What Happened on November 4

Valley of the Kings

1922 — Carter Finds Step to Tomb of Tutankhamun in Thebes

A worker's spade strikes stone beneath the huts — the first hint of a burial unseen since antiquity; Carter summons Carnarvon from England

LONDON, November 4 — In the annals of Egyptian archaeology, no discovery has so electrified the learned world as the news cabled this evening from Luxor. After seventeen seasons of patient labour in the Valley of the Kings, Mr. Howard Carter, excavating under the patronage of the Earl of Carnarvon, has at last encountered the threshold of a royal tomb whose occupant has rested undisturbed these three thousand years.

The find came this morning when a workman, clearing away the remains of later construction huts, uncovered a step cut into the living rock. Carter, summoned at once, recognised the characteristic masonry of the Eighteenth Dynasty. By afternoon his team had exposed sixteen steps descending to a plastered doorway stamped with the seals of the necropolis.

The tomb lies buried beneath debris from the cutting of KV9, the sepulchre of Ramesses V and VI, which accounts for its escape from the plunderers who ravaged every other royal burial in the valley. Tutankhamun, boy-king of the Amarna succession, was interred with over 5,000 objects, many now in perilous condition after millennia of seclusion. Carter, speaking by cable, declared the hoard will demand conservation efforts without precedent.

Lord Carnarvon and his daughter Lady Evelyn Herbert are expected to arrive from England forthwith.

• Howard Carter discovered the tomb on November 4, 1922, when a worker uncovered a step in the rock beneath workers' huts.
• The tomb contained over 5,000 objects, many in a highly fragile state, requiring an unprecedented conservation effort.
• Carter, Lord Carnarvon, Lady Evelyn Herbert, and Arthur Callender made the first modern entry into the tomb on November 26, 1922.
• Carter peered through a tiny breach and, when asked by Carnarvon if he could see anything, replied: 'Yes, wonderful things!'
• The tomb was hidden by debris from the construction of KV9, the tomb of Ramesses V and Ramesses VI, for nearly two centuries after Tutankhamun's death.

Source: Wikipedia — Tomb of Tutankhamun

Kings of Israel Square

1995 — Rabin Shot Dead at Peace Rally; Jewish Extremist Arrested After Gunman Opens Fire on Prime Minister in Tel Aviv

The 73-year-old architect of the Oslo Accords falls to a law student's pistol; bodyguards seize the 25-year-old gunman at the scene

TEL AVIV, November 4 — Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, architect of the Oslo peace process, was assassinated tonight at a rally in support of his government's accord with the Palestine Liberation Organisation. The 73-year-old former army chief died on the operating table at Ichilov Hospital at 11:02 pm, two hours after a right-wing extremist shot him twice in the back.

The assassination occurred at 9:30 pm as Rabin descended from the podium at Kings of Israel Square, where more than 100,000 Israelis had gathered in solidarity with the peace negotiations. Yigal Amir, a 25-year-old law student at Bar-Ilan University, fired a Beretta 84F semiautomatic pistol at close range. Bodyguards and police subdued Amir immediately and recovered the weapon at the scene.

Hospital officials said Rabin suffered a punctured lung and catastrophic blood loss. Surgeons were unable to repair the damage despite extensive transfusion.

Amir, held without bail, was identified by witnesses as a resident of Herzliya and an activist in far-right circles opposed to territorial compromise. He was convicted in a separate proceeding of assaulting bodyguard Yoram Rubin, who was wounded in the gunfire, and sentenced to life imprisonment plus six years.

• Yigal Amir, a 25-year-old law student at Bar-Ilan University, shot Rabin twice with a Beretta 84F pistol.
• The assassination occurred at 21:30 on November 4, 1995, at Kings of Israel Square in Tel Aviv after a peace rally.
• Rabin was rushed to Ichilov Hospital but died on the operating table at 11:02 pm from blood loss and a punctured lung.
• Amir was immediately subdued by bodyguards and police, and arrested at the scene with the murder weapon.
• Amir was convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment plus six years for injuring bodyguard Yoram Rubin.

