What Happened on November 9

Cold War Watch

1989 — East Germans Flood West as 28-Year Berlin Wall Opens After Press Conference

Politburo spokesman's 'effective immediately' remark triggers mass border crossing.

East Germany abandoned the Berlin Wall tonight, ending the 28-year barrier that divided the city. Politburo spokesman Günter Schabowski announced new travel regulations at a 6 p.m. press conference, saying they took effect immediately when questioned. West German television broadcast his remarks at 7:17 p.m. and 8 p.m., reaching nearly all of East Germany. At 11:30 p.m., Stasi officer Harald Jäger opened the gates at Bornholmer Straße and thousands poured through. The wall had stood since 1961 with two 4-metre walls, a mined death strip and 302 watchtowers. Millions are expected to cross in coming days; hundreds of thousands may move permanently. Jäger later told reporters he acted alone after his superiors failed to answer his urgent calls for instructions. West Berliners gathered at the crossing cheered and embraced the arrivals, pressing West German marks and beer into their hands. Some East Berliners returned home before midnight, carrying bananas and chocolate.

• Günter Schabowski announced the immediate opening of the border at a press conference starting at 18:00 CET on 9 November 1989.
• Schabowski read a note from Egon Krenz and replied 'effective immediately, without delay' when asked when the regulations would take effect.
• At 23:30, Stasi Officer Harald Jäger opened the gates at the Bornholmer Straße border crossing, allowing East Berliners into West Berlin.
• The West German television channels ZDF and ARD broadcast Schabowski's press conference in their evening news at 19:17 and 20:00, reaching nearly all of East Germany.
• The Berlin Wall had stood for 28 years, with two 4-metre-tall walls, a mined death strip, and 302 watchtowers by 1989.

Source: Wikipedia — Fall of the Berlin Wall

Medical Frontiers

2023 — Surgeons Transplant Whole Human Eye in World First

NYU Langone Health team announces breakthrough procedure at Manhattan hospital.

In the long arc of transplantation medicine, from the first kidney in 1954 to face and hand replacements of recent decades, surgeons have now crossed into territory once thought beyond reach. A team at NYU Langone Health has performed the world's first whole eye transplant, the hospital announced today.

The procedure marks a watershed in surgical capability. Whole eye transplantation had remained unachieved due to the optic nerve's complexity and the challenges of restoring vision. The surgery took place at NYU Langone's Kimmel Pavilion in Manhattan. Hospital officials did not release details of the recipient's condition or whether visual function has been restored. The surgical team will present findings at upcoming medical conferences. The donor tissue came from a male patient in his 50s who had also donated a kidney and liver. Researchers will monitor whether the transplanted eye shows any signs of neural integration in coming months.

• U.S. surgeons at NYU Langone Health announce the world's first whole eye transplant.

Source: Wikipedia — NYU Langone Health

Eastern Front

1942 — Paulus Drives 6th Army to Volga, 90% of Stalingrad Falls

German forces split Soviet defenders into two pockets along the river.

General Friedrich Paulus has pushed his 6th Army to the banks of the Volga, seizing nine-tenths of the ruined city of Stalingrad and driving a wedge between the remaining Soviet defenders.

German gun crews now fire into Soviet positions from the rubble of what was once a thriving industrial center on the great bend of the Volga. The capture of 90 percent of the city leaves Red Army forces clinging to two narrow pockets along the river's west bank. The battle has raged since August, reducing Stalingrad to shattered brick and twisted steel. Soviet resistance continues in pockets along the waterfront, but German command reports the city effectively secured. The Volga, Russia's vital artery to the Caspian and Caucasus oil fields, is now within artillery range of German positions. Civilians who remained in the city have taken refuge in cellars and underground tunnels, subsisting on what stores they salvaged before the encirclement. Temperatures on the steppe have begun to fall, and quartermasters on both sides are already requisitioning winter clothing from surrounding villages. The 6th Army's advance has cost it heavily: casualty lists forwarded to Berlin indicate infantry strength in some regiments has fallen by half since August.

• Battle of Stalingrad: German forces of the 6th Army under general Friedrich Paulus reach the river bank of the Volga, capturing 90% of the ruined city of Stalingrad and splitting the remaining Soviet forces into two narrow pockets.

Source: Wikipedia — Battle of Stalingrad

Revolution in Berlin

1918 — Kaiser Abdicates; German Republic Proclaimed

Wilhelm II flees as Scheidemann announces new government before Reichstag.

The Hohenzollern dynasty ended today as Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated and Germany was proclaimed a Republic. The Kaiser fled to Holland as revolutionary crowds filled Berlin streets. Social Democrat Philipp Scheidemann stood before the Reichstag to declare the new government. The German Revolution, sparked by naval mutiny and spreading unrest, forced the monarch from his throne after 30 years of rule. The armistice with the Allies is expected within hours.

• Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany abdicates after the German Revolution, and Germany is proclaimed a Republic.

Source: Wikipedia — Kaiser

Bay Area Media

1967 — Rolling Stone Launches in San Francisco With 25-Cent Tabloid Issue

Jann Wenner and critic Ralph J. Gleason debut magazine backed by family loans.

Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J. Gleason released the first issue of Rolling Stone magazine today. The 25-cent tabloid features John Lennon on its pulp newsprint cover. Wenner, 21, borrowed $7,500 from family members to fund the San Francisco startup. The 24-page debut leads with coverage of the Monterey International Pop Festival. Gleason, a Chronicle veteran, serves as co-editor. Wenner promises coverage of music and its broader cultural attitudes.

