On this day: November 1

Events on November 1

• 1512 The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, painted by Michelangelo, is exhibited to the public for the first time. Wikipedia
• 1520 The Strait of Magellan, the passage immediately south of mainland South America connecting the Pacific and the Atlantic Oceans, is first discovered and navigated by European explorer Ferdinand Magellan during the first recorded circumnavigation voyage. Wikipedia
• 1555 French Huguenots establish the France Antarctique colony in present-day Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Wikipedia
• 1612 During the Time of Troubles, Polish troops are expelled from Moscow's Kitay-gorod by Russian troops under the command of Dmitry Pozharsky (22 October O.S.). Wikipedia
• 1755 In Portugal, Lisbon is totally devastated by a massive earthquake and tsunami, killing an estimated 40,000 to 60,000 people. Wikipedia
• 1805 Napoleon Bonaparte invades Austria during the War of the Third Coalition. Wikipedia
• 1848 In Boston, Massachusetts, the first medical school for women, Boston Female Medical School (which later merged with the Boston University School of Medicine), opens. Wikipedia
• 1861 American Civil War: U.S. President Abraham Lincoln appoints George B. McClellan as the commander of the Union Army, replacing General Winfield Scott. Wikipedia
• 1894 Buffalo Bill, 15 of his Native Americans, and Annie Oakley were filmed by Thomas Edison in his Black Maria Studio in West Orange, New Jersey. Wikipedia
• 1914 World War I: The first British Royal Navy defeat of the war with Germany, the Battle of Coronel, is fought off of the western coast of Chile, in the Pacific, with the loss of HMS Good Hope and HMS Monmouth. Wikipedia
• 1914 World War I: The first contingent of the First Australian Imperial Force departed Albany, Western Australia. Wikipedia
• 1922 Abolition of the Ottoman sultanate: The last sultan of the Ottoman Empire, Mehmed VI, abdicates. Wikipedia
• 1942 World War II: Matanikau Offensive begins during the Guadalcanal campaign and ends three days later with an American victory. Wikipedia
• 1943 World War II: The 3rd Marine Division, United States Marines, landing on Bougainville in the Solomon Islands, secures a beachhead, leading that night to a naval clash at the Battle of Empress Augusta Bay. Wikipedia
• 1944 World War II: An American F-13 Superfortress made the first flight by an Allied aircraft over Tokyo since the Doolittle Raid in April 1942. Wikipedia
• 1945 The official North Korean newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, is first published under the name Chongro. Wikipedia
• 1950 Puerto Rican nationalists Griselio Torresola and Oscar Collazo attempt to assassinate US President Harry S. Truman at Blair House. Wikipedia
• 1951 Operation Buster–Jangle: Six thousand five hundred United States Army soldiers are exposed to 'Desert Rock' atomic explosions for training purposes in Nevada. Participation is not voluntary. Wikipedia
• 1956 The Indian states Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Mysore are formally created under the States Reorganisation Act; Kanyakumari district is joined to Tamil Nadu from Kerala. Delhi was established as a union territory. Wikipedia
• 1972 Elvis on Tour, a concert film that documented Elvis Presley's tour throughout the United States, opened. Wikipedia
• 1981 Antigua and Barbuda gains independence from the United Kingdom. Wikipedia
• 1991 President of the Chechen Republic Dzhokhar Dudayev declares sovereignty of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria from the Russian Federation. Wikipedia
• 1993 The Maastricht Treaty takes effect, formally establishing the European Union. Wikipedia
• 2000 Serbia and Montenegro joins the United Nations. Wikipedia
• 2001 Turkey, Australia, and Canada agree to commit troops to the invasion of Afghanistan. Wikipedia
• 2012 A fuel tank truck crashes and explodes in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh, killing 26 people and injuring 135. Wikipedia

