Today in History: Thursday, November 01, 2012
On Nov. 1, 1952, the United States exploded the first hydrogen bomb in a test at Eniwetok atoll in the Marshall Islands.
1512 Michelangelo's paintings on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel were first exhibited to the public.
1604 William Shakespeare's tragedy "Othello" was first performed, at Whitehall Palace in London.
1765 The Stamp Act went into effect, prompting stiff resistance from American colonists.
1861 Gen. George B. McClellan was made general-in-chief of the Union armies.
1936 In a speech in Milan, Italy, Benito Mussolini described the alliance between his country and Nazi Germany as an "axis" running between Rome and Berlin.
1946 Karol Wojtyla, the future Pope John Paul II, was ordained as a priest in Poland.
1950 Two Puerto Rican nationalists tried to force their way into Blair House in Washington to assassinate President Harry S. Truman. One of the assailants was killed.
1954 Algeria began a successful rebellion against French rule.
1979 Former first lady Mamie Eisenhower died in Washington, D.C., at age 82.
1991 Clarence Thomas took his place as a justice on the Supreme Court.
1995 Bosnia peace talks opened in Dayton, Ohio.