16 November 2016

poignant

[poin-yuh nt, poi-nuh nt]

adjective

1. keenly distressing to the feelings:
poignant regret.
2. keen or strong in mental appeal:
a subject of poignant interest.
3. affecting or moving the emotions:
a poignant scene.
4. pungent to the smell:
poignant cooking odors.

Origin of poignant

Middle English, Middle French, Latin
1350-1400; Middle English poynaunt < Middle French poignant, present participle of poindre < Latin pungere to prick, pierce. See pungent, -ant

Related forms

poignantly, adverb
unpoignant, adjective
unpoignantly, adverb

Synonyms

1. intense, sincere, heartfelt. 4. piquant, sharp.

Antonyms

1, 2. mild.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for poignant

Contemporary Examples

Colbert has deftly hosted benefits and other shows and given hilarious and poignant commencement speeches.
Yes, Stephen Colbert Will Be Great as Host of CBS’s ‘Late Night’
Pete Dominick
April 9, 2014

Perhaps the most poignant parts of the film come when the parents enter the scene.
Models vs. Militants: Nisha Pahuja’s Film Shows Two Worlds of Indian Women
Abigail Pesta
May 4, 2012

A more memorable and poignant experience came shortly afterwards.
Is Nick Ziobro the Next Frank Sinatra?
Steve North
July 18, 2014

Cross did some of her best work on the show in the poignant scene in which she learns by telephone that Rex has died.
‘Desperate Housewives’: 12 Most-Memorable Moments
Maria Elena Fernandez
May 13, 2012

Historical Examples

Her mouth was stretched in a horrible grimace, so poignant was her feeling.
Coquette
Frank Swinnerton

I left school also—with a mixture of hope and elation, and yet the most poignant regret.
The Martian
George Du Maurier

Sisterly love, free solitude, unpraised creation, were to remain your most poignant joys.
Emily Bront
A. Mary F. (Agnes Mary Frances) Robinson

He looked at Grassette with a look of poignant pity and interest combined.
Northern Lights
Gilbert Parker

Anagram

no taping
ingot pan
pant go in

Today’s quote

The biggest guru-mantra is: never share your secrets with anybody. It will destroy you.

– Chanakya

On this day

16 November – International day for tolerance. ‘On this International Day of Tolerance, I call on all people and governments to actively combat fear, hatred and extremism with dialogue, understanding and mutual respect. Let us advance against the forces of division and unite for our shared future‘, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

16 November 1793 – During the French Revolution, 90 Catholic priests who were opposed to the Republic, are executed by drowning at Nantes.

16 November 1938 – Swiss scientist, Dr Albert Hofmann, creates the synthetic drug, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), at the Sandoz Laboratories in Basel, Switzerland.

16 November 1945 – United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) is founded in order ‘to contribute to peace and security in the world by promoting collaboration among nations through education, science, culture and communication in order to further universal respect for justice and the rule of law and for the human rights and fundamental freedoms which are affirmed for the peoples of the world, without distinction of race, sex, language or religion’.

16 November 1988 – 35 year old, Benazir Bhutto elected as Prime Minister of Pakistan, becoming the first woman elected to lead a Muslim state. She was a member of the democratic-socialist Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).

15 November 2016

leitmotif

[lahyt-moh-teef]

noun

1. a motif or theme associated throughout a music drama with a particular person, situation, or idea.

Origin of leitmotif

1875-1880; < German: leading motive

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for leitmotif

Contemporary Examples

The leitmotif of the new vogue in bad parenting is that keeping the marital buzz buzzing trumps the children.
How Bad Parenting Became Cool
Margaret Carlson
June 18, 2009

A leitmotif on journalism threads through this often-byzantine narrative.
How the ‘Witch Hunt’ Myth Undermined American Justice
Jason Berry
July 11, 2014

Historical Examples

It was what I had always called “Rosemary’s leitmotif,” expressed in perfume.
The Brightener
C. N. Williamson

He will come back, murmured Chavvy, in concordance with her leitmotif.
Twos and Threes
G. B. Stern

Here is the leitmotif of the whole fascinating drama of infection and immunity.
Preventable Diseases
Woods Hutchinson

“More work for the undertaker” should be the leitmotif of the evening’s fun.
Perfect Behavior
Donald Ogden Stewart

In her direct and genuine nature there is a ‘ leitmotif ‘ of pure sweet melody that will enrich the life of its discoverer.
Bee and Butterfly
Lucy Foster Madison

Indeed, they recur again and again, like a leitmotif in music, in everything he wrote.
The Social Significance of the Modern Drama
Emma Goldman

In these symphonic poems Liszt has made use of the principle of the leitmotif in orchestral music.
How to Appreciate Music
Gustav Kobb

His leitmotif in the music-play has been ‘See the Conquering Hero’ up to now; one isn’t sorry to see one’s sex avenged.
The Dop Doctor
Clotilde Inez Mary Graves

Anagram

omit filet
oft mile it
if it motel

Today’s quote

If someone is going down the wrong road, he doesn’t need motivation to speed him up. What he needs is education to turn him around.

