On 13 November in poetry and history
Poets born or who died on this date, plus historical events that happened on this day across history.
610 poets with calendar dates · 6,535 events with calendar dates in the catalogue
1 birthday · 2 death anniversaries · 11 world events on 13 November
Birthdays
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Robert Louis Stevenson
13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894 (~44)
Born 13 November 1850 — would have been 176 in 2026
Death anniversaries
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Arthur Hugh Clough
1 January 1819 – 13 November 1861 (~42)
Died 13 November 1861 — 165 years ago on this date
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Francis Thompson
18 December 1859 – 13 November 1907 (~48)
Died 13 November 1907 — 119 years ago on this date
World events on this day
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The Great Comet of 1577
The Great Comet of 1577 passed close to Earth, displaying a spectacular tail that captivated observers across Europe. From his observatory on the island of Hven, Denmark, Tycho Brahe tracked the comet and proved that it traveled through the interplanetary spheres far beyond the moon. This discovery officially demolished the traditional crystalline spheres theory of the cosmos, forcing a massive reappraisal of natural philosophy and religious interpretations of space.
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The Leonid Meteor Storm
An unprecedented Leonid meteor storm occurred over North America, centered in observations from Boston, Massachusetts, where over a hundred thousand meteors per hour fell for several hours. The spectacular event caused widespread panic, leading many citizens to believe that the Last Judgment had arrived. This spectacular event served as a major catalyst for the Second Great Awakening, driving thousands of terrified people into religious revival camps and fueling early Millerite apocalyptic expectations.
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Rabindranath Tagore Becomes the First Non-European Nobel Literature Laureate
The Swedish Academy awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature to Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore in Stockholm. Tagore became the first non-European laureate in the category, largely through the international reception of his English Gitanjali. The award brought unprecedented global attention to modern Indian literature.
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Lawrence's novel The Rainbow is prosecuted for obscenity
Lawrence's novel *The Rainbow* (1915) is prosecuted for obscenity at Bow Street Magistrates' Court on 13 November 1915. All 1,011 copies are seized and burnt, and the novel remains banned in Britain for 11 years.
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Battle of Turnham Green
The Royalist army faced a larger Parliamentarian force at Turnham Green near London on 13 November 1642. Charles I declined to launch a major assault and subsequently withdrew towards Oxford. Parliament thereby preserved its capital, financial centre and principal printing industry.
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Eruption of Nevado del Ruiz
Nevado del Ruiz volcano in Colombia erupted in November 1985, melting glacial ice and triggering devastating lahars (volcanic mudflows) that buried the town of Armero, killing over 23,000 people. The disaster became infamous for the photograph of Omayra Sánchez, a young girl trapped in debris, which circulated globally. It remains one of the deadliest volcanic disasters of the twentieth century.
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St Brice's Day massacre deepens Anglo-Danish conflict
In 1002, King Æthelred ordered the killing of Danes living in parts of England on St Brice's Day. The scale and locations remain debated, but the event became part of the escalating violence between English and Scandinavian communities. It helped prepare the ground for renewed Danish invasions and for the brief formation of a North Sea kingdom.
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Death of Arthur Hugh Clough
Arthur Hugh Clough passed away in 1861, leaving behind a legacy of poetry that bridged Romantic and Modern sensibilities. His works continue to be studied for their innovative approach to form and content, as well as their critical engagement with the moral and social issues of his time. Clough's influence on later poets and writers remains significant.
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Cherry Mine Disaster
On November 13, 1909, a catastrophic fire broke out at the Cherry coal mine in Cherry, Illinois, resulting in the tragic deaths of 259 miners. Many of the victims were trapped underground, unable to escape the smoke and flames that engulfed the mine. This disaster is one of the deadliest mining accidents in U.S. history and highlighted the dire need for improved safety regulations in the mining industry, ultimately leading to significant legislative changes aimed at protecting workers.
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Lotus Temple Completed in Delhi
The Lotus Temple in New Delhi, India, was completed in 1986 as a Bahá'í House of Worship. Designed by Iranian architect Fariborz Sahba, the temple's distinctive lotus-shaped structure is made of white marble and has become one of the most visited buildings in the world. The temple is notable for its universalist design, which welcomes people of all faiths to pray or meditate, reflecting the Bahá'í principle of the unity of religions.
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First Commercial Offshore Wind Lease Auction in the USA
In 2013, the United States Bureau of Ocean Energy Management held its first competitive auction for commercial offshore wind development leases in the waters off Massachusetts and Rhode Island, marking the formal launch of the American offshore wind industry after years of planning delays. The winning bids for areas of the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf demonstrated investor confidence in offshore wind as a commercially viable energy source in American waters. This auction opened the way for the major offshore wind projects subsequently planned for the New England coast and the Mid-Atlantic, including the Cape Wind and Vineyard Wind projects off Cape Cod, Massachusetts.