Today in History: November 1, Seabiscuit wins 'Race of the Century'

Today is Sunday, Nov. 1, the 305th day of 2026. There are 60 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Nov. 1, 1938, in a two-horse match, Seabiscuit defeated the favored Triple Crown winner War Admiral by four lengths in what was dubbed the “Race of the Century” at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore.

Also on this date:

In 1512, Pope Julius II inaugurated Michelangelo's masterfully painted ceiling of the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican, which depicted biblical accounts including the creation of the world, the fall of man and the story of Noah.

In 1755, a powerful earthquake with an estimated 8.5 magnitude or higher struck Lisbon, Portugal, unleashing a tsunami and raging fires that killed tens of thousands of people. Authorities called it one of the most destructive earthquakes in European history.

In 1765, the Stamp Act, passed by the British Parliament, went into effect, prompting stiff resistance from American colonists.

In 1800, President John Adams and wife Abigail moved into the still unfurnished and largely unfinished mansion now known as the White House. They lived there less than five months before Thomas Jefferson took office in March 1801.

In 1861, during the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln named Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan General-in-Chief of the Union armies, succeeding Lt. Gen. Winfield Scott.

In 1894, Nicholas II became Emperor of Russia, succeeding his late father Alexander III.

In 1936, in a speech in Milan, Italy, Benito Mussolini described the alliance between his country and Nazi Germany as an “axis” running between Rome and Berlin.

In 1950, two Puerto Rican nationalists tried to force their way into Blair House in Washington, D.C., in a failed attempt to assassinate President Harry S. Truman. (One of the pair was killed, along with a White House police officer.)

In 1952, the U.S. conducted the world's first test explosion of a thermonuclear hydrogen bomb device at a Pacific atoll, code-named operation Mike.

In 1982, the first Japanese car produced in the U.S. rolled off the assembly line at the Honda manufacturing plant in Marysville, Ohio.

In 1989, East Germany reopened its border with Czechoslovakia, prompting tens of thousands of refugees to flee to the West. East Germany would announce Nov. 9 that it was opening its border crossings with West Berlin, prompting the fall of the Berlin Wall.

In 1993, The Maastricht Treaty took effect, establishing the European Union and a new era of integration and economic cooperation among its member states.

In 1995, peace talks opened in Ohio with leaders of Bosnia, Serbia and Croatia present. (The talks led a month later to the Paris signing of the Dayton Peace Accord, signaling an end to the more than 3-year-old Bosnian war that followed the breakup of the former Yugoslavia.)

Today’s Birthdays: Golf Hall of Famer Gary Player is 91. Country singer Bill Anderson is 89. Football Hall of Famer Ted Hendricks is 79. Music producer David Foster is 77. Musician Lyle Lovett is 69. Apple CEO Tim Cook is 66. Rock singer Anthony Kiedis (Red Hot Chili Peppers) is 64. Drummer Rick Allen (Def Leppard) is 63. Actor Toni Collette is 54. Actor-TV host Jenny McCarthy is 54. Actor Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is 53. Football Hall of Famer Steve Hutchinson is 49. Actor Penn Badgley is 40. Actor Anthony Ramos is 35. Actor Alex Wolff is 29. Rapper NLE Choppa is 24. Actor Jayden Bartels is 22. NBA player Stephon Castle is 22.