This Week in History

HISTORY, 16 Nov 2015

Satoshi Ashikaga – TRANSCEND Media Service

Nov 16-22

QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

“Life is short; live it. Love is rare; grab it. Anger is bad; dump it. Fear is awful; face it. Memories are sweet; cherish them.” – Anonymous

NOVEMBER 16

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF TOLERANCE

1997 After nearly 18 years of incarceration, the People’s Republic of China releases Wei Jingsheng, a pro-democracy dissident, from jail for medical reasons.

1992 The Hoxne Hoard is discovered by metal detectorist Eric Lawes in Hoxne, Suffolk.

1989 UNESCO adopts the Seville Statement on Violence at the twenty-fifth session of its General Conference.

Text of the Seville Statement on Violence:

THE SAVILLE STATEMENT – CULTURE OF PEACE – UNESCO – pdf

Constitution of UNESCO:

“ … That since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defences of peace must be constructed; That ignorance of each other’s ways and lives has been a common cause, throughout the history of mankind, of that suspicion and mistrust between the peoples of the world through which their differences have all too often broken into war; That the great and terrible war which has now ended was a war made possible by the denial of the democratic principles of the dignity, equality and mutual respect of men, and by the propagation, in their place, through ignorance and prejudice, of the doctrine of the inequality of men and races;…” – Constitution of UNESCO

About the Seville Statement on Violence:

Culture of Peace:

1989 A death squad composed of El Salvadoran army troops kills six Jesuit priests and two others at Jose Simeon Canas University.

1988 The Supreme Soviet of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic declares that Estonia is “sovereign” but stops short of declaring independence.

1988 In the first open election in more than a decade, voters in Pakistan elect populist candidate Benazir Bhutto to be Prime Minister of Pakistan.

1979 The first line of Bucharest Metro (Line M1) is opened from Timpuri Noi to Semănătoarea in Bucharest, Romania.

1974 The Arecibo Message is broadcast from the Arecibo Radio Telescope in Puerto Rico. It was aimed at the current location of the globular star cluster Messier 13 some 25,000 light years away. The message will reach empty space by the time it finally arrives since the cluster will have changed position.

1973 Skylab program: NASA launches Skylab 4 with a crew of three astronauts from Cape Canaveral, Florida for an 84-day mission.

1973 US President Richard Nixon signs the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authorization Act into law, authorizing the construction of the Alaska Pipeline.

1965 Venera program: The Soviet Union launches the Venera 3 space probe toward Venus, which will be the first spacecraft to reach the surface of another planet.

1964 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR.

1945 UNESCO is founded.

1944 World War II: Operation Queen, the costly Allied thrust to the Rur, is launched.

1944 World War II: Düren, Germany, is destroyed by Allied bombers.

1943 World War II: American bombers strike a hydro-electric power facility and heavy water factory in German-controlled Vemork, Norway.

1940 World War II: In response to the leveling of Coventry by the German Luftwaffe two days before, the Royal Air Force bombs Hamburg.

1940 Holocaust: In occupied Poland, the Nazis close off the Warsaw Ghetto from the outside world.

Warsaw Ghetto:

1940 New York City’s “Mad Bomber” George Metesky places his first bomb at a Manhattan office building used by Consolidated Edison.

1914 The Federal Reserve Bank of the United States officially opens.

Federal Reserve Bank and the Federal Reserve System:

Ownership of the Federal Reserve:

History of the Federal Reserve:

1885 Canadian rebel leader of the Métis and “Father of Manitoba” Louis Riel is executed for treason.

1852 The English astronomer John Russell Hind discovers the asteroid 22 Kalliope.

1849 A Russian court sentences writer Fyodor Dostoyevsky to death for anti-government activities linked to a radical intellectual group; his sentence is later commuted to hard labor.

Dostojevsky:

Dostojevsky’s Death Sentence:

1828 Greek War of Independence: The London Protocol entails the creation of an autonomous Greek state under Ottoman suzerainty, encompassing the Morea and the Cyclades.

Greek War of Independence:

Modern History of Greece:

NOVEMBER 17

INTERTNAIONAL STUDENTS’ DAY

WORLD PREMATURITY DAY

2013 Fifty people are killed when Tatarstan Airlines Flight 363 crashes at Kazan Airport, Russia.

2012 At least 50 schoolchildren are killed in an accident at a railway crossing near Manfalut, Egypt.

2000 Alberto Fujimori is removed from office as president of Peru.

2000 A catastrophic landslide in Log pod Mangartom, Slovenia, kills seven, and causes millions of SIT of damage. It is one of the worst catastrophes in Slovenia in the past 100 years.

1997 In Luxor, Egypt, 62 people are killed by six Islamic militants outside the Temple of Hatshepsut, known as Luxor massacre (The police then kill the assailants).

