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MICHELANGELO’S SISTINE PAINTINGS
After the Pope first viewed Michelangelo's frescoes, on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, the paintings were revealed to others on the
1st of November, 1512. They remain some of the world's most magnificent
works of art.
JOHN ADAMS MOVES into the WHITE HOUSE
John Adams - America's
second president - and his wife, Abigail, were the first people to move
into the U.S. White House (in November of 1800). Known then as "the
President's House," the executive mansion was built with the help of
slave labor. That fact was particularly upsetting to both the President
and the First Lady.
NICHOLAS II BECOMES TSAR
After the death of his
father, Alexander III, Nicholas Romanov became Tsar of all the Russians
on November 1, 1894. In this rare historical clip, we view scenes of his
formal coronation (which took place in May of 1896).
SEABISCUIT UPSETS WAR ADMIRAL
In a horse race called
"the match of the century," Seabiscuit defeated War Admiral in an upset
victory at Pimlico on the 1st of November 1938. At first the horses
remained fairly close - then, Seabiscuit raced to the finish line.
KAROL WOJTYLA - BEFORE HE BECAME JOHN PAUL II
As a young man, Pope John
Paul II was known as Karol Wojtyla. Overcoming hardship in his life -
including the death of all his immediate family members and Nazi
occupation of his native Poland - Wojtyla became a priest on the 1st of
November, 1946. Learn about the man who, in later life, was beloved by
so many people around the world.
BUSTER-JANGLE and its IMPACT on AMERICAN SOLDIERS
Thousands of American
soldiers were required to take part in a nuclear-testing event called
"Buster Jangle." In this clip, we see soldiers watching "Dog Shot" at
the Nevada Proving Ground on November 1, 1951.
HOWARD HIGHES FLIES THE "SPRUCE GOOSE"
On the 2nd of November,
1947, Howard Hughes flew his gigantic wooden airplane dubbed "The Spruce
Goose." This historical footage provides background on the "flying
boat" and features the only time it flew.
THOMAS WOLSEY - ARRESTED
Thomas Wolsey did his
best to serve Henry VIII, but he failed the King on an important
matter. He was unable to convince the Pope to dissolve Henry’s marriage
to Catherine of Aragon. Wolsey was thereafter arrested - on November
4, 1529 - and died before the end of the month.
ABE LINCOLN WEDS MARY TODD
Although death robbed him
of Anne Rutledge (“the love of his life”), Abe Lincoln married another
woman - Mary Todd - on November 4, 1842. Mary sometimes had a “sharp
tongue,” as depicted in this recreated scene.
GUNPOWDER PLOT - GUY FAWKES at the HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT
On the 5th of November,
1605, London's Houses of Parliament were set to open. The event was
delayed, due to an outbreak of plague in the city, which provided extra
time for a group of conspirators to further develop their plan - to
blow-up Parliament. Their actions, they believed, would also kill the
king and the Prince of Wales. These video clips recreate, and explain,
the story of the Gunpowder Plot.
LEWIS and CLARK REACH the PACIFIC OCEAN
After a long and arduous
journey, Lewis and Clark - and their Corps of Discovery - reached the
Pacific Ocean on the 7th of November, 1805. They could not believe what
they saw.
KRISTALLNACHT - THE NIGHT OF BROKEN GLASS
A German diplomat in
Paris was shot by a Jewish teenager on the 7th of November, 1938. After
the man died, Hitler's troops began a virulent rampage - on the evening
of November 9, 1938 - smashing windows and destroying buildings. In
these video clips, survivors of Kristallnacht relate what happened to
them and their families. There was so much broken glass in Germany, at
the time, that it "amounted to half-a-year's production of the Belgian
glass industry."
VLADIMIR I. LENIN - RECORDING of HIS VOICE
In a clip depicting
historic footage of the Bolshevik leader, Vladimir Ilych Lenin, we hear a
rare recording of his voice. Listen to the sounds of a man who changed
the history of his country when he led the Bolshevik Revolution
(beginning on the 7th of November, 1917).
JACK the RIPPER’S LAST STRIKE
Jack the Ripper, who
terrorized the Whitechapel section of London in 1888, claimed his last
victim - Mary Jane Kelly - on November 9th of that year. To this day,
his actual identity remains a mystery.
BERLIN - OPENING the CHECKPOINTS
On the 9th of November,
1989, East-German officials opened the previously closed checkpoints
along the Berlin Wall. For the first time in decades, people could
freely travel to both parts of Berlin - provided they had the proper
paperwork. News clips broadcast the historic events.
ANDERSONVILLE PRISON - HENRY WIRZ
Major Henry Wirz - a
Confederate soldier involved in the running of the Andersonville
prisoner-of-war camp in Georgia - was executed on November 10, 1865 for
war-crime offenses. He was the only American Civil War soldier to be
treated in this manner. Who was Wirz? What were the allegations
against him?