– Jim Rohn

On this day

15 November 1943 – Nazi SS leader, Heinrich Himmler issues an order stating that Gypsies were to be treated the same as Jews and sent to concentration camps.

15 November 1988 – Yasser Arafat, head of the Palestinian National Conference, declares the independence of Palestine.

15 November 2007 – Cyclone Sidr, with 160km/h winds, strikes Bangladesh. Over 2 million people are evacuated from coastal areas. Around 5,000 people were killed.

15 November 2008 – death of Ivan Southall AM, DFC, Australian writer of young-adult fiction and non-fiction. Books include ‘Ash Road’, ‘Let the Balloon Go’, ‘Hill’s End’, ‘Fly West’ and ‘Josh. Born 8 June 1921.

14 November 2016

rankle

[rang-kuh l]

verb (used without object), rankled, rankling.

1. (of unpleasant feelings, experiences, etc.) to continue to cause keen irritation or bitter resentment within the mind; fester; be painful.
verb (used with object), rankled, rankling.
2. to cause keen irritation or bitter resentment in:
His colleague’s harsh criticism rankled him for days.

Origin of rankle

Middle English, Middle French, Old French, Late Latin
1250-1300; Middle English ranclen < Middle French rancler, Old French raoncler, variant of draoncler to fester, derivative of draoncle a sore < Late Latin dracunculus small serpent, diminutive of Latin dracō serpent; see dragon, carbuncle

Related forms

ranklingly, adverb
unrankled, adjective

Synonyms

1, 2. irritate, gall, chafe.
Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for rankle

Contemporary Examples

“Operation Fast and Furious” continues to rankle some Republicans.
The GOP Senate: A New Utopia Dawns
P. J. O’Rourke
November 7, 2014

Newcomers may rankle you at first, but these may be false starts to lifelong bonds.
Your Horoscopes
Starsky + Cox
May 20, 2011

Historical Examples

The much-vexed question of the Franchise continued to rankle in the hearts of the Uitlanders.
South Africa and the Transvaal War, Vol. 1 (of 6)
Louis Creswicke

There is no sting to rankle, now that hope—hope for my boy—has gone.
Shining Ferry
Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch

Neither would, for a moment, think of allowing such incidents to rankle in his bosom.
The Wild Man of the West
R.M. Ballantyne

He has driven the arrow deep into her heart, and leaves it to rankle there.
The Death Shot
Mayne Reid

I am even fearful that it may swell and rankle to an alarming degree inwardly.
The Works of Charles and Mary Lamb
Charles Lamb

With a morbid feeling of injured honour, he allowed it to rankle in his bosom.
Salt Water
W. H. G. Kingston

And then, above all, there was her presence, her monstrous intrusion to rankle in his mind.
The Man from Archangel
A. Conan Doyle

The blade is poisoned, dear, and the wound will rankle for a lifetime.’
Despair’s Last Journey
David Christie Murray

Anagram

elk ran

Today’s quote

Just remember, once you’re over the hill you pick up speed.

– Arthur Schopenhauer

On this day

14 November 1868 – birth of Steele Rudd, Australian author, (pen-name for Arthur Hoey Davis). Wrote ‘On Our Selection‘, which introduced Australia to ‘Dad and Dave’. Died 11 October 1935.

14 November 1942 – birth of Robert G. Barrett, Australian author of books such as ‘Davo’s Little Something’ and the Les Norton series which included, ‘High Noon in Nimbin’, ‘The Tesla Legacy’, ‘Crime Scene Cessnock’, ‘Rosa-Marie’s Baby’, ‘Guns n Rosé’. Barrett sold over 1,000,000 books in Australia. Died 20 September 2012.

14 November 2012 – Total solar eclipse visible from Cairns, North Queensland, Australia. Other areas saw a partial eclipse. The last total eclipse for Cairns was in 710AD, with the next one not expected for another 225 years.