1993 In Nigeria, General Sani Abacha ousts the government of Ernest Shonekan in a military coup.

1993 United States House of Representatives passes resolution to establish the North American Free Trade Agreement after greater authority in trade negotiations was granted to President George Bush in 1991.

1989 Cold War: Velvet Revolution begins: In Czechoslovakia, a student demonstration in Prague is quelled by riot police. This sparks an uprising aimed at overthrowing the communist government (it succeeds on December 29).

1988 The National Revival Day – in Baku, Azerbaijan SSR, a demonstration starts against the Soviets, the perceived ignorance of the inflaming tension around Nagorno-Karabakh. The demonstration forcibly dispersed 17 days later would become the largest of its kind held in the USSR

1983 The Zapatista Army of National Liberation is founded in Mexico.

1973 The Athens Polytechnic uprising against the military regime ends in a bloodshed in the Greek capital.

Athens Polytechnic Uprising:

1973 Watergate scandal: In Orlando, Florida, US President Richard Nixon tells 400 Associated Press managing editors “I am not a crook.”

1970 Luna programme: The Soviet Union lands Lunokhod 1 on Mare Imbrium (Sea of Rains) on the Moon. This is the first roving remote-controlled robot to land on another world and is released by the orbiting Luna 17 spacecraft.

1970 Vietnam War: Lieutenant William Calley goes on trial for the My Lai Massacre.

My Lai Massacre:

1969 Cold War: Negotiators from the Soviet Union and the United States meet in Helsinki, Finland to begin SALT I negotiations aimed at limiting the number of strategic weapons on both sides.

SALT I:

1968 Alexandros Panagoulis is condemned to death for attempting to assassinate Greek dictator Georgios Papadopoulos.

1967 Vietnam War: Acting on optimistic reports that he had been given on November 13, US President Lyndon B Johnson tells the nation that, while much remained to be done, “We are inflicting greater losses than we’re taking…We are making progress.”

Vietnam War in 1967:

1962 President John F Kennedy dedicates Washington Dulles International Airport, serving the Washington, D.C., region.

1962 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR.

1957 Vickers Viscount G-AOHP of British European Airways crashes at Ballerup after the failure of three engines on approach to Copenhagen Airport. The cause is a malfunction of the anti-icing system on the aircraft.

1956 USSR performs atmospheric nuclear test.

1953 The remaining human inhabitants of the Blasket Islands, Kerry, Ireland, are evacuated to the mainland.

1950 Lhamo Dondrub is officially named the 14th Dalai Lama.

14^th Dalai Lama:

History of Tibet:

Economy of Tibet:

Tibetan Issues:

1947 American scientists John Bardeen and Walter Houser Brattain observe the basic principles of the transistor, a key element for the electronics revolution of the 20th century.

Book: Principles of Transistor Circuits – Ninth Edition, by SW Amos and MR James – pdf

1947 The Screen Actors Guild implements an anti-Communist loyalty oath.

1939 Nine Czech students are executed as a response to anti-Nazi demonstrations prompted by the death of Jan Opletal. In addition, all Czech universities are shut down and over 1200 Czech students sent to concentration camps. Since this event, International Students’ Day is celebrated in many countries, especially in the Czech Republic.

1933 United States recognizes Soviet Union.

Relations of the United States with the Soviet Union:

1922 Former Ottoman sultan Mehmed VI goes into exile in Italy.

The End of the Ottoman Empire:

Last Sultan Mehmed VI:

Ottoman Empire and World War I:

History of the Ottoman Empire:

1911 Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Incorporated, which is the first black Greek-lettered organization founded at an American historically black college or university, was founded on the campus of Howard University in Washington, DC.

1903 The Russian Social Democratic Labour Party splits into two groups: The Bolsheviks (Russian for “majority”) and Mensheviks (Russian for “minority”).

1885 Serbo-Bulgarian War: The decisive Battle of Slivnitsa begins.

Serbo-Bulgarian War:

Battle of Slivnitsa:

1878 First assassination attempt against Umberto I of Italy by anarchist Giovanni Passannante, who was armed with a dagger. The King survived with a slight wound in an arm. Prime Minister Benedetto Cairoli blocked the aggressor, receiving an injury in a leg.

1871 The National Rifle Association is granted a charter by the state of New York.

National Rifle Association:

1869 In Egypt, the Suez Canal, linking the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea, is inaugurated.

Suez Canal:

History of the Suez Canal:

History of the Suez Canal: Suez Crisis of 1956:

NOVEMBER 18

2013 NASA launches the MAVEN probe to Mars.

2012 Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria becomes the 118th Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria.

2003 The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court rules 4–3 in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health that the state’s ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional and gives the state legislature 180 days to change the law making Massachusetts the first state in the United States to grant marriage rights to same-sex couples.

2003 In the United Kingdom, the Local Government Act 2003, repealing controversial anti-gay amendment Section 28, becomes effective.

