This Day In History, November 17th.
Five Historical Events That Happened on November 17th
Queen Mary I of England dies, and her half-sister, Elizabeth I, takes her place.
Egypt's Suez Canal, which connects the Mediterranean and Red Seas, is formally inaugurated in 1869.
The Omega Psi Phi fraternity is created at Howard University in Washington, D.C., as the first African American fraternity founded in a historically black college.
1970: The Soviet Union successfully lands the unmanned spacecraft Luna 17 on the Moon, and the first lunar rover, Lunokhod 1, is deployed.
2003: Arnold Schwarzenegger is sworn in as California's 38th Governor, becoming just the state's second foreign-born governor.
1558: Queen Mary I of England dies and is succeeded by her half-sister, Elizabeth I.
After a five-year reign, Queen Mary I of England, also known as Mary Tudor, died on November 17, 1558, at the age of 42. Mary was replaced by Elizabeth I, her half-sister and the daughter of King Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boleyn. Elizabeth's reign, known as the Elizabethan age, would go on to be one of the most successful and important in English history.
1869: The Suez Canal in Egypt is officially opened, connecting the Mediterranean and Red Seas.
The Suez Canal in Egypt was formally inaugurated on November 17, 1869, linking the Mediterranean and Red Seas. The canal was an engineering marvel, cutting through nearly 100 miles of desert to join the two bodies of water. The canal was built under the supervision of French engineer Ferdinand de Lesseps and was sponsored by a joint British-French initiative. Because ships no longer had to travel around the southern tip of Africa, the canal greatly reduced travel time between Europe and Asia. The Suez Canal is still an important maritime route today.
1911: The Omega Psi Phi fraternity, the first African American fraternity founded at a historically black college, is established at Howard University in Washington, D.C.
The Omega Psi Phi fraternity was formed on November 17, 1911, at Howard University in Washington, D.C. It was created by three undergraduate students: Edgar Amos Love, Oscar James Cooper, and Frank Coleman, and it was the first African American fraternity to be organized at a historically black college. The fraternity was created with the goal of building strong fraternal relationships while encouraging academic success and community involvement. The Omega Psi Phi fraternity now has over 750 undergraduate and graduate chapters and is a significant organization for African American males.
1970: The Soviet Union successfully lands the unmanned spacecraft Luna 17 on the Moon, which then deploys the first lunar rover, Lunokhod 1.
The Soviet Union successfully landed the Luna 17 spacecraft on the Moon on November 17, 1970. Luna 17 carried the Lunokhod 1 robotic lunar rover, the first wheeled vehicle to investigate the Moon's surface. Lunokhod 1 was remotely controlled from Earth and flew 10.5 miles during its 11-month mission, conducting experiments and collecting data on the lunar surface. The successful flight was a remarkable triumph for the Soviet space program and a significant milestone in Moon exploration.
2003: Arnold Schwarzenegger is sworn in as the 38th Governor of California, becoming only the second foreign-born governor in the state's history.
Arnold Schwarzenegger was sworn in as the 38th Governor of California on November 17, 2003, succeeding Gray Davis in a special recall election. Schwarzenegger, who was born in Austria, is just the state's second foreign-born governor, following Irish-born John G. Downey in 1860. Schwarzenegger, a Republican, was governor of California for two years, from 2003 to 2011, during which he encountered several obstacles, including a serious fiscal crisis and acrimonious conflicts with labor unions and other groups.