November 5
November 5 is the 309th day of the year (310th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar.[1] It is principally observed in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and parts of the Commonwealth as Guy Fawkes Night or Bonfire Night, an annual commemoration of the Gunpowder Plot's failure on that date in 1605, when authorities discovered 36 barrels of gunpowder hidden beneath the House of Lords.[2][3] The plot was a conspiracy orchestrated by English Catholics, led by Robert Catesby with Guy Fawkes tasked to ignite the explosives, aimed at assassinating Protestant King James I, his family, and Parliament members during the state opening to spark a Catholic uprising against religious restrictions.[4][5] Fawkes was arrested in the early hours of November 5 after an anonymous tip prompted a search, leading to the interrogation, torture, and execution of the conspirators for high treason.[6] The event's exposure reinforced anti-Catholic measures in England and inspired the traditional rhyme "Remember, remember the fifth of November," recited during festivities featuring bonfires, fireworks, and the burning of effigies to symbolize the plot's defeat and the preservation of monarchical and parliamentary order.[2][4] While other historical occurrences mark the date—such as U.S. presidential elections in years like 1860 (Abraham Lincoln's victory) and 1940 (Franklin D. Roosevelt's third term)—the Gunpowder Plot remains its defining legacy, underscoring themes of conspiracy, religious conflict, and state security.[5][7]Events
Pre-1600
On November 5, 1499 (Julian calendar), the Catholicon, a trilingual dictionary in Breton, French, and Latin authored by Jehan Lagadeuc around 1464, was published in Tréguier, Brittany.[8] This compilation, based on earlier glossaries, provided definitions for approximately 8,000 Breton words alongside French and Latin equivalents, marking it as the earliest known dictionary for the Breton language and the first comprehensive French dictionary.[8] On the night of November 5–6, 1500 (Julian calendar), astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus, then studying in Italy, observed a total lunar eclipse from Rome, documenting one of his earliest recorded astronomical observations.[9] This event occurred during his time lecturing on mathematics and astronomy amid the Catholic Jubilee year, contributing to his developing heliocentric theories through empirical data collection.[9]1601–1900
- 1605 – Guy Fawkes, a member of a group of English Catholics, was arrested in the cellar beneath the House of Lords while guarding approximately 36 barrels of gunpowder intended to assassinate King James I, destroy Parliament, and ignite a Catholic uprising during the state opening of Parliament; the Gunpowder Plot, organized by Robert Catesby and others, had been betrayed by an anonymous letter to Lord Monteagle, leading to the discovery hours before the planned explosion.[10][11]
- 1688 – William, Prince of Orange, landed at Brixham in Torbay, Devon, with an army of about 15,000 men, including Dutch, French Huguenot, and other Protestant troops, at the invitation of English nobles opposed to the Catholic-leaning policies of King James II; this invasion, unresisted initially, precipitated the Glorious Revolution, James II's flight, and the establishment of a constitutional monarchy under William III and Mary II.[12][13]
- 1862 – A U.S. military commission concluded trials for Dakota Sioux warriors involved in the U.S.–Dakota War earlier that year, sentencing 303 to execution by hanging for murders and other attacks on Minnesota settlers amid grievances over treaty violations, delayed annuities, and famine; President Abraham Lincoln reviewed the cases and commuted 264 sentences to imprisonment, with 38 executions carried out on December 26.[7]
- 1872 – Women's rights activist Susan B. Anthony voted in the U.S. presidential election in Rochester, New York, alongside 14 other women, asserting that the 14th Amendment granted them citizenship and voting rights despite state laws limiting suffrage to men; her ballot was initially accepted but later challenged, resulting in her arrest on November 18 for illegal voting and a subsequent fine she refused to pay.[7]
1901–present
On November 5, 1911, Italy formally annexed the Ottoman provinces of Tripolitania and Cyrenaica, escalating the Italo-Turkish War that began in September and marking Italy's first major overseas colonial expansion in North Africa.[14] The annexation, despite incomplete control over inland areas, prompted Ottoman resistance and local Arab revolts that persisted for years.[15] In the 1912 United States presidential election, Democrat Woodrow Wilson defeated incumbent Republican William Howard Taft and Progressive Theodore Roosevelt, securing 435 electoral votes amid a three-way race that fragmented the Republican vote.[7] Wilson's victory shifted U.S. policy toward progressive reforms and neutrality in European affairs prior to World War I. November 5, 1914, saw Britain and France officially declare war on the Ottoman Empire, following Ottoman naval attacks on Russian Black Sea ports earlier that month, thereby expanding World War I to the Middle East and drawing in Ottoman territories across multiple fronts.