* On Nov. 10, 1885, German inventor Gottlieb Daimler’s teenage son made the first long-distance test run of the world’s first motorcycle, the Reitwagen, which featured a wooden frame and wheels, no suspension system and a leather drive belt.
* On Nov. 11, 1984, the bronze “Three Soldiers” statue (also known as the “Three Servicemen”) was unveiled near the Vietnam War Memorial. Designed by Frederick Hart to honor the diversity of those who served in that conflict, it also marked the first time an African American was depicted in a sculpture on the National Mall.
* On Nov. 12, 1996, teens Amy Grossberg and Brian Peterson checked into a Delaware motel, where Amy gave birth to their child. The baby was later found dead in a trash container behind the motel, and the couple confessed to the crime after having previously claimed the child was stillborn.
* On Nov. 13, 1953, Mrs. Thomas J. White of the Indiana Textbook Commission called for the removal of references to the book “Robin Hood” from textbooks used by the state’s schools, claiming that there was “a communist directive in education now to stress the story of Robin Hood because he robbed the rich and gave it to the poor.” Her campaign, unlike Robin’s, was unsuccessful.
* On Nov. 14, 1941, “Suspicion,” a romantic thriller starring Cary Grant and Joan Fontaine and directed by Alfred Hitchcock, made its debut on the silver screen. It would go on to win an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture and a Best Actress Oscar for Fontaine, and marked the first time that Grant and Hitchcock worked together. They would collaborate again on “Notorious,” “To Catch a Thief” and “North by Northwest.”
* On Nov. 15, 1783, John Hanson, the first president of the Continental Congress under the Articles of Confederation, died in Maryland. Though he’s sometimes referred to as America’s first president, the role didn’t exist as an executive position separate from Congress until 1789.
* On Nov. 16, 2012, Hostess Brands sparked a panicked hoarding of snack cakes when the company announced it was shutting down, and a 31,000% jump in Twinkie sales on Amazon in only a week.
(c) 2025 King Features Synd., Inc.
