East German officials opened the Berlin Wall on November 9,
1989, allowing travel from East to West Berlin. The following
day, celebrating Germans began to tear the wall down.
The destruction of the Berlin Wall was a significant action
leading to the end of the Cold War.
Soviet-born Garry Kasparov, 22 (above) beat Anatoly Karpov to
become the youngest world chess champion. Eleven years later,
he defeated Deep Blue, IBM’s powerful custom-built chess
computer, then lost to an upgraded Deep Blue the following
year.
Chess Grandmaster Garry Kimovich Kasparov, born
April 13, 1963.
At dusk on Tuesday, November 9, 1965, one of the biggest
power failures in history occurred as all of New York state,
portions of seven nearby states, and parts of eastern
Canada are plunged into darkness.
The Great Northeast Blackout began at the height of rush
hour, delaying millions of commuters, trapping 800,000
people in New York’s subways, and stranding thousands
more in office buildings, elevators, and trains.
Ten thousand National Guardsmen and 5,000 off-duty
policemen were called into service.
1959
Arthur William Matthew Carney
(November 4, 1918 – November 9, 2003)
Art Carney was an actor and comedian. A recipient of an
Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and six Primetime
Emmy Awards, he was best known for his role as Ed Norton
on the sitcom The Honeymooners (below) (1955–1956).
John F. Kennedy, 43, becomes the youngest man ever to
be elected president of the United States, narrowly beating
Republican Vice President Richard Nixon. He was also the
first Catholic to become president.
