What are the important events that happened on November 17? Here are historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.

November 17: Facts & Myths About This Day

November 17 is the 321^st day of the year 2025 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 44 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Monday.

Under the Julian calendar, this day is November 4, 2025 – a Monday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?

When this day started, 1,763,337,600 seconds has elapsed since midnight of January 1, 1970 – the Unix epoch.

Strange as it may, if we name this day after a polygon then it will be called ‘trihectaicosahenagon’ day.

Scorpio is the zodiac sign of a person born on this day. Topaz is the modern birthstone for this month. Pearl is the mystical birthstone from Tibetan origin that dates back over a thousand years.

According to the lunisolar Chinese calendar, there are 92 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year.

The ancient Maya civilization believes that the end of the world will happen on December 21, 2012. There are now 4,714 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.

November 17 Historical Events

• 473 –
  The future Leo II is named associate emperor by Leo I.
• 794 –
  Japanese Emperor Kammu changes his residence from Nara to Kyoto.
• 1659 –
  The Peace of the Pyrenees is signed between France and Spain.
• 1858 –
  Modified Julian Day zero.
• 1869 –
  In Egypt, the Suez Canal, linking the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea, is inaugurated.
• 1876 –
  Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Slavonic March is given its première performance in Moscow.
• 1878 –
  First assassination attempt against Umberto I of Italy.
• 1939 –
  Nine Czech students are executed as a response to anti-Nazi demonstrations prompted by the death of Jan Opletal. In addition, all Czech universities are shut down and over 1200 Czech students sent to concentration camps. Since this event, International Students’ Day is celebrated in many countries, especially in the Czech Republic.
• 1947 –
  American scientists John Bardeen and Walter Brattain observe the basic principles of the transistor, a key element for the electronics revolution of the 20th Century.
• 1968 –
  Viewers of the Raiders–Jets football game in the eastern United States are denied the opportunity to watch its exciting finish when NBC broadcasts Heidi instead, prompting changes to sports broadcasting in the U.S.

Who were born on November 17?

• 1925 –
  Jean Faut, American baseball player
• 1936 –
  Dahlia Ravikovitch, Israeli poet (d. 2005)
• 1944 –
  Jim Boeheim, Hall of Fame basketball coach
• 1956 –
  Graham Jones, British author and psychologist
• 1966 –
  Daisy Fuentes, Cuban model and actress
• 1966 –
  Sophie Marceau, French actress
• 1967 –
  Tab Benoit American Cajun musician
• 1968 –
  Amber Michaels, German pornographic actress
• 1976 –
  Brandon Call, American actor
• 1983 –
  Nick Markakis, American baseball player

Who died on November 17?

• 1632 –
  Gottfried Heinrich Graf zu Pappenheim, Bavarian field marshal (b. 1594)
• 1643 –
  Jean-Baptiste Budes, Comte de Guébriant, Marshal of France (b. 1602)
• 1776 –
  James Ferguson, British astronomer (b. 1710)
• 1936 –
  Ernestine Schumann-Heink, Austrian contralto (b. 1861)
• 1990 –
  Peter Schilperoort, Dutch musician Dutch Swing College Band (b. 1919)
• 1990 –
  Robert Hofstadter, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1915)
• 1992 –
  Audre Lorde, Caribbean-American writer, poet, and activist (b. 1934)
• 1995 –
  Alan Hull, English Rock Musician (Lindisfarne) (b. 1945)
• 2004 –
  Mikael Ljungberg, Swedish wrestler (b. 1970)
• 2006 –
  Ruth Brown, American blues singer (b. 1928)