For this issue of the KO News, I decided to write about the major events known to have happened on one day in all of human history. So, I randomly chose Nov. 5, which fell on a Monday this year. Fun fact: November 5 is the 309th day of the year, which means there are only 56 days left until the New Year!
Curiously, November 5 has consistently struck a grim chord, with an occasional happy or praiseworthy incident here and there. 2018: Here at KO, students and teachers had some differing views on how their day was going, but there seemed to be a general consensus that it was a pretty tiring day. Then again, Mondays tend to be draining for most people.
Meanwhile, here is what happened in the rest of the world on Nov. 5, 2018. A study of the child suicide rate in Japan found that it had reached an all-time high. More than 80 students and teachers were kidnapped from a boarding school in Cameroon, Africa. A taskforce had been officially set up to identify and punish LGBT people in Dar es Salaam, Turkey.
In 2017, gunman Devin Patrick Kelley brutally shot and killed 26 churchgoers and injured 20 in Sunderland Springs, Texas, which is just east of San Antonio.
2015: The Fundão dam in Brazil collapsed and killed 23 civilians. It created a domino effect and caused another dam to fail, culminating in the Rio Dulce’s major flooding.
2013: A four-story building in Lagos, Nigeria, also collapsed, killing four people.
2012: 50 Syrian military personnel were killed by a suicide car bomb in Hama.
In 2009, Major Malik Hasan opened fire at the Soldier Readiness Processing Center in Fort Hood, Texas, murdering 13 people and injuring 30 in the process.
2007: China’s first lunar satellite entered lunar orbit. The Chang’e 1, an unmanned lunar-orbiting spacecraft, later sent its first pictures of the Moon on November 26 back to Earth.
In 2003, Gary Ridgway, a serial killer also known as the Green Valley Killer, pleaded guilty to ruthlessly assaulting and strangling 48 women in Washington in the 1980s and 1990s.
1995: André Dallaire tried to assassinate Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien.
November 5, 1994, was a memorable day, indeed. First, this was the day that space probe Ulysses completed its first of three passages around the Sun, an amazing accomplishment for space exploration. Famous cyclist Tony Rominger broke a world record for the second time, bicycling 55.291 km (34.356 miles) in only one hour. Tragically, north of Peru, eight people died in a Yak-40 plane crash.
1989: Juma Ikangaa claimed victory at the 20th NYC Marathon, with a speedy time of 2:08:01.
1978: Oakland Raiders’ John Madden became the 13th NFL coach to win 100 consecutive NFL games. Madden coached the Raiders for 10 seasons, during which time the team never experienced a losing season.
Ten years earlier, in 1968, the infamous Republican Richard Nixon was elected as the 37th U.S. President, defeating Democrat Hubert Humphrey and Independent George Wallace.
Momentarily breaking this reverse chronological order, Democrat Bill Clinton had been re-elected as the 42nd U.S. President.
Back to the consistent timeline: in 1943, Vatican City was bombed by a fascist Italian aircraft, breaching the neutrality of the Vatican during the World War II.
1940: An unprecedented feat: Franklin D. Roosevelt was re-elected for the third time as the 32nd U.S. President. He defeated Republican Wendell Willkie.
In 1937, Adolf Hitler first informed his military leaders in a secret meeting of his intentions of going to war.
1935: The Parker Brothers Company introduced the fun and time-consuming board game “Monopoly.”
On November 5, 1930, many accomplishments occurred in the arts. Sinclair Lewis was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for his famous work “Babbitt.” He was the first writer from the United States to be awarded this prestigious prize. Those at the Third Academy Awards witnessed both Lewis Milestone becoming the first person to win two Oscars and “All Quiet on The Western Front” becoming the first film to win two awards, Best Picture and Best Director.
In 1916, Emperors Wilhelm II of Germany and Franz Jozef I of Austria-Hungary established the Kingdom of Poland. It lasted until November 11, 1918, when Poland finally claimed independence after 123 years of not existing as a nation.
1895: The first patent for a gasoline-driven car was granted to George B. Selden.
1872: A memorable day for Ulysses S. Grant, who was re-elected as U.S. President. Notably, Susan B. Anthony, who was a renowned women’s suffrage advocate, voted for him. It was illegal for her to vote and she was fined $100, but it is believed that she never paid for it.
1854: An important milestone for the Crimean War. The British and French together defeated a Russian force of 50,000 men at Inkerman.
In 1838, Honduras declared independence of the Central American Foundation.
1789: The French National Meeting declared all citizens equal under law.
1639: The first post office in the original 13 colonies was set up in Massachusetts.
1530: The St. Felix Flood ravaged the Dutch coast and completely destroyed the city of Reimerswaal in the Netherlands.
In 1492, Nov. 5 was the day that the indigenous people of Cuba taught Christopher Columbus about harvesting and growing corn.
1414: the Council of Constance opened.
Finally, the first noteworthy event on Nov. 5 to have ever been recorded was in 1138 when LĂ˝ Anh TĂ´ng was enthroned as the Emperor of Vietnam at only two years old. His reign lasted for 37 years.
Looking back in history can really give a unique perspective on what humans have accomplished in their time on Earth. November 5 has tended to be a day filled with violence, great misfortune, or general unhappiness, but it will be interesting to see what becomes of this day in the future.