2002 Iraq disarmament crisis: United Nations weapons inspectors led by Hans Blix arrive in Iraq.

1996 A fire occurs on a train traveling through the Channel Tunnel from France to England causing several injuries and damaging approximately 500 meters (1,600 ft.) of tunnel.

1993 In South Africa, 21 political parties approve a new constitution, expanding voting rights and ending white minority rule.

Constitution of South Africa:

History of South Africa:

South Africa:

Foreign Relations of South Africa:

South Africa and the United Nations:

Human Rights in South Africa:

Economy of South Africa:

1993 In the United States, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is approved by the House of Representatives.

North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA):

Some Relevant Issues on NAFTA:

Pros and Cons of NAFTA:

History of NAFTA:

1991 After an 87-day siege, the Croatian city of Vukovar capitulates to the besieging Yugoslav People’s Army and allied Serb paramilitary forces.

Battle and the Siege of Vukovar:

Vukovar Massacre:

1991 Shiite Muslim kidnappers in Lebanon release Anglican Church envoys Terry Waite and Thomas Sutherland.

1988 War on Drugs: US President Ronald Reagan signs a bill into law allowing the death penalty for drug traffickers.

War on Drugs:

Project MK-Ultra:

1978 In Jonestown, Guyana, Jim Jones led his Peoples Temple to a mass murder–suicide that claimed 918 lives in all, 909 of them in Jonestown itself, including over 270 children. Congressman Leo Ryan is murdered by members of the Peoples Temple hours earlier.

JONESTOWN:

Views and Considerations on Religion and Death:

1970 US President Richard Nixon asks the US Congress for $155 million in supplemental aid for the Cambodian government.

1966 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.

Nuclear Weapons and the United States:

1961 United States President John F Kennedy sends 18,000 military advisors to South Vietnam.

1944 The Popular Socialist Youth is founded in Cuba.

1943 World War II: Battle of Berlin: Four hundred forty Royal Air Force planes bomb Berlin causing only light damage and killing 131. The RAF loses nine aircraft and 53 air crew.

Battle of Berlin of 18/19 November 1943

1940 World War II: German leader Adolf Hitler and Italian Foreign Minister Galeazzo Ciano meet to discuss Benito Mussolini‘s disastrous Italian invasion of Greece.

Hitler and Mussolini:

Mussolini-led Italy’s Invasion of Greece in October 1940:

1930 Soka Kyoiku Gakkai, a Buddhist association later renamed Soka Gakkai, is founded by Japanese educators Tsunesaburō Makiguchi and Jōsei Toda.

1929 Grand Banks earthquake: Off the south coast of Newfoundland in the Atlantic Ocean, a Richter magnitude 7.2 submarine earthquake, centered on the Grand Banks, breaks 12 submarine transatlantic telegraph cables and triggers a tsunami that destroys many south coast communities in the Burin Peninsula.

1926 George Bernard Shaw refuses to accept the money for his Nobel Prize, saying, “I can forgive Alfred Nobel for inventing dynamite, but only a fiend in human form could have invented the Nobel Prize.”

1918 Latvia declares its independence from Russia.

History of Latvia:

Latvia:

Foreign Relations of Latvia:

Economy of Latvia:

1916 World War I: First Battle of the Somme: In France, British Expeditionary Force commander Douglas Haig calls off the battle which started on July 1, 1916.

1905 Prince Carl of Denmark becomes King Haakon VII of Norway.

1904 General Esteban Huertas steps down after the government of Panama fears he wants to stage a coup.

1903 The Hay–Bunau-Varilla Treaty is signed by the United States and Panama, giving the United States exclusive rights over the Panama Canal Zone.

1883 American and Canadian railroads institute five standard continental time zones, ending the confusion of thousands of local times.

1865 Mark Twain‘s short story “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” is published in the New York Saturday Press.

1863 King Christian IX of Denmark signs the November constitution that declares Schleswig to be part of Denmark. This is seen by the German Confederation as a violation of the London Protocol and leads to the German–Danish war of 1864.

1812 Napoleonic Wars: The Battle of Krasnoi ends in French defeat, but Marshal of France Michel Ney‘s leadership leads to him becoming known as “the bravest of the brave”.

1809 In a naval action during the Napoleonic Wars, French frigates defeat British East Indiamen in the Bay of Bengal.

1803 The Battle of Vertières, the last major battle of the Haitian Revolution, is fought, leading to the establishment of the Republic of Haiti, the first black republic in the Western Hemisphere.

1730 The future Frederick II (known as Frederick the Great), King of Prussia, is granted a royal pardon and released from confinement.

