On this day...

Feast day of St Martin of Tours, St Bartholomew of Grottaferata, St Mannas of Egypt, and St Theodore the Studite.

1918 The armistice was signed between the Allies and Germany in Compeigne, France, effectively ending World War I.

1921 The British Legion held its first Poppy Day to raise money for wounded World War I veterans.

1940 The Willys-Overland Company launched a four-wheel drive vehicle for the US Army, named "Jeep" after GP (general purpose).

1952 The first video recorder was demonstrated in Beverly Hills, California, by its inventors John Mullin and Wayne Johnson.

1965 Ian Smith, Prime Minister of Rhodesia, unilaterally declared his country's independence from Britain.

1975 Angola gained independence from Portugal.

Birthdays which occurred on November 11th:

1050 Henry IV Holy Roman emperor (1036-1106)
1744 Abigail Smith Adams, First Lady
1748 Charles IV, King of Spain (1788-1808)
1771 Ephraim McDowell, surgeon (pioneered abdominal surgery)
1821 Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky, Russia, novelist (Crime & Punishment)
1836 Thomas Bailey Aldrich, US, author/editor (Story of a Bad Boy)
1864 Alfred Hermann Fried, Germany, pacifist (Nobel 1911)
1869 Victor Emmanual III, King of Italy (1900-46)
1872 Frederick A. Stock, Germany, conductor (Theodore Thomas Orch)
1883 Ernest Ansermet Vevey, Switzerland, conductor (Ruilles de Printemps)
1885 George S. Patton, US general
1896 Charles "Lucky" Luciano, Sicily, New York City Mafia gangster
1898 Rene Clair, director (I Married a Witch)
1899 Harold "Pie" Traynor, baseball hall of fame 3rd baseman (Pirates)
1899 Pat O'Brien, Milwaukee, actor (Knute Rockne, Angels with Dirty Faces)
1900 Helena Konopacka, Poland, discus thrower (Olympic gold-1928)
1900 Hugh Scott (Sen-R-Penn), minority whip
1900 John Longden, West Indies, actor (Man From Interpol)
1901 Sam Spiegel, producer (On the Waterfront, Bridge over River Kwai)
1904 Alger Hiss, State Department official who hid papers in a pumpkin
1909 Robert Ryan, Chicago, actor (Billy Budd, Dirty Dozen, Longest Day)
1910 Franz Kemser, Germany, 4 man bobsled (Olympic gold-1952)
1911 Patric Knowles, England, actor (Big Steal, Chisum)
1914 Howard Fast, screenwriter (Rachel & the Stranger, Spartacus)
1915 William Proxmire (Sen-D-WI) 
1918 Stubby Kaye, New York, actor (Guys & Dolls, Lil' Abner, Cat Ballou)
1922 Kurt Vonnegut Jr., author (Slaughterhouse Five, Sirens of Titan)
1925 Jonathan Winters, Dayton Ohio, comedian (J Winters Show, Mork & Mindy)
1927 Mose Allison, Mississippi, jazz artist (Black Country Suite)
1929 LaVern Baker, Chicago, R&B vocalist (I Cried a Tear)
1934 Bibi Andersson, Sweden, actress (Scenes From a Marriage)
1934 Paula Myers-Pope, US, platform diver
1936 Susan Kohner, actress (Imitation of Life, Gene Krupa Story)
1938 John Reilly, Chicago, actor (Sean-General Hospital, Dallas, Hamptons)
1943 Jan Adamski, Poland, International Chess Master (1976)
1944 Jesse Colin Young, New York, rocker (The Youngbloods-Soul of a City Boy)
1945 Daniel Ortega Saavedra, President of Nicaragua
1945 Denise Alexander, New York, actress (General Hospital, Another World)
1951 Fuzzy Zoeller, New Albany Indiana, PGA golfer (Masters 1981)
1953 Andy Partridge, guitarist/vocal (XTC-Oranges & Lemons)
1954 Gail Marquis, WBL forward (NY Stars, Olympic silver-1976)
1955 Jigme Singye Wangchuk, King of Bhutan
1956 Ian Craig Marsh, rocker (Heaven 17-Electric Dreams)
1959 Vincent Irizarry, Queens NY, actor (Guiding Light, Santa Barbara)
1962 Demi Moore [Guynes], Roswell NM, actress (Seventh Sign, GI Jane)
1963 Vinnie Testaverde, NFL quarterback
1964 Philip McKeon, Westbury NY, actor (Tommy-Alice, Return to Horror High)
1965 Brian Wilson, New York, murderer (FBI Most Wanted List)
1968 Jo Kittsee, Germany, rocker (Fuzzbox-Into Rescue)
1968 Wyatt Pauley, Ecuador, rocker (Linear-I Never Felt This Way, Lies)
1970 Derry Brownson, rock keyboardist (EMF-Unbelievable)
1974 Leonardo DiCaprio LA, actor (Luke-Growing Pains, Titanic)

Deaths which occurred on November 11th:

1831 Nat Turner, former slave, led a violent insurrection, hanged in VA
1956 Victor Young, orchestra leader (Milton Berle Show), dies at 56
1973 Stringbean [David Akeman], banjoist/comedian (Hee Haw), dies at 58
1974 Jane Ace, comedian (Easy Aces), dies at 74
1975 Marty May (Fireball Fun For All), dies at 79
1984 Rev. Martin Luther King Sr. dies in Atlanta at 84
1986 Roger C. Carmel, actor (Mudd-Star Trek, Mothers-in-Law), dies at 54