TODAY IN HISTORY
TODAY IS WEDNESDAY, NOV. 17, the 321st day of 2021. There are 44 days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN HISTORY: On this date in 1997, 62 people, most of them foreign tourists, were killed when militants opened fire at the Temple of Hatshepsut in Luxor, Egypt; the attackers, who also hacked their victims, were killed by police.
In 1558, Elizabeth I acceded to the English throne upon the death of her halfsister, Queen Mary, beginning a 44-year reign.
In 1800, Congress held its first session in the partially completed U.S. Capitol building. In 1869, the Suez Canal opened in Egypt.
In 1889, the Union Pacific Railroad Co. began direct, daily railroad service between Chicago and Portland, Oregon, as well as Chicago and San Francisco.
In 1973, President Richard Nixon told Associated Press managing editors in Orlando, Florida: “People have got to know whether or not their president is a crook. Well, I’m not a crook.”
In 1979, Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini ordered the release of 13 Black and/or female American hostages being held at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. In 1989, the Walt Disney animated feature “The Little Mermaid” opened in wide release.
In 2002, Abba Eban, the statesman who helped persuade the world to approve creation of Israel and dominated Israeli diplomacy for decades, died near Tel Aviv; he was 87.
In 2003, Arnold Schwarzenegger was sworn in as the 38th governor of California.
In 2018, Argentina’s navy announced that searchers had found a submarine that disappeared a year earlier with 44 crewmen aboard; the government said it would be unable to recover the vessel.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., is 87. Singer Gordon Lightfoot is 83. Singer-songwriter Bob Gaudio is 80. Movie director Martin Scorsese is 79. Actor Lauren Hutton is 78. Actor-director Danny DeVito and “Saturday Night Live” producer Lorne Michaels are 77. Movie director Roland Joffe is 76. Former Democratic National Chairman Howard Dean is 73. Former House Speaker John Boehner is 72. Actor Stephen Root is 70. Rock musician Jim Babjak (The Smithereens) is 64. Actor Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio is 63. Actor William Moses is 62. Entertainer RuPaul is 61. Actor Dylan Walsh is 58. Former National Security Adviser Susan Rice is 57. Actor Sophie Marceau and actor-model Daisy Fuentes are 55. Blues singer/musician Tab Benoit, R&B singer Ronnie DeVoe (New Edition; Bell Biv DeVoe) and rock musician Ben Wilson (Blues Traveler) are 54. Actor David Ramsey is 50. Actor Leonard Roberts is 49. Actor Leslie Bibb is 48. Actor Brandon Call is 45. Country singer Aaron Lines is 44. Actor Rachel McAdams is 43. Rock musician Isaac Hanson (Hanson) is 41. Former MLB outfielder Ryan Braun is 38. Actor Justin Cooper and musician Reid Perry (The Band Perry) are 33. Actor Raquel Castro is 27.