Maria Theresa – the only female to rule the Habsburg Empire – became queen following her father’s death.
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The Return of the King, the third installment in The Lord of the Rings book series by J. R. R. Tolkein, was published.
The United States ratified the Louisiana Purchase.
The Governor of Kenya declared a state of emergency and began arresting hundreds of suspected leaders of the Mau Mau Uprising.
Abraham Lincoln declared Thanksgiving Day a national holiday.
The Soviet spacecraft Venera 9 went into Venus' orbit – making it the first to do so.
