3 November 1534

King Henry VIII becomes Supreme Head of the Church of England following the passage of the Act of Supremacy by the U.K. Parliament.

4 November 1920

Airmail service begins between Canada and the U.S.

5 November 2006

Saddam Hussein is sentenced to death.

6 November 1861

James Naismith, the inventor of basketball, is born in Almonte, Ont.

8 November 1939

An assassination attempt on Hitler in Munich fails, but eight die and 57 are wounded by the explosion meant to kill him.

9 November 1918

German Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicates his throne in the closing days of the First World War and flees to Holland.

11 November 1918

The Allies sign an armistice with Germany near Compiègne, France, to end the First World War.

13 November 1942

The five Sullivan brothers from Waterloo, Iowa, die after the cruiser USS Juneau sinks. The U.S. Navy subsequently changes its regulations to prohibit close relatives from serving on the same ship.

14 November 1666

The first experimental blood transfusion, between dogs, takes place in Britain.

15 November 1985

The Anglo-Irish Agreement, aiming to quell conflict in Northern Ireland, is signed by British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and her Irish counterpart Garret FitzGerald.

17 November 1869

The Suez Canal is formally opened after more than 10 years of construction.

18 November 1477

The Dictes and Sayengis of the Phylosophers is the first English-language book published in England.

19 November 1942

The Soviets begin a massive counteroffensive against the Germans at Stalingrad.

20 November 1945

The Nuremberg war crime trials of 24 former Nazi leaders begin.

22 November 1943

Chinese Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill meet at the Cario Conference to discuss the war with Japan.

26 November 1917

After the National Hockey Association disbands, the Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers, Toronto Arenas, Ottawa Senators and Quebec Bulldogs form the National Hockey League.

30 November 1829

Two schooners pass from Port Dalhousie to Port Robinson in Upper Canada symbolically opening the Welland Canal and directly linking lakes Erie and Ontario.

3 December 1943

Of 400 casualties at Monte la Difensa in Italy, 27 Canadians die and 64 are wounded.

5 December 1812

HMS Plumper sinks in the Bay of Fundy; 42 lives are lost, along with gold and silver.

6 December 1907

Lieut. Thomas Selfridge makes Canada’s first recorded flight carrying a passenger on a heavier-than-air craft.

8 December 1915

Punch Magazine publishes “In Flanders Fields.”

11 December 1813

Bodies of women and children are found after U.S. forces burn the town of Newark (present-day Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont.).

12 December 1942

The Knights of Columbus Hostel in St. John’s burns down, killing 99 and wounding 109. German sabotage is suspected.

14 December 1939

The Soviet Union is expelled from the League of Nations after invading Finland.

16 December 1941

The original HMCS Calgary is commissioned in Sorel, Que.

20 December 2019

The United States Space Force is founded as an armed branch of the military.

21 December 1898

Pierre and Marie Curie discover radium.

22 December 1775

The Continental Navy, forerunner to the U.S. Navy, appoints Esek Hopkins as commander-in-chief and its officers are commissioned.

24 December 1968

Apollo 8 orbits the moon, becoming the first manned space mission to achieve the feat.

25 December 1952

Queen Elizabeth II gives her first Christmas broadcast on BBC radio.

27 December 1831

Charles Darwin sets sail on HMS Beagle, beginning the voyage on which he would formulate his theory of evolution.

28 December 1918

For the first time, women are allowed to vote in Britain’s general election.

29 December 1940

Germany begins dropping incendiary bombs on London.

31 December 1857

Ottawa becomes capital of Canada.