November 17


Today's:


1558 - Elizabeth I ascended the English throne upon the death of Queen Mary Tudor.

1603 - Sir Walter Raleigh went on trial for treason.

1796 - Catherine the Great of Russia died at the age of 67.

1798 - Irish nationalist leader Wolfe Tone committed suicide while in jail awaiting execution.

1800 - The U.S. Congress held its first session in Washington, DC, in the partially completed Capitol building.

1869 - The Suez Canal opened in Egypt, linking the Mediterranean and the Red seas.

1880 - The first three British female graduates received their Bachelor of Arts degrees from London University.

1903 - Russia's Social Democrats officially split into two groups - Bolsheviks and Mensheviks.

1904 - The first underwater submarine journey was taken, from Southampton, England, to the Isle of Wight.

1913 - The steamship Louise became the first ship to travel through the Panama Canal.

1913 - In Germany, Kaiser Wilhelm banned the armed forces from dancing the tango.

1922 - Siberia voted for union with the U.S.S.R.

1962 - Washington's Dulles International Airport was dedicated by U.S. President Kennedy.

1968 - NBC cut away from the final minutes of a New York Jets-Oakland Raiders game to begin a TV special, "Heidi," on schedule. The Raiders came from behind to beat the Jets 43-32.

1970 - The Soviet Union landed an unmanned, remote-controlled vehicle on the moon, the Lunokhod 1. The vehicle was released by Luna 17.

1973 - U.S. President Nixon told an Associated Press managing editors meeting in Orlando, FL, "people have got to know whether or not their president is a crook. Well, I'm not a crook."







1979 - Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini ordered the release of 13 female and black American hostages being held at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran.

1982 - The Empire State Building was added to the National Register of Historical Places.

1988 - Benazir Bhutto became the first woman leader of an Islamic country. She was elected in the first democratic elections in Pakistan in 11 years.

1990 - A mass grave was discovered by the bridge over the River Kwai in Thailand. The bodies were believed to be those of World War II prisoners of war.

1990 - The Soviet government agreed to change the country's constitution.

1997 - 62 people were killed by 6 Islamic militants outside the Temple of Hatshepsut in Luxor, Egypt. The attackers were killed by police.

1997 - Mario Lemieux was voted into the NHL Hall of Fame.

2001 - "Toys "R" Us Times Square - The Center of the Toy Universe" opened in New York City.

2006 - Sony's PlayStation 3 went on sale in the United States.

2010 - Researchers trapped 38 antihydrogen atoms. It was the first time humans had trapped antimatter.















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