311– Roman Emperor Galerius issues Edict of Toleration, ending persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire 711– Islamic conquest of Iberia: Moorish troops led by Tariq ibn-Ziyad land at Gibraltar to begin their invasion of the Iberian Peninsula (Al-Andalus) 1562– 1st French colonists in North America: Jean Ribault & colonists arrive in Florida 1789– George Washington is inaugurated as the first President of the United States of America 1859 –Charles Dickens’ “A Tale Of Two Cities” is first published in literary periodical “All the Year Round” (weekly installments until Nov 26). 1939 – The National Broadcasting Company made the first public television broadcast in the United States, at the New York World’s Fair. 2009– Chrysler automobile company files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy 2013 – Willem-Alexander became king of the Netherlands after his mother, Queen Beatrix, abdicated; she had ascended the throne 33 years earlier.
Births & Deaths: 1900 – American railroad engineer Casey Jones, later made famous in song, died in a train wreck. 1933 – American country singer and songwriter Willie Nelson was born. 1945 – German dictator Adolf Hitler and his wife, Eva Braun, committed suicide in a bunker in Berlin. 1989 – Italian director Sergio Leone—who popularized the “spaghetti western” with his hugely successful Dollar trilogy, which included the masterpiece The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966)—died in Rome.
Film & TV: 1952– Mr Potato Head is 1st toy advertised on television
Music: 1902– Claude Debussy’s only completed opera “Pelléas et Mélisande” premieres in Paris
Sport: 2012– Manchester City defeat Manchester United 1-0 in what is claimed to be the biggest match in the English Premier League’s history
