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On November 30, 1835, Mark Twain was born in Florida, Missouri, the writer who would become the most distinctive voice of nineteenth-century American literature. Author of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn — considered by many the first great American novel — Twain was a master of irony and social criticism disguised as humour.

On November 30, 1936, the China government inaugurated the Academia Sinica, the country's leading scientific institution, as part of the modernisation pursued by the Republic of China. However, the Second Sino-Japanese War interrupted its development. After the 1949 revolution, the Academy split between Beijing and Taiwan, where it continues to operate as Academia Sinica.

On November 30, 1939, the Soviet Union invaded Finland, beginning the Winter War. Despite the Soviets' enormous numerical superiority, the Finnish army, led by Marshal Mannerheim, resisted for 105 days with extraordinary tenacity. Finland ceded 11% of its territory but retained its independence, in one of the most epic episodes of World War II.