Which event does this 1755 photograph show?

An earthquake, a fire and a wave destroy a capital on a holy day (1755). The earthquake hit Lisbon on the morning of 1 November 1755 and was followed by fire and then a tsunami. Somewhere between 30,000 and 50,000 people died. The disaster hit European thought as hard as it hit the city: Voltaire used it to attack the idea that this is the best of all possible worlds, and the systematic survey ordered afterwards is often called the start of seismology.

Which event does this 1952 photograph show?

A device the size of a building proves a fusion bomb will work (1952). Ivy Mike was detonated on Enewetak Atoll on 1 November 1952, the first full test of a thermonuclear design. It was not a weapon: it weighed 82 tons, needed cryogenic equipment to keep its fuel liquid, and it vaporised the island it sat on, leaving a crater two kilometres wide. The yield was about 700 times Hiroshima.

Which event does this 1604 photograph show?

A tragedy about a general destroyed by a lie is performed for a king (1604). The first record of Othello being played is at Whitehall before James I on 1 November 1604. The part of Desdemona would have been taken by a boy, since women did not appear on the English stage for another half century. Othello himself was played in dark make-up by a white actor, which remained the norm for more than three hundred years.

Which event does this 1478 photograph show?

A pope grants two monarchs the right to run their own heresy court (1478). Sixtus IV issued the bull on 1 November 1478 letting Ferdinand and Isabella appoint their own inquisitors. What made it unusual was that the crown, not the church, controlled it. It ran for 356 years, and its first targets were not Muslims or Protestants but conversos, Jews who had already converted to Christianity and were suspected of insincerity.

Which event does this 1894 photograph show?

A man who says he is not ready and does not want it becomes tsar at 26 (1894). Nicholas II became tsar on 1 November 1894 when his father died at 49, far earlier than anyone expected. He is recorded as asking what was going to happen to him and to Russia, since he was not prepared to be a tsar and had never wanted to be one. He ruled for twenty-three years and was shot with his family in 1918.

What happened on November 1? the Lisbon earthquake, Ivy Mike and 3 more

What happened on November 1

All 5 specimens from this file, spanning 1478 to 1952, with the story behind each photograph.

Reveal the full answer key

Disaster · 1755

An earthquake, a fire and a wave destroy a capital on a holy day

The earthquake hit Lisbon on the morning of 1 November 1755 and was followed by fire and then a tsunami. Somewhere between 30,000 and 50,000 people died. The disaster hit European thought as hard as it hit the city: Voltaire used it to attack the idea that this is the best of all possible worlds, and the systematic survey ordered afterwards is often called the start of seismology.
Science · 1952

A device the size of a building proves a fusion bomb will work

Ivy Mike was detonated on Enewetak Atoll on 1 November 1952, the first full test of a thermonuclear design. It was not a weapon: it weighed 82 tons, needed cryogenic equipment to keep its fuel liquid, and it vaporised the island it sat on, leaving a crater two kilometres wide. The yield was about 700 times Hiroshima.
Culture · 1604

A tragedy about a general destroyed by a lie is performed for a king

The first record of Othello being played is at Whitehall before James I on 1 November 1604. The part of Desdemona would have been taken by a boy, since women did not appear on the English stage for another half century. Othello himself was played in dark make-up by a white actor, which remained the norm for more than three hundred years.
Religion · 1478

A pope grants two monarchs the right to run their own heresy court

Sixtus IV issued the bull on 1 November 1478 letting Ferdinand and Isabella appoint their own inquisitors. What made it unusual was that the crown, not the church, controlled it. It ran for 356 years, and its first targets were not Muslims or Protestants but conversos, Jews who had already converted to Christianity and were suspected of insincerity.
Monarchy · 1894

A man who says he is not ready and does not want it becomes tsar at 26

Nicholas II became tsar on 1 November 1894 when his father died at 49, far earlier than anyone expected. He is recorded as asking what was going to happen to him and to Russia, since he was not prepared to be a tsar and had never wanted to be one. He ruled for twenty-three years and was shot with his family in 1918.