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William III of England (1650–1702) was the Prince of Orange, Stadtholder of the main provinces of the Dutch Republic, and King of England, Scotland, and Ireland. Born a member of the House of Orange-Nassau, William III won the English, Scottish and Irish crowns following the Glorious Revolution, in which his uncle and father-in-law, James II, was deposed. In England, Scotland and Ireland, William ruled jointly with his wife, Mary II, until her death in 1694. A Protestant, William participated in several wars against the powerful Catholic King Louis XIV of France in coalition with Protestant and Catholic powers in Europe. Many Protestants heralded him as a champion of their faith. Largely due to that reputation, William was able to take the British crowns where many were fearful of a revival of Catholicism under James. William's victory over James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690 is commemorated by the Orange Institution in Northern Ireland to this day. His reign marked the beginning of the transition from the personal rule of the Stuarts to the more Parliament-centered rule of the House of Hanover. (more...)

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November 14: World Diabetes Day; Children's Day in India; Day of the Colombian Woman in Colombia

• 1817 – Bolívar's War: Colombian seamstress Policarpa Salavarrieta (pictured) was executed in Bogotá for working as a spy for the revolutionary forces in New Granada.
• 1889 – New York World reporter Nellie Bly embarked on her successful attempt to travel Around the World in Eighty Days, eventually completing her journey in only 72 days.
• 1940 – World War II: Coventry Cathedral and much of the city centre of Coventry, England were destroyed by the German Luftwaffe during the Coventry Blitz.
• 1990 – Germany and Poland signed the German-Polish Border Treaty, confirming their border at the Oder-Neisse line, which was originally defined by the Potsdam Agreement in 1945.
• 2003 – Astronomers Michael E. Brown, Chad Trujillo, and David L. Rabinowitz discovered the trans-Neptunian object 90377 Sedna.

More anniversaries: November 13 – November 14 – November 15