General Minh takes over leadership of South Vietnam

On November 4, 1791, a multitribal confederation, formed to resist colonial expansion into their historical homelands, routs a large contingent of U.S. troops along the Wabash River in western Ohio. This one-sided clash, known as the Battle of the Wabash or St. Clair’s Defeat, would be the biggest victory ever won by Native Americans over […]

On November 4, 1918, just one week before the armistice was declared, ending World War I, the British poet Wilfred Owen is killed in action during a British assault on the German-held Sambre Canal on the Western Front. Born in 1893, Owen was teaching English to children near Bordeaux, France, when war broke out in […]

On November 4, 1924, California voters pass a measure to legalize professional boxing, a sport outlawed in the state because of safety concerns since 1914. “Manly Art Returns,” reads a headline in one newspaper. From 1914 to 1924, professional boxing had become a national phenomenon, spearheaded by champions such as heavyweight Jack Dempsey and lightweight […]

On November 4, 1948, T.S. Eliot wins the Nobel Prize in Literature, for his profound effect on the direction of modern poetry. Eliot was born in St. Louis, Missouri, to a long-established family. His grandfather had founded Washington University in St. Louis, his father was a businessman, and his mother was involved in local charities. […]

In a groundbreaking discovery, primatologist Jane Goodall witnesses a chimpanzee in the act of making and using tools on November 4, 1960—an ability previously believed to be exclusive to humans.  At the time of the observation, Goodall, a 26-year-old English primatologist, was conducting research at Gombe Stream National Park in Northern Tanzania, where she closely […]

On November 4, 1990, Dances with Wolves, a film about an American Civil War-era soldier and a group of Sioux Native Americans that stars Kevin Costner and also marks his directorial debut, premieres in Los Angeles. The film, which opened across the United States on November 21, 1990, was a surprise box-office success and earned […]

On November 4, 2008, Senator Barack Obama of Illinois defeats Senator John McCain of Arizona to become the 44th U.S. president, and the first African American elected to the White House. The 47-year-old Democrat garnered 365 electoral votes and nearly 53 percent of the popular vote, while his 72-year-old Republican challenger captured 173 electoral votes […]

On November 4, 2016, the Paris Agreement comes into effect. A sweeping international pledge to dramatically reduce carbon emissions, the agreement remains a potential turning point in the history of human relations with the Earth’s climate.  The agreement’s goal was to keep the global average temperatures from rising by more than 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial […]