This Day In History: Nov. 17th

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Today is Thursday, Nov. 17, the 321st day of 2005.
There are 44 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Nov. 17, 1800, Congress held its first session in
Washington in the partially completed Capitol
building.

On this date:

In 1558, Elizabeth I ascended the English throne upon
the death of Queen Mary.

In 1869, the Suez Canal opened in Egypt.

In 1934, Lyndon Baines Johnson married Claudia Alta
Taylor, better known as "Lady Bird."

In 1962, Washington's Dulles International Airport was
dedicated by President Kennedy.

In 1970, the Soviet Union landed an unmanned,
remote-controlled vehicle on the moon, the Lunokhod 1.


In 1973, President Nixon told Associated Press
managing editors meeting in Orlando, Fla.: "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 female and black American hostages being held at
the U.S. Embassy in Tehran.

Ten years ago: The commander of U.S. forces in the
Pacific called the rape of a 12-year-old Okinawan girl
"absolutely stupid" and said in Washington the
incident could have been avoided if the U.S.
servicemen involved had simply paid for sex. (Admiral
Richard C. Macke later apologized for his remarks, and
took early retirement.)

Five years ago: The Florida Supreme Court froze the
state's presidential tally, forbidding Secretary of
State Katherine Harris from certifying results of the
marathon vote count just as Republican George W. Bush
was advancing his minuscule lead over Democrat Al
Gore. Also, a federal appeals court refused to block
recounts under way in two heavily Democratic counties.