139 things happened on 17 November, from AD 9 to 2019. UK stories come first, then the rest of the world.
1558 · 468 years ago
Elizabeth I became Queen of England and Ireland after the death of her half-sister, Mary I. The daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, she reigned for 44 years and was the last Tudor monarch. Her reign is known as the Elizabethan era. It is famous for Willia…
UK history first: stories from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
UK story
After the death of Margaret, Maid of Norway, several people claimed the Scottish crown. A group of noblemen headed by King Edward I of England chose John Balliol over Robert de Brus. Edward then used his influence to treat Scotland as if it were under English control. Balliol reigned only until 1296, and was later mocked with the nickname 'Toom Tabard', meaning 'empty coat'.
UK story
Elizabeth I became Queen of England and Ireland after the death of her half-sister, Mary I. The daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, she reigned for 44 years and was the last Tudor monarch. Her reign is known as the Elizabethan era. It is famous for William Shakespeare's plays, sailors such as Francis Drake and the defeat of the Spanish Armada.
UK story
Sweden and the United Kingdom had been allies against the French emperor Napoleon. After defeats in other wars, and the peace treaties that followed, Sweden declared war on the UK. But this strange war, which lasted until 1812, existed only on paper and no fighting ever took place. British ships could still stay at the Swedish island of Hanö, and trade carried on.
UK story
British European Airways (BEA) began using the BAC One-Eleven to carry passengers. It was an early jet airliner, built by the British Aircraft Corporation for short journeys. The first One-Eleven had flown in 1963. A longer version, with room for 119 passengers, had been introduced in 1967.
UK story
French King Charles VIII occupies Florence, Italy.
UK story
Henry VIII of England concludes the Treaty of Westminster, a pledge of mutual aid against the French, with Ferdinand II of Aragon.
UK story
English explorer, writer and courtier Sir Walter Raleigh goes on trial for treason.
The Suez Canal in Egypt officially opened after ten years of building work. This 193-kilometre, human-made waterway joins the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea. It gave ships a short cut between Europe and Asia, so they no longer had to sail around Africa. The canal was built by a company set up by French diplomat Ferdinand de Lesseps.
American physicists John Bardeen and Walter Brattain observed the basic principles of the transistor at Bell Labs. A transistor is a device that can switch or boost electrical signals. Transistors led to smaller and cheaper radios, calculators and computers, and are found in almost all modern electronics. Bardeen, Brattain and William Shockley shared the 1956 Nobel Prize in Physics for inventing it.
The 14th Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, was given full power to rule Tibet at the age of 15. This happened soon after Chinese forces had taken control of Central Tibet. He led Tibet until 1959, when he escaped to India. In 1989 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
The Soviet spacecraft Luna 17 landed on the Moon's Sea of Rains. It released Lunokhod 1, the first robotic rover on the Moon, which was steered by remote control from Earth. Its name means 'Moonwalker'. It was only designed to work for about three months, but it kept going for 321 days and travelled 10.54 kilometres.
Walt Disney Pictures released the animated film The Little Mermaid in American cinemas. Loosely based on a fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen, it follows Ariel, a mermaid princess who dreams of becoming human. The film won two Academy Awards, including one for the song 'Under the Sea'. Its success started a period known as the Disney Renaissance.
In Prague, police broke up a student demonstration against Czechoslovakia's communist government. This sparked the Velvet Revolution, a wave of peaceful protests that lasted until 28 November. Students and older campaigners joined together to call for change. The protests ended 41 years of rule by a single party, and Czechoslovakia became a parliamentary republic.
Emperor 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.
Genpei 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.
Sharif ul-Hāshim establishes the Sultanate of Sulu.
Sigismund III Vasa, who was already King of Poland, succeeded his father John III as King of Sweden.
The city of Kuopio, Finland (belonging to Sweden at this time) is founded by King Gustav III of Sweden.
Articles of Confederation (United States) are submitted to the states for ratification.
French Revolutionary Wars: French forces won the Battle of Arcole in a manoeuvre to cut the Austrians' line of retreat.
The United States Congress holds its first session in Washington, D.C.
José Miguel Carrera, Chilean founding father, is sworn in as President of the executive Junta of the government of Chile.
Captain Nathaniel Palmer becomes the first American to see Antarctica. (The Palmer Peninsula is later named after him.)
Ecuador and Venezuela are separated from Gran Colombia.
An earthquake in Valdivia, south-central Chile, causes a tsunami that leads to significant destruction along Japan's coast.
American 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.
The city of Denver, Colorado is founded.
Modified Julian Day zero.
American 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.
Serbo-Bulgarian War: The decisive Battle of Slivnitsa begins.
The Russian Social Democratic Labour Party splits into two groups: The Bolsheviks (Russian for "majority") and Mensheviks (Russian for "minority").
The Tartu Art Museum is established in Tartu, Estonia.
World War II: Hjalmar Siilasvuo ordered Finnish forces to halt their assault against Soviet forces near Salla, concluding Operation Arctic Fox.
World War II: Australian forces launched an assault on Sattelberg, New Guinea, against Japanese forces, initiating the Battle of Sattelberg.
The Screen Actors Guild implements an anti-Communist loyalty oath.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 89 relating to the Palestine Question is adopted.
The remaining human inhabitants of the Blasket Islands, County Kerry, Ireland, are evacuated to the mainland.
President John F. Kennedy dedicates Washington Dulles International Airport, serving the Washington, D.C., region.
Vietnam 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."
NBC controversially cut away from an American football game between the Oakland Raiders and New York Jets to broadcast Heidi, causing viewers in the Eastern United States to miss the game's dramatic ending.
Cold 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.
The flight crew of Japan Airlines Flight 1628 are involved in a UFO sighting incident while flying over Alaska.
United States House of Representatives passes a resolution to establish the North American Free Trade Agreement.
In Nigeria, General Sani Abacha ousts the government of Ernest Shonekan in a military coup.
Alberto Fujimori is removed from office as president of Peru.
Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger's tenure as the governor of California begins.
The first known case of COVID-19 is traced to a 55-year-old man who had visited a market in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China.
Every answer is somewhere on this page. Have a go, then check!
In which year did this happen: “Elizabeth I becomes Queen of England”?
A: 1558. 1558 — that’s 468 years ago. Find it on the page
In which year did this happen: “John Balliol is chosen to be King of Scots”?
C: 1292. 1292 — that’s 734 years ago. Find it on the page
Which of these happened first?
B: John Balliol is chosen to be King of Scots. 1558: Elizabeth I becomes Queen of England · 1292: John Balliol is chosen to be King of Scots · 1968: BEA starts flying passengers in the BAC One-Eleven jet Find it on the page
“BEA starts flying passengers in the BAC One-Eleven jet” happened in 1968. How many years ago was that?
A: 58 years. 2026 − 1968 = 58. Find it on the page
Famous people whose birthday is 17 November.
UK story
Bernard Montgomery was a senior British Army officer who served in both world wars. In the Second World War he led the Eighth Army in the desert of North Africa from 1942. During the Normandy campaign in 1944 he commanded all the Allied ground forces. In May 1945 he accepted the surrender of German forces in north-western Europe.
Well-known people who died on 17 November.
Festivals, holidays and saints’ days celebrated on 17 November somewhere in the world.
UK story
Anglican churches remember St Hugh of Lincoln, a monk who became Bishop of Lincoln. After an earthquake badly damaged Lincoln Cathedral in 1185, Hugh began rebuilding it in the new Gothic style. He is famous for his friendship with a wild swan, which followed him about and even guarded him while he slept. He is the patron saint of sick children and of swans.
Content note: these entries mention things like war, violence, deaths, disasters or crime. They are part of history, but they can be upsetting. Grown-ups and teachers: you may want to read them first. They come straight from Wikipedia and have not been rewritten for children.
Stories with a heading have been written for young readers by A Day in the Past, using the linked articles as sources. Other entries show text from Wikipedia’s “November 17” page and its “On this day” feed, written by Wikipedia contributors and shared under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. Each “Read more” link goes to the article an entry is based on. Photos are credited under each picture. Spotted a mistake? Please tell us.