Holidays
All Saints Day
Holy day of obligation, solemnity, commemorating all the blessed in Heaven, especially those who have no special feast.
What Happened On
First U.S. Christmas Stamps
November 1, 1962
The first U.S. Christmas stamps go on sale. They depicted a wreath, two candles, and the words "Christmas 1962". Legal actions by groups citing separation of church and state were unsuccessful and over one billion stamps were sold.
Photo Credit: The Official CTBTO Photostream
Photo Credit: The Official CTBTO Photostream
First Hydrogen Bomb Explosion
November 1, 1952
The U.S. explodes the first hydrogen bomb at Eniwetok Atoll in the South Pacific. The force was ten times that of an atom bomb.
Harvey
November 1, 1944
The play by Mary Coyle Chase opens in New York, featuring a giant imaginary rabbit.
Chase received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for the work in 1945. Her play has been adapted for film and television, most notably in a 1950 film starring James Stewart and Josephine Hull.
Knute Rockne scoring a touchdown after catching a Dorais pass
Knute Rockne scoring a touchdown after catching a Dorais pass
The Game that Changed Football
November 1, 1913
During the first Army vs. Notre Dame football game, Notre Dame uses the forward pass to win 35-13 and revolutionize football. Notre Dame's quarterback Charley "Gus" Dorais and receiver Knute Rockne were able to use the forward pass to counteract Army's size advantage. Dorais completed 14 of 17 attempts for 243 yards. Previously, receivers would come to a stop and wait for the ball, but Dorais passed to Rockne while Rockne was in full stride. American football would never be the same again, as the forward pass went from a seldom-used play to a major strategy of the game.
Giulio Gavotti on a Farman biplane, Rome 1910
Giulio Gavotti on a Farman biplane, Rome 1910
First Air Raid From an Airplane
November 1, 1911
The first air raid from a heavier-than-air craft occurs when Italian pilot Giulio Gavotti uses his Etrich Taube monoplane to drop 4 4½-pound (2 kg) grenades on the Ottoman military in Libya from an altitude of about 600 feet (183 meters). There were no casualties from the attack. The Ottoman Empire issued a protest against these types of raids as the dropping of bombs from balloons had been outlawed by the Hague Convention of 1899, but Italy argued that this ban did not extend to heavier-than-air craft.
The following year, Gavotti performed the first night mission of a heavier-than-air aircraft.
Young Griffo, one of the fighters in the film
Young Griffo, one of the fighters in the film
First Paid Film Screening
November 1, 1895
The Griffo-Barnett boxing prize fight is shown to a paying audience in a store on lower Broadway. This was the first paying audience for a film.
However, this did not qualify as a movie. The first paid movie screening took place the following month.
Earliest known photograph of the White House, circ. 1846
Earliest known photograph of the White House, circ. 1846
First President to Move Into the White House
November 1, 1800
U.S. President John Adams moves into what was at the time known as the "President's House", located in Washington D.C. George Washington is the only U.S. president who didn't live there.
Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel Ceiling
November 1, 1512
Michelangelo unveils his masterpiece on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. He had begun working on it in 1508.
Iranian Hostage Crisis
November 1, 1979
Iranian leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini urges his people to demonstrate against United States, resulting in the seizing of U.S. Embassy in Tehran three days later.
First Maneuverable Unmanned Satellite
November 1, 1963
The Soviets announce the successful launching and operation of their Polyot I.
Presidential Assassination Attempt
November 1, 1950
Two members of the Puerto Rican nationalist movement attempt to kill U.S. President Harry S. Truman by shooting their way into Blair House. Both men were stopped before gaining entry. White House Police officer Leslie Coffelt was mortally wounded before managing to kill his attacker in return fire. Truman was upstairs and was unharmed. The other assailant was sentenced to death, but in 1979 President Jimmy Carter commuted the sentence to time served and he was released and returned to Puerto Rico.
The Puerto Rican nationalist movement wanted Puerto Rican independence from the U.S.
Truman was staying at Blair House during renovation of the White House. Blair House is also known as The President's Guest House and is located across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House.
