2015: Former West German chancellor Helmut Schmidt dies at 96. A Social Democrat, he led West Germany from 1974 to 1982, steering it through the oil shocks and the wave of Red Army Faction terrorism in the 1970s. In later life he was co-publisher of the weekly newspaper Die Zeit. He died at his home in Hamburg.
2007: Novelist and journalist Norman Mailer dies in New York at 84. He became famous with his World War II novel The Naked and the Dead and went on to win two Pulitzer Prizes, for The Armies of the Night and The Executioner's Song. A leading figure of the New Journalism, he also helped found the Village Voice.
2001: The World Trade Organization approves China's membership. The vote at a WTO ministerial meeting in Doha, Qatar, came after some 15 years of negotiations, and Taiwan's entry was approved the following day. China formally joined a month later, opening the way for its rise as a global trading power.
1982: Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev dies in Moscow. He had headed the Soviet Communist Party for more than 18 years after helping push out Nikita Khrushchev in 1964. His era saw the crushing of the Prague Spring, the invasion of Afghanistan, and years of economic stagnation. Yuri Andropov succeeded him.
1975: The freighter Edmund Fitzgerald sinks in a storm on Lake Superior. All 29 crew members died when the ore carrier went down near Whitefish Point, Michigan, after leaving Superior, Wisconsin, loaded with taconite pellets from Minnesota's Iron Range. Gordon Lightfoot's 1976 song made the wreck famous, and Minnesota's Split Rock Lighthouse lights its beacon every November 10 in memory of the crew.
1969:Sesame Street debuts on National Educational Television. Created by Joan Ganz Cooney's Children's Television Workshop, the show used Jim Henson's Muppets, including Big Bird and Cookie Monster, to teach letters, numbers, and social skills. National Educational Television later became PBS, and the series went on to become one of the longest running and most honored programs in TV history, later adding favorites such as Elmo.
1938: Kemal Atatürk, founder of modern Turkey, dies in Istanbul. He built the Republic of Turkey out of the collapsing Ottoman Empire and served as its first president from 1923 until his death. His sweeping reforms made the country secular, adopted the Latin alphabet, and modernized its laws and education.
1918: Józef Piłsudski arrives in Warsaw to lead a newly independent Poland. Freshly released from a German prison, the Polish revolutionary took command the next day and became the first chief of state of the reborn nation, which had been partitioned among its neighbors for more than a century. Poland now celebrates its Independence Day on November 11.
1775: The Continental Congress creates the U.S. Marine Corps. Meeting in Philadelphia during the American Revolution, Congress ordered two battalions of marines raised to serve with the fleet. Marines worldwide still celebrate the Corps' birthday every November 10, the day before Veterans Day.
1444: Ottoman forces crush a crusading army at the Battle of Varna. Sultan Murad II defeated a Christian force led by King Władysław III of Poland and Hungary, who was killed in the fighting near the Black Sea port of Varna in present-day Bulgaria. The victory secured Ottoman control of the Balkans and left Constantinople isolated; it fell to the Turks nine years later.
911: Conrad I is elected king of the Germans at Forchheim. The Duke of Franconia was chosen after the death of Louis the Child, the last East Frankish ruler of the Carolingian line, making him the first German king from outside that dynasty. He reigned until 918 and was followed by Henry the Fowler of Saxony.
Born on This Day
1999: Kiernan Shipka, American actress Turns 27. Played Sally Draper on Mad Men and starred in Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.
1989: Taron Egerton, Welsh actor Turns 37. Played Elton John in Rocketman and starred in the Kingsman films.
1986: Josh Peck, American actor Turns 40. Starred opposite Drake Bell in the Nickelodeon sitcom Drake & Josh.
1983: Miranda Lambert, American country singer Turns 43. Country star behind hits like “The House That Built Me” and “Gunpowder & Lead.”
1978: Eve, American rapper and actress Turns 48. Won a Grammy for “Let Me Blow Ya Mind” with Gwen Stefani.
1978: Diplo, American DJ and producer Turns 48. Hitmaker known for Major Lazer and his work with Skrillex in Jack Ü.
1977: Brittany Murphy, American actress Starred in Clueless and 8 Mile and voiced Luanne on King of the Hill.
1971: Walton Goggins, American actor Turns 55. Played Boyd Crowder on Justified and the Ghoul in Fallout.
1970: Warren G, American rapper and producer Best known for the 1994 hit “Regulate” with Nate Dogg.
1969: Ellen Pompeo, American actress Turns 57. Starred as Dr. Meredith Grey on Grey's Anatomy.
1968: Tracy Morgan, American comedian and actor Turns 58. Saturday Night Live alum who played Tracy Jordan on 30 Rock.
1963: Hugh Bonneville, English actor Turns 63. Played the Earl of Grantham on Downton Abbey and Mr. Brown in the Paddington films.
1963: Tommy Davidson, American comedian and actor Turns 63. Original cast member of the sketch show In Living Color.
1963: Mike McCarthy, American football coach Led the Green Bay Packers to victory in Super Bowl XLV.
1956: Sinbad, American comedian and actor Turns 70. Starred on A Different World and in the holiday comedy Jingle All the Way.
1944: Tim Rice, English lyricist Wrote the words for Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, and the songs of The Lion King.
1932: Roy Scheider, American actor Played police chief Martin Brody in Jaws.
1928: Ennio Morricone, Italian film composer Scored The Good, the Bad and the Ugly and won an Oscar for The Hateful Eight.
1925: Richard Burton, Welsh actor Seven-time Oscar nominee remembered for Cleopatra and his two marriages to Elizabeth Taylor.
1483: Martin Luther, German theologian Launched the Protestant Reformation with his Ninety-five Theses; the Lutheran church he inspired is one of Minnesota's largest faiths.
