The following events occurred in November 1936:
November 1, 1936 (Sunday) During a speech in Milan, Benito Mussolini referred to the existence of a "German-Italian axis."
November 2, 1936 (Monday) BBC Television Service, Britain's first television station, was launched. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation was launched. Nationalists captured Brunete. Born: Rose Bird, Chief Justice of California, near Tucson, Arizona (d. 1999)
November 3, 1936 (Tuesday) Franklin D. Roosevelt was re-elected in the United States presidential election by a landslide. Roosevelt carried 46 out of 48 states in the most lopsided election in American history in terms of electoral votes. The Miyagi earthquake struck Japan. Several cantons in Switzerland banned the Communist Party. Austrian Chancellor Kurt Schuschnigg performed a cabinet reshuffle that ousted all three former members of the Heimwehr. Edward VIII opened Parliament with a speech from the throne. The first episode of Starlight was broadcast on BBC Television. Born: Roy Emerson, tennis player, in Blackbutt, Queensland, Australia
November 4, 1936 (Wednesday) The CNT/FAI accepted four cabinet posts in the Spanish Republic, the first and only time that anarchists have participated in a national government. Nationalists captured Getafe. A defamation case opened in the High Court of Justice brought by Richard S. Lambert against Lt. Col. Cecil Levita. Lambert sued Levita after the Lieutenant Colonel suggested that Lambert was unfit to be associated with the British Film Institute because he believed in Gef the talking mongoose. Levita denied uttering the words attributed to him, but said they would have been fully justified if he did. The satirical anti-Nazi play Round Heads and Pointed Heads by Bertolt Brecht premiered at the Riddersalen Theatre in Copenhagen. Born: C. K. Williams, poet, in Newark, New Jersey (d. 2016) Didier Ratsiraka, then President of Madagascar, Vatomandry, Atsinanana Region (d. 2021) Died: Edgar André, 42, German communist politician (executed)
November 5, 1936 (Thursday) Nazi Germany published a new penal code introducing heavy penalties for slandering Adolf Hitler or the memories of the late Paul von Hindenburg, Horst Wessel and Albert Leo Schlageter. The new code also removed duelling from the list of offenses. Born: Uwe Seeler, footballer, in Hamburg, Germany (d. 2022) Billy Sherrill, record producer, songwriter and arranger, in Phil Campbell, Alabama (d. 2015) Michael Dertouzos, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science professor (d. 2001)
November 6, 1936 (Friday) Spanish Prime Minister Francisco Largo Caballero and other government officials fled Madrid and set up a new capital in Valencia. Administration of Madrid was turned over to an eight-man junta led by General José Miaja. Franco ordered a halt to the executions of Basque priests who were considered supporters of the Republic. Richard S. Lambert won his defamation case and was awarded £7,500 by the jury. The British biographical film Rembrandt premiered in the United Kingdom. Symphony No. 3 in A minor, Op. 44 by Sergei Rachmaninoff premiered with Leopold Stokowski conducting the Philadelphia Orchestra.
November 7, 1936 (Saturday) The Madrid Defense Council was formed. Father Charles Coughlin announced that he was withdrawing from "all radio activity in the best interest of all the people" and retiring from politics. This retirement proved to be short-lived as he returned to the air in January 1937. Died: Charles "Chic" Sale, 51, American actor and vaudevillian
November 8, 1936 (Sunday) Nationalist general Emilio Mola launched an assault on the Spanish capital city of Madrid, beginning the three-year Siege of Madrid. 250,000 people gathered in Hyde Park in support of the Jarrow Marchers. Guatemala and El Salvador recognized Francoist Spain. Born: Virna Lisi, actress, in Ancona, Italy (d. 2014)
November 9, 1936 (Monday) Kostaq Kota became Prime Minister of Albania for the second time. Four masked men stole the Wallace Sword from the Wallace Monument in Scotland. John Barrymore and Elaine Barrie were wed in Yuma, Arizona a few minutes after midnight. The U.S. Supreme Court decided Bourdieu v. Pacific Western Oil Co. and Valentine v. United States. Born: Teddy Infuhr, child actor, in Missouri, United States (d. 2007)