Assumption of the Virgin Mary
November 1, 1950
The Assumption of the Virgin Mary is proclaimed a dogma by Pope Pius XII, stating that upon her death she was taken into heaven both body and soul to join Christ.
First Automobile Association
November 1, 1895
The first automobile association is formed, the American Motor League, in Detroit. It was started by Charles Brady King who wanted to form an organization that governed the development of the manufacture of "horseless carriages" that seemed to be going in various haphazard directions in the United States. One of the issues that King wanted to address was false and misleading articles presented in the media that made automobiles and their developers look bad and thus hampered the development of automobiles.
In 1904 the American Motor League merged with the American Automobile Association ("AAA") to become the American Motor Association.
Black Voting Rights
November 1, 1890
Mississippi adopts the first state constitution that placed restrictions on a black's right to vote.
Civil War - McClellan Named Commander in Chief
November 1, 1861
General George B. McClellan is named commander in chief of the U.S. army by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln.
First Medical School Exclusively for Women
November 1, 1848
The first medical school exclusively for women opens, Boston Female Medical School founded by Samuel Gregory.
By 1852, this school was called the New England Female Medical College. It merged with the Boston University School of Medicine in 1874 to become one of the first co-ed medical schools in the world.
Dr. Rebecca Davis Lee Crumpler graduated in 1864 and was the first African American woman to earn a medical degree.
Second Seminole War
November 1, 1835
The war begins when Seminole Indians in Florida attack. They were protesting their forced removal to the West. This was the longest and most costly of the U.S. Indian conflicts.
Methodist Episcopal Church
November 1, 1792
Methodist Episcopal Church holds its first general conference in the U.S., at Baltimore, Maryland.
Heretics being burned alive
Heretics being burned alive
Spanish Inquisition
November 1, 1478
The infamous Inquisition begins when Pope Sixtus IV issues a papal bull authorizing the Catholic Monarchs, King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile to select and appoint priests to act as inquisitors. It was intended to maintain Catholic orthodoxy in their kingdoms and to replace the Medieval Inquisition, which was under Papal control.
It is estimated that around 150,000 people were prosecuted for various offences during the Spanish Inquisition, of whom between 3,000 and 5,000 were executed.
Birthdays
Why Do Boxing Rings Have Four Ropes?
Davey Moore
Born November 1, 1933 d. 1963
American boxer, World Featherweight Champion (1959-63). He died of injuries sustained when his head hit the bottom rope during a fight defending his title. Although he managed to continue the fight, he lapsed into a coma in the dressing room and died four days later. As a result, the bottom rope was loosened and a fourth rope was added to boxing rings. This is why boxing rings now have four ropes. He is memorialized in the Bob Dylan song 
Who Killed Davey Moore.
Dr. Crawford Long (Crawford Williamson Long)
Born November 1, 1815 d. 1878
American physician. He performed first operation using ether for anesthesia, using ether during the removal of a neck tumor (1842). He administered sulfuric ether on a towel and simply had the patient inhale.
Long had observed that some who participated in the "ether frolics", that were popular at that time, experienced bumps and bruises, but afterward had no recall of what had happened. He postulated that diethyl ether produced effects similar to the anesthetic effects of nitrous oxide described by Humphry Davy in 1800.
The word anesthesia is from the Greek for "without sensation".
Lyle Lovett
Born November 1, 1957
American Grammy-winning country singer. Music: You Can't Resist It (1986) and If I Had a Boat (1987), and Lyle Lovett and His Large Band (1989, Grammy).
Marcia Wallace
Born November 1, 1942 d. 2013
American Emmy-winning actress. TV: The Bob Newhart Show (Carol the receptionist) and The Simpsons (voice of school teacher Mrs. Krabappel).
Larry Flynt
Born November 1, 1942 d. 2021
American publisher. Creator of Hustler magazine (1974). Flynt was partially paralyzed from the waist down due to injuries sustained in a 1978 assassination attempt by serial killer Joseph Paul Franklin. The shooter confessed, saying he was outraged by an interracial photo shoot in Hustler.
Flynt served in both the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy.
Robert Foxworth
Born November 1, 1941
American actor. TV: Falcon Crest (Chase Gioberti).
Barbara Bosson
Born November 1, 1939 d. 2023
American actress. TV: Hill Street Blues (1981-86, Fay Furillo).
André Tchaikowsky
Born November 1, 1935 d. 1982
Polish composer and pianist. He donated his skull to the Royal Shakespeare Company to be used as a prop on stage. Although used in rehearsals, it wasn't used for a performance until David Tennant (10th incarnation of the Doctor in the TV series Doctor Who, 2005–2010; 2013) used it in a 2008 production of Hamlet.
Betsy Palmer (Patricia Betsy Hrunek)
Born November 1, 1926 d. 2015
American actress. TV: I've Got a Secret (panelist) and Knots Landing (Virginia Bullock). Film: Friday the 13th (1980, Jason's mother).
"Rich Kid" of the Little Rascals
Jerry Tucker (Jerome H. Schatz)
Born November 1, 1925 d. 2016
American actor. One of The Little Rascals. He appeared in 17 Our Gang films as the "rich kid." During his service in the U.S. Navy during WWII, he was injured when his ship was hit by a Japanese Kamikaze.
Aleksandr Alekhine
Born November 1, 1892 d. 1946
Russian chess master. World champion (1927-35, 1937-46).
Red Badge of Courage
Stephen Crane
Born November 1, 1871 d. 1900
American author. Writings: Red Badge of Courage (1895), a war novel set during the American Civil War. It is about a young Union Army private who, after fleeing from the field of battle, is overcome with shame and longs for a wound, a "red badge of courage", to counteract his cowardice.
George Stafford Parker
Born November 1, 1863 d. 1937
American inventor. He invented an improved fountain pen (1890) and founded The Parker Pen Company.
Louis II
Born November 1, 846 d. 879
King of France (877-79). He was known as "The Stammerer."
Deaths
Yma Sumac
Died November 1, 2008 b. 1922
Peruvian-born singer. She was one of the most famous proponents of exotica music. Music: Voice of the Xtabay (1950, #1).
Bettye Ackerman
Died November 1, 2006 b. 1924
American actress. TV: Ben Casey (1961-66, Dr. Maggie Graham).
Skitch Henderson (Lyle Russell Cedric Henderson)
Died November 1, 2005 b. 1918
American orchestra leader. Henderson served as the original bandleader for The Tonight Show (originally called Tonight Starring Steve Allen) from 1953 to 1957, then returned in 1962, leaving again in 1966.
Noah Beery Jr.
Died November 1, 1994 b. 1913
American actor. TV: The Rockford Files (1974-1980, Jim's father).
Severo Ochoa
Died November 1, 1993 b. 1905
Spanish-born American Nobel-winning biochemist. He shared the 1959 Nobel Prize in medicine and physiology with Arthur Kornberg for his discoveries that furthered the research in heredity.
The King of Chutzpah
Phil Silvers (Philip Silversmith)
Died November 1, 1985 b. 1911
American Emmy-winning comic actor. "The King of Chutzpah". Film: Top Banana (1954) and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966). TV: The Phil Silvers Show (1955-59, MSgt. Ernest G. Bilko, Emmy).
James Broderick
Died November 1, 1982 b. 1927
American actor. TV: Family (1976-80, father Doug Lawrence). He is the real-life father of actor Matthew Broderick.
Mamie Doud Eisenhower
Died November 1, 1979 b. 1896
American First Lady (1953-61). Wife of U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Ezra Loomis Pound
Died November 1, 1972 b. 1885
American poet, winner of the first Bollingen Prize for Poetry from the Library of Congress (1948) for Pisan Cantos. He was charged with treason for making pro-fascist broadcasts in Italy during World War II.
Dale Carnegie
Died November 1, 1955 b. 1888
American author. Writings: How to Win Friends and Influence People (1936).
Man o' War
Died November 1, 1947 b. 1917
Thoroughbred race horse. Won 20 of 21 races from 1919-20 and was named the greatest race horse of the first half of the century.