What Happened on November 17
Historical 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
- More Historical Events
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
Did You Know?
U.S. Congress meets for the first time in the newly built Capitol in Washington, D.C., which had been established by The Residence Act of July 16, 1790
On November 17, 1800
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
- 1913 Film comedian Oliver Hardy (21) marries pianist Madelyn Saloshin in Macon, Georgia; divorce in 1921
- 1934 Lyndon B. Johnson marries Claudia Alta Taylor
Famous Divorces
- 1995 Retired MLB player Johnny Bench (47) divorces Laura Cwikowski after nearly 8 years of marriage
More Weddings & Divorces
Articles, 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?