On This Day: Major World Events of November 1
1512, Italy (the Vatican): Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling frescoes, four years in the painting, were shown to the public for the first time; the vast cycle became an emblem of Renaissance art.
1611, England: The first recorded performance of Shakespeare's late romance The Tempest took place at Whitehall Palace in London, bringing Prospero and Ariel into theatre history.
1755, Portugal: The Great Lisbon Earthquake, estimated at magnitude 8.5 to 9.0, struck the capital; a tsunami and fires followed, killing as many as 50,000 people and shaping Enlightenment thought.
1765, British America: Britain's Stamp Act took effect, Parliament's first attempt to raise revenue by directly taxing the American colonies' commercial and legal papers; it set off widespread colonial protest.
1848, United States: The first medical school for women opened in Boston with twelve students, opening the medical profession to women; the school later merged into Boston University School of Medicine.
1945, United States: John H. Johnson and Eunice Walker Johnson launched Ebony magazine in Chicago; it became one of the most influential African American publications in the country.
1950, United States: Two Puerto Rican nationalists tried to assassinate President Harry S. Truman at Blair House in Washington; one assailant and one Secret Service officer were killed in the gunfight, and Truman was unharmed.
1952, Marshall Islands: American scientists led by Edward Teller tested the first thermonuclear device, 'Ivy Mike,' at Enewetak Atoll; the roughly 10.4-megaton blast vaporised an island.
1954, Algeria: The National Liberation Front launched attacks across the country, beginning the Algerian War of Independence, which lasted nearly eight years until independence in 1962.
1963, South Vietnam: The military launched a coup against President Ngo Dinh Diem, who was killed the following day; South Vietnam entered a period of continuing turmoil.
1993, Europe: The Maastricht Treaty took effect and the European Union came into existence, moving European integration into a new stage.
2000, India: Chhattisgarh was carved out of Madhya Pradesh to become India's 26th state.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 西斯廷礼拜堂天顶画，米开朗基罗作，维基共享资源CC BY-SA 3.0 / Sistine Chapel ceiling by Michelangelo, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