13 November 2016

mountebank

[moun-tuh-bangk]

noun

1. a person who sells quack medicines, as from a platform in public places, attracting and influencing an audience by tricks, storytelling, etc.
2. any charlatan or quack.
verb (used without object)
3. to act or operate as a mountebank.

Origin of mountebank

Middle French, Italian
1570-1580; (< Middle French) < Italian montimbanco one who climbs on a bench, equivalent to mont (are) to climb (see mount1) + -im-, variant of in on + banco bench (see bank2)

Related forms

mountebankery [moun-tuh-bangk-uh-ree], noun

Synonyms Expand

1. pitchman. 2. phony, pretender, fraud.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for mountebank Expand

Historical Examples

There was a mountebank conjurer seated on a table, performing all sorts of wonders before a gaping crowd.
John Deane of Nottingham
W.H.G. Kingston

But his natural gift was to be a mountebank, a clown, a circus Hercules.
Casa Braccio, Volumes 1 and 2 (of 2)
F. Marion Crawford

The one saw a mountebank and impostor—the other recognised a profound artist and an inspired prophet.
Ernest Maltravers, Complete
Edward Bulwer-Lytton

It was not of the least use to me that I knew he was not the illustrious general, but simply a mountebank.
A Day’s Ride
Charles James Lever

I feared the woman had no better thought than to make a mountebank of her child!
The Scarlet Letter
Nathaniel Hawthorne

If I were a mountebank or a charlatan I would claim that it cures a hundred diseases.
The Gypsies
Charles G. Leland

He seemed a youthful Magian, and almost a mountebank together.
Pierre; or The Ambiguities
Herman Melville

You must often have had your head against this mountebank jacket of mine.
The Belovd Vagabond
William J. Locke

A little while since a mountebank pair called at St. Aliquis.
Life on a Mediaeval Barony
William Stearns Davis

“So this going about as a mountebank is only a masquerade,” she said, with a touch of scorn.
The Belovd Vagabond
William J. Locke

Anagram

butane monk
Amok Unbent
A Numb Token
Bake Tom Nun
untame knob

Today’s quote

The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance – it is the illusion of knowledge.

– Daniel J. Boorstin

On this day

13 November 1940 – the prototype of the Jeep was submitted to U.S. Army for approval by car-maker Willys-Overland. Following the U.S. declaration of war 12 months later, production of the Jeep began. By the end of the war in 1945, there had been 600,000 produced.

13 November 1940 – Walt Disney releases his animated movie, Fantasia, which eventually became a cult-classic. At time of release though, the movie was not a commercial success.

13 November 1956 – The U.S. Supreme Court rules that laws which segregated buses were illegal.

13 November 1970 – the worst natural disaster of the 20th century occurs when a devastating cyclone strikes Bangladesh, killing over 500,000 people. The cyclone with 160km/h winds, caused tidal waves and storm surges which swept over the densely-populated, low-lying regions of the Ganges Delta and nearby islands.

13 November 1971 – Space voyager Mariner 9, reaches Mars and becomes the first spacecraft to orbit another planet.

13 November 2009 – NASA announces that a significant resource of water has been located on the moon by the Lunar Reconnaisance Orbiter.

12 November 2016

pétanque

[pey-tahngk; French pe-tahnk]

noun

1. a form of lawn bowling originating in France, usually played on rough ground using steel balls.

Also called boule.

Origin of pétanque

French Provençal Latin
1950-1955; < French < Provençal pé foot (< Latin ped-, stem of pēs) + tanco post, stake (derivative of tancar to close, bar < Vulgar Latin *stanticāre; see stanch1); so called because the feet are to be planted firmly on the ground, as if staked, when the ball is released

Dictionary.com

Anagram

Queen Pat

Today’s quote

I don’t really understand that process called reincarnation but if there is such a thing I’d like to come back as my daughter’s dog.

– Leonard Cohen

On this day

12 November 1927 – Josef Stalin takes full control of the Soviet Union after Leon Trotsky was expelled from the Communist Party a few weeks earlier.

12 November 1944 – sinking of the German battleship, Tirpitz. The Allies had tried for two years to sink the ship. Finally, 32 British Lancaster bombers attack and sink the ship.

12 November 1990 – Swiss computer scientist, Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web, publishes a formal proposal for hyper-text transfer, this followed his proposal for Information Management, published in March 1989. On 25 December 1990, he makes the world’s first successful communication between a hyper-text transfer protocol (HTTP) client and a server; and the world wide web is born. He is director of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) which oversees the ongoing development of the world-wide web.

