Today in History - November 17th


  • 1800 - On this day in history, The United States Congress held its first session in Washington, DC. 
  • 1869 - The Suez Canal opened in Egypt.
  • 1880 - Today in history, the first three British female graduates received their Bachelor of Arts degrees. 
  • 1904 - The first underwater submarine journey was taken, from Southampton, England, to the Isle of Wight. 
  • 1973 - On this day in history, President Richard Nixon told an Associated Press managing editors meeting "people have got to know whether or not their president is a crook. Well, I'm not a crook." 

  • 1988 - Benazir Bhutto became the first woman leader of an Islamic country.
  • 2006 - Sony's PlayStation 3 went on sale in the United States. 

SCIENCE, INVENTIONS, PATENTS - Today in History, November 17th

  • 2006 - Official naming of element 111 or Roentgenium (Rg) took place.
  • 2010 - Today in history, researchers trapped 38 anti-hydrogen atoms. It was the first time humans had trapped antimatter. 

MUSIC HISTORY - Today in History, November 17th

  • 1888 - Tchaikovsky's 5th Symphony premiered in St Petersburg.
  • 1970 - Today in history, Elton John recorded a show in New York City which was later released as his 11-17-70 album. 
  • 1974 - ABBA began their first tour of Europe. It was also their first tour outside of Sweden.
  • 1980 - On this day in history, John Lennon's album "Double Fantasy" was released. 
  • 1998 - Tori Amos released a compilation of her videos, "Tori Amos: The Complete Collection: 1992-1998". 
  • 1998 - Garth Brooks released "Garth Brooks: Double Live." 
  • 1998 - Today in history, Whitney Houston released "My Love is Your Love." 
  • 2003 - Britney Spears became the youngest singer to get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. 

FAMOUS BIRTHDAYS - November 17th

  • Lee Strasberg 1901 
  • Rock Hudson 1925
  • Martin Scorsese 1942
  • Danny DeVito 1944 
  • Lauren Hutton 1944
  • Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio 1958 
  • RuPaul 1960