The following events occurred in November 1905:
November 1, 1905 (Wednesday) The Committee of Ministers of the Russian Empire was created by a decree of Tsar Nicholas II (October 19 old style, November 1 new style), two days after the October Manifesto, as the first cabinet of advisers to jointly discuss national policy, and former finance minister Sergei Witte was appointed as the chairman of the committee, in effect becoming Russia's first prime minister. Lahti, a city in the Grand Duchy of Finland within Russia, was granted city rights by Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, in his capacity as Grand Duke of Finland. Died: Sergei Legat, 30, Russian ballet dancer who had been the first to portray the title character in Pyotr Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker, committed suicide by slashing his throat.
November 2, 1905 (Thursday) The death of the wife of U.S. parachutist Charles Broadwick became the tragic inspiration for his invention of the parachute pack."Woman Falls to Her Death From Balloon", Atlanta Constitution, November 3, 1905, p. 1 Maude Broadwick was present with her husband at a carnival in Anderson, South Carolina, and the two rode upward on a balloon. At the time, the practice was for the parachutist to be suspended beneath the balloon, and then to drop from high enough for the parachute to fill with air on the way down. Maude fell to her death from the balloon, with Charles unable to assist her. The following year, Charles Broadwick developed a chute that could be folded into a backpack, and opened by a static line attached to the balloon."Pack Man: Charles Broadwick Invented a New Way of Falling", by Lisa Ritter, Air & Space magazine (April—May 2010) pp. 68–72 Born: Georges Schéhadé, Egyptian-born Lebanese playwright; in Alexandria, Egypt (d. 1989) Isobel Andrews, Scottish-born New Zealand playwright; in Glasgow (d. 1990) Died: Albert von Kölliker, 88, Swiss zoologist
November 3, 1905 (Friday) Tsar Nicholas II continued his reforms, ending Russian censorship of the press and of private dispatches, as well as granting amnesty to political prisoners."Czar Grants Amnesty; Censorship Abolished", The New York Times, November 4, 1905, p. 2 Born: Lois Mailou Jones, African-American painter; in Boston (d. 1998) Died: Eliza Thompson, 89, U.S. crusader against sales of liquor and activist within the temperance movement in the late 19th century, creator of the "Visitation Band" practice used in 23 states for peacefully putting bars and liquor stores out of business
November 4, 1905 (Saturday) Tsar Nicholas II of Russia ordered the grant of self-government to the Grand Duchy of Finland, ordering the Russian-appointed Senate of Finland to put forward a proposal for parliamentary reform, with an elected, unicameral parliament and universal and equal suffrage."Troops Aid Finns and Czar Yields; Country's Freedom Won— Emperor Grants a Constitution to the Duchy; Not to Be Independent", The New York Times, November 5, 1905, p.1 The "November Manifesto" was a reversal of the infamous February Manifesto that had removed the veto of the Diet over matters considered by the Emperor to concern Russian imperial interests."Finland in 1905: The political and social history of the revolution", by Antti Kujala, in The Russian Revolution of 1905: Centenary Perspectives, ed. by Jonathan D. Smele and Anthony Heywood (Routledge, 2005) p. 89 The Rolland-Pilain automobile company was formed in France by François Rolland and Émile Pilain at Tours. The company would cease manufacturing in 1927 because of financial troubles. Born: Dragutin Tadijanović, Croatian poet; in Rastušje, Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia, Austro-Hungarian Empire (d. 2007) Nannie Doss, American serial killer who confessed to murdering 11 people between 1927 and her 1954 arrest; in Blue Mountain, Alabama (d. 1965)
November 5, 1905 (Sunday) Orville Wright and Wilbur Wright dismantled their revolutionary Wright Flyer III airplane and put it in storage to prevent competitors from learning its technology."1905 – The First Practical Airplane", Centennial of Flight Commission Paul Déroulède, founder of the nationalist League of Patriots, was welcomed back to Paris after a six-year exile. Déroulède was one of several French citizens who had taken advantage of a law of amnesty.The American Monthly Review of Reviews (December 1905) pp. 666-669 Died: Lady Florence Dixie, 50, Scottish book author, feminist and war correspondent, died of diphtheria."Lady Florence Dixie Dead; Author, Champion of Woman's Rights, and War Correspondent", The New York Times, November 8, 1905
November 6, 1905 (Monday) Swiss engineer Alfred Büchi received the first patent for his invention of the turbocharger for motors, as he was granted patent No. 204,630 from the German Patent and Trade Mark Office (Deutsches Patent- und Markenamt) for his invention, a "highly supercharged compound engine, using an axial compressor, radial piston engine and axial turbine on a common shaft.", by James Scoltock, Automotive Engineer: Milestones, July 15, 2010, archived by Archive.org Lord Lansdowne, Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom, declared to skeptics that the newly revealed alliance between the British Empire and the Japanese Empire was not intended as a threat to any other nation. Died: Sir George Williams, 84, British philanthropist who founded (in 1844) the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) William J. Le Moyne, 74, American stage actor
November 7, 1905 (Tuesday) By a margin of 56,279 in favor and 9,073 against, voters in the Indian Territory of the United States voted overwhelmingly to approve a resolution petitioning for the territory to be admitted as the State of Sequoyah, and submitting a proposed state constitution."Sequoyah Convention", by Richard Mize, in The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture online Congress refused to consider a statehood resolution for a mostly Native American state, and Sequoyah and the mostly white Oklahoma Territory to the west would be joined together as a single State of Oklahoma on November 16, 1907. Lawyer and liberal politician Karl Staaff became Prime Minister of Sweden, after a Riksdag election based mainly on voting rights reform, and replaced Christian Lundeberg."Sweden's New Ministry— Liberal Cabinet to be Headed by M. Staaf", The New York Times, November 7, 1905, p. 5 In elections in the U.S., newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst narrowly lost the race for Mayor of New York City to incumbent Mayor George B. McClellan Jr., and Hearst contested the election on the basis of fraud in counting the votes."McClellan Elected Mayor by 3,087 Plurality— Hearst Will Contest", The New York Times, November 8, 1905, p.1 A proposed amendment to the Maryland state constitution, to disenfranchise African-American voters, was rejected by voters. Born: William Alwyn (pen name for William Alwyn Smith), English music composer; in Northampton, Northamptonshire (d. 1985)
November 8, 1905 (Wednesday) At Gujarat in India, Swami Shastri Yagnapurushdas survived an attempted poisoning by several of the Swamis at the Vadtal temple."Public Engagement and Personal Desires: BAPS Swaminarayan Temples and their Contribution to the Discourses on Religion", by Hanna Kim, International Journal of Hindu Studies (December 2009) p. 365 He survived a second attempt as well, and went on to create, on June 5, 1907, the Hindu denomination Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS).
November 9, 1905 (Thursday) Japan's Prime Minister Itō Hirobumi arrived in Korea with Imperial Japanese Army troops, traveled to Hanseong, and personally handed the Emperor Gojong a demand to submit to a treaty allowing Japan to regulate Korea's foreign affairs. The new Canadian province of Alberta held its first legislative election to select members of the provincial legislature. The candidates of the Alberta Liberal Party, led by Alexander Rutherford, captured 22 of the 25 seats. Rioting of Russian sailors at Kronstadt killed multiple people and destroyed property."Russian Sailors and Troops Mutiny— Hundreds of Soldiers and Machine Guns Fight Revolt", The New York Times, November 10, 1905, p.1 General Dmitri Trepov was removed from office as Governor-General of Saint Petersburg by order of the Russia's Prime Minister, Count Sergei Witte."Gen. Trepoff Removed", The New York Times, November 10, 1905, p.2 Born: Erika Mann, German actress, writer and anti-Nazi political activist; in Munich (d. 1969)
November 10, 1905 (Friday) A federal grand jury in St. Louis returned an indictment against U.S. Senator Joseph R. Burton of Kansas on charges of complicity in attempted mail fraud.
November 11, 1905 (Saturday)
The eradication of yellow fever among the workers constructing the Panama Canal was accomplished, as the last death from the disease was reported. Dr. William C. Gorgas had administered a campaign of sanitation and insect extermination campaign for several years and, upon administering the autopsy of the unidentified victim, "instructed his staff to take a good look at the man: he was, said Gorgas, the last yellow fever corpse they would see." Dr. Gorgas applied the discoveries of Cuban epidemiologist Carlos Finlay and the control strategies of Dr. Walter Reed of the U.S. Army to combat the yellow fever, which had killed thousands of workers during France's attempt to construct the Canal.Matthew Parker, Panama Fever: The Epic Story of the Building of the Panama Canal (Knopf Doubleday, 2009) p. 331
November 12, 1905 (Sunday) The first ever Giro di Lombardia bicycle race was held, and won by Giovanni Gerbi. More than a century later, the race is one of the five monuments of one-day professional cycling (along with the Milano–Sanremo, the Tour of Flanders, the Paris–Roubaix and the Liège–Bastogne–Liège) and the last major race of the UCI World Tour."1905 Giro di Lombardia (Tour of Lombardy)", BikeRaceInfo website Cork GAA won the Ireland's national championship of hurling, defeating the England-based London GAA, 3-16 to 1-1 (equivalent to 25 to 4 based on 3-point goals and one-point scores).
November 13, 1905 (Monday) A two-day referendum in Norway concluded, as almost 79% of the people casting ballots voted "yes" on the question "Do you agree with the Storting's authorization to the government to invite Prince Carl of Denmark to become King of Norway?" (Enig i Stortingets bemyndigelse til regjeringen om at opfordre prins Carl af Danmark til at lade sig vælge til Norges konge?). The measure passed 328,827 to 69,264.Dieter Nohlen and Philip Stöver, Elections in Europe: A Data Handbook (Nomos, 2010) p.1437"Norway Votes for a King; Big Majorities for Prince Charles— Republican Collapse a Surprise", The New York Times, November 14, 1905, p.1 As the yellow fever epidemic continued in the U.S., a quarantine was declared against people entering or leaving the ports of the Deep South on the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, as well as the port of Havana. Born: Raymond Oppenheimer, English businessman, golfer, and captain of Britain's team in the 1951 Walker Cup (d. 1984)
November 14, 1905 (Tuesday) David Belasco's successful play The Girl of the Golden West, opened on Broadway for the first of 224 performances before going on a U.S. tour. Died: Robert Whitehead, 82, British engineer who invented the first self-propelled naval torpedo
November 15, 1905 (Wednesday) After Emperor Gojong of Korea refused to sign a "protection" treaty with the Japanese Empire, Japan's Prime Minister Ito ordered Japanese troops to surround the imperial palace and threatened to have Gojong arrested. The six powers presented a 24-hour ultimatum to Turkey, demanding reforms of the Ottoman government, and stated that a refusal to answer would be followed by a demonstration of naval power. In Saint Petersburg, Social Revolutionists began a labor strike with the stated goal of ending the Russian monarchy. Born: