Art, science and childhood — from Claude Monet's light-filled canvases to World Diabetes Day and Children's Day in India.
Next: Saturday, November 14, 2026.
Oscar-Claude Monet was born in Paris on November 14, 1840, and grew up in Le Havre. His painting Impression, Sunrise (1872), shown at the first Impressionist exhibition in 1874, gave the movement its name after critic Louis Leroy used the title mockingly. From 1883 he lived at Giverny, where his water garden inspired about 250 paintings of water lilies. He died there on December 5, 1926.
World Diabetes Day is held on November 14, the birthday of Frederick Banting, who co-discovered insulin with Charles Best in 1921. The International Diabetes Federation and the World Health Organization created the day in 1991, and the United Nations made it an official UN day in 2006. Its symbol is a blue circle.
India celebrates Children's Day (Bal Diwas) on November 14, the birthday of Jawaharlal Nehru, the country's first prime minister, who was born in 1889. Nehru was known for his affection for children, and after his death in 1964 his birthday became India's Children's Day. Schools often mark it with performances and events for students.
NASA's Mariner 9 entered orbit around Mars on November 14, 1971, becoming the first spacecraft to orbit another planet. It arrived during a planet-wide dust storm and waited for the dust to clear before mapping most of the Martian surface. Its images revealed giant volcanoes such as Olympus Mons, ancient channels, and the vast canyon system later named Valles Marineris in the mission's honor.
Journalist Nellie Bly of the New York World set out on November 14, 1889, to beat the fictional 80-day journey in Jules Verne's Around the World in Eighty Days. Traveling by steamship, train and other transport, she returned in 72 days, 6 hours and 11 minutes, setting a world record at the time. Her trip made her one of the most famous journalists of her era.
Charles was born at Buckingham Palace on November 14, 1948, the first child of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip. He became heir apparent at age three when his mother became Queen in 1952, and he was the longest-serving heir apparent in British history. He became King Charles III on September 8, 2022, at age 73.