2 November in history
6 events that happened on 2 November, from 1783 to 2000.
✦ Anniversary of the day
1783 CE 243 years ago
Washington issues his farewell orders to the Continental Army
From Rocky Hill, New Jersey, George Washington issued his Farewell Orders to the Armies of the United States. Weeks later he resigned his commission, setting a precedent of civilian control.
1889 CE 137 years ago
North and South Dakota become US states
President Benjamin Harrison signed proclamations admitting North and South Dakota on the same day. He shuffled the papers so no one would know which was signed first.
1917 CE 109 years ago
The Balfour Declaration backs a Jewish home in Palestine
Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour wrote to Lord Rothschild that Britain favoured 'a national home for the Jewish people' in Palestine, without prejudice to existing non-Jewish communities. Its consequences still shape the region.
1930 CE 96 years ago
Haile Selassie is crowned Emperor of Ethiopia
Ras Tafari Makonnen was crowned Emperor Haile Selassie I in Addis Ababa before foreign dignitaries. He ruled Ethiopia, with an interruption during Italian occupation, until his overthrow in 1974.
1936 CE 90 years ago
The BBC launches the world's first regular high-definition TV service
From Alexandra Palace in north London, the BBC began a regular public television service in what was then called high definition. It was suspended during the Second World War and resumed in 1946.
2000 CE 26 years ago
The first crew moves into the International Space Station
Expedition 1, an American astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts, docked at the International Space Station. Since then the station has been continuously occupied by humans.
