What happened on November 14th?

A brave first step in the fight for school desegregation

Author

Matthew Jones
November 14, 2024

1960 Ruby Bridges Attends William Frantz Elementary in New Orleans

On November 14, 1960, six-year-old Ruby Bridges made history when she attended William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans as the first Black student to integrate the all-white school. Her attendance came as a result of a court order enforcing desegregation, and her bravery in the face of intense hostility became a defining moment in the American Civil Rights Movement. Each day, federal marshals escorted her to class due to threats and protests.

Here, Ruby Bridges and the marshals who protected her leave the school in 1960.

🗞️Today’s Headlines

Everything important that’s ever happened on November 14:

2002 ─ California’s Nancy Pelosi became the first woman to be named leader of a major party in either house of Congress, marking a historic moment in US political leadership.

1972 ─ The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 1,000 points for the first time, a milestone reflecting the economic growth and confidence of the era.

1969 ─ NASA launched Apollo 12, its second manned mission to the moon. Despite a lightning strike shortly after liftoff, the mission successfully continued.

1962 ─ Eritrea was declared a province of Ethiopia, which deepened tensions that would later lead to a prolonged independence struggle.

1889 ─ American journalist Nellie Bly set out to circle the globe by passenger train and steamship, aiming to beat the fictional record set by Phileas Fogg in Around the World in Eighty Days.

1885 ─ Serbian King Milan Obrenovic IV declared war on Bulgaria and ignited the Serbo-Bulgarian War over disputed territories.

🎂 Today’s Birthdays

On November 14, we’re singing to:

William III (1650) ─ King of England, Scotland, and Ireland who played a crucial role in the Glorious Revolution and helped shape the constitutional monarchy.

Leopold Mozart (1719) ─ Austrian composer and violinist best known as the father and early teacher of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Claude Monet (1840) ─ French painter and founder of Impressionism, celebrated for his depictions of natural beauty and light, especially in the well-known work Water Lilies.

King Hussein (1935) ─ King of Jordan who guided the country through complex regional challenges and became a significant figure for peace in the Middle East.

King Charles III (1968) ─ The current king of the United Kingdom, known for his advocacy for environmental issues and dedication to social causes before ascending the throne.

 

 🪦Who Died Today?

On November 14, we’re saying goodbye to:

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1716) ─ German philosopher and mathematician who co-developed calculus and made foundational contributions to logic and metaphysics.

Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1831) ─ Influential German philosopher whose ideas on dialectics and absolute idealism shaped Western philosophy.

Robert E. Sherwood (1955) ─ American playwright and screenwriter recognized for works like The Petrified Forest, who won several Pulitzer Prizes for his powerful dramas.

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