Vintage News · Odd history for November 2

What Happened On November 2

Q: What happened on November 2?

1957: A large number of people witnessed a fiery object in the sky near Levelland, Texas, which the United States Air Force said was ball lightning. 1707: Four British naval vessels run aground on the Isles of Scilly because of faulty navigation. In response, the first Longitude Act is enacted in 1714. 2000: As members of Expedition 1, American astronaut William Shepherd and Russian cosmonauts Sergei Krikalev and Yuri Gidzenko (all pictured) became the first resident crew to arrive at the International Space Station. 1984: The serial killer Velma Barfield became the first woman to be executed in the United States since 1962. 2000: Expedition 1 arrived at the International Space Station for the first long-duration stay onboard. From this day to present, a continuous human presence in space on the station remains uninterrupted. 1984: Capital punishment: Velma Barfield becomes the first woman executed in the United States since 1962. 1959: Quiz show scandals: Twenty-One game show contestant Charles Van Doren admits to a Congressional committee that he had been given questions and answers in advance. 1959: The first section of the M1 motorway, the first inter-urban motorway in the United Kingdom, is opened between the present junctions 5 and 18, along with the M10 motorway and M45 motorway. 1940: World War II: First day of Battle of Elaia–Kalamas between the Greeks and the Italians. 1936: The BBC Television Service, the world's first regular, "high-definition" (then defined as at least 200 lines) service begins. Renamed BBC1 in 1964, the channel still runs to this day.

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10 odd things that happened on November 2

1957 Oddly true
A large number of people witnessed a fiery object in the sky near Levelland, Texas, which the United States Air Force said was ball lightning.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1707 First ever
Four British naval vessels run aground on the Isles of Scilly because of faulty navigation. In response, the first Longitude Act is enacted in 1714.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
2000 First ever
As members of Expedition 1, American astronaut William Shepherd and Russian cosmonauts Sergei Krikalev and Yuri Gidzenko (all pictured) became the first resident crew to arrive at the International Space Station.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1984 First ever
The serial killer Velma Barfield became the first woman to be executed in the United States since 1962.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
2000 First ever
Expedition 1 arrived at the International Space Station for the first long-duration stay onboard. From this day to present, a continuous human presence in space on the station remains uninterrupted.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1984 First ever
Capital punishment: Velma Barfield becomes the first woman executed in the United States since 1962.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1959 Oddly true
Quiz show scandals: Twenty-One game show contestant Charles Van Doren admits to a Congressional committee that he had been given questions and answers in advance.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1959 First ever
The first section of the M1 motorway, the first inter-urban motorway in the United Kingdom, is opened between the present junctions 5 and 18, along with the M10 motorway and M45 motorway.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1940 First ever
World War II: First day of Battle of Elaia–Kalamas between the Greeks and the Italians.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1936 First ever
The BBC Television Service, the world's first regular, "high-definition" (then defined as at least 200 lines) service begins. Renamed BBC1 in 1964, the channel still runs to this day.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Observed today

2022A peace agreement is signed between the Ethiopian government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front, ending the Tigray War. Wikipedia →
2020In Vienna's Innere Stadt district, an ISIL sympathizer shoots and kills four people and injures 23 more, before being shot and killed by the police. Wikipedia →
2016The Chicago Cubs defeat the Cleveland Indians in the World Series, ending the longest Major League Baseball championship drought at 108 years. Wikipedia →
2008Lewis Hamilton secured his maiden Formula One Drivers' Championship Title by one point ahead of Felipe Massa at the Brazilian Grand Prix, after a pass for fifth place against the Toyota of Timo Glock on the final lap of the race. Wikipedia →
2000Expedition 1 arrived at the International Space Station for the first long-duration stay onboard. From this day to present, a continuous human presence in space on the station remains uninterrupted. Wikipedia →
1999Honolulu shootings: In the worst mass murder in the history of Hawaii, a gunman shoots at eight people in his workplace, killing seven. Wikipedia →
1997Tropical Storm Linda makes landfall in the Mekong Delta in Vietnam, causing more than 3,000 deaths. Wikipedia →
1990British Satellite Broadcasting and Sky Television plc merge to form BSkyB as a result of massive losses. Wikipedia →
1988The Morris worm, the first Internet-distributed computer worm to gain significant mainstream media attention, is launched from MIT. Wikipedia →
1988LOT Polish Airlines Flight 703 crashes in Białobrzegi, Podkarpackie Voivodeship, Poland, killing one person and injuring several more. Wikipedia →
1986Lebanon hostage crisis: U.S. hostage David Jacobsen is released in Beirut after 17 months in captivity. Wikipedia →
1984Capital punishment: Velma Barfield becomes the first woman executed in the United States since 1962. Wikipedia →
1983U.S. President Ronald Reagan signs a bill creating Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Wikipedia →
1982Channel 4, the British free-to-air public broadcast television channel funded by its commercial activities, starts broadcasting. Wikipedia →
1973Aeroflot Flight 19 is hijacked and diverted to Vnukovo International Airport, where the aircraft is stormed by authorities. Wikipedia →
1967Vietnam War: US President Lyndon B. Johnson and "The Wise Men" conclude that the American people should be given more optimistic reports on the progress of the war. Wikipedia →
1966The Cuban Adjustment Act comes into force, allowing 123,000 Cubans the opportunity to apply for permanent residence in the United States. Wikipedia →
1965Norman Morrison, a 31-year-old Quaker, sets himself on fire in front of the river entrance to the Pentagon to protest the use of napalm in the Vietnam war. Wikipedia →
1964King Saud of Saudi Arabia is deposed by a family coup, and replaced by his half-brother Faisal. Wikipedia →
1963South Vietnamese President Ngô Đình Diệm is assassinated following a military coup. Wikipedia →
1960Penguin Books is found not guilty of obscenity in the trial R v Penguin Books Ltd, the Lady Chatterley's Lover case. Wikipedia →
1959Quiz show scandals: Twenty-One game show contestant Charles Van Doren admits to a Congressional committee that he had been given questions and answers in advance. Wikipedia →
1959The first section of the M1 motorway, the first inter-urban motorway in the United Kingdom, is opened between the present junctions 5 and 18, along with the M10 motorway and M45 motorway. Wikipedia →
1956Hungarian Revolution: Nikita Khrushchev meets with leaders of other Communist countries to seek their advice on the situation in Hungary, selecting János Kádár as the country's next leader on the advice of Josip Broz Tito. Wikipedia →
1956Suez Crisis: Israel occupies the Gaza Strip. Wikipedia →
1951Canada in the Korean War: A platoon of The Royal Canadian Regiment defends a vital area against a full battalion of Chinese troops in the Battle of the Song-gok Spur. The engagement lasts into the early hours the next day. Wikipedia →
1949The Dutch–Indonesian Round Table Conference ends with the Netherlands agreeing to transfer sovereignty of the Dutch East Indies to the United States of Indonesia. Wikipedia →
1947In California, designer Howard Hughes performs the maiden (and only) flight of the Hughes H-4 Hercules (also known as the "Spruce Goose"), the largest fixed-wing aircraft ever built until Scaled Composites rolled out their Stratolaunch in May 2017. Wikipedia →
1940World War II: First day of Battle of Elaia–Kalamas between the Greeks and the Italians. Wikipedia →
1936The BBC Television Service, the world's first regular, "high-definition" (then defined as at least 200 lines) service begins. Renamed BBC1 in 1964, the channel still runs to this day. Wikipedia →
1920The Ocoee massacre commences in Orange County, Florida on the day of the 1920 United States presidential election. Wikipedia →
1920In the United States, KDKA of Pittsburgh starts broadcasting as the first commercial radio station. The first broadcast is the result of the 1920 United States presidential election. Wikipedia →
1917The Balfour Declaration proclaims British support for the "establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people" with the clear understanding "that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities". Wikipedia →
1917The Military Revolutionary Committee of the Petrograd Soviet, in charge of preparation and carrying out the Russian Revolution, holds its first meeting. Wikipedia →
1914World War I: The Russian Empire declares war on the Ottoman Empire and the Dardanelles is subsequently closed. Wikipedia →
1912Bulgaria defeats the Ottoman Empire in the Battle of Lule Burgas, the bloodiest battle of the First Balkan War, which opens her way to Constantinople. Wikipedia →
1899The Boers begin their 118-day siege of British-held Ladysmith during the Second Boer War. Wikipedia →
1889North Dakota and South Dakota are admitted as the 39th and 40th U.S. states. Wikipedia →
1882The great fire destroys a large part of Oulu's city center in Oulu Province, Finland. Wikipedia →
1868Time zone: New Zealand officially adopts a standard time to be observed nationally. Wikipedia →
1795The French Directory, a five-man revolutionary government, is created. Wikipedia →
1707Four British naval vessels run aground on the Isles of Scilly because of faulty navigation. In response, the first Longitude Act is enacted in 1714. Wikipedia →
1675Plymouth Colony governor Josiah Winslow leads a colonial militia against the Narragansett during King Philip's War. Wikipedia →
1410The Peace of Bicêtre suspends hostilities in the Armagnac–Burgundian Civil War. Wikipedia →
619A qaghan of the Western Turkic Khaganate is assassinated in a Chinese palace by Eastern Turkic rivals after the approval of Tang emperor Gaozu. Wikipedia →

Facts from Wikipedia On This Day API (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Wikimedia. Thumbnails CC BY-SA. Headlines via The Guardian Open Platform. Historic pages via Library of Congress Chronicling America. Curated by OddlyTrue.