Nov 11 in History
1572 — Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe observes (from Herrevad Abbey) a very bright star which had suddenly appeared in the constellation Cassiopeia. In 1573 he publishes a small book, “De nova stella”, thereby coining the term “nova” for a “new” star. The star is now numbered SN 1572 and classified as a supernova 7,500 lightyears from Earth.
1750 — Tibetan regent Gyurme Namgyal is murdered by two Manchu ambans in Lhasa, which leads to immediate bloody riots.
1771 — Ephraim McDowell, abdominal surgery pioneer, is born in Rockbridge County, Virginia, US. On Christmas morning 1809 he performs the first successful operation to remove an ovarian tumor (weighing 10.2kg). The procedure, without the benefit of anaesthetic and antiseptics (not known in the medical profession at the time), takes 25 minutes. In his report he describes the removal of blood from the peritoneal cavity and bathing the intestines with warm water. All attempts at abdominal exploration before this had resulted in peritonitis and death. McDowell’s patient, Jane Todd Crawford (born December 23 1763), lives until March 30 1842.
1821 — Fyodor Mikhaylovich Dostoyevsky, Russian novelist (“Crime and Punishment’, “The Brothers Karamazov”), is born in Moscow.
1855 — The magnitude 7 Edo (Tokyo) earthquake in Japan kills between 7,000 and 10,000 people and destroys about 14,000 structures.
1865 — DC (Daniël Cornelis) Boonzaaier, SA cartoonist, is born at Patatsrivier near Harmsfontein (Carnarvon). He becomes well-known for his political cartoons over a period of almost 50 years.
1930 — Albert Einstein and Leó Szilárd are awarded the US patent for the Einstein refrigerator.
1965 — Southern Rhodesian Prime Minister Ian Smith issues a Unilateral Declaration of Independence (from the UK). The name is changed to Rhodesia.
1973 — Israel and Egypt reach a ceasefire agreement that ends the Yom Kippur War (October 6-26).
1975 — Angola gains independence from Portugal, following the War of Independence (which started on February 4 1961).
1999 — In Foggia, Italy, a six-storey, 30-year-old apartment building collapses from structural failure, killing 67 people.
2000 — A fire consumes an ascending funicular train crammed with skiers and snowboarders (on their way to the Kitzsteinhorn Glazier) in the tunnel in Kaprun, Austria. The disaster claims 155 lives — 150 on the ascending train, two on the descending train and three in the mountain station. Twelve people in the rear of the train manage to break a window with a ski pole and escape the inferno.