The British Antarctic Expedition began with the departure of Scottish explorers on the steamer Scotia.[2]
November 4, 1902 (Tuesday)
An explosion of fireworks killed 15 people in New York City's Madison Square.[2]
The government of Venezuela announced that the revolution in the South American nation had ended.
William Redmond became the third Irish MP in the UK House of Commons to be arrested on charges of violating the Crimes Act.[2]
Election Day took place in 22 of the 46 states of the U.S., including New York.
November 5, 1902 (Wednesday)
The sinking of the Australian passenger ship SS Elingamite killed 45 people as the vessel foundered near the Three Kings Islands in New Zealand, in a thick fog. Another 150 people were rescued.[3]
Elections were held in Austria for the lower house of parliament, the Reichsrat. The Christian Socialist Party won 50 of the 78 seats.
The UK House of Commons approved a $40 million package of financial aid to Britain's South African colonies.[2]
A French arbitration commission ruled that striking coal miners were not entitled to an increase in their wages.[2] Miners voted at Lens to return to work on November 13.
A reciprocal trade treaty was signed by the United States and by the Dominion of Newfoundland, which was separate from Canada at the time.
Canada's government dispatched the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to stop a winter pilgrimage by a group of dissatisfied members of the Doukhobors, a religious group that had migrated to British Columbia from Russia.[2]
Germany agreed to a U.S. proposal to submit the question, of whether the Chinese indemnity should be paid in gold or in silver, to the Hague Tribunal for a ruling.
November 13, 1902 (Thursday)
Germany's Reichstag voted to amend its tariff bill to permit the German government to retaliate against any nations that discriminated against Germany and German nationals.[2]
November 14, 1902 (Friday)
The newly formed Anthracite Coal Strike Commission, set up by agreement of labor and management representatives, began the taking of witness testimony as it opened its investigation in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
November 15, 1902 (Saturday)
Italian anarchist Gennaro Rubino failed in an attempt to assassinate Belgium's King Leopold II. The King was returning from a memorial service for his wife, who had recently died. Rubino was seized by the crowd and arrested by police.[10]
Italy's ailing Prime Minister Giuseppe Zanardelli attempted to introduce various social reforms, including changes to taxation and a divorce bill.[12]
A lawsuit was filed in federal court in the U.S. state of Virginia to prevent certification of the new state constitution and of Virginia's 10 U.S. Congressmen, on grounds that no election had actually been held.[2]
November 16, 1902 (Sunday)
Berryman's Teddy Bear cartoon
The image and name of what would become the "Teddy bear" stuffed animal toy was created in an editorial cartoon by Clifford K. Berryman of The Washington Post. Captioned "Drawing the Line in Mississippi", the cartoon referred to U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt's work at settling a boundary dispute between the U.S. states of Mississippi and Louisiana, but also to an incident two days earlier when Roosevelt refused to shoot a bear cub.[13][14] The cartoon, in turn, inspired toy manufacturer Morris Michtom to create the stuffed animal which he originally marketed as "Teddy's bear".[13]
The British steamer SS Greenock collided with another steamer, SS Ape, near Gourock Bay and Cloch Point in the River Clyde, Scotland. One crew member was lost.[15]
November 19, 1902 (Wednesday)
Diplomatic relations were established between Persia and Greece for the first time in 24 centuries.[2] The last time there had been a Persian ambassador to Athens had been in 492 BC, until the Persian King Darius the Great ordered Persian invasion of Greece.
A peace treaty to end the Colombian Civil War was signed between representatives of the government of Colombia and the leader of the anti-government Liberal guerrillas. The signing ceremony took place aboard the USS Wisconsin, anchored off of the Isthmus of Panama, which was part of the Republic of Colombia at the time.[17]
The House of Commons of the United Kingdom voted to abolish its tariff on imported sugar and to accept the Brussels Convention, despite the objections of Prime Minister Arthur J. Balfour.[17]
Walter Reed, 51, American army physician who led the fight to eradicate yellow fever, and for whom the Walter Reed Army Hospital is named, died of (peritonitis). (b. 1851)
King Edward VII of the United Kingdom, acting as arbitrator in the border dispute between Argentina and Chile, announced his decision.[17]
Negotiations between the U.S. and Colombia for a lease of an American zone on Colombia's isthmus of Panama were suspended.[17]
November 26, 1902 (Wednesday)
Italian opposition leader Sidney Sonnino tabled a reform bill intended to alleviate poverty in the impoverished southern part of the nation, by measures such as reducing land taxes in Sicily, Calabria and Sardinia.[22]
November 27, 1902 (Thursday)
The Kingdom of Siam, now Thailand, suspended its production of silver coins.[17]
Scottish mining engineer Robert Williams was granted a 99-year concession by Portugal for construction of the Benguela railway in the colony of Portuguese East Africa, later the People's Republic of Mozambique. "A Portuguese concession to construct a railway".[23]
November 29, 1902 (Saturday)
At The Hague, Dutch judge Tobias Asser, issued his decision of the amount of damages to be awarded by the government of Russia, arising from the seizure of the boats of American seal hunters.[17]
