On This Day in History

November 1

Historical Events

1814 Congress of Vienna opens to re-draw the European political map after the defeat of France, in the Napoleonic Wars

1894 Vaccine for diphtheria announced by Dr Émile Roux of Paris

1916 Paul Miliukov delivers in the Russian State Duma the famous "stupidity or treason" speech, precipitating the downfall of the Boris Stürmer government

The last Ottoman sultan, Mehmed VI, departs his palace in Istanbul after the abolition of the monarchy

1922 Mustafa Kemal Ataturk takes Constantinople from Mehmed VI, proclaiming the Republic of Turkey and bringing an end to the Ottoman Empire

1952 "Ivy Mike", the first thermonuclear weapon to utilize the H-bomb design of Edward Tellerand Stanislaw Ulam, is detonated in the Marshall Islands, Pacific Ocean

2012 Scientists detect evidence of light from the universe's first stars, predicted to have formed 500 million years after the big bang

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Famous Birthdays

Spencer Perceval 1762 - 1812 Stephen Crane 1871 - 1900

Alfred Wegener 1880 - 1930 Fernando Valenzuela 63rd Birthday

Also Gustav IV Adolf and Aishwarya Rai (51).

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Famous Deaths

Alexandra Feodorovna 1798 - 1860 Theodor Mommsen 1817 - 1903

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WHSmith: Retail Giant Born From a Widow's Might

Nobody wanted to buy the little shop owned by 18th Century widow Anna Smith. So she kept it, and built a business that was to become famous in global retailing.

A Retail Pioneer