On November 11, 1918, World War I hostilities officially ceased when the Allies and Germany signed an armistice in a historic railway car in the Forest of Compiègne, northern France. This marked the end of a conflict that had cost over 16 million lives, reshaping Europe’s political landscape and leading to the formation of the League of Nations. The armistice’s influence extended worldwide, and November 11 later became known as Armistice Day, commemorating peace and the sacrifices made by millions.
On this same date in 1620, aboard the Mayflower anchored off the coast of Massachusetts, 41 Pilgrims signed the Mayflower Compact, establishing one of the earliest frameworks for self-governance in the New World. With the words “civil body politick,” the Compact aimed to unify the settlers and ensure cooperation in their new settlement. This agreement laid the groundwork for democratic principles that would eventually underpin the governance of the United States.
In 1921, the remains of an unidentified American soldier were enshrined in the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery. President Warren G. Harding presided over the ceremony, honoring the countless sacrifices made during World War I. This symbolic grave represents all unidentified fallen soldiers, establishing a revered site where Americans can honor those who served and sacrificed without recognition.
Then, in 1966, NASA launched Gemini 12, the final crewed mission of the Gemini program, with astronauts James A. Lovell and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin Jr. on board. This mission’s success set a new standard for space travel, proving that astronauts could perform complex tasks in space and paving the way for future Apollo missions to the Moon. The Gemini program’s advancements became fundamental to America’s space exploration and set the stage for NASA’s greatest achievements.
Today in History: November 14
Today in History: November 14. On November 14, 1889, journalist Nellie Bly began an attempt to travel around the world in 80 days; she would successfully complete the journey in just over 72 days. In 1851, Herman Melville’s novel ‘Moby-Dick; Or, The Whale’ was published in the United States, almost a month after being released in Britain. In 1960, six-year-old Ruby Bridges became the first Black child to desegregate William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans. In 1965, the U.S. Army’s first major military operation of the Vietnam War began with the start of the five-day Battle of Ia Drang.In 1993, Miami Dolphins coach Don Shula became the NFL’s all-time winningest coach with a victory over the Philadelphia Eagles.
Today in History: November 13
Today in History: November 13:On Nov. 13, 2015, Islamic State militants carried out a set of coordinated attacks in Paris at the national stadium, in a crowded concert hall, in restaurants and on streets, killing 130 people in the worst attack on French soil since World War II. In 1956, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed a lower court ruling which found Alabama bus segregation laws were illegal. In 1971, the U.S. space probe Mariner 9 went into orbit around Mars, becoming the first spacecraft to orbit another planet. In 1982, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was dedicated on the National Mall in Washington, DC. In 1985, some 23,000 residents of Armero, Colombia, died when a volcanic mudslide buried the city. In 2001, U.S.-backed Northern Alliance fighters in Afghanistan entered Kabul as Taliban forces retreated from the capital city.
Today in History: November 12
Today in History: On November 12: 1954, Ellis Island officially closed as an immigration station and detention center. More than 12 million immigrants arrived in the United States via Ellis Island between 1892 and 1954. In 1927, Josef Stalin became the undisputed ruler of the Soviet Union as Leon Trotsky was expelled from the Communist Party. In 1936, the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge opened as President Franklin D. Roosevelt pressed a telegraph key in Washington, D.C., and gave the green light to traffic. In 1948, former Japanese premier Hideki Tojo and several other World War II Japanese leaders were sentenced to death by a war crimes tribunal. In 1970, the Bhola cyclone struck East Pakistan, now Bangladesh. The deadliest tropical cyclone on record claimed the lives of an estimated 300,000-500,000 people.
Today in History: November 10
Today in History: November 10: On Nov. 10, 1898, in Wilmington, North Carolina, a mob of as many as 2,000 white supremacists killed dozens of African Americans, burned Black-owned businesses and forced the mayor, police chief and aldermen to resign at gunpoint, before installing their own mayor and city council in what became known as the “Wilmington Coup.” Other events of November 10. In 1775, the United States Marine Corps was established when the Second Continental Congress passed a resolution to raise two battalions of Marines to support naval forces in the Revolutionary War. In 1954, the U.S. Marine Corps Memorial, depicting the raising of the American flag on Iwo Jima in 1945, was dedicated by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in Arlington, Virginia. In 1969, the children’s educational program “Sesame Street” made its debut on National Educational Television. In 1975, the Great Lakes freighter SS Edmund Fitzgerald sank after being caught in a severe storm on Lake Superior; all 29 crew members were lost. In 2019, Bolivian President Evo Morales resigned after weeks of public protests in response to alleged election fraud in Bolivia’s general election the previous month.
  | Better Yourself, Lead Others 
| Personal Development Life Coach Certification 
|  
|
