November milestones spanning politics, technology and history

Several landmark events in U.S. and world history occurred in the first week of November across different years, from pivotal elections to technological milestones and deadly accidents. Among the most consequential were Abraham Lincoln’s election to the presidency on Nov. 6, 1860; Jeannette Rankin’s election to the U.S. House of Representatives on Nov. 7, 1916 as the first woman elected to either chamber of Congress; and the Bolshevik seizure of power in Russia on Nov. 7, 1917.

Lincoln’s victory in 1860, achieved in a four-way race, is widely regarded as a turning point that accelerated the nation’s slide toward civil war. Within a year, Southern states moved toward secession and the Confederacy consolidated under Jefferson Davis, who was elected unopposed to a full term in 1861. Those developments reshaped American politics, military policy and the legal framework of the nation through the 1860s.

A different kind of political milestone came in 1916 when Jeannette Rankin of Montana won election to the House, becoming the first woman elected to Congress. Her victory reflected growing support for women’s suffrage and presaged the passage of the 19th Amendment four years later....