On this day...

1278 680 Jews arrested (293 hanged) in England for counterfeiting coins
1558 Elizabeth I ascends English throne upon death of Queen Mary
1796 Battle of Arcole - Napolean's French forces beat Austrians in Italy
1800 Congress held First session in Washington DC
1842 Fugitive slave, George Latimer, captured in Boston
1842 The opera "Linda di Chamounix" is produced (London)
1858 Origin of Modified Julian Period
1862 Confederate Sec. of War George B. Randolph resigns
1866 The opera "Mignon" is produced (Paris)
1869 Suez Canal opens
1884 Police arrest John L. Sullivan in second round for being "cruel"
1889 Union Pacific begins daily through service, Chicago-Portland & SF
1894 Daily Racing Form founded
1913 First US dental hygienists course established, Bridgeport CT
1913 Panama Canal opens
1926 NHL's Chicago Black Hawks play their first game
1927 Tornado hits Washington DC
1934 Lyndon B. Johnson marries Claudia Alta Taylor
1937 Britain's Lord Halifax visits Germany, beginning of appeasement
1938 Italy passes their own version of the anti-Jewish Nuremberg laws
1940 Green Bay Packers become first NFL team to travel by plane
1945 New world air speed record 606 mph (975 kph) set by H.J. Wilson of RAF
1948 Britain's House of Commons votes to nationalize steel industry
1956 Fullback Jim Brown, Syracuse, scores 43 points (NCAA record) vs. Colgate
1959 De Beers firm of South Africa announces synthetic diamond
1962 President Kennedy dedicates Dulles International Airport outside Washington DC
1966 Leonids meteor shower peaks (150,000+ per hour)
1967 Surveyor 6 becomes first man-made object to lift off the Moon
1970 Russia lands Lunokhod 1 unmanned remote-controlled vehicle on Moon
1972 Richard Nixon (R) re-elected over George McGovern (D) for president
1973 Teri Garr plays the role of a stripper on "The Nurse"
1973 Pres Nixon told AP "...people have got to know whether or not their president is a crook. Well, I'm not a crook"
1977 Egyptian President Sadat formally accepts invitation to visit Israel
1977 Miss World Contest - Miss UK wears $9,500 platinum bikini
1981 NBA NY Knick Bill Cartwright, ties record of 19 of 19 free throws
1985 NY Jets best offensive production beating Tampa Bay 62-28
1988 Benzir Bhutto wins election in Pakistan
1989 Bret Saberhagen signs record $2,966,667 per year KC Royal contract
1991 Detroit Lion Mike Utley is paralyzed in a game vs. LA Rams
1993 US Congress votes for NAFTA

Birthdays which occurred on November 17th:

1503 Il Bronzino, Florentine painter (Eleanor de Toledo & her Son)
1587 Joost van den Vondel, Cologne Germany, Dutch poet/dramatist (Jephtha)
1717 Jean d'Alembert, France, mathematician/philosopher (Trait‚ de Dynamique)
1755 Louis XVIII, First post-revolutionary king of France (1814-24)
1799 Titian Ramsey Peale, US, artist/naturalist (American Ornithology)
1878 Grace Abbott, Grand Island Nebraska, social worker (US Children Bureau)
1887 Bernard L. Montgomery, British general (WW II-African campaign)
1887 Field Marshal Viscount Montgomery, of Alamein, Moville, Ireland
1890 Jack Cusack, pro football pioneer (Canton Bulldogs)
1897 Sara Haden, Galveston, actress (A Family Affair)
1900 Marcel Dalio, Paris, actor (Casablanca)
1901 Lee Strasberg, director/instructs actors (Somewhere in the Night)
1904 Isamu Noguchi, sculptor (1963 Fine Arts Medal)
1905 Mischa Auer, St. Petersburg Russia, actor (My Man Godfrey)
1914 Archie Campbell, Bullsgap Tennessee, comedian (Hee Haw)
1917 Jack Lescoulie, Sacramento, TV host (Jackie Gleason Show)
1919 Hershy Kay, Philadelphia, composer/arranger (Olympic Hymn)
1925 Rock Hudson, Winnetka Illinois, actor (Pillow Talk, A Farewell to Arms)
1925 Sir Charles Mackerras, Schenectady NY, Australian conductor
1929 Edgar White, US, yachtsman (Olympic gold-1952)
1929 Sumner White, US, yachtsman (Olympic gold-1952)
1930 Bob Mathias, Tulare California, decathlete (Olympic gold-1948, 52)
1930 David Amram, Philadelphia, composer (Splendor in the Grass)
1935 Anton Sailer, Austria, skier (Olympic 3 golds-1956)
1937 Peter Cook, Turquay England, actor/comedian (Bedazzled)
1938 Gordon Lightfoot, Ontario Canada, folksinger (Sundown)
1938 Peter Snell, NZ, 800m/1500m runner (Olympic gold-1960, 64)
1942 Martin Scorsese, Queens, director (Mean Streets, Last Temptation of Christ)
1943 Lauren Hutton, Charleston SC, model (American Gigolo, Lassiter)
1944 Danny De Vito, Neptune NJ, actor (Taxi, Twins)
1944 Tom Seaver, pitcher (300 game winner, Cy Young '69 '73 '75)
1945 Elvin Hayes, NBA star (San Diego, Houston, Baltimore)
1951 Dean Paul Martin, Santa Monica, actor (Billy-Misfits of Science)
1952 Roman Codreanu, Romania, wrestler (Olympic 1980)
1955 Bill McCreary, Ontario, NHL referee
1958 Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Oak Park Illinois, actress (Color of Money)
1959 William R. Moses, Los Angeles, actor (Cole-Falcon Crest)
1960 Jonathan Ross, British talk show host
1961 Merete Van Kemp, Denmark, actress (Grace-Dallas, Princess Daisy)
1962 Eric Olson, Santa Monica, actress (Apple's Way)
1962 Traci Lords, fictious birth date to do porn movies (actual 5/7/68)
1963 Pedro Luis Estrada, Brooklyn NY, murderer (FBI Most Wanted List)
1964 Daisy Fuentes, Havana Cuba, VJ (MTV International)
1964 Marina Tcherkasova, US, figure skater (Olympic silver-1980)
1966 Sophie Marceau, Paris France, actress (La Boum, L'Amour Braque)
1974 Brandon Call, actor (Baywatch, Blind Fury, Step by Step)

Deaths which occurred on November 17th:

1917 August Rodin, sculptor, dies in Meudon, France
1962 Arthur Vining Davis, CEO (Alcoa-1910-57), dies at 92 in Miami
1971 Gladys Cooper, actress (Margaret-The Rogues), dies at 83
1978 Claude Dauphin, actor (Paris Precinct), dies at 75
1979 John Grascock ,of Jethro Tull, dies at 27 following heart surgery
1981 Bob Eberly, singer (Jimmy Dorsey Band), dies at 65
1982 Bill Baldwin, announcer (Mayor of Hollywood), dies at 69
1982 Duk Koo Kim, South Korean boxer
1982 Ruth Donnelly, comedienne, dies at 86 in NYC
1985 Jimmy Ritz, of Ritz brothers, dies of heart failure at 81
1986 Alan Hewitt, actor (Det. Brennan-My Favorite Martian), dies at 71
1987 Irene Wicker, singer/actress (Singing Lady), dies at 81
1988 Sheilah Graham, gossip columnist, dies of heart failure at 84
1991 Kelly Jean Van Dyke-Nance, (Jerry Van Dyke's daughter) suicides at 33