1626 St Peter’s Basilica is consecrated.

St Peter’s Basilica:

NOVEMBER 19

INTERNATIONAL MEN’S DAY

2013 A double suicide bombing at the Iranian embassy in Beirut kills 23 people and injures 160 others.

2002 The Greek oil tanker Prestige splits in half and sinks off the coast of Galicia, releasing over 20 million US gallons (76,000 m³) of oil in the largest environmental disaster in Spanish and Portuguese history.

1999 Shenzhou 1: The People’s Republic of China launches its first Shenzhou spacecraft.

1998 Lewinsky scandal: The United States House of Representatives Judiciary Committee begins impeachment hearings against US President Bill Clinton.

1996 Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) is established.

1990 Pop group Milli Vanilli are stripped of their Grammy Award because the duo did not sing at all on the Girl You Know It’s True album. Session musicians had provided all the vocals.

1988 Serbian communist representative and future Serbian and Yugoslav president Slobodan Milošević publicly declares that Serbia is under attack from Albanian separatists in Kosovo as well as internal treachery within Yugoslavia and a foreign conspiracy to destroy Serbia and Yugoslavia.

Slobodan Milošević’s Declaration on November 21, 1988:

1985 Police in Baling, Malaysia, lay siege to houses occupied by an Islamic sect of about 400 people led by Ibrahim Mahmud.

1985 Pennzoil wins a US$10.53 billion judgment against Texaco, in the largest civil verdict in the history of the United States, stemming from Texaco executing a contract to buy Getty Oil after Pennzoil had entered into an unsigned, yet still binding, buyout contract with Getty.

1985 Cold War: In Geneva, US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev meet for the first time.

1984 San Juanico disaster: A series of explosions at the Pemex petroleum storage facility at San Juan Ixhuatepec in Mexico City starts a major fire and kills about 500 people.

1979 After Iran hostage crisis: Iranian leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini orders the release of 13 female and black American hostages being held at the US Embassy in Tehran, these 13 of them are released.

Timeline of the Iran Hostage Crisis:

“November 17, 1979 – Khomeini orders the release of female and African-American hostages. They are released November 19 and 20, bringing the total number of US hostages to 53.” – Timeline – IRAN HOSTAGE CRISIS – Weebly.com

Iran Hostage Crisis:

1977 TAP Portugal Flight 425 crashes in the Madeira Islands, killing 131.

1970 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.

Nuclear Weapons and the United States:

1969 Apollo program: Apollo 12 astronauts Pete Conrad and Alan Bean land at Oceanus Procellarum (the “Ocean of Storms”) and become the third and fourth humans to walk on the Moon.

1967 The establishment of TVB, the first wireless commercial television station in Hong Kong.

1955 National Review publishes its first issue.

1954 Télé Monte Carlo, Europe’s oldest private television channel, is launched by Prince Rainier III.

1952 Greek Field Marshal Alexander Papagos becomes the 152nd Prime Minister of Greece.

1951 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.

For more pertinent information, see “1970 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site”, mentioned above.

1950 US General Dwight D Eisenhower becomes Supreme Commander of NATO-Europe.

1946 Afghanistan, Iceland and Sweden join the United Nations.

Afghanistan:

Foreign Relations of Afghanistan:

Afghanistan and the United Nations:

History of Afghanistan:

Economy of Afghanistan:

Iceland:

Foreign Relations of Iceland:

Iceland and the United Nations:

History of Iceland:

Economy of Iceland:

Sweden:

Foreign Relations of Sweden:

Sweden and the United Nations:

History of Sweden:

Economy of Sweden:

1944 World War II: Thirty members of the Luxembourgish resistance defend the town of Vianden against a larger Waffen-SS attack in the Battle of Vianden.

1944 World War II: US President Franklin D. Roosevelt announces the 6th War Loan Drive, aimed at selling US$14 billion in war bonds to help pay for the war effort.

1943 Holocaust: Nazis liquidate Janowska concentration camp in Lemberg (Lviv), western Ukraine, murdering at least 6,000 Jews after a failed uprising and mass escape attempt.

Janowska Concentration Camp:

1942 Mutesa II is crowned the 35th and last Kabaka (king) of Buganda, prior to the restoration of the kingdom in 1993.

1942 World War II: Battle of Stalingrad – Soviet Union forces under General Georgy Zhukov launch the Operation Uranus counterattacks at Stalingrad, turning the tide of the battle in the USSR’s favor.

1941 World War II: Battle between HMAS Sydney and HSK Kormoran. The two ships sink each other off the coast of Western Australia, with the loss of 645 Australians and about 77 German seamen.

1916 Samuel Goldwyn and Edgar Selwyn establish Goldwyn Pictures.

1912 First Balkan War: The Serbian Army captures Bitola, ending the five-century-long Ottoman rule of Macedonia.

Balkan Wars:

First Balkan War:

1911 The Doom Bar in Cornwall claimed two ships, Island Maid and Angele, the latter killing the entire crew except the captain.

1885 Serbo-Bulgarian War: Bulgarian victory in the Battle of Slivnitsa solidifies the unification between the Principality of Bulgaria and Eastern Rumelia.

Serbo-Bulgarian War:

Battle of Slivnitsa:

1881 A meteorite lands near the village of Grossliebenthal, southwest of Odessa, Ukraine.

1863 American Civil War: US President Abraham Lincoln delivers the Gettysburg Address at the dedication ceremony for the military cemetery at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

1794 The United States and the Kingdom of Great Britain sign Jay’s Treaty, which attempts to resolve some of the lingering problems left over from the American Revolutionary War.

1493 Christopher Columbus goes ashore on an island he first saw the day before. He names it San Juan Bautista (later renamed Puerto Rico).

1095 The Council of Clermont, called by Pope Urban II to discuss sending the First Crusade to the Holy Land, begins.

NOVEMBER 20

UNIVERSAL CHILDREN’S DAY

TRANSGENDER DAY OF REMEBRANCE

AFRICA INDUSTRIALIZATION DAY

2008 After critical failures in the US financial system began to build up after mid-September, the Dow Jones Industrial Average reaches its lowest level since 1997.

2003 After the November 15 bombings, a second day of the 2003 Istanbul bombings occurs in Istanbul, Turkey, destroying the Turkish head office of HSBC Bank AS and the British consulate.

2001 In Washington, DC, US President George W. Bush dedicates the United States Department of Justice headquarters building as the Robert F. Kennedy Justice Building, honoring the late Robert F. Kennedy on what would have been his 76th birthday.

1998 The first module of the International Space Station, Zarya, is launched.

1998 A court in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan declares accused terrorist Osama bin Laden “a man without a sin” in regard to the 1998 US embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania.

1994 The Angolan government and UNITA rebels sign the Lusaka Protocol in Zambia, ending 19 years of civil war. (Localized fighting resumes the next year.)

1991 An Azerbaijani MI-8 helicopter carrying 19 peacekeeping mission team with officials and journalists from Russia, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan is shot down by Armenian military forces in Khojavend District of Azerbaijan.

1989 Velvet Revolution: The number of protesters assembled in Prague, Czechoslovakia swells from 200,000 the day before to an estimated half-million.

1980 Lake Peigneur drains into an underlying salt deposit. A misplaced Texaco oil probe had been drilled into the Diamond Crystal Salt Mine, causing water to flow down into the mine, eroding the edges of the hole.

1979 Grand Mosque Seizure: About 200 Sunni Muslims revolt in Saudi Arabia at the site of the Kaaba in Mecca during the pilgrimage and take about 6000 hostages. The Saudi government receives help from Pakistani special forces to put down the uprising.

1977 Egyptian President Anwar Sadat becomes the first Arab leader to officially visit Israel, when he meets Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin and speaks before the Knesset in Jerusalem, seeking a permanent peace settlement.

1974 The United States Department of Justice files its final anti-trust suit against AT&T Corporation. This suit later leads to the breakup of AT&T and its Bell System.

1971 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.

Nuclear Weapons and the United States:

1969 Occupation of Alcatraz: Native American activists seize control of Alcatraz Island until being ousted by the US Government on June 11, 1971.

1969 Vietnam War: The Plain Dealer publishes explicit photographs of dead villagers from the My Lai Massacre in Vietnam.

The Plain Dealer and the Photographs of My Lai Massacre:

My Lai Massacre:

1968 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site

For some more pertinent information, see “1971 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site,” mentioned above.

1968 A total of 78 miners are killed in an explosion at the Consolidated Coal Company’s No. 9 mine in Farmington, West Virginia in the Farmington Mine disaster

1962 The end of the blockade after the end of the Cuban Missile Crisis (The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis (Spanish: Crisis de octubre), the Caribbean Crisis (Russian: Карибский кризис, tr. Karibskiy krizis), or the Missile Scare, was a 13-day (October 16–28, 1962) confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union over Soviet ballistic missiles deployed in Cuba.): When all offensive missiles and Ilyushin Il-28 light bombers had been withdrawn from Cuba, the blockade was formally ended on November 20, 1962.

Cuban Missile Crisis:

Timeline of the Cuban Missile Crisis:

1952 Slánský trials: A series of Stalinist and anti-Semitic show trials in Czechoslovakia.

1947 The Princess Elizabeth marries Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten, who becomes the Duke of Edinburgh, at Westminster Abbey in London.

1945 Nuremberg trials: Trials against 24 Nazi war criminals start at the Palace of Justice at Nuremberg.

Nuremberg Military Tribunal:

Judgements of 1 October 1946:

Judgements of 1 October 1946 – INTERNATIONNAL MILITARY TRIBUNAL (NUREMBERG) – pdf

THE INTERNATIONAL MILITARY TRIBUNAL AT NUREMBERG: THE ONGOING REFLECTIONS IN INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL LAW, uploaded by B. Baytemir Kontaci – Academia.edu

1943 World War II: Battle of Tarawa (Operation Galvanic) begins: United States Marines land on Tarawa Atoll in the Gilbert Islands and suffer heavy fire from Japanese shore guns and machine guns.

