November 17 is the 321st day of the year (322nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar.

There are 44 days remaining until the end of the year.

1558 Queen Elizabeth I of England ascended to the throne upon the death of her half-sister Queen Mary.

1800 Congress met in Washington, DC, for the first time.

1810 Sweden declares war on its ally the United Kingdom to begin the Anglo-Swedish War, although no fighting ever takes place.

1855 David Livingstone becomes the first European to see the Victoria Falls.

1869 The Suez Canal opened in Egypt.

1877 - The first production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s opera, "The Sorcerer", was presented -- in London.

1968 Night of the "Heidi bowl:" NBC switched from football to movie of Heidi. In the missing 42 seconds, the lagging Raiders scored two touchdowns, defeating the Jets.

1973 President Nixon said "I am not a crook."

1989 The beginning of the "Velvet Revolution," which led to the downfall of communism in Czechoslovakia.