11 years ago today
Islamic State Attacks Paris, Killing 130
On the night of November 13, 2015, Islamic State terrorists carried out a coordinated series of attacks across Paris: suicide bombers struck outside the Stade de France during a football match, gunmen opened fire on crowded cafes and restaurants, and three attackers stormed the Bataclan concert hall mid-performance and massacred 90 people in the audience. In all, 130 people were killed and over 350 injured in the deadliest attack on French soil since World War II. The attacks sent shockwaves across Europe, prompted France to declare a state of emergency, and intensified the debate over security, immigration, and the threat of homegrown terrorism. President François Hollande described it as "an act of war." The world responded with an outpouring of solidarity as the Eiffel Tower went dark and the tricolour was projected onto landmarks around the globe.
Augustine of Hippo
Christian theologian and philosopher
Augustine of Hippo is one of the most influential theologians and philosophers in Western history. His Confessions — the story of his wild youth, spiritual searching, and eventual conversion to Christianity — is considered the first autobiography in the Western tradition. His theological works, including City of God, shaped Catholic doctrine for centuries and profoundly influenced the Protestant Reformation.
Robert Louis Stevenson
Scottish novelist and poet
Robert Louis Stevenson created some of the most beloved adventure stories in the English language, including Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and the psychological thriller Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Despite suffering from tuberculosis throughout his life, he traveled widely and eventually settled in Samoa, where he was revered by the local people. He died at 44 but left behind a body of work that continues to captivate readers worldwide.
Louis Brandeis
American lawyer and Supreme Court Justice
Louis Brandeis was appointed to the United States Supreme Court in 1916 by President Woodrow Wilson, becoming the first Jewish Justice in the Court's history. Known as "The People's Attorney," he championed privacy rights, free speech, and social reform throughout his career. His concept of the constitutional right to privacy laid the groundwork for many of the most significant civil liberties decisions of the twentieth century.
Whoopi Goldberg
American comedian, actress, and television host
Whoopi Goldberg is one of the few entertainers to have achieved EGOT status — winning Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony awards. Her Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Ghost (1990) followed her nomination for Best Actress for The Color Purple (1985). She has been a host of The View since 2007 and is known for her outspoken advocacy on social issues.
Jimmy Kimmel
American late-night television host
Jimmy Kimmel has hosted Jimmy Kimmel Live! on ABC since 2003, making him one of the longest-running late-night hosts in American television. Known for viral comedy segments and celebrity pranks as well as candid emotional monologues on issues including gun control and healthcare, he has hosted the Academy Awards and Emmy Awards multiple times.
St. Brice's Day Massacre
English King Æthelred II ordered the killing of all Danes living in England on St. Brice's Day, fearing they were conspiring against him. The massacre, carried out across the country, killed an unknown number of Danish settlers including the sister of Danish King Sweyn Forkbeard. Sweyn responded by launching devastating raids on England and eventually conquered it entirely.
Edward III of England Born
Edward III was born at Windsor Castle, destined to become one of the most successful English kings of the medieval era. He reasserted royal authority after his mother and her lover had deposed his father, won the great victories of Crécy and Poitiers in the Hundred Years' War, founded the Order of the Garter, and presided over a glittering court. His reign was also marked by the devastating Black Death.
Prince Henry the Navigator Dies
Prince Henry the Navigator of Portugal died at Sagres at the age of 66. Though he never sailed the great voyages himself, Henry sponsored and directed Portuguese exploration of the African coast, funding expeditions that gradually pushed southward and opened the sea route to Asia. His patronage laid the foundations of the Portuguese maritime empire and the Age of Exploration.
Americans Occupy Montreal
American Patriot forces under General Richard Montgomery occupied Montreal without significant resistance during the invasion of Canada, hoping to persuade Canadians to join the American Revolution as a fourteenth colony. The occupation lasted until the following year, when American forces were repulsed from Quebec City and driven back south.
Robert Louis Stevenson Born
Robert Louis Stevenson was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. Despite lifelong illness, he became one of the most beloved storytellers of the Victorian era, creating enduring works of adventure and imagination including Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. His travels to the Pacific and his final years in Samoa brought an exotic dimension to his writing and his legend.
Holland Tunnel Opens
The Holland Tunnel opened beneath the Hudson River, connecting Manhattan and Jersey City as the first underwater vehicular tunnel in the world. Its innovative mechanical ventilation system — designed by engineer Ole Singstad — solved the seemingly intractable problem of how to ventilate a tunnel carrying thousands of automobiles through an air-tight tube beneath a river.
Fantasia Premieres
Walt Disney's experimental animated feature Fantasia premiered in New York City, pairing classical music conducted by Leopold Stokowski with groundbreaking abstract and narrative animation. The film was controversial and unprofitable on first release but has since been recognized as one of the most innovative films in cinema history, pioneering the use of stereo sound in theatres.
Bhola Cyclone Strikes East Pakistan
The Bhola cyclone made landfall in East Pakistan (present-day Bangladesh), causing a catastrophic storm surge that killed an estimated 300,000 to 500,000 people in one of the deadliest natural disasters in recorded history. The Pakistani government's slow and inadequate response to the disaster fuelled deep resentment in East Pakistan and contributed to the political crisis that led to the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971.
Vietnam Veterans Memorial Dedicated
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial was dedicated in Washington, D.C., bearing the names of 58,195 American service members killed or missing in the Vietnam War, inscribed in black granite. Designed by 21-year-old Yale student Maya Lin, the wall was initially controversial for its stark modernism but quickly became one of the most visited and emotionally powerful memorials in America.
Nevado del Ruiz Erupts, Burying Armero
The Nevado del Ruiz volcano in Colombia erupted, melting the glaciers on its summit and sending massive lahars — rivers of volcanic mud and debris — down river valleys at high speed. The town of Armero, 74 kilometres away, was buried under 5 metres of mud within minutes, killing approximately 23,000 of its 29,000 inhabitants. It was the deadliest volcanic disaster in the Western Hemisphere since the 1902 eruption of Mount Pelée.
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Italian opera composer
Gioachino Rossini was the most celebrated opera composer of the early nineteenth century, whose works — including The Barber of Seville, Cinderella, and William Tell — combined dazzling vocal fireworks with comic brilliance and dramatic flair. He retired from opera composition in 1829 at the height of his fame and spent the rest of his long life in Paris as a celebrated gastronome and host of musical salons.
Camille Pissarro
Danish-French Impressionist painter
Camille Pissarro was a central figure of French Impressionism and the only artist to exhibit in all eight Impressionist exhibitions. His landscapes of rural France and urban Paris are characterized by warmth, light, and a democratic appreciation of ordinary life. He mentored both Paul Cézanne and Paul Gauguin and was a beloved figure among the Impressionist group.
Vittorio De Sica
Italian film director and actor
Vittorio De Sica was one of the founders of Italian Neorealism, whose post-war masterpieces Bicycle Thieves (1948) and Umberto D (1952) depicted the struggles of ordinary Italians with heartbreaking realism. Bicycle Thieves is regularly cited as one of the greatest films ever made. He also enjoyed a successful parallel career as a charming and popular actor.
Karen Silkwood
American nuclear industry worker and activist
Karen Silkwood was a chemical technician and union activist at the Kerr-McGee plutonium plant in Oklahoma who gathered evidence of safety violations and contamination before dying in a mysterious car accident while driving to meet a New York Times journalist. The circumstances of her death remained controversial, and her story became the subject of the 1983 film Silkwood starring Meryl Streep.
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