Events

• 1468 – Liège is sacked by Charles I of Burgundy’s troops.
• 1492 – Peace of Etaples between Henry VII of England and Charles VIII of France.
• 1493 – Christopher Columbus first sights the island of Dominica in the Caribbean Sea.
• 1783 – The American Continental Army is disbanded (refer to the American War of Independence).
• 1812 – Napoleon’s armies are defeated at the Battle of Vyazma (refer to Napoleonic Wars).
• 1867 – Giuseppe Garibaldi and his followers are defeated in the Battle of Mentana and fail to end the Pope’s Temporal power in Rome (it would be achieved three years later).
• 1881 – The Mapuche uprising of 1881 begins in Chile.
• 1898 – France withdraws its troops from Fashoda (now in Sudan), ending the Fashoda Incident.
• 1903 – With the encouragement of the United States, Panama separates from Colombia.
• 1918 – The German Revolution of 1918-1919 begins when 40,000 sailors take over the port in Kiel.
• 1929 – The Gwangju Student Independence Movement occurred.
• 1930 – Getúlio Vargas becomes Head of the Provisional Government in Brazil after a bloodless coup on 24 October.
• 1935 – George II of Greece regains his throne through a popular, though possibly fixed, plebiscite.
• 1942 – World War II: The Koli Point action begins during the Guadalcanal Campaign and ends on 12 November.
• 1943 – World War II: Five hundred aircraft of the US 8th Air Force devastate Wilhelmshaven harbour in Germany.
• 1944 – World War II: Two supreme commanders of the Slovak National Uprising, Generals Ján Golian and Rudolf Viest, are captured, tortured and later executed by German forces.
• 1946 – The (US written and imposed) Constitution of Japan is adopted through Emperor’s assent.
• 1949 – Chinese Civil War: The Battle of Dengbu Island occurs.
• 1956 – Suez Crisis: The Khan Yunis killings by the Israel Defence Forces in Egyptian-controlled Gaza result in the deaths of 275 Palestinians.
• 1956 – Hungarian Revolution: A new Hungarian government is formed, in which many members of banned non-Communist parties participate.
  • János Kádár and Ferenc Münnich form a counter-government in Moscow as Soviet troops prepare for the final assault.
• 1967 – Vietnam War: The Battle of Dak To begins.
• 1969 – Vietnam War: US President Richard M. Nixon addresses the nation on television and radio, asking the “silent majority” to join him in solidarity on the Vietnam War effort and to support his policies.
• 1978 – Dominica gains its independence from the UK.
• 1986 – Iran-Contra affair: The Lebanese magazine Ash-Shiraa reports that the US has been secretly selling weapons to Iran in order to secure the release of seven American hostages held by pro-Iranian groups in Lebanon.
• 1986 – The Compact of Free Association becomes law, granting the Federated States of Micronesia and the Marshall Islands independence from the United States.
• 1988 – Sri Lankan Tamil mercenaries attempt to overthrow the Maldivian government.
  • At President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s request, the Indian military suppresses the rebellion within 24 hours.
• Independence Day / Separation Day, celebrates the separation and independence of Panama from Colombia in 1903.
• Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Dominica from the United Kingdom in 1978.
• Independence Day, celebrates the independence of the Federated States of Micronesia from the United States in 1986.
• Independence Day of Cuenca (Ecuador).
• Victory Day (Maldives).

People (Births)

• 1757 – Robert Smith, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 6th United States Secretary of State (d. 1842).
• 1816 – Jubal Early, American general and lawyer (d. 1894).
• 1857 – Mikhail Alekseyev, Russian general (d. 1918).
• 1877 – Carlos Ibáñez del Campo, Chilean general and politician, 20th President of Chile (d. 1960).
• 1894 – William George Barker, Canadian pilot and colonel, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1930).
• 1894 – Sofoklis Venizelos, Greek captain and politician, 133rd Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1964).
• 1912 – Alfredo Stroessner, Paraguayan general and politician, 46th President of Paraguay (d. 2006).
• 1918 – Elizabeth P. Hoisington, American general (d. 2007).
• 1921 – Charles Bronson, American soldier and actor (d. 2003).
• 1928 – Bill Morrison, Australian politician and diplomat, 37th Australian Minister for Defence (d. 2013).
• 1930 – William H. Dana, American engineer, pilot, and astronaut (d. 2014).
• 1930 – Brian Robinson, English cyclist.
• 1931 – Yon Hyong-muk, North Korean soldier and politician, 7th Premier of North Korea (d. 2005).
• 1969 – Niels van Steenis, Dutch rower.
• 1972 – Marko Koers, Dutch runner.
• 1988 – Jessie Loutit, Canadian rower.
• 1998 – Maddison Elliott, Australian paralympic swimmer.

People (Deaths)

• 1219 – Saer de Quincy, 1st Earl of Winchester, English baron and rebel (b. c. 1170).
• 1428 – Thomas Montacute, 4th Earl of Salisbury, English general and politician (b. 1388).
• 1676 – Köprülü Fazıl Ahmed Pasha, Ottoman soldier and politician, 110th Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire (b. 1635).
• 1983 – Jerry Pentland, Australian fighter ace (b. 1894).
• 1996 – Jean-Bédel Bokassa, Central African general and politician, 2nd President of the Central African Republic (b. 1921).
• 2007 – Martin Meehan, PIRA volunteer and Irish republican politician (b. 1945).
• 2007 – Ryan Shay, American runner (b. 1979).
• 2012 – Tommy Godwin, American-English cyclist and coach (b. 1920).
• 2013 – Nick Cardy, American soldier and illustrator (b. 1920).