Moments in Time – November 1, 2023

#MiddleburyCT

• On Nov. 13, 1985, the Nevado del Ruiz volcano in Colombia erupted in the late evening and caused volcanic mudflows that flooded the city of Armero, killing 25,000 residents. The tragedy is considered to be one of the deadliest volcano-related disasters in the 20th century.
• On Nov. 14, 1851, Herman Melville’s epic novel “Moby-Dick,” about peg-legged Captain Ahab’s obsessive search for vengeance on the white whale that maimed him, made its debut in the U.S. Published to mixed reviews, it was a commercial failure and achieved its present standing as a Great American Novel only after the centennial of Melville’s birth.
• On Nov. 15, 1956, the movie “Love Me Tender,” a black-and-white musical Western starring the King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley, was released. Named after Presley’s hit single, it was his only film that did not place him in top billing, as it was also his debut. The singer later regretted making the film, though he’d expressed a serious interest in acting,
• On Nov. 16, 2004, President George W. Bush nominated National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice for Secretary of State, saying that for the previous four years he had “relied on her counsel, benefited from her great experience and appreciated her sound and steady judgment.”
• On Nov. 17, 1558, Elizabeth I, daughter of King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, ascended to the throne of England, the third of Henry’s offspring to assume that position. A carpet was laid down for her to walk on to Westminster Abbey, and people cut out pieces as mementos of the day. Her reign, which lasted 45 years until her death at age 69 from what was likely pneumonia, is remembered as a “Golden Age” in British history.
• On Nov. 18, 2015, New Zealand rugby union football player Jonah Lomu, who was perhaps rugby’s first global icon, died of a heart attack at age 40 after a long battle with kidney disease.
• On Nov. 19, 1703, Eustache Dauger, aka “The Man in the Iron Mask,” a political prisoner famous in French history and legend, died in the Bastille. Contrary to fictional representations in literature and cinema, there is no historical evidence that his mysterious facial covering was made of anything but black velvet.

© 2023 King Features Synd., Inc.