Today in History

Today in History

Today is Tuesday, Nov. 17, the 322nd day of 2020. There are 44 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Nov. 17, 1800, Congress held its first session in the partially completed U.S. Capitol building.

On this date:

In 1558, Elizabeth I acceded to the English throne upon the death of her half-sister, Queen Mary, beginning a 44-year reign.

In 1869, the Suez Canal opened in Egypt.

In 1911, the historically African-American fraternity Omega Psi Phi was founded at Howard University in Washington, D.C.

In 1917, French sculptor Auguste Rodin (roh-DAN') died in Meudon (meh-DON') at age 77.

In 1969, the first round of Strategic Arms Limitation Talks between the United States and the Soviet Union opened in Helsinki, Finland.

In 1970, the Soviet Union landed an unmanned, remote-controlled vehicle on the moon, the Lunokhod 1.

In 1973, President Richard Nixon told Associated Press managing editors in Orlando, Florida: "People have got to know whether or not their president is a crook. Well, I'm not a crook."

In 1997, 62 people, most of them foreign tourists, were killed when militants opened fire at the Temple of Hatshepsut (haht-shehp-SOOT') in Luxor, Egypt; the attackers, who also hacked their victims, were killed by police.

In 2003, Arnold Schwarzenegger was sworn in as the 38th governor of California.

In 2018, tribesman on the isolated island of North Sentinel, between India and Southeast Asia, were seen dragging and burying the body of American missionary John Allen Chau, who had reached the island the previous day despite a ban imposed by India's government.

Ten years ago: House Democrats elected Nancy Pelosi to remain as their leader despite massive party losses in midterm elections. Republicans voted to keep John Boehner (BAY'-nur) as their top House leader, making him speaker in the new Congress. A hand-count of votes affirmed the re-election of U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, the first Senate candidate in over 50 years to win a write-in campaign. The first Guantanamo detainee to face civilian trial, Ahmed Ghailani (guh-LAHN'-ee), was convicted by federal jury in New York on one charge of conspiracy, among over 280 counts related to 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Ghailani's native Tanzania. (He was later sentenced to life in prison.)

Five years ago: Republicans urged an immediate closure of America's borders to Syrian refugees, drawing angry denunciations from President Barack Obama and other Democrats and igniting an emotional debate about U.S. values in the wake of the deadly Paris terror attacks. Actor Charlie Sheen issued a statement in which he said he was HIV positive, but that thanks to a rigorous drug regimen, he was in good health. Joe Maddon won his third Manager of the Year award and Jeff Banister his first after each guided his team on a surprising run to the playoffs.