12 History Lessons + 7 Births & 7 Deaths for November 7, 2025
Today’s History:
- 1659 – Treaty of the Pyrenees signed, ending the Franco–Spanish War and redrawing European borders.
- 1665 – The London Gazette, the UK’s official journal of record, is first published.
- 1916 – Jeannette Rankin of Montana becomes the first woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.
- 1917 – October Revolution: Bolsheviks seize key points in Petrograd, toppling the Provisional Government.
- 1940 – “Galloping Gertie” (Tacoma Narrows Bridge) collapses in high winds.
- 1944 – Franklin D. Roosevelt wins an unprecedented fourth U.S. presidential term.
- 1967 – Carl Stokes elected mayor of Cleveland, the first Black mayor of a major U.S. city (same day Richard Hatcher wins in Gary, IN).
- 1987 – Tunisia: Zine El Abidine Ben Ali deposes President Habib Bourguiba in a bloodless coup.
- 1989 – East Germany: Prime Minister Willi Stoph and the entire cabinet resign amid mass protests.
- 1991 – Magic Johnson announces he is HIV-positive and retires from the NBA.
- 2000 – U.S. election ends without a clear winner; Florida recounts spark Bush v. Gore legal battle.
- 2004 – Second Battle of Fallujah (Operation Phantom Fury) begins in Iraq.
Today’s Birthdays:
- 1943 – Joni Mitchell, singer-songwriter and painter (82).
- 1952 – David Petraeus, retired U.S. Army general and former CIA director (73).
- 1963 – John Barnes, England and Liverpool footballer; later broadcaster (62).
- 1967 – David Guetta, DJ and record producer (“Titanium,” “When Love Takes Over”) (58).
- 1978 – Rio Ferdinand, England and Manchester United footballer; TV pundit (47).
- 1983 – Adam DeVine, actor/comedian (“Workaholics,” “Pitch Perfect”) (42).
- 1996 – Lorde, singer-songwriter (“Royals,” “Solar Power”) (29).
Today’s Deaths:
- 1913 – Alfred Russel Wallace, naturalist and co-discoverer of evolution by natural selection (90).
- 1962 – Eleanor Roosevelt, former U.S. First Lady and human rights advocate (78).
- 1980 – Steve McQueen, film actor (“Bullitt,” “The Great Escape”) (50).
- 1990 – Lawrence Durrell, novelist and travel writer (“The Alexandria Quartet”) (78).
- 2011 – Joe Frazier, heavyweight boxing champion (67).
- 2016 – Leonard Cohen, singer-poet (“Hallelujah,” “Suzanne”) (82).
- 2017 – Roy Halladay, Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher (40).
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