History

On November 8, 1988, Vice President George H. W. Bush was elected as the 41st President of the United States, defeating Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis. Bush brought to the White House a long career of public service, having already served as a congressman, the director of the CIA, and Vice President under Ronald Reagan. His single term as president would ...

On November 8, 1960, John F. Kennedy defeated Richard Nixon to become the 35th President of the United States. A Massachusetts senator, Kennedy was just 43 years old on Election Day, making him the youngest person ever elected president. His victory in one of the closest elections in American history opened the 1960s with a call for a “New Frontier.” ...

On November 8, 1932, Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected as the 32nd President of the United States, defeating incumbent Herbert Hoover in the depths of the Great Depression. Promising a “New Deal” for the American people, Roosevelt won a landslide victory that reshaped the presidency, the federal government, and the Democratic Party for decades to come. Roosevelt would go on ...

On November 8, 1864, Abraham Lincoln won re-election as he defeated Democratic challenger George B. McClellan during the Civil War. It was one of the most consequential elections in American history — a wartime referendum on whether the United States would continue fighting for the Union and the end of slavery, and the answer was a decisive yes. The result ...

On November 8, 1731, Benjamin Franklin opened the Library Company of Philadelphia, and with it, the idea of the public library in America began. At just twenty-five years old, the young printer organised a group of his friends to pool their money for books that members could borrow — creating the first lending library in the American colonies and a ...

On November 8, 1519, Hernán Cortés entered Tenochtitlan and met the Aztec emperor Montezuma II, a meeting that changed the Americas. It was one of the most consequential encounters in world history: a Spanish expeditionary force walking into one of the largest cities on earth, and a face-to-face meeting between two leaders whose worlds could hardly have been more different. ...

November 7 holidays, observances and history: here is everything the day holds, from bison and books to Marie Curie, Joni Mitchell, and a bridge that fell into the sea. November 7, 2026 is a big Saturday. It falls on the first Saturday in November, which means National Bison Day, National Play Outside Day, National Book Lovers Day, Learn to Homebrew ...

Lorde, born on November 7, 1996, is the New Zealand singer-songwriter known for Royals, Melodrama, and her introspective pop songwriting. Barely out of her teens when her debut single topped the charts around the world, she became one of the defining voices of her generation — a songwriter whose unconventional sound and lyrical candour set a new template for pop ...

David Guetta, born on November 7, 1967, is the French DJ and producer who brought electronic dance music to the global mainstream. From Parisian clubs to the world’s biggest festivals, he has spent decades moving dance music from the underground to the charts. On his birthday each year, fans celebrate a career that changed how the world dances — a ...

Kamal Haasan, born on November 7, 1954, is the Indian actor and filmmaker, one of the most acclaimed stars of Tamil cinema. His career spans more than 200 films in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi and other languages, and he is known for transformative performances and for writing and directing many of his own films. On his birthday each year, fans ...