Veterans Day was originally known as Armistice Day. On 
November 11, 1919, President Woodrow Wilson issued a
message to his countrymen on the first Armistice Day, in
which he expressed what he felt the day meant to all
Americans. Armistice Day was renamed Veterans Day
in 1954.

Veterans Day is distinct from Memorial Day, a U.S. public
holiday in May: Veterans Day commemorates the service
of all U.S. veterans, while Memorial Day specifically honors
those who have died while in military service.

Thomas Woodrow Wilson
(December 28, 1856 – February 3, 1924)

At the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, the
Great War ended. At 5 a.m. that morning, Germany, bereft of
manpower and supplies and faced with imminent invasion,
signed an armistice agreement with the Allies in a railroad car
outside Compiégne, France (above).

On November 10, 1969, “Sesame Street,” a pioneering TV
show that would teach generations of young children the
alphabet and how to count, makes its broadcast debut.

“Sesame Street,” with its memorable theme song (“Can
you tell me how to get/How to get to Sesame Street”),
went on to become the most widely viewed children’s
program in the world.

On November 10, 1928, the first installment of All Quiet on the
Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque’s acclaimed novel of
World War I, appeared in the German magazine Vossische
Zeitung.

Remarque died in 1970 with his wife, the actress Paulette
Goddard, at his side.

Erich Maria Remarque
(22 June 1898 – 25 September 1970