1940 World War II: Hungary becomes a signatory of the Tripartite Pact, officially joining the Axis powers.

1936 José Antonio Primo de Rivera, founder of the Falange, is killed by a republican execution squad.

1917 Ukraine is declared a republic.

History of Ukraine:

1917 World War I: Battle of Cambrai begins: British forces make early progress in an attack on German positions but are later pushed back.

Battle of Cambrai:

Timeline of the Battle of Cambrai (including Timeline of World War I):

1910 Mexican Revolution: Francisco I. Madero issues the Plan de San Luis Potosí, denouncing Mexican President Porfirio Díaz, calling for a revolution to overthrow the government of Mexico, effectively starting the Mexican Revolution.

1845 Anglo-French blockade of the Río de la Plata: Battle of Vuelta de Obligado.

1820 An 80-ton sperm whale attacks the Essex (a whaling ship from Nantucket, Massachusetts) 2,000 miles from the western coast of South America. (Herman Melville‘s 1851 novel Moby-Dick is in part inspired by this story.)

1805 Beethoven’s only opera, Fidelio premieres in Vienna.

YouTube videos on Beethoven’s Fidelio

NOVEMBER 21

WORLD TELEVISION DAY

WORLD HELLO DAY

2012 At least 28 are wounded after a bomb is thrown onto a bus in Tel Aviv.

2009 A mine explosion in Heilongjiang province, northeastern China, kills 108.

2006 Anti-Syrian Lebanese Minister and MP Pierre Gemayel is assassinated in suburban Beirut.

2004 The Paris Club agrees to write off 80% (up to $100 billion) of Iraq‘s external debt.

2004 The island of Dominica is hit by the most destructive earthquake in its history. The northern half of the island sustains the most damage, especially the town of Portsmouth. It is also felt in neighboring Guadeloupe, where one person is killed.

2004 The second round of the Ukrainian presidential election is held, giving rise to massive protests and controversy over the election’s integrity.

2002 NATO invites Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia to become members.

1996 Humberto Vidal explosion: Thirty-three people die when a Humberto Vidal shoe shop explodes.

1995 The Dayton Peace Agreement is initialed at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, near Dayton, Ohio, ending three and a half years of war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The agreement is formally ratified in Paris, on December 14 that same year.

Dayton Peace Agreement:

Background and Analysis of the Dayton Peace Agreement:

War in Bosnia-Herzegovina:

Bosnian War on the Ground:

Timeline of the War in Bosnia-Herzegovina:

Wright Patterson Air Force Base:

1986 Iran–Contra affair: National Security Council member Oliver North and his secretary start to shred documents allegedly implicating them in the sale of weapons to Iran and channeling the proceeds to help fund the Contra rebels in Nicaragua.

Iran-Contra Affair:

Timeline of the Iran-Contra Affair:

1985 United States Navy intelligence analyst Jonathan Pollard is arrested for spying after being caught giving Israel classified information on Arab nations. He is subsequently sentenced to life in prison.

1983 US military campaign in Granada ends.

US Military Campaign in Granada:

1980 A deadly fire breaks out at the MGM Grand Hotel in Paradise, Nevada (now Bally’s Las Vegas). Eighty-seven people are killed and more than 650 are injured in the worst disaster in Nevada history.

1979 The United States Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan, is attacked by a mob and set on fire, killing four.

1974 The Birmingham pub bombings kill 21 people. The Birmingham Six are sentenced to life in prison for the crime but subsequently acquitted.

1972 Voters in South Korea overwhelmingly approve a new constitution, giving legitimacy to Park Chung-hee and the Fourth Republic.

1971 Indian troops, partly aided by Mukti Bahini (Bengali guerrillas), defeat the Pakistan army in the Battle of Garibpur.

1970 Vietnam War: Operation Ivory Coast: A joint United States Air Force and Army team raids the Sơn Tây prisoner-of-war camp in an attempt to free American prisoners of war thought to be held there.

1970 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.

Nuclear Weapons and the United States:

1969 The first permanent ARPANET link is established between UCLA and SRI.

1969 US President Richard Nixon and Japanese Premier Eisaku Satō agree in Washington, DC, on the return of Okinawa to Japanese control in 1972. Under the terms of the agreement, the US is to retain its rights to bases on the island, but these are to be “nuclear-free”.