Source: Wikipedia — Yitzhak Rabin

Grant Park

2008 — Obama Elected 44th President, First African American to Hold Office

The 44th president, at 47, won a remade electoral map with help from his 47-year-old running mate.

CHICAGO, November 4 — Forty-four. That number will now mark a rupture in American history. Barack Obama, 47, was elected the 44th President of the United States tonight, becoming the first person of African-American descent to hold the nation's highest office.

The Democratic senator from Illinois defeated Republican nominee John McCain and his running mate, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, in an electoral sweep that remade the political map. Obama carried battlegrounds from Virginia to Colorado, riding a wave of new voter registration and unprecedented turnout among young voters and African Americans.

His running mate, Delaware Senator Joe Biden, will become the 47th Vice President.

• Barack Obama was elected the 44th president of the United States on November 4, 2008.
• Obama defeated Republican nominee John McCain and his running mate Sarah Palin in the 2008 presidential election.
• Obama selected Joe Biden as his running mate for the 2008 election.
• Obama was the first African American to serve as president of the United States.
• In his victory speech, Obama repeated his promise to daughters Sasha and Malia to get a puppy to take to the White House.

Source: Wikipedia — Barack Obama

UN Climate Secretariat

2016 — Paris Climate Agreement Takes Effect as EU Ratifies Treaty

The 2015 UN Climate Change Conference pact, negotiated by 196 parties, now binds signatories to limit warming well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

NEW YORK, November 4 — The Paris Agreement on climate change entered into force today after the European Union submitted its instrument of ratification, crossing the threshold required to activate the landmark treaty adopted last December.

The accord, negotiated by 196 parties at the 2015 UN Climate Change Conference, commits signatories to hold global temperature rise well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

• The Paris Agreement entered into force on 4 November 2016 after the European Union ratified it.
• The agreement was signed by 175 parties on 22 April 2016 at UN headquarters in New York.
• The treaty aims to keep global temperature rise well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels.
• To stay below 1.5 °C of warming, emissions need to be cut by roughly 50% by 2030.
• The agreement was negotiated by 196 parties at the 2015 UN Climate Change Conference near Paris.

Source: Wikipedia — Paris Agreement

Foreign Service

1979 — Iranian Students Storm U.S. Embassy, Seize 90 Hostages in Tehran

Militants scale compound walls as crowds mass below — diplomatic compound overrun — crisis unfolds.

TEHRAN, Nov. 4 — Students clambered over the embassy walls this morning, photographs show, and within hours the United States compound had fallen. Iranian college students overran the U.S. embassy in Tehran and took 90 hostages. The seizure marks a dramatic escalation in tensions between the two nations. Embassy staff were taken captive as the revolutionary government stood by. The fate of the hostages remained uncertain tonight.

• Iran hostage crisis: A group of Iranian college students overruns the U.S. embassy in Tehran and takes 90 hostages.

Source: Wikipedia — Iran hostage crisis

Metropolitan Engineering

1890 — London Opens First Deep-Level Underground Railway in World

Prince of Wales conducts opening — electric traction replaces failed cable — 'padded cells' carry first passengers.

LONDON, Nov. 4 — A new era in urban transport dawned today with the inauguration of the first deep-level underground railway the world has known. The City and South London Railway, opened by Edward, Prince of Wales, runs 3.2 miles between the City of London and Stockwell. The line's six stations are linked by tunnels beneath the Thames, their restricted diameter limiting train size. Small carriages with high-backed seating, nicknamed "padded cells," carried the first passengers.

