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From today's featured article

Gough Whitlam (left) and Malcolm Fraser (right)

The 1975 Australian constitutional crisis culminated on 11 November when Governor-General Sir John Kerr dismissed Gough Whitlam of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) as prime minister and appointed Malcolm Fraser, the opposition leader, as caretaker. The Whitlam government had been rocked by scandals and political miscalculations. In October, the Opposition blocked bills in the Senate financing the government, and urged Kerr to dismiss Whitlam unless he agreed to call an election for the House of Representatives. On 11 November, Whitlam intended to call a half-Senate election instead, but when he met with Kerr to seek his approval, Kerr dismissed him as prime minister. Before the ALP parliamentarians knew what had happened, Fraser and his allies secured passage of the appropriation bills and Kerr dissolved Parliament. Fraser and his government were returned with a large majority in the following month's election. Kerr resigned early as governor-general and lived much of his remaining life abroad. (Full article...)

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Death of Isabella II

... that Queen Maria of Jerusalem died while giving birth to Queen Isabella II (pictured), who died while giving birth?
... that Al Sheehan, despite being WCCO's expert on contract bridge, did not know "a trump from a rubber"?
... that chloroform extracts from the seeds of the Spanish fennel flower have exhibited anti-inflammatory properties?
... that Sabine Kirchmeier reported her mayor to the police as a local politician, and then became the first director of the Danish Language Council?
... that sound recordings were not copyrighted under United States law until 1972?
... that Leik Myrabo invented a laser-propelled type of spacecraft?
... that the premiere of the second season of Arrested Development required David Cross to paint himself blue, taking up to three showers a day to remove the paint?
... that Formula One drivers are required to wear fire-resistant underwear for safety reasons?
... that Burger Continental served dishes like "Chicken Erotica" to jurors in high-profile cases, including the trials of O. J. Simpson and the Menendez brothers?

In the news

James Watson

American molecular biologist James Watson (pictured), co-discoverer of the structure of DNA, dies at the age of 97.
UPS Airlines Flight 2976 crashes after takeoff from Louisville, Kentucky, United States, killing at least 14 people.
The United States federal government shutdown becomes the longest in U.S. history.
Typhoon Kalmaegi leaves more than 240 people dead in the Philippines.

On this day

November 11: Armistice Day (known as Remembrance Day in the Commonwealth of Nations and Veterans Day in the United States); Singles' Day in China and Southeast Asia.

Ian Smith

1805 – War of the Third Coalition: French, Austrian and Russian units suffered heavy losses at the Battle of Dürenstein.
1920 – In London, the Cenotaph was unveiled and the Unknown Warrior was buried in Westminster Abbey in remembrance of the First World War.
1940 – Second World War: The Royal Navy launched the first all-aircraft ship-to-ship naval attack in history against the Italians in the Battle of Taranto.
1960 – A coup attempt by the Army of the Republic of Vietnam against President Ngô Đình Diệm was crushed after he falsely promised reform, allowing loyalists to rescue him.
1965 – Rhodesia, led by Prime Minister Ian Smith (pictured), unilaterally declared independence from the United Kingdom.

Arsacius of Tarsus (d. 405)
George S. Patton (b. 1885)
Jeanne Demessieux (d. 1968)
Francisco Blake Mora (d. 2011)

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Today's featured picture

Kurt Vonnegut (November 11, 1922 – April 11, 2007) was an American author known for his satirical and darkly humorous novels. In a career spanning over 50 years, he published fourteen novels and three short story collections; further works were published after his death. Born and raised in Indianapolis, Vonnegut enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1943. Deployed to Europe to fight in World War II, he was captured by the Germans and interned in Dresden, where he survived the Allied bombing of the city in a slaughterhouse. Vonnegut published his first novel, Player Piano, in 1952. Two of his novels, The Sirens of Titan (1959) and Cat's Cradle (1963), were nominated for the Hugo Award. Slaughterhouse-Five (1969), a best-seller that resonated with its readers for its anti-war sentiment amidst the ongoing Vietnam War, thrust Vonnegut into fame as an important contemporary writer and a dark humor commentator on American society. Numerous scholarly works have examined Vonnegut's writing and humor. This photograph by Bernard Gotfryd shows Vonnegut in 1965.

Photograph credit: Bernard Gotfryd; restored by Adam Cuerden

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