DR. DAVID LIVINGSTONE - AFRICAN SLAVERY
A Scottish explorer, who
was also a medical doctor, David Livingstone did what he could to help
end slavery in Africa itself. “Missing” for a long time, he was “found”
near Lake Tanganyika, reportedly on the 10th of November, 1871
(although the exact date is unconfirmed). Who was he?
SUFFRAGETTES ARRESTED for PICKETING the WHITE HOUSE
On the 10th of November,
1917, about 41 suffragettes were arrested for picketing in front of the
White House. Woodrow Wilson was president at the time. The women held
signs supporting a constitutional amendment granting American women the
right to vote. Refusing to individually pay a $10 fine, the women were
sentenced to sixty days in a Virginia workhouse. Their lives quickly
became unbearable.
LAST DAY OF WORLD WAR ONE - THE ARMISTICE
Although a cease fire had
been agreed upon before dawn, to take effect about six hours later (at
11:00 a.m., Paris time, on the 11th of November 1918), at least ten
thousand soldiers were killed from fighting on the last day of World War
I. About three thousand of them were Americans. What happened that
day?
VETERANS DAY
The 11th of November is
"Veteran's Day." It occurs, annually, on the day World War I ended.
This year, reflecting how the concept of honoring Veterans began, we
provide a clip of WWI's most-famous poem.
ELLIS ISLAND - “PLACE of HOPE and TEARS”
Ellis Island closed on
November 12, 1954. Over the decades, about 20 million immigrants had
passed through its portals. Why is it known as both a “Place of Hope
and Tears?”
LADY JANE GREY
Just before he died,
fifteen-year-old King Edward VI changed Britain’s law of succession.
Instead of his half-sister - Mary Tudor - ascending the throne after his
death, Edward appointed Henry VIII’s great-niece, Lady Jane Grey, to
become Queen of Britain. On November 13, 1553, Jane Grey was found
guilty of committing high treason. What was the process the young King
used to circumvent the Act of Succession? Who was Lady Jane Grey?
SHERMAN'S MARCH to the SEA
As Union General William
T. Sherman, and his troops, undertook their "March to the Sea," parts of
the American South went up in flames. By the 14th of November, 1864,
Sherman's men were burning Atlanta. Who was Sherman? Why did he
undertake his “March to the Sea?”
COVENTRY - DECIMATED BY GERMAN BOMBS
During the evening/early
morning of November 14-15, 1940, Hitler sent his bombers to Coventry.
After a dreadful night, beginning with incendiaries (which also
dispersed hot metal shards), people surveyed their devastated city at
first light. Survivors describe what it was like to live through the
catastrophe and how they found the will to move/fight on.
VIETNAM WAR - THE FIRST GROUND BATTLE
On Sunday, the 14th of
November 1965, American combat troops had been in Vietnam for eight
months. On that day, Lt Col Hal Moore and his troops were transported
into the Ia Drang valley by helicopter. They did not know they were
about to be ambushed in the first ground battle of the Vietnam War. This
clip features historical footage and an interview with retired Lt.
General Hal Moore.
TRIAL of CHARLES GUITEAU - PRESIDENTIAL ASSASSIN
Charles Guiteau
assassinated President James Garfield. Two months after the President's
death, Guiteau's trial began (on November 14, 1881). Was he insane? Was
his trial fair?
DOSTOEVSKY - PERSONALLY FACES A FIRING SQUAD
On the 16th of November,
1849, Fyodor Dostoevsky was sentenced to death for being part of an
allegedly subversive group. Not yet a famous writer, he was minutes away
from death - by firing squad - when the Tsar changed his sentence from
death to a prison term in Siberia.
“OPERATION PAPERCLIP” - FINDING HITLER’S SCIENTISTS
In a mission dubbed
“Operation Paperclip,” the Allies searched-for Hitler’s scientists. On
the 16th of November, 1945, the U.S. Army secretly admitted a group of
Germans into the country so they could help to develop America’s rocket
technology. What was this operation? Who was involved?
ELIZABETH I - LEARNS SHE IS QUEEN
On the 17th of November,
1558, Princess Elizabeth - daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn -
learned that her half-sister had died, thereby elevating Elizabeth to
the throne of Britain. In this video clip, Glenda Jackson (in the role
of Elizabeth) recreates the moment when the Princess first heard the
news.
RICHARD NIXON: "I'M NOT A CROOK"
Embattled by the
Watergate scandal, President Nixon did his best to assure the American
public that he had done nothing wrong. In a famous televised news
conference - on November 17, 1973 - the President said that he welcomed
intense questioning. Then he declared: "I'm not a crook!"
