November 10
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1871
The search for Dr. Livingstone
On this day in 1871, according to his journal, journalist Henry Morton Stanley uttered the famous words âDr. Livingstone, I presume?â and ended years of speculation concerning the whereabouts of David Livingstone, arguably Great Britainâs most famous explorer, whoâd gone off the map while in search of the source of the Nile River. Where had Livingstone been all those years when he had been presumed dead?
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Library of Congress Washington, D.C. (LC-DIG-ppmsca-18647); Photo Illustration EncyclopĂŠdia Britannica, Inc.
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Mark Garten/UN Photo
Evo Morales resigned under pressure
Bolivian labor leader Evo Morales, the first indigenous president of Bolivia, resigned under pressure after monitors claimed that the electionâfor his fourth term in officeâhad irregularities, a claim later challenged. [Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about South America.]
Featured Biography
Featured Biography
National Gallery, London/SuperStock
William Hogarth, the first great English artist to attract admiration abroad, who was best known for moral and satirical engravings and paintings such as A Rakeâs Progress (begun 1732), was born this day in 1697.
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German Federal Archives (Bundesarchiv), B 145 Bild-F048644-0025
2015
German politician and publisher Helmut Schmidtâwho, as chancellor of West Germany (1974â82), was one of the most respected and influential of western Europeâs leadersâdied at age 96. [How much do you know about German history?]
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (5a52339u)
2007
American novelist and journalist Norman Mailerâwho was best known for using a form of journalism (called New Journalism) that combines the imaginative subjectivity of literature with the more objective qualities of journalismâdied in New York. [Test your knowledge of famous writers.]
EncyclopĂŠdia Britannica, Inc.
2001
After 15 years of negotiations, Chinaâs membership in the World Trade Organization was approved, and the following day Taiwanâs membership was approved. [Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about China.]
© 1990 Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation
1990
The American comedy Home Alone, written by John Hughes and starring Macaulay Culkin, had its world premiere; a huge hit, it spawned a number of sequels and became a TV staple during the Christmas holidays. [Test your knowledge of pop culture.]
World History Archive/age fotostock
1982
Soviet statesman and Communist Party leader Leonid Brezhnev died in Moscow after presiding as the leader of the Soviet Union for more than 18 years. [How much do you know about Russian history?]
United States Army Corps of Engineers
1975
The American freighter Edmund Fitzgerald sank during a storm on Lake Superior, killing all 29 aboard; its mysterious demise inspired a Gordon Lightfoot song that helped make it the most famous shipwreck in the Great Lakes. [Read about seven of the worldâs deadliest shipwrecks.]
Mark Lennihan/AP Images
1969
The American childrenâs TV series Sesame Streetâwhich featured a cast of puppet characters that included Elmo, Big Bird, and the Cookie Monsterâdebuted on the National Educational Television network (later PBS). [Take our quiz about fictional characters.]
Lee Boltin
1958
The Hope diamond, one of the largest blue diamonds known, was donated to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., becoming one of its most-popular attractions. [Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about precious metals and stones.]
Victor Console/ANL/REX/Shutterstock.com
1938
Turkish reformer Kemal AtatĂŒrk, the founder and first president (1923â38) of the Republic of Turkey, died in Istanbul. [Test your knowledge of Turkish and Ottoman history.]
© TPLPâArchive Photos/Getty Images
1925
Welsh actor Richard Burtonâwhose best-known performances were of highly intelligent and articulate men who were world-weary, cynical, or self-destructiveâwas born. [Test your knowledge of A-list actors.]
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (digital file no. 3b35372)
1918
JĂłzef PiĆsudski, Polish revolutionary and first chief of state of the newly reconstituted Poland, arrived in Warsaw to declare Poland an independent state. [Take our quiz about European history.]
mccool/Alamy
1898
The multiracial Fusionist (Republican and Populist) city government of Wilmington, North Carolina, was violently overthrown, and as many as 60 Black Americans were killed in a premeditated murder spree that was the culmination of an organized months-long statewide campaign by white supremacists. [How much do you know about American history and politics?]
Culver Pictures
1879
American poet Vachel Lindsay, who, in an attempt to revive poetry as an oral art form of the common people, wrote and read to audiences compositions with powerful rhythms that had an immediate appeal, was born. [Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about poetry.]
EncyclopĂŠdia Britannica, Inc.
1775
The United States Marine Corps was founded when the Continental Congress ordered that two battalions of marines be raised for service during the American Revolution. [How much do you know about military history?]
Image: EncyclopĂŠdia Britannica, Inc.
1444
Turkish forces defeated the Hungarians in the Battle of Varna, securing Turkeyâs control over Constantinople (Istanbul) and assuring the Ottoman conquest in the Balkans. [Take our quiz about the Ottoman Empire.]
Courtesy of the Bayerisches National Museum, Munich; photograph, Foto Marburg
911
Conrad I was elected German king at Forchheim, after the death of Louis the Child, the last of the East Frankish Carolingians. [Take our quiz about kings and emperors.]