November 11: Facts & Historical Events On This Day

The much-anticipated Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim was released for PC, PS4, and Xbox 360.

Due to Bethesda being acquired by Microsoft, this was the last Elder Scrolls game to be released for a PlayStation console.

Canada’s second-largest city, Montreal, started dumping untreated waste in the Saint Lawrence River.

The city said it was necessary to dump untreated waste into the river for up to a week while essential sewage works were happening in the town. Many environmentalists at the time raised their concerns; however, the city responded by saying that if repairs were not taken care of, it could result in even worse environmental issues down the line with raw sewage.

NASA launched the Gemini program’s tenth and final crewed spacecraft, Gemini 12.

British writer J. R. R. Tolkien, famous for writing The Lord of The Rings fantasy novels, published his second volume of the series, The Two Towers.

Poland became an independent country.

The country claimed independence from the German, Austro-Hungarian, and Russian Empires.

Daniel McCree patented the portable fire escape in the US.

The device was designed to be placed near a window in a building and allowed people to descend safely outside.

Washington became the 42nd state to join the United States of America.

The Manchester Ship Canal started its construction in Eastham, England.

Inventor Alan Clark was granted his patent for the telescope.

Chrysanthemums were believed to have been introduced from China to England.

The first college fraternity, The Flat Hat Society, was formed in the Raleigh Tavern at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.

German polymath Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz demonstrated integral calculus for the first time.

Leibniz had been working alongside Sir Issac Newton for many years on calculus. However, Leibniz did not publish his findings until 1684.

Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe witnessed the supernova SN 1572.

Tycho didn't know it was a supernova at the time, as the current theories established that space was eternally unchangeable. He saw an intensely bright star in a part of the Cassiopeia constellation where no previously recorded stars existed.

Christopher Columbus discovered Sint Maarten in the West Indies.

The island is called St. Martin, with the southern portion of it still called Sint Maarten.

Pope Innocent III brought together the council for the Fourth Council of the Lateran, which was held at the Lateran Palace in Rome, Italy.