjamin Harrison and became the only president to win nonconsecutive terms in the White House. 1923 Adolf Hitler attempted, and failed, to seize control of the German government in the Beer Hall Putsch. 1960 John F. Kennedy defeated Richard M. Nixon for the presidency of the United States. 1966 Edward W. Brooke of Massachusetts became the first African American to be elected to the U.S. Senate since Reconstruction. 1994 After a 40-year Democrat domination, the Republican Party gained control of the U.S. House of Representatives, as well as a Senate majority.

The following links are to web sites that were used to complete this blog entry:

http://www.historyorb.com/today/events.php

http://on-this-day.com/onthisday/thedays/alldays/nov08.htm

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory