- US President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. (1963) Lee Harvey Oswald shot President Kennedy in Dallas, Texas, during a Presidential motorcade. He was arrested about an hour and a half later, after killing a policeman who tried to question him. Oswald was arraigned on November 23, but during a prison transfer on November 24, he was shot and killed on live TV by a nightclub owner named Jack Ruby.
- The first female Prime Minister of Great Britain resigned from office. (1990) Margaret Thatcher became the first woman to serve as Great Britain's Prime Minister on May 4, 1979. She resigned from office after failing to garner the support of her Cabinet for the next election. She served as Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990.
- Regularly scheduled flights began on the Concorde supersonic passenger jet between New York and Paris and London for the first time. (1977) The supersonic flights began after the US Supreme Court lifted a ban on the Condorde, which stemmed from complaints about the sonic boom. The Concorde was retired in 2003.
- The US military's stealth bomber was presented for public viewing for the first time. (1988) The plane was designed to infiltrate enemy territory while going unnoticed. The B-2 Spirit had a wing span that equaled about half a football field and cost more than $1 billion US Dollars (USD) per plane, not including the $40 billion USD in development costs. Though it was successful, the original order for 132 planes was reduced to 21 after the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.
- The US Humane Society was founded. (1954) The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is the largest agency in the world advocating animal welfare. In 1991, HSUS founded an international arm that allowed it to carry out its animal welfare operations worldwide.
- The first feature-length film in history to be created solely through computer-generated imagery (CGI) debuted. (1995) The film, Toy Story, was the first creation of the Pixar branch of Disney.
- Denver, Colorado was founded. (1858) Originally founded as Montana City by gold-rush prospectors, the city later became called Denver City in honor of Governor James W. Denver, who was the Kansas Territorial governor. The name was shortened to Denver in 1867 when it was named the Territorial Capital.
- British pirate "Blackbeard" was killed. (1718) Also known as Edward Thatch or Edward Teach, the notoriously feared pirate was killed by British Royal Navy Lieutenant Robert Maynard when he and his team of sailors successfully boarded Blackbeard's ship Adventure.
- The last surviving clipper ship was launched on her maiden voyage. (1869) The Cutty Sark, also one of the last ships of its kind ever built, was launched from Dumbarton, Scotland. It now is a museum ship housed in London, England.
- Mike Tyson became the youngest Heavyweight Champion in the history of US boxing. (1986) In his first title fight, at the age of 20 years and four months, Tyson beat Trevor Berbick.