November 8
1519. Cortes enters Tenochtitlan, captial of the Aztecs. Moctezuma welcomes him with a great celebration. After the conquest, Cortes will oversee the destruction and levelling the city.
1793. The Louvre is opened as a museum by French Revolutionary forces. Originally built as a fortress in the 12th century, it later served as a palace for the King, and was subsequently renovated. AFter Louis XIX chose Versailles as his palace, the Louvre apparently housed artists. Until the Revolution, there had been much debate about its future use.
1861. A US warship stops the British mail ship Trent, and takes two Confederate envoys off the ship, sparking the "Trent Affair", which comes close to bringing the US to war with Britain while its hands are already full with the Confederate rebellion. Eventually, Lincoln, to the great outrage of many in the NOrth, returns the two Confederate envoys and possession of the Trent, defusing the crisis.
1917. The People's Commissars in Russia give authority to Vladimir Lenin, Leon Trotsky and Josef Stalin.
1923. The Beer Hall Putsch is carried out in Munich, landing Hitler in jail for his failed attempt to overthrow the German government. The Putsch was inspired by Mussolini's successful March on Rome, and was carried out with the active support of former German general Erich Ludendorff.
The Defendants at trial.
While in jail, Hitler will babble, err, write, Mein Kampf. The failed Putsch also convinces Hitler he must seize power legally, within the framework of the government, rather than by militant acts.
Also noteworthy is that Hermann Goring is shot by police in the leg and groin, beginning his long addiction to morphine which would only be broken when he was imprisoned at Nuremburg.
1960. Kennedy defeats Nixon.
1965. The United Kingdom abolishes the death penalty.
1973. The right ear of John Paul Getty III (then 16 years of age) is delivered along with a ransom note, convincing his father to pay $2.9 million. The young boy was so rebellious that at first the family thought it a ploy for him to extract money from his fantastically wealthy grandfather. Once the ear arrived, everything changed, and the boy's grandfather agreed to loan his son (the kidnapped boy's father) the money to pay the ransom, at 4% interest. The kidnappers were never caught.