Today in History - Nov. 17 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 - Russias 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 - Washingtons 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, Im not a crook. 1979 - Irans Ayatollah Khomeini ordered the release of 13 female and black American hostages being held at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. 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 countrys 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 - Sonys PlayStation 3 went on sale in the United States. 2010 - Reasearchers trapped 38 antihydrogen atoms. It was the first time humans had trapped antimatter. Source: On-This-Day
Posted on: Mon, 17 Nov 2014 11:52:34 +0000