November 16

Francisco Pizarro's forces capture Inca Emperor Atahualpa at the Battle of Cajamarca, a turning point in the Spanish conquest of Peru.

The Battle of Cajamarca saw Pizarro's small force ambush Atahualpa's much larger but unprepared retinue, capturing the Inca emperor and killing thousands of his followers with minimal Spanish casualties, thanks to superior weaponry and the element of surprise. His subsequent capture and eventual execution effectively decapitated Inca resistance, accelerating the Spanish conquest of the empire.

King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden is killed at the Battle of Lützen during the Thirty Years' War.

King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, one of the most celebrated military innovators of his era, was killed leading a cavalry charge at the Battle of Lutzen during the Thirty Years' War, though his forces ultimately won the engagement. His death removed a formidable Protestant leader from the conflict but did not immediately alter Sweden's continued involvement in the war.

British forces capture Fort Washington from Patriot defenders during the American Revolutionary War.

British and Hessian forces overwhelmed the American garrison defending Fort Washington on Manhattan Island, resulting in the capture of nearly 3,000 Continental Army soldiers, one of the most significant American defeats of the entire Revolutionary War. The loss forced General Washington's forces into a difficult retreat across New Jersey in the campaign's darkest period.

Explorer David Livingstone becomes the first European to see Victoria Falls in present-day Zambia-Zimbabwe.

David Livingstone became the first European recorded to see the massive waterfall on the Zambezi River, naming it Victoria Falls in honor of the British monarch, though local peoples had known the site for generations under different names. His accounts of the falls' scale and power sparked significant European interest in exploring the African interior.

The Federal Reserve Bank of the United States officially opens, establishing the nation's central banking system.

The Federal Reserve system began operations following passage of the Federal Reserve Act the previous year, establishing a network of regional reserve banks intended to provide the United States with a more stable and elastic currency and banking system. The system was created partly in response to recurring financial panics that had destabilized the American economy in preceding decades.

Chemist Albert Hofmann first synthesizes LSD from ergotamine at Sandoz Laboratories in Basel, Switzerland.

Chemist Albert Hofmann first synthesized LSD while researching potential medicinal compounds derived from a fungus that grows on rye, though its powerful psychoactive properties were not discovered until he accidentally absorbed a small amount several years later. The substance would go on to play a significant, controversial role in psychiatric research and 1960s counterculture.

UNESCO is established as an international organization for education, science, and cultural cooperation.

UNESCO was founded in the aftermath of World War II to promote international collaboration in education, science, and culture as a means of building lasting peace through mutual understanding between nations. The organization has since become known for initiatives including its World Heritage Site designation program, which recognizes places of outstanding cultural or natural significance.

NASA launches Skylab 4, sending a crew of three astronauts on an 84-day mission.

Skylab 4's crew conducted the longest crewed spaceflight to date at the time, spending 84 days aboard America's first space station while performing extensive scientific research, including detailed observations of the Sun and Comet Kohoutek. The mission also gained notoriety for a brief crew strike over an demanding workload imposed by mission control.

Pop duo Milli Vanilli is stripped of their Grammy Award after revelations they did not sing on their own recordings.

Milli Vanilli's Grammy Award for Best New Artist was revoked after producer Frank Farian publicly admitted that the duo, Rob Pilatus and Fab Morvan, had not actually sung on their hit album, with the actual vocals performed by uncredited session singers. The scandal became one of the most notorious controversies in music industry history and effectively ended the duo's career.

NASA launches Artemis 1, an uncrewed test flight beginning the program's return to the Moon.

Artemis 1 launched as an uncrewed test flight of NASA's new Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft, sending the capsule on a journey around the Moon to validate systems before future crewed missions. The successful mission marked the beginning of NASA's renewed effort to return astronauts to the lunar surface after a decades-long absence.