November 17 is:
Take a Hike Day
National Baklava Day
Baklava is a rich, sweet dessert pastry made of layers of filo filled with chopped nuts and sweetened and held together with syrup, frosting or honey.
Baklava is the ancestor of strudel.
It was brought to Hungary by Turkish invaders in the 16th century.
Elizabethan era begins: Queen Mary I of England died on November 17, 1558 and was succeeded by her half-sister, Elizabeth I of England. Sometimes called the Virgin Queen, Gloriana or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the last of the five monarchs of the House of Tudor.
Publication of Federalist Paper #7: Concerning Dangers from Dissensions Between the States written by Alexander Hamilton. Hamilton continues his argument regarding internal threats from dissensions between the States if the country is not united. He raises the issue of Western lands which were ceded to the country – if the country is broken into sections, what is to become of those lands?
Congress held its first session in Washington, D.C., in 1880 in the partially completed Capitol building.
From Today in Science
In 1869, the Suez Canal in Egypt was opened with a ceremony attended by the French Empress Eugénie (wife of Napoleon III). The 100-mile long canal cuts across the Isthmus of Suez, thus linking the Mediterranean and the Red Seas, and providing a direct transportation route for trade between Europe and Asia. Its construction was accomplished by the French engineer, Ferdinand de Lesseps. As a former French consul to Cairo, de Lesseps had made an agreement (1854) with the Ottoman governor of Egypt, enabling the Suez Canal Company to be formed (1856) with the rights to construct and operate the canal for 99 years. Digging began 24 Apr 1859, by hand, with forced labour. Progress improved with European mechanical dredgers and steam shovels, but was delayed by labour disputes and a cholera epidemic. His later started work on the Panama Canal.
1933 – United States recognized Soviet Union, opening trade.
1934 Lyndon B. Johnson married Claudia Alta Taylor, better known as “Lady Bird.”
1970 Douglas Engelbart receives the patent for the first computer mouse
2003
Britney Spears, at 21 years old, becomes the youngest singer to get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.