[16] The declaration formalized Allied opposition to Ottoman alignment with the Central Powers and set the stage for campaigns like Gallipoli. On November 5, 1930, Sinclair Lewis became the first American author to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature, recognized for his satirical depictions of American middle-class life in novels such as Babbitt and Main Street.[17] The 1940 U.S. presidential election resulted in Franklin D. Roosevelt's unprecedented third term, with Roosevelt defeating Republican Wendell Willkie by 449 to 82 electoral votes amid wartime concerns in Europe.[7] This victory extended Democratic dominance and reflected public support for Roosevelt's New Deal policies despite opposition to breaking the two-term tradition. In the 1968 U.S. presidential election, Republican Richard Nixon won against Democrat Hubert Humphrey and independent George Wallace, capturing 301 electoral votes in a contest marked by Vietnam War protests and social unrest.[18] November 5, 2009, witnessed the Fort Hood shooting at the U.S. Army base in Texas, where Major Nidal Hasan, an Army psychiatrist, killed 13 people and wounded over 30 in an attack motivated by Islamist extremism before being wounded and captured.[19] The incident, the deadliest mass shooting on a U.S. military installation, led to Hasan's conviction and death sentence in 2013. India's Space Research Organisation launched the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), also known as Mangalyaan, on November 5, 2013, using a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle from Sriharikota, marking India's first interplanetary probe and achieving orbit insertion around Mars in September 2014 at a cost of about $74 million.[20] The 2024 U.S. presidential election on November 5 saw Republican Donald Trump defeat Democrat Kamala Harris, securing 312 electoral votes and a popular vote majority, reclaiming the presidency amid debates over economic policy, immigration, and foreign affairs.[21] Trump's win also coincided with Republican gains in Congress, altering the balance of power.[22]Births
Pre-1600
On November 5, 1499 (Julian calendar), the Catholicon, a trilingual dictionary in Breton, French, and Latin authored by Jehan Lagadeuc around 1464, was published in Tréguier, Brittany.[8] This compilation, based on earlier glossaries, provided definitions for approximately 8,000 Breton words alongside French and Latin equivalents, marking it as the earliest known dictionary for the Breton language and the first comprehensive French dictionary.[8] On the night of November 5–6, 1500 (Julian calendar), astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus, then studying in Italy, observed a total lunar eclipse from Rome, documenting one of his earliest recorded astronomical observations.[9] This event occurred during his time lecturing on mathematics and astronomy amid the Catholic Jubilee year, contributing to his developing heliocentric theories through empirical data collection.[9]1601–1900
- 1605 – Guy Fawkes, a member of a group of English Catholics, was arrested in the cellar beneath the House of Lords while guarding approximately 36 barrels of gunpowder intended to assassinate King James I, destroy Parliament, and ignite a Catholic uprising during the state opening of Parliament; the Gunpowder Plot, organized by Robert Catesby and others, had been betrayed by an anonymous letter to Lord Monteagle, leading to the discovery hours before the planned explosion.[10][11]
- 1688 – William, Prince of Orange, landed at Brixham in Torbay, Devon, with an army of about 15,000 men, including Dutch, French Huguenot, and other Protestant troops, at the invitation of English nobles opposed to the Catholic-leaning policies of King James II; this invasion, unresisted initially, precipitated the Glorious Revolution, James II's flight, and the establishment of a constitutional monarchy under William III and Mary II.[12][13]
- 1862 – A U.S. military commission concluded trials for Dakota Sioux warriors involved in the U.S.–Dakota War earlier that year, sentencing 303 to execution by hanging for murders and other attacks on Minnesota settlers amid grievances over treaty violations, delayed annuities, and famine; President Abraham Lincoln reviewed the cases and commuted 264 sentences to imprisonment, with 38 executions carried out on December 26.[7]
- 1872 – Women's rights activist Susan B. Anthony voted in the U.S. presidential election in Rochester, New York, alongside 14 other women, asserting that the 14th Amendment granted them citizenship and voting rights despite state laws limiting suffrage to men; her ballot was initially accepted but later challenged, resulting in her arrest on November 18 for illegal voting and a subsequent fine she refused to pay.[7]
1901–present
