This Day in History – November 30
Today is the 334th day of 2011. There are 31 days remaining in the year
Today’s Highlight
1966: Barbados becomes independent from the UK.
Other Events
1783: A 5.3 magnitude earthquake strikes New Jersey.
1803: In New Orleans, Louisiana, Spanish representatives officially transfer the Louisiana Territory to a French representative. Just 20 days later, France transfers the same land to the US as the Louisiana Purchase.
1872: The first-ever international football match takes place at Hamilton Crescent, Glasgow, between Scotland and England.
1916: Costa Rica becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires copyright treaty.
1934: The steam locomotive Flying Scotsman becomes the first to officially exceed 100mph.
1936: In London, the Crystal Palace is destroyed by fire.
1940: Lucille Ball marries Desi Arnaz in Greenwich, Connecticut.
1947: Civil War in Mandatory Palestine begins, leading up to the creation of the state of Israel.
1953: Edward Mutesa II, the kabaka (king) of Buganda is deposed and exiled to London by Sir Andrew Cohen, Governor of Uganda.
1954: In Sylacauga, Alabama, US, the Hodges Meteorite crashes through a roof and hits a woman taking an afternoon nap in the only documented case of a human being hit by a rock from space.
1967: The People’s Republic of South Yemen becomes independent from the UK; The Pakistan People’s Party is founded by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto who later becomes its first chairman as the head of state and head of government after the 1971 Civil War.
1971: Iran seizes the Greater and Lesser Tunbs from the United Arab Emirates.
1981: In Geneva, representatives from the US and the Soviet Union begin to negotiate intermediate-range nuclear weapon reductions in Europe during the Cold War (the meetings ended inconclusively on December 17).
1982: Michael Jackson’s Thriller, the best-selling album of all time, is released.
1995: Official end of Operation Desert Storm.
1998: Exxon and Mobil sign a $73.7 billion USD agreement to merge, thus creating Exxon-Mobil, the world’s largest company.
1999: In Seattle, Washington, United States, protests against the WTO meeting by anti-globalisation protesters catch police unprepared and force the cancellation of opening ceremonies.
1999: British Aerospace and Marconi Electronic Systems merge to form BAE Systems, Europe’s largest defencce contractor and the fourth largest aerospace firm in the world.
2005: John Sentamu becomes the first black archbishop in the Church of England with his enthronement as the 97th Archbishop of York.
Today’s Birthdays
Gregory of Tours, French bishop and historian (539-594); John, Duke of Berry, son of John II of France (1340-1416); John Fitzalan, 2nd Baron Arundel, English soldier (1364- 1390); Andrea Doria, Italian naval leader (1466- 1560); Andres de Urdaneta, Spanish Augustinian friar, sail-captain and explorer (1498- 1568); Andrea Palladio, Italian architect (1508-1580); Philip Sidney, English courtier, soldier, and writer (1554- 1586); John Cosin, English clergyman (1594-1672); Jean Domat, French jurist (1625-1696).