Born on November 1

• 846 Louis the Stammerer, Frankish king (died 879) Wikipedia
• 1526 Catherine Jagiellon, queen of John III of Sweden (died 1583) Wikipedia
• 1530 Étienne de La Boétie, French philosopher and judge (died 1563) Wikipedia
• 1636 Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux, French poet and critic (died 1711) Wikipedia
• 1757 Antonio Canova, Italian sculptor and educator (died 1822) Wikipedia
• 1762 Spencer Perceval, English lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (died 1812) Wikipedia
• 1778 Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden (died 1837) Wikipedia
• 1782 F. J. Robinson, 1st Viscount Goderich, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (died 1859) Wikipedia
• 1871 Stephen Crane, American poet, novelist, and short story writer (died 1900) Wikipedia
• 1878 Carlos Saavedra Lamas, Argentinian academic and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1959) Wikipedia
• 1880 Alfred Wegener, German meteorologist and geophysicist (died 1930) Wikipedia
• 1889 Philip Noel-Baker, Baron Noel-Baker, English academic and politician, Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1982) Wikipedia
• 1911 Henri Troyat, French historian and author (died 2007) Wikipedia
• 1924 Süleyman Demirel, Turkish engineer and politician, 9th President of Turkey (died 2015) Wikipedia
• 1935 Edward Said, Palestinian-American theorist, author, and academic (died 2003) Wikipedia
• 1944 Rafic Hariri, Lebanese businessman and politician 60th Prime Minister of Lebanon (died 2005) Wikipedia
• 1946 Yuko Shimizu, Japanese graphic designer, created Hello Kitty Wikipedia
• 1950 Robert B. Laughlin, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate Wikipedia
• 1960 Tim Cook, American businessman and engineer, current CEO of Apple Inc. Wikipedia
• 1962 Anthony Kiedis, American singer-songwriter Wikipedia
• 1973 Aishwarya Rai, Indian model and actress Wikipedia
• 1987 Ileana D'Cruz, Indian film actress Wikipedia

Died on November 1

• 1319 Uguccione della Faggiuola, Italian condottieri (born c. 1250) Wikipedia
• 1546 Giulio Romano, Italian painter and architect (born 1499) Wikipedia
• 1700 Charles II of Spain (born 1661) Wikipedia
• 1888 Nikolay Przhevalsky, Russian geographer and explorer (born 1838) Wikipedia
• 1894 Alexander III of Russia (born 1845) Wikipedia
• 1903 Theodor Mommsen, German archaeologist, journalist, and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1817) Wikipedia
• 1907 Alfred Jarry, French author and playwright (born 1873) Wikipedia
• 1955 Dale Carnegie, American author and educator (born 1888) Wikipedia
• 1972 Ezra Pound, American poet and critic (born 1885) Wikipedia
• 1982 King Vidor, American director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1894) Wikipedia
• 1993 Severo Ochoa, Spanish-American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1905) Wikipedia
• 2006 William Styron, American novelist and essayist (born 1925) Wikipedia
• 2008 Yma Sumac, Peruvian-American soprano and actress (born 1922/1923) Wikipedia
• 2015 Fred Thompson, American actor, lawyer, and politician (born 1942) Wikipedia

Holidays and observances

• All Saints' Day, a holy day of obligation in some areas (a national holiday in many historically Catholic countries), and its related observance: Day of the Innocents, The first day of Day of the Dead or El Dia de los Muertos celebration. (Mexico, Haiti) Wikipedia
• Anniversary of the Revolution (Algeria) Wikipedia
• Chavang Kut (Mizo people of Northeast India, Bangladesh, Burma) Wikipedia
• Chhattisgarh Rajyotsava (Chhattisgarh, India) Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Austromoine Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Benignus of Dijon Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Caesarius of Africa Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Santa Muerte (Folk Catholicism, Mexico and Southwestern United States) Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: November 1 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) Wikipedia
• Coronation of the fifth Druk Gyalpo (Bhutan) Wikipedia
• Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Antigua and Barbuda from the United Kingdom in 1981. Wikipedia
• Karnataka Rajyotsava (Karnataka, India) Wikipedia
• Kerala Day (Kerala, India) Wikipedia
• Liberty Day (United States Virgin Islands) Wikipedia
• International Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome Awareness Day Wikipedia
• National Brush Day (United States) Wikipedia
• Self-Defense Forces Commemoration Day (Japan) Wikipedia
• The first day of winter observances: Calan Gaeaf, celebrations start at sunset of October 31. (Wales) Wikipedia
• The first day of winter observances: Samhain in the Northern Hemisphere and Beltane in the Southern Hemisphere, celebrations start at sunset of October 31 (Neopagan Wheel of the Year) Wikipedia
• World Vegan Day Wikipedia

The events, births, deaths and observances above are from the English Wikipedia article “November 1” and the articles it links to (authors and history), retrieved 2026-10-09 through the Wikimedia “On this day” feed. They are licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; this selection is shared under the same licence. We picked the 26 events, 22 births and 14 deaths with the widest coverage across Wikipedia's language editions (counted from Wikidata) and sorted them by year; the wording is unchanged apart from removing references to pictures.