PRESIDENT LINCOLN and the GETTYSBURG ADDRESS
After the devastating
Battle of Gettysburg, in which so many Union and Confederate soldiers
died, President Lincoln gave a short speech to dedicate the battlefield
cemetery. Known as the Gettysburg Address, it is one of the most famous
speeches in U.S. history.
TIME MAGAZINE - HIROHITO on the COVER
Hirohito made the cover of TIME Magazine on the 19th of November, 1928. Who was this Japanese emperor? Why did TIME put him on the cover of that edition?
WOLFE TONE and THE WIND THAT SHAKES THE BARLEY
Wolfe Tone, Irish hero,
was a leader of Ireland's rebellion against Britain during 1798. He died
that year - on November 19th - after he was captured, "tried" and
sentenced to death. To commemorate the 1798 uprising, Robert Dwyer Joyce
(1836-1883) wrote the lyrics to a haunting ballad - The Wind that Shakes the Barley. It is performed, in this clip, by Lisa Gerrard.
INVENTION of the PHONOGRAPH - THOMAS EDISON
Thomas Edison announced
his invention of the phonograph on November 21, 1877. The singing part
of this clip represents the first-known recording of music - ever made -
which is "listenable" on an Edison phonograph.
ALBERT EINSTEIN - TIME is RELATIVE
On the 21st of November,
1905, Albert Einstein’s paper - “Does the Inertia of a Body Depend Upon
Its Energy Content?” - was published. It followed - almost as an
afterthought - his previous paper, published earlier that year,
asserting time is relative. What did Einstein mean when he asserted
that time is relative?
ASSASSINATION of PRESIDENT KENNEDY - CLINT HILL'S STORY
Clint Hill was the Secret
Service agent assigned to Mrs. Kennedy on the day that JFK was shot in
Dallas. In this compilation of interviews, coupled with historical
footage of the events of 22 November 1963, Hill describes what happened
on a day which shook America.
ASSASSINATION OF LEE HARVEY OSWALD
While President John F.
Kennedy was visiting Dallas with his wife, Jackie, he was assassinated
on the 22nd of November, 1963. The death of the popular President
shocked the country. Two days after JFK was shot and killed, his accused
assassin was also murdered - on live television - by Jack Ruby.
JFK'S FUNERAL - John, Jr. Salutes His Father
One of the most touching
events in a week of extraordinary difficulty, following the
assassination of President Kennedy, was the moment when three-year-old
John F. Kennedy, Jr. saluted his father's coffin. This video clip
provides more than the famous photo.
CHARLES DARWIN - ON the ORIGIN of SPECIES
After many years of thinking and writing, Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species on the 24th of November, 1859. Who was Darwin? How did he reach his conclusions?
INCENDIARY BOMBS OVER TOKYO
Beginning in November,
1944, American B-29s began their raids over Japan's capital. Then a city
of mostly wooden buildings, Tokyo was massively damaged by the fire
bombs.
KING TUT'S TOMB
Although he died young,
King Tut - an Egyptian Pharaoh - is one of the most famous rulers of
ancient times. The reason? His previously undisturbed tomb was
discovered by archaeologists - as was the Pharaoh's mummy. On the 26th
of November, 1922, archaeologists entered King Tut's tomb. What they
found stunned the world.
MAGELLAN and HIS VOYAGE of DISCOVERY
On the 28th of November,
1520, Ferdinand Magellan and his expedition sailed to the Pacific Ocean
via the Straits of Magellan. It was the first time any European had
reached the Pacific via an passageway from the Atlantic.
SLAVE SHIP ZONG
A tragedy aboard the slave ship Zong - on the 29th of November, 1781 - helped to turn the British public against the slave trade. Zong's sailors sent many captured Africans into the sea so the ship’s owners
could collect insurance proceeds. In this clip, historian Simon Schama
explains what happened thereafter.
C.S. LEWIS - NOVEMBER BIRTH and DEATH
C.S. (“Jack”) Lewis was
born on November 29, 1898 and died on the day that President Kennedy was
shot in Dallas. Who was C.S. Lewis, author of The Chronicles of Narnia? What was his life like - as a boy, as a young man and as an adult?
C.S. LEWIS and J.R.R. TOLKIEN
C.S. Lewis was an atheist when his friend, J.R.R. Tolkien - author of The Lord of the Rings - challenged him to assess whether myths and lies were one and the
same. Later in his life, Lewis described the events recreated in this
clip as some of the more important moments of his life.
THE RENAISSANCE
The Renaissance - a time
of remarkable cultural achievement - is known for a flourishing of the
arts and learning. Some of its leading figures were Cosimo and Lorenzo
de Medici, Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. Who were these people - and - how did the Renaissance begin?
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