Venice experienced its worst flooding in more than 50 years, with water levels reaching 6 feet
St. Mark's Basilica suffered serious damage for only the sixth time in its 1,200-year history, with water flooding its marble floors and ancient mosai...
November 17 in History
Significant events that happened on this day.
Historical Events
2019
1989
Police in Czechoslovakia violently suppressed a peaceful student demonstration, sparking the Velvet Revolution
The brutal crackdown on students commemorating International Students' Day in Prague triggered massive protests across the country. Within weeks, the...
1973
President Richard Nixon told a group of newspaper editors 'I am not a crook' during the Watergate scandal
MajorSpeaking at a press conference in Florida, Nixon famously declared his innocence regarding allegations of corruption and the Watergate break-in. This...
1970
Douglas Engelbart received a patent for the computer mouse, which he had invented six years earlier
Engelbart called his wooden device with two metal wheels an 'X-Y position indicator for a display system.' He never received royalties for the inventi...
1970
Soviet spacecraft Lunokhod 1 became the first robotic rover to land on the Moon
MajorThis eight-wheeled remote-controlled vehicle successfully touched down in the Sea of Rains and operated for 11 months, traveling over 10 kilometers. I...
1968
NBC famously cut away from a Jets-Raiders football game to air 'Heidi,' causing outraged fans to jam phone lines
With the Jets leading 32-29 and 65 seconds left, NBC switched to the children's movie as scheduled, causing viewers to miss two Oakland touchdowns in...
1959
A 95-foot concrete arch bridge in Quebec collapsed under the weight of a heavy truck, killing four people
The Duplessis Bridge disaster occurred when the structure, which had been rushed to completion for political reasons, failed just six years after open...
1922
A man in Romania was arrested for attempting to dig up the body of the recently deceased King Ferdinand I to steal his jewelry
The would-be grave robber was caught just days after the king's funeral while trying to break into the royal crypt at night. He had meticulously plann...
1913
The first ship successfully passed through the Panama Canal during testing, months before the official opening
The vessel Cristobal made the historic first transit as part of trials for the canal's lock system. Workers had spent a decade battling disease, lands...
1905
Princess Maud of Wales was crowned Queen of Norway, becoming the first queen of an independent Norway in over 500 years
The British princess became queen when Norwegians voted for independence from Sweden and chose a monarchy. She brought with her a fashion for British...
1903
The Russian Social Democratic Labour Party split into Bolsheviks and Mensheviks during their second congress
This seemingly academic dispute between Vladimir Lenin's more radical Bolsheviks (meaning 'majority') and the moderate Mensheviks ('minority') would h...
1869
The Suez Canal officially opened, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea
MajorAfter 10 years of construction, this 120-mile artificial waterway revolutionized global maritime trade by eliminating the need to sail around Africa....
1800
The U.S. Congress held its first session in Washington, D.C., in the unfinished Capitol building
With only one wing completed and surrounded by muddy streets and boarding houses, the Capitol was far from impressive. President John Adams addressed...