US Policy toward Japan of 1969 and the 1971 Okinawa Reversion Agreement:

Richard Nixon:

Eisaku Sato:

Eisaku Sato and Okinawa:

Japan’s Non-Nuclear Weapons Policy:

A Secret Nuclear Weapons Agreement between the United States and Japan, signed by the President of the United States (Richard Nixon) and the Prime Minister of Japan (Eisaku Sato = a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate):

Okinawa and Nuclear Weapons:

A Huge Explosion Sound Heard and a Huge Mushroom Cloud Witnessed near Kumé Island, Okinawa, on May 21, 2014. An Explosion of an Underwater Volcano in the Region, an Explosion of a Nuclear Device, or Something Else? :

Okinawa and Agent Orange:

For more relevant information on Agent Orange, visit This Week in History, the date of AUGUST 10, 1961: First use in Vietnam War of the Agent Orange by the US Army., and/or the TMS Archive Search.

US Biological Weapon Experiments in Okinawa

Okinawa Travel Guide:

History of Okinawa:

Okinawa and World War II:

US Occupation of Okinawa:

The Origin or One of the Main Origins of the Presence of the United States Military in Okinawa:

The Presence of the United States Military in Okinawa:

1967 Vietnam War: American General William Westmoreland tells news reporters: “I am absolutely certain that whereas in 1965 the enemy was winning, today he is certainly losing.”

Vietnam War in 1967:

1965 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR.

1964 Second Vatican Council: The third session of the Roman Catholic Church‘s ecumenical council closes.

Vatican Council II:

Vatican Council II Documents:

1964 The Verrazano–Narrows Bridge opens to traffic. (At the time it is the world’s longest suspension bridge.)

1962 The Chinese People’s Liberation Army declares a unilateral ceasefire in the Sino-Indian War.

1953 The British Natural History Museum announces that the “Piltdown Man” skull, initially believed to be one of the most important fossilized hominid skulls ever found, is a hoax.

1927 Columbine Mine massacre: Striking coal miners are allegedly attacked with machine guns by a detachment of state police dressed in civilian clothes.

1922 Rebecca Latimer Felton of Georgia takes the oath of office, becoming the first female United States Senator.

1920 Irish War of Independence: In Dublin, 31 people are killed in what became known as “Bloody Sunday“. This included fourteen British informants, fourteen Irish civilians and three Irish Republican Army prisoners.

Irish War of Independence:

History of Ireland:

1918 A pogrom takes place in Lwów (now Lviv); over three days, at least 50 Jews and 270 Ukrainian Christians are killed by Poles.

1918 The Flag of Estonia, previously used by pro-independence activists, is formally adopted as the national flag of the Republic of Estonia.

1916 World War I: A mine explodes and sinks HMHS Britannic in the Aegean Sea, killing 30 people.

1910 Sailors onboard Brazil’s most powerful military units, including the brand-new warships Minas Geraes, São Paulo, and Bahia, violently rebel in what is now known as the Revolta da Chibata (Revolt of the Lash).

1905 Albert Einstein‘s paper, “Does the Inertia of a Body Depend Upon Its Energy Content?“, is published in the journal Annalen der Physik. This paper reveals the relationship between energy and mass. This leads to the mass–energy equivalence formula E = mc².

Albert Einstein:

On Einstein’s 1905 Papers:

Texts of Einstein’s 1905 Papers:

1894 Port Arthur, Manchuria, falls to the Japanese, a decisive victory of the First Sino-Japanese War, after which Japanese troops are accused of the massacre of the remaining inhabitants of the city. (Reports conflict on this subject.)

1877 Thomas Edison announces his invention of the phonograph, a machine that can record and play sound.

NOVEMBER 22

2012 Ceasefire begins between Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Israel after eight days of violence and 150 deaths.

Israel-Gaza Conflict in 2012:

2005 Angela Merkel becomes the first female Chancellor of Germany.

Angela Merkel:

2004 The Orange Revolution begins in Ukraine, resulting from the presidential elections.

Orange Revolution in Ukraine of 2004:

2003 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.

2002 In Nigeria, more than 100 people are killed at an attack aimed at the contestants of the Miss World contest.

1995 A M_W earthquake of 7.3 strikes Gulf of Aqaba between the Sinai Peninsula and Saudi Arabia, the largest tectonic event in the area for many decades.

1995 Toy Story is released as the first feature-length film created completely using computer-generated imagery.

YouTube video (1 h. 38 min. 02 sec.): Toy Story (1995) Full Movie

1990 British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher withdraws from the Conservative Party leadership election, confirming the end of her premiership.

1989 In West Beirut, a bomb explodes near the motorcade of Lebanese President René Moawad, killing him.

1988 In Palmdale, California, the first prototype B-2 Spirit stealth bomber is revealed.

1987 Two Chicago television stations are hijacked by an unknown pirate dressed as Max Headroom.

1981 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR.

