- 1493 - Christopher Columbus became the first European to land on Puerto Rico, an island he named San Juan Bautista.
- 1794 - The United States and the Kingdom of Great Britain concluded the Jay Treaty.
- 1863 - U.S. President Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address.
- 1942 - Soviet forces under General Georgy Zhukov launched the Operation Uranus envelopment at the Battle of Stalingrad, turning the tide of the battle in the Soviet Union's favor.
- 1977 - Egyptian President Anwar Sadat became the first Arab leader to officially visit Israel; he met with Prime Minister Menachem Begin and spoke before the Knesset.
Recent days: November 18 – November 17 – November 16