2 November

2 November 1389	Italy [administration]	Pietro Tomacelli is elected Pope Boniface IX.
2 November 1421	Bohemia, Germany, Holy Roman Empire [wars]	In the Hussite Wars, the Bohemians defeat a second invading crusade by German princes at Saaz, Bohemia. This marks the failure of the second anti-Hussite crusade.
2 November 1755	France, Holy Roman Empire, Austria [births and deaths]	Marie-Antoinette (Maria Antonia Josepha Joanna von Österreich-Lothringen), Queen Consort of King Louis XVI of France, 11th daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Francis I and Maria Theresa, born in Vienna (now in Austria) (–1793).
2 November 1789	France [French Revolution]	Following a proposal by Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand, the bishop of Autun, church property in France is placed ‘at the disposal of the nation’ with the aim of selling it off to the public.
2 November 1815	England [births and deaths]	George Boole, English mathematician who develops Boolean algebra which is central to computer operations, born in Lincoln, England (–1864).
2 November 1841	Afghanistan, UK [wars]	The Second Anglo-Afghan War begins when the Afghans rise and massacre British army officers.
2 November 1880	USA [elections]	The Republican candidate James A Garfield is elected as president of the USA. In the Congressional elections, Republicans and Democrats share the seats in the Senate (37–37), but the Republicans regain control of the House (147–135).
2 November 1917	United Kingdom, Palestine, Ottoman Empire [political events]	The British foreign secretary, Arthur Balfour, issues the ‘Balfour declaration’ on Palestine, in which he favours the establishment of a national home for the Jewish people without prejudice to non-Jewish communities.
2 November 1920	USA [radio]	The Westinghouse Company establishes the world's first commercial radio station, KDKA, in East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, run by the US engineer Frank Conrad, inaugurating national radio broadcasting in the USA. The first broadcast is of the presidential election returns.
2 November 1936	UK [television]	The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) starts the world's first public high-definition television service from its transmitter at Alexandra Palace, London, England, using Logie Baird's mechanical system and EMI's electronic system.
2 November 1948	USA [elections]	The Democratic candidate Harry S Truman wins the US presidential election. In the congressional elections the Democrats reclaim majorities in the House of Representative (263–171) and in the Senate (54–42).
2 November 1950	Ireland [births and deaths]	George Bernard Shaw, Irish dramatist, literary critic, and socialist propagandist, dies in Ayot St Lawrence, Hertfordshire, England (94).
2 November 1953	Pakistan [decolonization]	The Constituent Assembly in Pakistan decides to declare the country a republic, within the British Commonwealth, as the ‘Islamic Republic of Pakistan’.
2 November 1976	USA [elections]	In the US presidential election, the Democratic candidate, Jimmy Carter, defeats the Republican, President Gerald Ford, with 297 electoral college votes to 241. Democrats retain majorities in the House (292-143) and Senate (68-31).
2 November 1982	UK [television]	The Channel 4 television station begins broadcasting in Britain.Financed by advertising and under the control of the Independent Broadcasting Authority, its role is to provide innovative independent programmes.
2 November 1983	USA [civil rights]	The US Congress votes to make the birthday of the black American civil-rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr, (15 January) a federal holiday from 1986.
2 November 1998	Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua [natural disasters]	Tropical storm Mitch rages through Honduras with a death toll of as many as 5,000 people there and more than 7,000 people in total, including victims in neighbouring El Salvador and Nicaragua. In the worst storm to hit Central America this century, floods and landslides cause mass destruction.
2 November 2003	USA [Protestantism]	The US Episcopal Church consecrates Gene Robinson as bishop of New Hampshire. The appointment of an open homosexual to the position sparks hostility within the worldwide Anglican communion, particularly among churches in Africa.

November 2

2 November