• The City and South London Railway was officially opened by Edward, Prince of Wales on 4 November 1890.
• When opened, the line had six stations and ran for 3.2 miles between the City of London and Stockwell.
• The railway's small carriages with high-backed seating were nicknamed 'padded cells.'
• The line was the first major railway to use electric traction, after the cable contractor went bankrupt.
• The tunnels passed under the River Thames and had a diameter that restricted train size.

Source: Wikipedia — City and South London Railway

Continent Desk

1966 — Arno River Floods Florence to 6.7 Meters, Wrecking Priceless Art and Ancient Libraries; Venice Suffers Record Tide

Tuscan waters reach 22 feet — millions of masterpieces destroyed — Venice hits 76-inch acqua alta.

FLORENCE, Nov. 4 — The autumn storms that have lashed central Italy this week culminated today in one of the great cultural disasters of the century. The Arno River flooded Florence to a maximum depth of 6.7 m (22 ft), leaving thousands homeless and destroying millions of masterpieces of art and rare books. The waters surged through the Uffizi galleries and the Biblioteca Nazionale, soaking canvases and manuscripts accumulated over five centuries. Venice was also submerged on the same day at its record all-time acqua alta of 194 cm (76 in). The simultaneous inundation of Italy's two most treasured cities has prompted emergency appeals for international assistance. Conservators fear many works may be beyond salvage.

• The Arno River floods Florence, Italy, to a maximum depth of 6.7 m (22 ft), leaving thousands homeless and destroying millions of masterpieces of art and rare books. Venice is also submerged on the same day at its record all-time acqua alta of 194 cm (76 in).

Source: Wikipedia — Arno

Western Politics

1924 — Nellie Tayloe Ross Elected First Female Governor in U.S. History

Widow wins Wyoming special election — defeats E. J. Sullivan — succeeds husband William B. Ross.

CHEYENNE, Nov. 4 — Nellie Tayloe Ross defeated Republican nominee E. J. Sullivan in today's special election, becoming the first woman elected governor of any U.S. state. The contest filled the remainder of the term of her late husband, Governor William B. Ross, who died in office October 2. Secretary of State Frank Lucas had served as interim governor.

• Governor William B. Ross died in office on October 2, 1924.
• Nellie Tayloe Ross defeated Republican nominee E. J. Sullivan in the special election.
• She became the first female governor of any U.S. state.
• The special election was held on November 4, 1924, to fill the remainder of Ross's term.
• Secretary of State Frank Lucas temporarily served as governor after Ross's death.

Source: Wikipedia — 1924 Wyoming gubernatorial special election

White House Beat

1980 — Reagan Ousts Carter in Landslide Victory to Capture White House

The 69-year-old Republican will be sworn in January 20 as the 40th President, becoming the oldest man to hold the office.

Ronald Reagan has been elected the 40th President of the United States, defeating incumbent Jimmy Carter in a sweeping victory. The former California governor, 69, will become the oldest man ever sworn to the office when he takes the oath January 20. The Republican challenger captured the White House with a commanding margin. He is the first California governor to win the presidency since Nixon.

• Ronald Reagan is elected as the 40th President of the United States, defeating incumbent Jimmy Carter.

Source: Wikipedia — Ronald Reagan

Tanganyika Field Report

1960 — Goodall Finds Chimps Fashion Tools in Scientific First

Young English researcher documents tool-making among chimpanzees — observation shatters belief that skill is uniquely human

KASAKELA, Tanganyika, November 4 — Jane Goodall has observed chimpanzees creating tools at the Kasakela Chimpanzee Community, the first documented instance of tool-making among non-human animals.

The 26-year-old English naturalist, working under the sponsorship of Louis S. B. Leakey, witnessed the animals stripping leaves from twigs to fashion implements for termite fishing. The discovery overturns the scientific consensus that tool manufacture distinguishes Homo sapiens from all other species.

• At the Kasakela Chimpanzee Community in Tanzania, Jane Goodall observes chimpanzees creating tools, the first-ever observation in non-human animals.

Source: Wikipedia — Jane Goodall