November Historical Events

November 1, 1848 - The first medical school for women opened in Boston. The Boston Female Medical School was founded by Samuel Gregory with just twelve students. In 1874, the school merged with the Boston University School of Medicine, becoming one of the first co-ed medical schools.

November 5, 1911 - Aviator C.P. Snow completed the first transcontinental flight across America, landing at Pasadena, California. He had taken off from Sheepshead Bay, New York, on September 17th and flew a distance of 3,417 miles.

November 7, 1967 - Carl Stokes became the first African American mayor in the U.S., elected mayor of Cleveland, Ohio.

November 9, 1872 - The Great Boston Fire stated in a dry-goods warehouse then spread rapidly in windy weather, destroying nearly 800 buildings. Damage was estimated at more than $75 million. The fire's bright red glare could be seen in the sky for nearly 100 miles.

November 10, 1775 - The U.S. Marine Corps was established as part of the U.S. Navy. It became a separate unit on July 11, 1789.

November 11, 1938 - Irving Berlin's God Bless America was first performed. He had written the song especially for radio entertainer Kate Smith who sang it during her regular radio broadcast.   

November 13, 1956 - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that racial segregation on public buses was unconstitutional.

November 19, 1939 - Construction of the first presidential library began as President Franklin D. Roosevelt laid the cornerstone next to his home in Hyde Park, New York. Roosevelt donated the land, but public donations funded the library building which was dedicated on June 30, 1941.

November 20, 1789 - New Jersey became the first state to ratify the Bill of Rights. 

November 22, 1963 - At 12:30 p.m., on Elm Street in downtown Dallas, President John F. Kennedy's motorcade slowly approached a triple underpass. Shots rang out. The President was struck in the back, then in the head. He was rushed to Parkland Memorial Hospital where fifteen doctors tried to save him. At 1 p.m., John Fitzgerald Kennedy, 35th President of the United States, was pronounced dead. On board Air Force One, at 2:38 p.m., Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in as the 36th President.

November 24, 1859 - Charles Darwin's book On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection was first published, theorizing that all the living creatures descended from a common ancestor.