Blue Mist Phenomena
November 6, 1818, the Bermuda Gazette reported: “The Islands have been enveloped in a blueish mist, which some say is smoke from the American Continent whilst others conceive it to be only the vapour exhaled from the Gulf Stream. There has most certainly been a strong scent of smoke in our atmosphere, and we pray God no genius of modern date has set the Atlantic Ocean on fire.”

Guy Fawkes Day
Bonfire Night, commemorating the failed attempt to assassinate King James I and blow up the House of Lords, 5 November 1605, was often celebrated in Bermuda, as Ruth Thomas recalled in Bermuda Recollections. “The early evening of November 5 echoed with the sound of fireworks and the crackling sound of effigies of Guy Fawkes burnt on large bonfires all over the island. This was the evening for sweet potato pudding and hot cocoa.” In the same book, Ralph Gauntlett explained the sweet potatoes were not yellow but “green – red skinned with green flesh.” He also described sticking the Guy Fawkes effigy and a few pots of paint from his father’s paint business into the bonfire. “It was a nice blaze.” Too dangerous? “Of course, some people got hurt occasionally but I’m of the opinion they’ve made life so blinking safe, it’s no wonder the children today are bored.”

Remembrance Day
At the eleventh hour on the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918, Germany signed an armistice agreement officially ending the hostilities of World War I. Because of bad weather, Hamilton celebrated on November 14 when the East Yorkshire Regiment held a torchlight procession through the streets onto Front Street. A “Band Concert” was held in Victoria Park at 8 pm. In November 1920, Bermuda’s Cenotaph, a limestone replica of the one in Whitehall, London, was erected on Front Street. From that date the two-minute silence has been observed November 11, at 11 am.

Church Decorum
On 6 November 1942, the Church of England no longer officially required women to wear hats in church. Before then, male clergy considered it inappropriate for women to show their hair in church.

Discovery of the Sea Venture
Also on November 6, but in 1958, the Royal Gazette reported that Mr. Edmund Downing of Cavello Bay had discovered the remains of a wreck in the ocean off Gates Fort. He thought there was a 50-50 chance of it being Admiral George Somers’s flagship. It was, indeed, the Sea Venture.

Presidential Assassination
President J. F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas by Lee Harvey Oswald on November 22, 1963.

National Deficit
According to Bermuda Life and Times, in 1964 the Colony’s overall deficit on November 1 was reduced from £227.373 to £150,152.

Queen of Bermuda
In 1966, The Royal Gazette reported the Queen of Bermuda’s last voyage on 23 November from the island to the breaker’s yard after 30 years of service. “A grand old lady has gone,” it said, “and with her an era and a little piece of Bermuda.” Apparently, Front Street’s balconies, piers and sidewalks were packed with people seeing her off. One sign in a window said: “Gone to see the Queen away. Back by 3:45.”