What Happened on November 17
Important Events
- 1558 Elizabeth I aged 25, ascends the English throne upon death of her half sister, Queen "Bloody" Mary
- 1800 Congress holds its 1st session in Washington, D.C. in an incomplete Capitol Building
- 1831 Ecuador and Venezuela separated from Greater Colombia
- 1855 David Livingstone becomes the first European to see Victoria Falls, in what is now Zambia and Zimbabwe
- 1869 Suez Canal in Egypt opens, linking Mediterranean and Red seas
- 1922 The last sultan of the Ottoman Empire, Mehmed VI, is expelled to Malta on a British warship
- 1970 Douglas Engelbart receives the patent for the first computer mouse
Nov 17 in Film & TV
- 1933 Marx brothers film "Duck Soup" directed by Leo McCarey and starring the Marx Brothers is released in the US
Nov 17 in Music
- 2003 Britney Spears, at 21 years old, becomes the youngest singer to get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Nov 17 in Sport
- 2013 German Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel wins record 8th consecutive Formula 1 race with victory in United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas
Famous Birthdays
Vespasian
(9 - 79)- Louis XVIII
(1755 - 1824) - Bernard Montgomery
(1887 - 1976) - Gordon Lightfoot
82 Years Old - Martin Scorsese
78 Years Old - Danny Devito
76 Years Old
Vespasian
Louis XVIII
Bernard Montgomery
Gordon Lightfoot
Martin Scorsese
Danny DevitoWould You Believe?
US President Richard Nixon tells AP "...people have got to know whether or not their president is a crook. Well, I'm not a crook"
On November 17, 1973
Famous Weddings
- 1749 Founding Father of the United States Roger Sherman (28) weds first wife Elizabeth Hartwell in Massachusetts
- 1934 Lyndon B. Johnson marries Claudia Alta Taylor
- 1950 Writer Jack Kerouac (28) weds Joan Haverty
Famous Divorces
- 1995 Retired MLB player Johnny Bench (47) divorces Laura Cwikowski after nearly 8 years of marriage
Gregory of Tours
Calico Jack
Thomas Pelham-Holles
Auguste Rodin
Robert Hofstadter
Adrian QuistArticles, Photos and Quiz
Bloody Mary, England’s Most Hated Queen
Queen Mary I, the first woman to rule England in her own right, lost respect and was called Bloody Mary by burning hundreds of religious opponents at the stake.
November 17, 1558Weekly Quiz for November 11 - 17
The 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month marked the end of which war? Whose body was found in Antarctica in 1912? Which canal opened in 1869?
November in History
Nell Gwyn, the Temptress Who Enchanted a King
Nell Gwyn, who was brought up in a bawdy-house in London, caught the eye of King Charles II and became one of England’s most famous royal mistresses.
November 14, 1687The 1918 Flu Pandemic
A village in Alaska was almost wiped out on this day as the 1918 flu pandemic took its toll. Are there lessons for the world combatting the Coronavirus in 2020?
November 15, 1918All Eyes on Birthplace of British Rock 'n' Roll
Tommy Steele, Britain's first rock 'n' roll star, was discovered on this day at a coffee bar in central London, appearing live on the BBC's first pop music show.
November 16, 1957Words That Echoed Down The Decades
Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, delivered on this day, was as short and simple as it was immensely powerful and memorable.
November 19, 1863