11 November 2016

gravure

[gruh-vyoo r, grey-vyer]

noun

1. an intaglio process of photomechanical printing, such as photogravure or rotogravure.
2. a print produced by gravure.
3. the metal or wooden plate used in photogravure.

Origin of gravure

1875-1880; < French, equivalent to grav (er) to engrave < Germanic (see grave3) + -ure -ure

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for gravure

Historical Examples

By this means the ornament of the gravure is transferred to the roller composition.
The Progress of the Marbling Art
Josef Halfer

The engravers of the last century used to call it gravure en manière de crayon.
A Treatise on Etching
Maxime Lalanne

When this is done, the gravure can be rolled over by aid of this roller.
The Progress of the Marbling Art
Josef Halfer

He frequently decorated his flatware with a refined etching or gravure, his hollow ware with reeding.
Seaport in Virginia
Gay Montague Moore

4. Gravure idol

– A gravure idol (グラビアアイドル gurabia aidoru), often abbreviated to gradol (グラドル guradoru), is a Japanese female model who primarily models on magazines, photobooks or DVDs.

Example

Mika Hijii (肘井 美佳 Hijii Mika, born October 13, 1982 in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan) is a Japanese actress and gravure idol* best known for her role as Kaoru Mitsuki in the Garo series. She is also known in the western world for her role as Namiko Takeda in the 2009 martial arts film Ninja and its 2013 sequel Ninja: Shadow of a Tear.
Wikipedia.com

Anagram

rave rug

Today’s quote

We must accept finite disappointment, but we must never lose infinite hope.

– Martin Luther King

On this day

11 November 1880 – execution by hanging, of Ned Kelly, Australian bush-ranger.

11 November 1918 – End of World War I. Commemorated as ‘Remembrance Day’ in British Commonwealth countries and ‘Armistice Day’ in other nations, recognising the armistice signed at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. In 1954, the United States, changed Armistice Day to ‘Veterans Day’ and made it a public holiday to recognise those who have served in the armed forces, not just those who served in World War I.

11 November 1954 – Pensioners’ Revolt, United Kingdom. Thousands of pensioners march in a rally in London calling for an increase of their pensions by 17s 6d, which would take a single person’s pension to £2 10s per week.

11 November 1975 – Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam (Labor Party) sacked by the Governor-General and replaced by Malcolm Fraser (Liberal Party).

11 November 2004 – death of Yasser Arafat, Palestinian leader in Paris after falling into a coma. The cause of his death is disputed, with some believing he was poisoned by Israel, others believing it was from cirrhosis. Born 4 August 1929.

10 November 2016

intaglio

noun, plural intaglios Italian, intagli

[een-tah-lyee]

1. incised carving, as opposed to carving in relief.
2. ornamentation with a figure or design sunk below the surface.
3. a gem, seal, piece of jewelry, or the like, cut with an incised or sunken design.
4. an incised or countersunk die.
5. a figure or design so produced.
6. a process in which a design, text, etc., is engraved into the surface of a plate so that when ink is applied and the excess is wiped off, ink remains in the grooves and is transferred to paper in printing, as in engraving or etching.
7. an impression or printing from such a design, engraving, etc.
verb (used with object)
8. to incise or display in intaglio.

Origin of intaglio

1635-1645; < Italian, derivative of intagliare to cut in, engrave, equivalent to in- in-2+ tagliare to cut < Late Latin tāliāre, derivative of Latin tālea a cutting; see tally

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for intaglio

Historical Examples

Here we have an intaglio design which is prepared and prints white.
The Invention of Lithography
Alois Senefelder

I return to a strange perforated pebble, an intaglio from Dumbuck.
The Clyde Mystery
Andrew Lang

The intaglio was all to the Greek artist, and anything more was labor worse than wasted.
The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 18, No. 108, October, 1866
Various

The intaglio work on this side is not equal to that in cameo, on the other.
Scarabs
Isaac Myer

Among them are rock-crystal dishes several inches across, beautifully engraved in intaglio and mounted in silver with gems.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 16, Slice 2
Various

On the two sides of the intaglio are two names—Marin, Pixian.
Finger-Ring Lore
William Jones

intaglio and bas-relief often lend their help to the ornament.
A history of art in ancient Egypt, Vol. I (of 2)
Georges Perrot

intaglio, name given to a gem with a design incised in the surface.
The Nuttall Encyclopaedia
Edited by Rev. James Wood

All of these examined were found to be female dies, with the design in intaglio rather than in relief.
American Military Insignia 1800-1851
J. Duncan Campbell and Edgar M. Howell.

