November 17Birthdays & History

On this day: November 17 in history

Oldest first. Tap a year to see it on the World Chronicle timeline.

1. 887Emperor Charles the Fat is deposed by the Frankish magnates in an assembly at Frankfurt, leading his nephew, Arnulf of Carinthia, to declare himself king of the East Frankish Kingdom in late November.Europe
2. 1183Genpei War: The Battle of Mizushima takes place off the Japanese coast, where Minamoto no Yoshinaka's invasion force is intercepted and defeated by the Taira clan.Asia
3. 1292John Balliol becomes King of Scotland.Europe
4. 1405Sharif ul-Hāshim establishes the Sultanate of Sulu.Asia
5. 1494French King Charles VIII occupies Florence, Italy.Europe
6. 1511Henry VIII of England concludes the Treaty of Westminster, a pledge of mutual aid against the French, with Ferdinand II of Aragon.Europe
7. 1558Elizabethan era begins: Queen Mary I of England dies and is succeeded by her half-sister Elizabeth I.Europe
8. 1603English explorer, writer and courtier Sir Walter Raleigh goes on trial for treason.Europe
9. 1775The city of Kuopio, Finland (belonging to Sweden at this time) is founded by King Gustav III of Sweden.Europe
10. 1777Articles of Confederation (United States) are submitted to the states for ratification.North America
11. 1796French Revolutionary Wars: Battle of the Bridge of Arcole: French forces defeat the Austrians in Italy.Europe
12. 1800The United States Congress holds its first session in Washington, D.C.North America
13. 1810Sweden declares war on its ally the United Kingdom to begin the Anglo-Swedish War, although no fighting ever takes place.Europe
14. 1811José Miguel Carrera, Chilean founding father, is sworn in as President of the executive Junta of the government of Chile.Latin America
15. 1820Captain Nathaniel Palmer becomes the first American to see Antarctica. (The Palmer Peninsula is later named after him.)North America
16. 1831Ecuador and Venezuela are separated from Gran Colombia.Latin America
17. 1837An earthquake in Valdivia, south-central Chile, causes a tsunami that leads to significant destruction along Japan's coast.Latin AmericaAsia
18. 1856American Old West: On the Sonoita River in present-day southern Arizona, the United States Army establishes Fort Buchanan in order to help control new land acquired in the Gadsden Purchase.North America
19. 1858The city of Denver, Colorado is founded.North America
20. 1858Modified Julian Day zero.World
21. 1863American Civil War: Siege of Knoxville begins: During the Knoxville campaign, Confederate forces under General James Longstreet besiege the city of Knoxville, Tennessee and its Union defenders led by General Ambrose Burnside.North America
22. 1869In Egypt, the Suez Canal, linking the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea, is inaugurated.Middle East
23. 1878First assassination attempt against Umberto I of Italy by anarchist Giovanni Passannante, who was armed with a dagger. The King survived with a slight wound in an arm. Prime Minister Benedetto Cairoli blocked the aggressor, receiving an injury in a leg.Europe
24. 1885Serbo-Bulgarian War: The decisive Battle of Slivnitsa begins.Europe
25. 1894H. H. Holmes, one of the first modern serial killers, is arrested in Boston, Massachusetts.North America
26. 1896The Western Pennsylvania Hockey League, which later became the first ice hockey league to openly trade and hire players, began play at Pittsburgh's Schenley Park Casino.North America
27. 1903The Russian Social Democratic Labour Party splits into two groups: The Bolsheviks (Russian for "majority") and Mensheviks (Russian for "minority").Europe
28. 1939Nine Czech students are executed as a response to anti-Nazi demonstrations prompted by the death of Jan Opletal. All Czech universities are shut down and more than 1,200 students sent to concentration camps. Since this event, International Students' Day is celebrated in many countries, especially in the Czech Republic.Europe
29. 1940The Tartu Art Museum is established in Tartu, Estonia.Europe
30. 1947The Screen Actors Guild implements an anti-Communist loyalty oath.North America
31. 1947American scientists John Bardeen and Walter Houser Brattain observe the basic principles of the transistor, a key element for the electronics revolution of the 20th century.North America
