November 14

Alexander the Great is crowned pharaoh of Egypt after taking control of the country from Persian rule.

Alexander the Great entered Egypt largely unopposed after the Persian satrap surrendered without resistance, and Egyptian priests crowned him pharaoh, a title he embraced to legitimize his rule over the ancient civilization. During his time there, he also founded the city of Alexandria, which would become one of the ancient world's great centers of learning and culture.

Explorer James Bruce reaches what he believes to be the source of the Blue Nile in Ethiopia.

Scottish explorer James Bruce, after years of arduous travel through Ethiopia, reached what he believed was the source of the Nile at Lake Tana, though he had actually found the source of the Blue Nile rather than the longer White Nile branch. His extensive published accounts of the journey, while sometimes doubted by contemporaries, later proved largely accurate and valuable to geographers.

Scottish explorer James Bruce reaches Lake Tana in Ethiopia, which he believes to be the long-sought source of the Nile.

Bruce had travelled for years across the Ottoman Empire and the Horn of Africa in search of the river's origin, reaching the source of the Blue Nile rather than the White Nile, the river's true main source. His account, published years later, brought him fame and skepticism in equal measure, as many contemporaries doubted his claims until later expeditions largely vindicated them.

Herman Melville's novel Moby-Dick is published in the United States.

Moby-Dick, Herman Melville's sprawling novel about Captain Ahab's obsessive pursuit of a white whale, received a largely lukewarm critical and commercial reception upon its initial publication in the United States. The novel's reputation grew enormously in the twentieth century, and it is now widely regarded as one of the greatest works in American literature.

Herman Melville's novel Moby-Dick is published in the United States, months after its British release under a different title.

The sprawling tale of Captain Ahab's obsessive pursuit of a white whale sold poorly and received mixed reviews during Melville's lifetime. It was only rediscovered and reassessed in the early 20th century, after which it came to be regarded as one of the greatest novels in the American literary canon.

Journalist Nellie Bly begins her successful attempt to circumnavigate the globe in under 80 days, completing it in 72.

Pioneering journalist Nellie Bly set out from New York to circle the globe, seeking to beat the fictional 80-day journey depicted in Jules Verne's popular novel. Her successful 72-day trip, chronicled through newspaper dispatches, made her an international celebrity and demonstrated the growing capabilities of global transportation networks in the late nineteenth century.

The British Broadcasting Company begins regular radio service in the United Kingdom.

The British Broadcasting Company's inaugural radio broadcasts marked the beginning of organized national radio service in the United Kingdom, initially funded through a combination of license fees and receiver manufacturer contributions. The service would later be reorganized as the publicly funded BBC, becoming one of the world's most influential broadcasting institutions.

The British Broadcasting Company begins its first regular radio broadcasts in the United Kingdom.

Launched from station 2LO in London, the service was formed by a consortium of radio manufacturers and would be reconstituted five years later as the publicly funded British Broadcasting Corporation. It grew into one of the world's most influential media organisations, shaping British broadcasting standards and public service journalism for a century.

German bombers devastate Coventry in a massive night raid, destroying much of the city centre including its medieval cathedral.

Over 500 tonnes of bombs fell on the city in a coordinated attack targeting its industrial factories, killing around 570 people and leaving the cathedral a roofless ruin. The raid gave rise to the German verb 'coventrieren' (to coventrate), and the ruined cathedral, preserved beside a new one built after the war, remains a powerful symbol of reconciliation.

The Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal sinks in the Mediterranean after being torpedoed by a German U-boat.

Struck the previous day while returning from delivering aircraft to Malta, the veteran carrier had survived numerous earlier attacks and been repeatedly, and prematurely, reported sunk by German propaganda. Her actual loss, with only one crew member killed thanks to a successful evacuation, was a significant blow to British naval airpower in the Mediterranean theatre.

The New Musical Express publishes the first regular UK Singles Chart, based on sales figures gathered from a small sample of record shops.

Topped in its debut week by Al Martino's 'Here in My Heart,' the chart offered Britain its first standardised measure of record popularity. It evolved over subsequent decades into the official UK chart compiled today, becoming a central institution of British pop culture and a weekly ritual for generations of music fans.

Ruby Bridges becomes the first Black child to attend a formerly all-white elementary school in Louisiana.

Six-year-old Ruby Bridges, escorted by federal marshals through jeering crowds of protesters, became the first Black child to integrate an elementary school in the American South, a moment later immortalized in Norman Rockwell's famous painting "The Problem We All Live With." Her courage amid intense hostility became an enduring symbol of the civil rights movement.

NASA launches Apollo 12, the second crewed mission to land astronauts on the Moon.

Apollo 12 launched just months after the historic Apollo 11 mission, sending astronauts Pete Conrad and Alan Bean to conduct a more precise lunar landing near a previously unmanned probe, demonstrating NASA's growing navigational accuracy. The mission also survived being struck by lightning twice shortly after liftoff without significant damage.

NASA launches Apollo 12, the second crewed mission to land astronauts on the Moon.

Commanded by Pete Conrad, the mission survived being struck by lightning twice during launch before going on to make a precise landing near the earlier robotic Surveyor 3 probe in the Ocean of Storms. Astronauts Conrad and Alan Bean spent over seven hours exploring the lunar surface across two moonwalks.

Princess Anne marries Captain Mark Phillips at Westminster Abbey in London.

Princess Anne, daughter of Queen Elizabeth II, married army officer Mark Phillips in a lavish royal wedding at Westminster Abbey, drawing massive public and international media attention. The couple's marriage, one of the first modern royal weddings extensively televised worldwide, would later end in divorce nearly two decades afterward.

Princess Anne marries Captain Mark Phillips at Westminster Abbey in a ceremony watched by an estimated 500 million people worldwide.

The televised royal wedding was one of the most widely watched broadcasts of its era, reflecting the global fascination with the British monarchy. The couple had two children before divorcing in 1992; Anne later remarried, while the abbey wedding itself remained a landmark moment in royal broadcasting history.

Labour MP Tam Dalyell raises what becomes known as the West Lothian question, challenging the fairness of devolution proposals for Scotland and Wales.

Dalyell, MP for West Lothian, asked why Scottish MPs at Westminster would retain votes on English-only matters while English MPs would lose influence over devolved Scottish affairs. The question became a recurring theme in British constitutional debate, resurfacing repeatedly through subsequent devolution settlements and discussions of English votes for English laws.

The United States and Scotland jointly announce indictments against two Libyan intelligence officers for the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie.

The bombing had killed 270 people, including 11 on the ground in the Scottish town of Lockerbie, in Britain's deadliest terrorist attack. The indictments named Abdelbaset al-Megrahi and Lamin Khalifah Fhimah, launching a decade-long diplomatic standoff with Libya before a trial was eventually held under Scottish law in the Netherlands.

The first G-20 leaders' summit convenes in Washington, D.C. amid the global financial crisis.

Leaders from the world's largest economies convened in Washington for the first-ever G-20 summit, called in response to the escalating global financial crisis triggered by the collapse of major financial institutions. The gathering established the G-20 as a primary forum for coordinating international economic policy in the years that followed.