What Happened on November 17
Significant Events
- 1558 Elizabeth I aged 25 ascends 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 British warship
- 1970 Douglas Engelbart receives the patent for the first computer mouse
November 17 in Film & TV
- 1933 Marx brothers film "Duck Soup" directed by Leo McCarey and starring the Marx Brothers is released in the US
November 17 in Music
- 2003 Britney Spears, at 21 years old, becomes the youngest singer to get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
November 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)
Martin Scorsese
76 Years Old
Danny Devito
74 Years Old
Lorne Michaels
74 Years Old
Would 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
Thomas Pelham-Holles
Catherine the Great
Prince Philip
Auguste Rodin
Robert HofstadterNovember in History
Nell Gwyn, the Whore 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, 1687
All 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, 1957
Words 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
Nuremberg War Trials Bring Nazis to Justice
The Trial of Major War Criminals began on this day, the first of a five-year series of hearings at Nuremberg where WW2 Nazis were held to account.
November 20, 1945