The following events occurred in November 1905:
November 1, 1905 (Wednesday) The Committee of Ministers of the Russian Empire was created by a decree of Tsar Nicholas II (October 19 old style, November 1 new style), two days after the October Manifesto, as the first cabinet of advisers to jointly discuss national policy, and former finance minister Sergei Witte was appointed as the chairman of the committee, in effect becoming Russia's first prime minister. Lahti, a city in the Grand Duchy of Finland within Russia, was granted city rights by Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, in his capacity as Grand Duke of Finland. Died: Sergei Legat, 30, Russian ballet dancer who had been the first to portray the title character in Pyotr Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker, committed suicide by slashing his throat.
November 2, 1905 (Thursday) The death of the wife of U.S. parachutist Charles Broadwick became the tragic inspiration for his invention of the parachute pack. Maude Broadwick was present with her husband at a carnival in Anderson, South Carolina, and the two rode upward on a balloon. At the time, the practice was for the parachutist to be suspended beneath the balloon, and then to drop from high enough for the parachute to fill with air on the way down. Maude fell to her death from the balloon, with Charles unable to assist her. The following year, Charles Broadwick developed a chute that could be folded into a backpack, and opened by a static line attached to the balloon. Born: Georges Schéhadé, Egyptian-born Lebanese playwright; in Alexandria, Egypt (d. 1989) Isobel Andrews, Scottish-born New Zealand playwright; in Glasgow (d. 1990) Died: Albert von Kölliker, 88, Swiss zoologist
November 3, 1905 (Friday) Tsar Nicholas II continued his reforms, ending Russian censorship of the press and of private dispatches, as well as granting amnesty to political prisoners. Born: Lois Mailou Jones, African-American painter; in Boston (d. 1998) Died: Eliza Thompson, 89, U.S. crusader against sales of liquor and activist within the temperance movement in the late 19th century, creator of the "Visitation Band" practice used in 23 states for peacefully putting bars and liquor stores out of business
November 4, 1905 (Saturday) Tsar Nicholas II of Russia ordered the grant of self-government to the Grand Principality of Finland, ordering the Russian-appointed Senate of Finland to put forward a proposal for parliamentary reform, with an elected, unicameral parliament and universal and equal suffrage. The "November Manifesto" was a reversal of the infamous February Manifesto that had removed the veto of the Diet over matters considered by the Emperor to concern Russian imperial interests. The Rolland-Pilain automobile company was formed in France by François Rolland and Émile Pilain at Tours. The company would cease manufacturing in 1927 because of financial troubles. Born: Dragutin Tadijanović, Croatian poet; in Rastušje, Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia, Austro-Hungarian Empire (d. 2007) Nannie Doss, American serial killer who confessed to murdering 11 people between 1927 and her 1954 arrest; in Blue Mountain, Alabama (d. 1965)
November 5, 1905 (Sunday) Orville Wright and Wilbur Wright dismantled their revolutionary Wright Flyer III airplane and put it in storage to prevent competitors from learning its technology. Paul Déroulède, founder of the nationalist League of Patriots, was welcomed back to Paris after a six-year exile. Déroulède was one of several French citizens who had taken advantage of a law of amnesty. Died: Lady Florence Dixie, 50, Scottish book author, feminist and war correspondent, died of diphtheria.
November 6, 1905 (Monday) Swiss engineer Alfred Büchi received the first patent for his invention of the turbocharger for motors, as he was granted patent No. 204,630 from the German Patent and Trade Mark Office (Deutsches Patent- und Markenamt) for his invention, a "highly supercharged compound engine, using an axial compressor, radial piston engine and axial turbine on a common shaft." Lord Lansdowne, Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom, declared to skeptics that the newly revealed alliance between the British Empire and the Japanese Empire was not intended as a threat to any other nation. Died: Sir George Williams, 84, British philanthropist who founded (in 1844) the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) William J. Le Moyne, 74, American stage actor