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Did You Know: This month in history
4 November 2008
Barack Obama becomes the first person of colour to be elected President of the United States, defeating Republican candidate John McCain.
6 November 1913
Mahatma Gandhi is arrested for leading 127 women, 57 children and 2037 men in a march opposing the Indian Relief Bill in South Africa. Released on bail, he rejoins the march and is re-arrested.
11 November 1918
On "the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month" the armistice signed by the Allies and Germany ends World War I. The war lasted more than four years and cost millions of lives.
15 November 1884
At the Berlin Conference the “Scramble for Africa” is formalised. By the end of the conference, the European powers had neatly split up Africa between themselves, drawing the borders in Africa much as we know them today.
17 November 1855
David Livingstone becomes the first European to see the Victoria Falls.
22 November 1963
US President John F. Kennedy is assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald in Dallas, Texas.
24 November 1895
English naturalist Charles Darwin publishes On the Origin of Species which brushes aside the notion of creationism and lays the foundation for evolutionary biology.
30 November 1487
The Reinheitsgebot, or German Beer Purity Law, is promulgated in Munich by Albert IV, Duke of Bavaria. It stipulates that beer should be brewed from only three ingredients – water, malt and hops.
Fun Facts about November
November’s birthstone is topaz. The ancient Greeks believed that topaz could make a wearer invisible. This mineral is a symbol of honour and strength.
The name November – the “ninth” month in Latin – has remained unchanged since the ancient Roman calendar, which was used until 45 BC. The first Roman calendar consisted of only ten months.
Celebrate, observe and take part!
11 November
Armistice Day (Remembrance Day)
14 November
World Diabetes Day
20 November
Africa Industrialisation Day
25 November
International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women
