Several other related battles also will be commemorated during the 10-day anniversary period, including the Battle of Hanover, Pa., battle skirmishes at the Lutheran Seminary, and the Battle of Hunterstown, Pa.

On Nov. 19, a reenactor will recite Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, which he gave on that date 150 years ago at the dedication of the Soldier’s National Cemetery in Gettysburg.

•  Information: www.gettysburgcivilwar150.com.

KENNEDY ASSASSINATION

In Dallas, Texas, where President John F. Kennedy was assassinated 50 years ago, plans for observing the anniversary have met some controversy. Some residents wanted no observance at all of the tragic event. City leaders, however, plan a memorial service on Nov. 22, the day of that fatal shooting, and the Sixth Floor Museum — located on the site from which Lee Harvey Oswald fired the fatal shots — will observe the anniversary with a year-long series of programs.

In the first designated event in Kennedy’s memory that Dallas has ever held, Mayor Mike Rawlings will lead an “understated and respectful” public memorial service at 12:25 p.m. Nov. 22. Presidential historian David McCullough will give special readings from Kennedy’s presidential speeches.

Dallas’ Southern Methodist University, in partnership with Dallas’ Sixth Floor Museum and the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum, will put on a yearlong series of programs focusing in part on the Kennedy presidency.

New since late last year is a downtown memorial in the neighboring city of Fort Worth, commemorating the morning Kennedy and his wife spent in that city on the day he was assassinated. Centerpiece of the JFK Tribute is an eight-foot bronze statue of JFK with memorabilia mounted on an 11-foot granite wall.

The anniversary will be marked elsewhere as well, but at this writing plans had not been finalized at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston or other venues.

•  Information: www.jfk.org, www.50thHonoringJohnFKennedy.com.

OPERA GREATS

Two great opera composers, Richard Wagner and Guiseppe Verdi, were born in 1813, 200 years ago. Both will be commemorated in special concerts and presentations this year in the United States and abroad.

In America, the Metropolitan Opera in New York is devoting much of its season to the two composers’ operas. On April 30, it will present selections from Verdi and Wagner conducted by Fabio Luisi.

Both composers, of course, also will be saluted in their native countries.

In Germany, a 200th anniversary Wagner program will take place May 22 in Bayreuth, home of the music festival the composer founded. A number of Wagner’s works also will be performed in Leipzig.

In Italy, a number of Verdi operas will be performed throughout the nation, starting at the Verona Arena and ending at the famed La Scala opera house in Milan. Verdi works also will be performed at Vienna’s Staatsoper with Placido Domingo, and at the Salzburg Festival with Zubin Mehta conducting.

•  Information: www.examiner.com/article/how-and-where-to-celebrate-2013-bicentennials-of-verdi-and-wagner.

LONDON UNDERGROUND

The world’s first subway opened 150 years ago in the British capital. “The Tube” has grown immensely since its 1863 debut, and now covers 250 miles of trackage, with stops at 270 stations, including almost every place a tourist would visit.