November 11 - A Day Dedicated to Memorials

Posted on November 11, 2019

Today is Veterans' Day, Armistice Day, Remembrance Day: the anniversary of the peace treaty that finally ended World War I.

Since it was a WORLD war, this date is celebrated in many different nations around the world, including my own nation (the U.S.). 

It's a natural fit to also dedicate war / peace memorials on this important anniversary. Here's a few nations that chose to do just that:

1921 - U.S. President Warren G. Harding dedicates the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery.

1934 - In Australia, the Shrine of Remembrance is opened in Melbourne.

1993 - In the U.S., a sculpture honoring the women who served in the Vietnam War is dedicated in Washington, D.C.

2004 - In New Zealand, the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior is dedicated at the National War Memorial in Wellington.

2006 - In the U.K., Queen Elizabeth unveils the New Zealand War Memorial in London.

Also on this date:

Martinmas in Germany  

Lāčplēsis Day in Latvia

Veteran's Day – also known as

Armistice Day and

Remembrance Day

National Day in St. Maarten

National Young Reader's Week

(Second week of November)

Anniversary of a record-breaking balloon ride

Independence Day in Angola 

Independence Day in Poland

Origami Day

Washington's statehood anniversary

Highway Numbers Adopted - From Sea to Shining Sea

Birthday of Civil Rights icon Daisy Bates

Pushkar Camel Fair 

(11/4 to 11/12, 2019)

Plan ahead:

Check out my Pinterest boards for:

• November holidays
• November birthdays
• Historical anniversaries in November

And here are my Pinterest boards for:

• December holidays
• December birthdays
• Historical anniversaries in December

November 11, 2010

Veterans Day, Armistice Day, Remembrance Day

The official end of World War I is honored on this day—a day that has been generalized to all the men and women who have sacrificed time and effort and sometimes their lives in times of war.

Here are some of the countries that commemorate veterans this day:

Belgium, France, French Polynesia, Guadeloupe, New Caledonia, Sint Maarten, Switzerland, Australia, Barbados, Bermuda, Canada, Cayman Islands, French Guiana, New Zealand, South Africa, Scotland, St. Lucia, United Kingdom, Guam, Puerto Rico, United States, US Virgin Islands.

Most of these countries are associated with France, the UK and its commonwealth, and the US.

For more on Veterans Day, see last year's post. 

Also on this day, in 1935...

Albert William Stevens, an officer in the US Army Air Corps, along with Captain Orvil Anderson, made a record-breaking balloon ascent. In front of 20,000 spectators and millions listening to a live radio broadcast, the two entered a gondola called Explorer II. They sealed the gondola and proceeded to climb to more than 72 thousand feet (nearly 14 miles, more than 22 kilometers!). This altitude record stood for more than 20 years.

Stevens was a balloonist and an aerial photographer. He was the first person to take a photograph that shows the Earth's curvature.

Enjoy looking at some aerial photography of today. Here are some pictures taken by Yann Arthus-Bertrand. 

And here are some amazing shots of everything from a boat graveyard and a crazy parking lot to an erupting volcano and a VERY tall mountain poking its tip out of the clouds.