• The first issue was released on November 9, 1967, and featured John Lennon on the cover.
• Jann Wenner borrowed $7,500 from his family and his future wife's parents to pay for the magazine's setup costs.
• The first issue was in tabloid-sized pulp newsprint format with a cover price of 25 cents.
• The magazine was founded in San Francisco by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J. Gleason.
• The lead article in the first issue covered the Monterey International Pop Festival.

Source: Wikipedia — Rolling Stone

Balkans Desk

1993 — Croatian Shelling Destroys 427-Year-Old Mostar Bridge

The 1566 Ottoman span plunged into the Neretva River after hours of bombardment.

Croatian Defence Council forces destroyed the Stari Most today. The 16th-century arch collapsed into the Neretva River. Built in 1566 under Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, the bridge had linked Mostar's communities for 427 years.

• Bosnian War: Croatian Defence Council forces destroyed the Stari Most, a 16th-century bridge crossing the river Neretva in the city of Mostar (rebuilt bridge pictured).

Source: Wikipedia — Bosnian War

Consular Dispatches

1799 — Bonaparte Seizes Power, Ends Directory Rule

The coup of 18 Brumaire installs Napoleon as First Consul of new Consulate Government.

France's revolutionary government collapsed Saturday as Napoleon Bonaparte orchestrated a military coup that dissolved the five-man Directory and established a new Consulate regime with Bonaparte himself as First Consul.

The action, executed on 18 Brumaire by the revolutionary calendar, overturned the constitution of 1795.

• Napoleon Bonaparte leads the Coup of 18 Brumaire ending the Directory government, and becoming First Consul of the successor Consulate Government.

Source: Wikipedia — Coup of 18 Brumaire

Foreign Office

1917 — Balfour Declaration Published in The Times, Pledges Jewish Homeland in Palestine

A letter published in The Times of London commits Britain to establish a national home for the Jewish people in Palestine.

Amid the grinding attrition of total war, a single letter published today in The Times of London has redrawn the map of the postwar world and committed Britain to establish in Palestine a national home for the Jewish people.

• The Balfour Declaration is published in The Times newspaper.

Source: Wikipedia — Balfour Declaration

Moscow Chess Bureau

1985 — Kasparov, 22, Ends Karpov Reign to Become Youngest World Chess Champion

The 22-year-old clinched the crown at Moscow's Tchaikovsky Concert Hall with 13 points against 11, wrapping up the 24-game contest.

Garry Kasparov seized the World Chess Championship today at age 22, unseating Anatoly Karpov to become the youngest titleholder in the sport's history.

Kasparov won the decisive 24th game at Moscow's Tchaikovsky Concert Hall, finishing with 13 points to Karpov's 11.

• Kasparov defeated Anatoly Karpov in Moscow from September 3 to November 9, 1985.
• Kasparov became the youngest undisputed world champion at age 22, a record he held until 2024.
• The match was played at Moscow's Tchaikovsky Concert Hall as the best of 24 games.
• Kasparov won the deciding 24th game to finish with 13 points against Karpov's 11.
• Kasparov's seconds were Grandmaster Josif Dorfman and Alexander Nikitin, with Gennadi Timoshchenko and Evgeny Vladimirov also helping.

Source: Wikipedia — Garry Kasparov

Whitechapel Police Court

1888 — Mary Jane Kelly Is Fifth Victim of Jack the Ripper in Miller's Court Killing

At 25, Kelly died at 13 Miller's Court in a back room of 26 Dorset Street, where she paid 4s 6d weekly, during a two-hour mutilation that surgeons call the most extensive of the five killings.

Mary Jane Kelly, 25, was found slain this morning in her single room at 13 Miller's Court, off Dorset Street. Surgeons estimate her mutilations took two hours to perform, the most extensive of the five killings attributed to Jack the Ripper. The murder occurred indoors, unlike the four previous canonical victims killed in Whitechapel and Spitalfields streets. Kelly, a prostitute, occupied a sparsely furnished back room of 26 Dorset Street, paying weekly rent of 4s 6d. The unidentified killer is believed to have claimed his final victim.

• Mary Jane Kelly was murdered in her single room at 13 Miller's Court, unlike the other canonical victims who were killed outdoors.
• Kelly's body was the most extensively mutilated of the canonical five, with mutilations taking approximately two hours to perform.
• Kelly was approximately 25 years old and working as a prostitute at the time of her death on 9 November 1888.
• The murder of Mary Jane Kelly is widely believed to be the final victim of Jack the Ripper, who killed at least five women in Whitechapel and Spitalfields.
• Kelly's body was discovered in a sparsely furnished room at the back of 26 Dorset Street, with a weekly rent of 4s 6d.

Source: Wikipedia — Mary Jane Kelly

Cape Kennedy Launch Desk

1967 — NASA Launches Apollo 4 Aboard First Saturn V Rocket From Florida

Unmanned test spacecraft marks debut of mightiest booster ever built.

NASA launched Apollo 4 this morning, sending the unmanned test spacecraft aloft atop the first Saturn V rocket from Cape Kennedy, Florida.

The liftoff marks the maiden flight of the towering booster, the most powerful rocket ever constructed for the American space program. The mission tests systems critical to the manned lunar landing goal President Kennedy set in 1961.

Engineers at the Florida launch complex monitored the Saturn V's performance through its ascent phases. The three-stage rocket, standing 363 feet, generates 7.6 million pounds of thrust at liftoff.

The Apollo 4 spacecraft carries no crew.

• Apollo program: NASA launches the unmanned Apollo 4 test spacecraft, atop the first Saturn V rocket, from Florida's Cape Kennedy.

Source: Wikipedia — Apollo program