Today in History

November 6 is the 310th day of the year (311th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 55 days remain until the end of the year.

447 – A powerful earthquake destroys large portions of the Walls of Constantinople, including 57 towers.

963 – Synod of Rome: Emperor Otto I calls a council at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. Pope John XII is deposed on charges of an armed rebellion against Otto.

1217 – The Charter of the Forest is sealed at St Paul's Cathedral, London by King Henry III, acting under the regency of William Marshall, 1st Earl of Pembroke which re-establishes for free men rights of access to the royal forest that had been eroded by William the Conqueror and his heirs.

1860 – Abraham Lincoln is elected the 16th president of the United States with only 40% of the popular vote, defeating John C. Breckinridge, John Bell, and Stephen A. Douglas in a four-way race.

1869 – In New Brunswick, New Jersey, Rutgers College defeats Princeton University (then known as the College of New Jersey), 6–4, in the first official intercollegiate American football game.

1900 – President William McKinley is reelected, along with his vice-presidential running mate, Governor Theodore Roosevelt of New York. Republicans also swept the congressional elections, winning increased majorities in both the Senate and the House of Representatives.

1936 – Spanish Civil War: The republican government flees from Madrid to Valencia, leading to the formation of the Madrid Defense Council in its stead.

1943 – World War II: The 1st Ukrainian Front liberates Kyiv from German occupation.

1947 – Meet the Press, the longest running television program in history, makes its debut on NBC Television.

1963 – Nguyễn Ngọc Thơ is appointed to head the South Vietnamese government by General Dương Văn Minh's junta, five days after the latter deposed and assassinated President Ngô Đình Diệm.

1971 – The United States Atomic Energy Commission tests the largest U.S. underground hydrogen bomb, codenamed Cannikin, on Amchitka Island in the Aleutians.

1977 – The Kelly Barnes Dam, located above Toccoa Falls College near Toccoa, Georgia, fails, killing 39.

1985 – Colombian conflict, leftist guerrillas of the 19th of April Movement seize control of the Palace of Justice in Bogotá.

1986 – Sumburgh disaster: A British International Helicopters Boeing 234LR Chinook crashes 21⁄2 miles east of Sumburgh Airport killing 45 people. It is the deadliest civilian helicopter crash on record.

1988 – Lancang– Gengma earthquakes: At least 730 are killed after two powerful earthquakes rock the China– Myanmar border in Yunnan Province.

1995 – Cleveland Browns relocation controversy: Art Modell announces that he signed a deal that would relocate the Cleveland Browns to Baltimore.

2002 – Jiang Lijun is detained by Chinese police for signing the Open Letter to the 16th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party.

2002 – A Fokker 50 crashes near Luxembourg Airport, killing 20 and injuring three.

2004 – An express train collides with a stationary car near the village of Ufton Nervet, England, killing seven and injuring 150.

2012 – Tammy Baldwin becomes the first openly gay politician to be elected to the United States Senate.

2016 – Syrian civil war: The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) launch an offensive to capture the city of Raqqa from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).