1977 British Airways inaugurates a regular London to New York City supersonic Concorde service.

1975 Juan Carlos is declared King of Spain following the death of Francisco Franco.

1974 The United Nations General Assembly grants the Palestine Liberation Organization observer status.

1973 The Italian Fascist organization Ordine Nuovo is disbanded.

1968 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.

Nuclear Weapons and the United States:

1967 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR.

For some more pertinent information, see “1981 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR”, mentioned above.

1967 UN Security Council Resolution 242 is adopted, establishing a set of the principles aimed at guiding negotiations for an Arab–Israeli peace settlement.

UN SC Resolution 242:

Text of the UN Security Council Resolution 242 – S/RES/242 (1967), or see the same text on the following sites: The Six-Day War – SixDayWar.org; MidEast Web Historical Documents – MidEastWeb.org; or Jerusalem in International Diplomacy – UN Security Council Resolution 242 – November 22, 1967 – Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs – JCPA.org

Explanations and/or Pertinent Arguments on UNSC 242:

Six-Day War of 1967:

1963 In Dallas, Texas, US President John F Kennedy is assassinated and Texas Governor John Connally is seriously wounded. Suspect Lee Harvey Oswald is later captured and charged with the murder of both the President and police officer J. D. Tippit. Oswald is shot dead two days later by Jack Ruby while in police custody. Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson, becomes President upon Kennedy’s death.

John F Kennedy:

Assassination of John F Kennedy:

Why JFK Killed? Who Killed JFK? :

1955 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR.

For some more pertinent information, see “1981 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR”, mentioned above.

1954 The Humane Society of the United States is founded.

1943 Lebanon gains independence from France.

History of Lebanon:

Lebanon:

Foreign Relations of Lebanon:

Economy of Lebanon:

1943 World War II: Cairo Conference: US 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.

Cairo Conferences of November 22-26, and December 3-6, 1943:

1^st Cairo Conference Communique:

Cairo Conference November 1943, released December 1, 1943 – Avalon Project – Yale Law School; the same text on these websites: Cairo Conference 22-26 November 1943 – TaiwanDocuments.org; or CAIRO CONFERENCE, NOVEMBER 1943, released December 1, 1943 (Dept. of State Bulletin, Vol. IX, p.393) – iBiblio.org

2^nd Cairo Conference Communique:

SECOND CAIRO CONFERENCE, 1943 – Communiqué released December 6, 1943 – LOC.gov – pdf

1942 World War II: Battle of Stalingrad: General Friedrich Paulus sends Adolf Hitler a telegram saying that the German 6th Army is surrounded.

1940 World War II: Following the initial Italian invasion, Greek troops counterattack into Italian-occupied Albania and capture Korytsa.

1935 The China Clipper, the first plane to offer commercial transpacific air service, takes off from Alameda, California, for its first commercial flight. It reaches its destination, Manila, a week later.

1931 Al-Mina’a SC was founded in Iraq.

1928 The premier performance of Ravel‘s Boléro takes place in Paris.

1908 The Congress of Manastir establishes the Albanian alphabet.

Albanian Language:

1869 In Dumbarton, Scotland, the clipper Cutty Sark is launched and is one of the last clippers ever built, and the only one still surviving today.

_____________________________

Satoshi Ashikaga, having worked as researcher, development program/project officer, legal protection/humanitarian assistance officer, human rights monitor-negotiator, managing-editor, and more, prefers a peaceful and prudent life, especially that in communion with nature. His previous work experiences, including those in war zones and war-torn zones, remind him of the invaluableness of peace. His interest and/or expertise includes international affairs, international law, jurisprudence, economic and business affairs, project/operations or organizational management, geography, history, the environmental/ecological issues, visual/audio documentation of nature and culture, and more. Being a member of the TRANSCEND Network for Peace, Development and Environment, he is currently compiling This Week in History on TMS.

(Sources and references: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/november_16 to _22; http://www.historyorb.com/events/november/16 to /22; http://www.brainyhistory.com/days/november_16.html to 22.html; and other pertinent web sites and/or documents, mentioned above.)

The views expressed in the cited or quoted websites and/or documents in this article do not necessarily reflect those of the author of this article. These websites and/or documents are cited or quoted for academic or educational purposes. Neither the author of this article nor the Transcend Media Service (TMS) is responsible for the contents, information, or whatsoever contained in these websites and/or documents.
One of the primary purposes of this article is to provide the readers with opportunities to think about “peace”, including positive peace and negative peace as well as external/outer peace and internal/inner peace, and more, directly or indirectly, from various angles and/or in the broadest sense, through historical events. It is because this article is prepared specifically for the TMS whose main objective is to address “peace” through peace journalism.

This article originally appeared on Transcend Media Service (TMS) on 16 Nov 2015.

Anticopyright: Editorials and articles originated on TMS may be freely reprinted, disseminated, translated and used as background material, provided an acknowledgement and link to the source, TMS: This Week in History, is included. Thank you.

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