131 things happened on 14 November, from 332 BC to 2024. UK stories come first, then the rest of the world.
1948 · 78 years ago
King Charles III, the eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, was born. He became heir to the throne when his mother became queen in 1952, and he was Prince of Wales for longer than anyone else in British history. In 1976 he founded the Prince's T…
UK history first: stories from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
UK story
Scottish traveller James Bruce reached what he believed was the source of the Nile, the longest river in the world. He had followed the river upstream from Egypt, through Sudan, all the way to Ethiopia. He was the first European to trace and record the Nile's course in this way. The place he found was the source of the Blue Nile.
UK story
The British Broadcasting Company took over a radio station called 2LO and began broadcasting to London from Marconi House. The first news bulletin was read by Arthur Burrows, the company's Director of Programmes. The company had been set up only a few weeks earlier, in October 1922. At the end of 1926 it was replaced by the British Broadcasting Corporation, the BBC we know now.
UK story
The New Musical Express, a British music newspaper, published the first regular UK Singles Chart, a list of the best-selling records. The very first number one was 'Here in My Heart' by Al Martino. The Official Singles Chart now counts sales, downloads and streams. Its Top 40 is announced every Friday on BBC Radio 1.
UK story
Princess Anne, the only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, married Captain Mark Phillips at Westminster Abbey in London. Mark Phillips was a British Army cavalry officer and a skilled horseman. The wedding took place on the 25th birthday of Anne's brother, Prince Charles, who is now King Charles III. Anne has held the title Princess Royal since 1987.
UK story
During a British House of Commons debate, Labour MP Tam Dalyell poses what would become known as the West Lothian question, referring to issues related to devolution in the United Kingdom.
UK story
American and British authorities announce indictments against two Libyan intelligence officials in connection with the downing of the Pan Am Flight 103.
American journalist Nellie Bly set off to travel around the world in less than 80 days. She wanted to copy the journey of Phileas Fogg, a character in a story by Jules Verne who went around the world in 80 days. She completed the trip in just 72 days, setting a record. Nellie Bly was a pen name: her real name was Elizabeth Cochrane.
American pilot Eugene Ely made the first ever aeroplane take-off from a ship. He flew from a temporary platform built over the front of the warship USS Birmingham, in Hampton Roads, Virginia. His plane dipped so low that its wheels touched the water before it climbed away. Two months later, Ely also made the first landing on a ship.
Young Ruby Bridges became the first African American child to attend William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans, which had been for white children only. On the same day, three other African American pupils, later called the McDonogh Three, started at another all-white school in the city. Separate schools had been made illegal in 1954, but no states in the Deep South had acted to mix their schools. Ruby appears in Norman Rockwell's painting The Problem We All Live With.
American physicist Theodore Maiman was granted a patent for his ruby laser, the world's first laser. He had first fired it successfully on 16 May 1960. His laser used a specially made ruby crystal to produce its beam of light. Maiman's invention led to the development of many other kinds of lasers.
Apollo 12 was launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Five days later it became the second mission to land astronauts on the Moon, touching down in an area called the Ocean of Storms. Pete Conrad and Alan Bean spent just over a day and seven hours on the surface, while Richard Gordon stayed in orbit around the Moon.
NASA's robot spacecraft Mariner 9 reached Mars and went into orbit around it. It became the first spacecraft ever to orbit another planet. It only just won the race: two Soviet probes, Mars 2 and Mars 3, arrived at Mars a few weeks later. Mariner 9 had been launched from Florida in May 1971 and did a great deal to help explore Mars.
Alexander the Great is crowned pharaoh of Egypt.
German astronomer Gottfried Kirch discovered the Great Comet of 1680, the first comet to be discovered by telescope.
Napoleonic Wars: At the Battle of Smoliani, French Marshals Victor and Oudinot are defeated by the Russians under General Peter Wittgenstein.
Moby-Dick, an epic novel by American writer Herman Melville, was first published in the United States.
The Joensuu City Hall, designed by Eliel Saarinen, was inaugurated in Joensuu, Finland.
The Provisional National Assembly of the new republic of Czechoslovakia meets to devise a constitution.
Pesäpallo, the Finnish version of baseball developed by Lauri Pihkala, is played for the first time at Kaisaniemi Park in Helsinki.