32. 1950United Nations Security Council Resolution 89 relating to the Palestine Question is adopted.Middle East
33. 1950Lhamo Dondrub is officially named the 14th Dalai Lama.Asia
34. 1953The remaining human inhabitants of the Blasket Islands, County Kerry, Ireland, are evacuated to the mainland.Europe
35. 1957Vickers Viscount G-AOHP of British European Airways crashes at Ballerup after the failure of three engines on approach to Copenhagen Airport. The cause is a malfunction of the anti-icing system on the aircraft. There are no fatalities.Europe
36. 1962President John F. Kennedy dedicates Washington Dulles International Airport, serving the Washington, D.C., region.North America
37. 1967Vietnam War: Acting on optimistic reports that he had been given on November 13, U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson tells the nation that, while much remained to be done, "We are inflicting greater losses than we're taking...We are making progress."AsiaNorth America
38. 1968British European Airways introduces the BAC One-Eleven into commercial service.Europe
39. 1968Viewers of the Raiders–Jets football game in the eastern United States are denied the opportunity to watch its exciting finish when NBC broadcasts Heidi instead, prompting changes to sports broadcasting in the U.S.North America
40. 1969Cold War: Negotiators from the Soviet Union and the United States meet in Helsinki, Finland to begin SALT I negotiations aimed at limiting the number of strategic weapons on both sides.EuropeNorth America
41. 1970Vietnam War: Lieutenant William Calley goes on trial for the My Lai Massacre.Asia
42. 1970Luna programme: The Soviet Union lands Lunokhod 1 on Mare Imbrium (Sea of Rains) on the Moon. This is the first roving remote-controlled robot to land on another world and is released by the orbiting Luna 17 spacecraft.Europe
43. 1973Watergate scandal: In Orlando, Florida, U.S. President Richard Nixon tells 400 Associated Press managing editors "I am not a crook."North America
44. 1973The Athens Polytechnic uprising against the military regime ends in a bloodshed in the Greek capital.Europe
45. 1983The Zapatista Army of National Liberation is founded in Mexico.Latin America
46. 1986The flight crew of Japan Airlines Flight 1628 are involved in a UFO sighting incident while flying over Alaska.AsiaNorth America
47. 1989Cold War: Velvet Revolution begins: In Czechoslovakia, a student demonstration in Prague is quelled by riot police. This sparks an uprising aimed at overthrowing the communist government (it succeeds on December 29).Europe
48. 1990Fugendake, part of the Mount Unzen volcanic complex, Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan, becomes active again and erupts.Asia
49. 1993United States House of Representatives passes a resolution to establish the North American Free Trade Agreement.North America
50. 1993In Nigeria, General Sani Abacha ousts the government of Ernest Shonekan in a military coup.Africa
51. 1997In Luxor, Egypt, 62 people are killed by six Islamic militants outside the Temple of Hatshepsut, known as Luxor massacre.Middle East
52. 2000A catastrophic landslide in Log pod Mangartom, Slovenia, kills seven, and causes millions of SIT of damage. It is one of the worst catastrophes in Slovenia in the past 100 years.Europe
53. 2000Alberto Fujimori is removed from office as president of Peru.Latin America
54. 2003Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger's tenure as the governor of California begins.North America
55. 2012At least 50 schoolchildren are killed in an accident at a railway crossing near Manfalut, Egypt.Middle East
56. 2013A rare late-season tornado outbreak strikes the Midwest. Illinois and Indiana are most affected with tornado reports as far north as lower Michigan. In all around six dozen tornadoes touch down in approximately an 11-hour time period, including seven EF3 and two EF4 tornadoes.North America
57. 2013Fifty people are killed when Tatarstan Airlines Flight 363 crashes at Kazan Airport, Russia.Europe
58. 2019The first known case of COVID-19 is traced to a 55-year-old man who had visited a market in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China.Asia

Source: Wikipedia "November 17" / CC BY-SA 4.0