The machine for engraving a matrix in intaglio is operated in much the same manner as that for engraving a punch in relief.
The Building of a Book
Various

Anagram

giant oil
i lag into
tail go in

Today’s quote

The secret to humor is surprise.

– Aristotle

On this day

10 November 1919 – birth of Mikhail Kalashnikov, Soviet Union hero, inventor of the world’s most popular assault weapon, the AK-47, or ‘Kalashnikov’. The AK-47 stood for Kalashnikov Assault, 1947, the year it was designed. He was awarded the ‘Hero of Russia’ medal as well as Lenin and Stalin prizes. Kalashnikov invented the AK-47 to protect the national borders of the Soviet Union. The AK-47 has a simple design, which makes it very reliable and easy to replicate. Kalashnikov hadn’t patented the design internationally. As a result, of the estimated 100 million AK-47s in the world today, it is believed that at least half are copies. Although his weapon has been favoured by armies and guerillas across the globe, Kalashnikov claimed he never lost sleep over the numbers of people killed by it. He always maintained that he invented it to protect the ‘Fatherland’s borders’. He did however, rue the use of it by child soldiers. Kalashnikov was a World War II veteran who was wounded in 1941. While recovering in hospital he conceived the design. Died 23 December 2013.

10 November 1969 – Sesame Street debuts on PBS (Public Broadcasting Service), featuring muppets by Jim Henson. It is one of the longest running tv shows in history and has been highly successful at increasing the literacy and numeracy skills of children.

10 November 1982 – Leonid Brezhnev, Soviet President, dies in office from a heart attack.

9 November 2016

pugree

[puhg-ree]

noun

1. a light turban worn in India.
2. a scarf of silk or cotton, usually colored or printed, wound round a hat or helmet and falling down behind as a protection against the sun.

Compare havelock.

Also, pugaree, puggaree.

Origin of pugree

Hindi

1655-1665; < Hindi pagṛī turban

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for pugree

Historical Examples

She was dressed in white, and in the pugree of her helmet was the one touch of color, Rajah’s blue feather.
Parrot & Co.
Harold MacGrath

Anagram

rue pug

Today’s quote

Democracy cannot succeed unless those who express their choice are prepared to choose wisely. The real safeguard of democracy, therefore, is education.

– Franklin D. Roosevelt

On this day

9-10 November 1938 – Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass) – Nazi paramilitary forces (the Brownshirts) and non-Jewish German citizens attack Jews, smash windows of synagogues, shops and houses. At least 91 Jews were killed in the attack and more than 30,000 incarcerated in concentration camps. Over 1,000 synagogues and 7,000 businesses were destroyed or damaged. The Nazis undertook the attack following the assassination of German diplomat Ernst Vom Rath by Herschel Grynszpan in Paris, a German-born Polish Jew. However, it is likely that the attack would have happened anyway, as Kristallnacht is seen as the beginning of Hitler’s Final Solution which was to eliminate Jews from Europe. The Final Solution culminated in the Holocaust, in which more than 6 million Jews were executed, along with many other ‘undesirables’, such as Gypsys, homosexuals and dissidents. At its height, the Nazis had over 40,000 concentration camps in which millions of Jews and others were executed, sometimes by firing squad, but often by gas chamber. The Nazis also conducted medical experiments on the prisoners, in an effort to build a genetically modified ‘master race’. The subjects who survived the experiments were usually executed and dissected.

9 November 1967 – First edition of Rolling Stone magazine is published, and features John Lennon.

9 November 1989 – fall of the Berlin Wall.Construction of the wall commenced in 1961 and was completed in 1962, to separate the Communist controlled East Berlin from the capitalist West Berlin. The Communist government claimed that it was to protect East Germany from Fascist forces in West Germany, although it was mainly to prevent the mass defections from the Eastern bloc. Between the end of World War II and the construction of the Wall, more than 3.5 million people defected to the West. The Wall was more than 140km long, with numerous guard towers and check-points. It symbolised the ‘Iron Curtain’, which was used to describe the attempts of Europe’s Eastern bloc, including the Soviet Union, to severely restrict contact with the West.

8 November 2016

unconscionable

[uhn-kon-shuh-nuh-buh l]

adjective

1. not guided by conscience; unscrupulous.
2. not in accordance with what is just or reasonable:
unconscionable behavior.
3. excessive; extortionate:
an unconscionable profit.

