THIS WEEK IN HISTORY

13 November, 1994 – Sweden votes to join EU

The referendum passed with over 50% of Swedish citizens voting to join the European Union. The Nordic country officially joined the EU on January 1, 1995.


14 November, 1971 – First spacecraft to orbit a planet

NASA's Mariner 9 entered Mars' orbit after 167 days in space. Despite it being in Mars' orbit within 15 minutes, a dust storm on the planet made it impossible for Mariner 9 to take pictures of Mars until January.


15 November, 2006 – Al Jazeera English launched

The English language 24-hour news channel is owned and run by Al Jazeera Media Network based in Doha, Qatar.


16 November, 2001 – Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone released

The film version of the popular book by the same name written by author J. K. Rowling starred Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter and followed Potter's first year at Hogwarts, a school for magic.


17 November, 1869 – Construction on Suez Canal finished

The 120 miles long artificial waterway connecting the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea took 10 years to be built and was opened to ships.


18 November, 1963 – Push button phones are used for the first time

Bell systems started replacing rotary dial phones by push button phone in the United States. Push button phones use keys or buttons to dial a number.



19 November, 1969 – Pelé’s 1000th goal

The Brazilian footballer, often considered to be the greatest athlete of the 20th century, made his 1,000th professional goal against Vasco da Gama at the Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro.

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