Today in History, November 1st
On November 1, 1755, an earthquake, tsunami and fires destroyed much of Lisbon. Plus John Adams moves into the White House and the first H-bomb test.
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November 1 is best known for the Lisbon earthquake of 1755, which leveled much of Portugal’s capital on All Saints’ Day. The date also marks John Adams moving into the new President’s House in 1800 and the first U.S. hydrogen bomb test in 1952.
The big story: An earthquake destroys Lisbon (1755)
The timing could hardly have been worse. November 1 is All Saints’ Day, and many of Lisbon’s residents were in church when three tremors rolled through the city over roughly 10 minutes. Churches collapsed on the worshippers inside. The strongest shock is estimated at about magnitude 8.0, a guess since nobody had instruments to measure it, and it was felt as far away as Morocco. Then came a tsunami roughly 20 feet high, followed by fires that the wind spread across the city. Estimates of the dead run from 10,000 to 50,000. The royal palace, thousands of homes and a great deal of Portugal’s cultural treasures were gone. The rebuilding, led by the Marquis of Pombal, swapped narrow, winding streets for broad avenues and made early use of prefabricated buildings. The disaster also stirred an argument about why it happened. Religious authorities blamed God’s wrath, and Voltaire mocked that idea in Candide.
More events on November 1
| Year | What happened |
|---|---|
| 1512 | Michelangelo’s painted ceiling in the Sistine Chapel was shown to the public for the first time. |
| 1765 | The Stamp Act took effect in the American colonies, the first direct tax Parliament placed on colonial papers, despite fierce opposition. |
| 1800 | President John Adams moved into the newly built President’s House in Washington, the building now called the White House. |
| 1861 | President Abraham Lincoln named George McClellan to command the Union army, replacing Winfield Scott. |
| 1911 | An Italian lieutenant dropped grenades from his plane onto a Turkish camp in Libya, the first aerial bombing. |
| 1945 | The first issue of Ebony magazine was published, focused on Black life in America. |
| 1946 | The New York Knickerbockers beat the Toronto Huskies in the first NBA game. |
| 1950 | Two Puerto Rican nationalists tried to kill President Harry S. Truman at Blair House in Washington. Truman was not hurt. |
| 1952 | The U.S. set off the first hydrogen bomb at Eniwetok atoll. |
| 1959 | Jacques Plante became the first NHL goaltender to wear a face mask in a regular-season game. |
| 1993 | The Maastricht Treaty took effect, formally creating the European Union. |
Born on November 1
- 1871: Stephen Crane, author of The Red Badge of Courage, born in Newark, New Jersey.
- 1935: Edward Said, Palestinian American scholar and author of Orientalism, born in Jerusalem.
- 1960: Tim Cook, technology executive who became Apple CEO in 2011, born in Mobile, Alabama.
Keep reading
Sources
- Earthquake takes heavy toll on Lisbon, History.com
- This Day in History: November 1, History.com
- On This Day: November 1, Encyclopaedia Britannica
- John Adams moves into White House, History.com
- United States tests first hydrogen bomb, History.com
- Stephen Crane, Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Palestinian American public intellectual Edward Said is born, History.com
- Tim Cook, Encyclopaedia Britannica