Origin of unconscionable

1555-1565; un-1+ conscionable

Related forms

unconscionability, noun
unconscionably, adverb

Synonyms

3. extreme, immoderate, unwarranted, inordinate.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for unconscionable

Contemporary Examples

This fallacy ignores history in such a blatant manner that it borders on the dangerously unwise if not the unconscionable.
Don’t Listen to Experts on Afghanistan
Masood Aziz
May 27, 2010

For many black Americans, the Zimmerman verdict was an unconscionable nightmare.
Why Do Black and White Americans See the Zimmerman Verdict So Differently?
Sophia A. Nelson
July 13, 2013

To win again would only be construed as an act of unconscionable hubris.
Don Draper Takes on Health Care
James P. Othmer
March 21, 2010

Anagram

conceal bunions
clone basic noun
nil bacon ounces

Today’s quote

Certainly being proficient in an instrument does have its problems. Because the better you get, the more you just start sounding like an ordinary guitarist. There are certainly guitarists that transcend that and do really find their sound and all that sort of stuff.

– Nick Cave

On this day

8 November 1836 – birth of Milton Bradley, U.S. board-game maker, credited with launching the board-game industry. Died 30 May 1911.

8 November 1847 – birth of Bram Stoker, Irish novellist, author of ‘Dracula’. Died 20 April 1912.

8 November 1960 – 43 year old, John F. Kennedy wins the presidential election and becomes the youngest President of the United States of America.

8 November 1973 – In Brisbane, Australia, a home-made bomb is placed on a teacher’s desk. It detonates, killing one student, injuring 8 others, while the teacher loses both hands.

7 November 2016

aedicule

[ee-di-kyool, ed-i-]

noun

1. a small building.
2. a small construction, as a shrine, designed in the form of a building.

Also, aedicula, edicule.

Origin of aedicule

Latin

1825-35; < Latin aedicula, equivalent to aedi- (stem of aedēs) temple, shrine (akin to Greek aíthein to blaze, aithḗr bright upper sky, ether) + -cula -cule1

Dictionary.com

Example

The work is part of a historic renovation project to reinforce and preserve the Edicule, the chamber housing the cave where Jesus is said to have been entombed and resurrected.
Experts uncover hidden layers at ‘Tomb of Jesus’ site
ABC News
28 October 2016

Anagram

idea clue
a ice duel

Today’s quote

Everyone has the right to be stupid on occasion, but Comrade Macdonald abuses the privilege.

– Leon Trotsky

On this day

7 November 1879 – birth of Leon Trotsky (Lev Davidovich Bronshtein). Russian Marxist revolutionary, Soviet politician, founder and first leader of the Red Army. Major figure in the Bolshevik victory during the Russian Civil War. After the Russian Revolution Trotsky became the People’s Commissar for Foreign Affairs. He was opposed to Joseph Stalin. He was expelled from the Communist Party in November 1927 and deported from the Soviet Union in 1929. Trotsky relocated to Mexico where he continued his opposition to Stalin. Trotsky was assassinated by ice-pick wielding Rámon Mercader in Mexico on the orders of Stalin. Trotskyism is a form of Marxism which is based on Trotsky’s ideas and opposed to Stalinism. Died 21 August 1940.

7 – 8 November 1917 – October Revolution. Part of the Russian Revolution which commenced with the February Revolution (8-12 March 1917) and which overthrew the Russian Provisional Government and replaced it with the Soviet government. (This date is from the New Style Gregorian calendar and corresponds with 25 October 1917 under the Old Style Julian calendar).

7 November 1956 – Suez Canal Crisis. Egyptian President Nasser announces that he will nationalise the Suez Canal Company and in the interim, freezes their assets. In response, France, Britain and Israel attack Egypt, including the bombing Cairo. They had attacked in order to gain control of the Suez Canal and to remove Nasser from power. The United Nations issued a resolution requiring France, Britain and Israel to withdraw. The United States and the Soviet Union backed the U.N. resolution and the three antagonists were forced to withdraw.

7 November 2000 – George W. Bush wins the most controversial U.S. presidential election in history. Because of the closeness of the election results in Florida, a number of actions were taken in the U.S. Supreme Court. Before recounting could close, the Supreme Court declared George W. Bush the victor, with a majority of between 500 and 2,000 votes, even though it was revealed that George W. Bush’s brother, Florida Governor Jeb Bush removed 58,000 names from the electoral role (based on ethnicity and who were likely to vote Democrat).