On November 5, 1911, Italy formally annexed the Ottoman provinces of Tripolitania and Cyrenaica, escalating the Italo-Turkish War that began in September and marking Italy's first major overseas colonial expansion in North Africa.[14] The annexation, despite incomplete control over inland areas, prompted Ottoman resistance and local Arab revolts that persisted for years.[15] In the 1912 United States presidential election, Democrat Woodrow Wilson defeated incumbent Republican William Howard Taft and Progressive Theodore Roosevelt, securing 435 electoral votes amid a three-way race that fragmented the Republican vote.[7] Wilson's victory shifted U.S. policy toward progressive reforms and neutrality in European affairs prior to World War I. November 5, 1914, saw Britain and France officially declare war on the Ottoman Empire, following Ottoman naval attacks on Russian Black Sea ports earlier that month, thereby expanding World War I to the Middle East and drawing in Ottoman territories across multiple fronts.[16] The declaration formalized Allied opposition to Ottoman alignment with the Central Powers and set the stage for campaigns like Gallipoli. On November 5, 1930, Sinclair Lewis became the first American author to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature, recognized for his satirical depictions of American middle-class life in novels such as Babbitt and Main Street.[17] The 1940 U.S. presidential election resulted in Franklin D. Roosevelt's unprecedented third term, with Roosevelt defeating Republican Wendell Willkie by 449 to 82 electoral votes amid wartime concerns in Europe.[7] This victory extended Democratic dominance and reflected public support for Roosevelt's New Deal policies despite opposition to breaking the two-term tradition. In the 1968 U.S. presidential election, Republican Richard Nixon won against Democrat Hubert Humphrey and independent George Wallace, capturing 301 electoral votes in a contest marked by Vietnam War protests and social unrest.[18] November 5, 2009, witnessed the Fort Hood shooting at the U.S. Army base in Texas, where Major Nidal Hasan, an Army psychiatrist, killed 13 people and wounded over 30 in an attack motivated by Islamist extremism before being wounded and captured.[19] The incident, the deadliest mass shooting on a U.S. military installation, led to Hasan's conviction and death sentence in 2013. India's Space Research Organisation launched the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), also known as Mangalyaan, on November 5, 2013, using a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle from Sriharikota, marking India's first interplanetary probe and achieving orbit insertion around Mars in September 2014 at a cost of about $74 million.[20] The 2024 U.S. presidential election on November 5 saw Republican Donald Trump defeat Democrat Kamala Harris, securing 312 electoral votes and a popular vote majority, reclaiming the presidency amid debates over economic policy, immigration, and foreign affairs.[21] Trump's win also coincided with Republican gains in Congress, altering the balance of power.[22]Deaths
Pre-1600
On November 5, 1499 (Julian calendar), the Catholicon, a trilingual dictionary in Breton, French, and Latin authored by Jehan Lagadeuc around 1464, was published in Tréguier, Brittany.[8] This compilation, based on earlier glossaries, provided definitions for approximately 8,000 Breton words alongside French and Latin equivalents, marking it as the earliest known dictionary for the Breton language and the first comprehensive French dictionary.[8] On the night of November 5–6, 1500 (Julian calendar), astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus, then studying in Italy, observed a total lunar eclipse from Rome, documenting one of his earliest recorded astronomical observations.[9] This event occurred during his time lecturing on mathematics and astronomy amid the Catholic Jubilee year, contributing to his developing heliocentric theories through empirical data collection.[9]1601–1900
- 1605 – Guy Fawkes, a member of a group of English Catholics, was arrested in the cellar beneath the House of Lords while guarding approximately 36 barrels of gunpowder intended to assassinate King James I, destroy Parliament, and ignite a Catholic uprising during the state opening of Parliament; the Gunpowder Plot, organized by Robert Catesby and others, had been betrayed by an anonymous letter to Lord Monteagle, leading to the discovery hours before the planned explosion.[10][11]
- 1688 – William, Prince of Orange, landed at Brixham in Torbay, Devon, with an army of about 15,000 men, including Dutch, French Huguenot, and other Protestant troops, at the invitation of English nobles opposed to the Catholic-leaning policies of King James II; this invasion, unresisted initially, precipitated the Glorious Revolution, James II's flight, and the establishment of a constitutional monarchy under William III and Mary II.[12][13]
- 1862 – A U.S. military commission concluded trials for Dakota Sioux warriors involved in the U.S.–Dakota War earlier that year, sentencing 303 to execution by hanging for murders and other attacks on Minnesota settlers amid grievances over treaty violations, delayed annuities, and famine; President Abraham Lincoln reviewed the cases and commuted 264 sentences to imprisonment, with 38 executions carried out on December 26.[7]
- 1872 – Women's rights activist Susan B. Anthony voted in the U.S. presidential election in Rochester, New York, alongside 14 other women, asserting that the 14th Amendment granted them citizenship and voting rights despite state laws limiting suffrage to men; her ballot was initially accepted but later challenged, resulting in her arrest on November 18 for illegal voting and a subsequent fine she refused to pay.[7]