The Communist Party of Spain is founded, and issues the first edition of Mundo obrero.
The Lions Gate Bridge, connecting Vancouver to the North Shore region, opens to traffic.
Vietnam War: The Battle of Ia Drang begins. This is the first major engagement between regular American and North Vietnamese forces.
Soviet Union enters ICAO, making Russian the fourth official language of organization.
The Athens Polytechnic uprising, a massive demonstration of popular rejection of the Greek military junta of 1967–74, begins.
With the signing of the Madrid Accords, Spain abandons Western Sahara.
France conducts the Aphrodite nuclear test as 25th in the group of 29 1975–78 French nuclear tests.
Lech Wałęsa, the leader of Poland's outlawed Solidarity movement, is released after eleven months of internment near the Soviet border.
Reverend Caesar "Butch" Conde leads first worship service of the Bread of Life Ministries International in the Philippines.
Music producer Frank Farian admitted that the German R&B duo Milli Vanilli did not sing the vocals on their album Girl You Know It's True.
After German reunification, the Federal Republic of Germany and Poland sign a treaty confirming the Oder–Neisse line as the border between Germany and Poland.
Croatian War of Independence: Croatian naval commandos attacked the Yugoslav patrol boat Mukos, starting the Battle of the Dalmatian Channels.
Cambodian Prince Norodom Sihanouk returns to Phnom Penh after thirteen years in exile.
As a result of budget conflicts between President Bill Clinton and the United States Congress led by Newt Gingrich, the federal government was forced to shut down non-essential services.
War in Afghanistan: Afghan Northern Alliance fighters take over the capital Kabul.
A magnitude 7.8 earthquake strikes a remote part of the Tibetan Plateau. It has the longest known surface rupture recorded on land (~400 km) and is the best documented example of a supershear earthquake.
Astronomers Michael E. Brown, Chad Trujillo, and David L. Rabinowitz discovered the trans-Neptunian object Sedna.
Space Shuttle Endeavour launches on STS-126 to continue assembly of the International Space Station.
The first G-20 economic summit opens in Washington, D.C.
Red Bull Racing's Sebastian Vettel won the Drivers' Championship after winning the final race of the season, becoming the youngest Formula One champion.
Israel launches a major military operation in the Gaza Strip in response to an escalation of rocket attacks by Hamas.
Every answer is somewhere on this page. Have a go, then check!
In which year was King Charles III born?
A: 1948. 1948 — that’s 78 years ago. Find it on the page
In which year did this happen: “Princess Anne marries Captain Mark Phillips”?
A: 1973. 1973 — that’s 53 years ago. Find it on the page
Which of these happened first?
A: James Bruce reaches what he believes is the source of the Nile. 1770: James Bruce reaches what he believes is the source of the Nile · 1952: The first UK Singles Chart is published · 1973: Princess Anne marries Captain Mark Phillips Find it on the page
“The first UK Singles Chart is published” happened in 1952. How many years ago was that?
A: 74 years. 2026 − 1952 = 74. Find it on the page
Famous people whose birthday is 14 November.
UK story
King Charles III, the eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, was born. He became heir to the throne when his mother became queen in 1952, and he was Prince of Wales for longer than anyone else in British history. In 1976 he founded the Prince's Trust. He became king in 2022 and was crowned in 2023.
UK story
Scottish geologist Charles Lyell was born. In his famous book Principles of Geology, he explained that the Earth has been shaped by the same natural processes that are still at work now. This idea was later called 'uniformitarianism'. He showed how ordinary natural causes can explain the Earth's history. He is also remembered for his connection with the naturalist Charles Darwin.
Well-known people who died on 14 November.
Festivals, holidays and saints’ days celebrated on 14 November somewhere in the world.
Content note: these entries mention things like war, violence, deaths, disasters or crime. They are part of history, but they can be upsetting. Grown-ups and teachers: you may want to read them first. They come straight from Wikipedia and have not been rewritten for children.
Stories with a heading have been written for young readers by A Day in the Past, using the linked articles as sources. Other entries show text from Wikipedia’s “November 14” page and its “On this day” feed, written by Wikipedia contributors and shared under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. Each “Read more” link goes to the article an entry is based on. Photos are credited under each picture. Spotted a mistake? Please tell us.