| 17 November 375 | Roman Empire, Yugoslavia [political events] | The Western Roman emperor Valentinian I (364–375) concludes an enduring peace with the Alemanni in Germany, then marches to help defend the Danube frontier. While negotiating with the Quadi, Valentinian dies in Sirmium in modern Yugoslavia (c. 54). |
| 17 November 680 | Northumbria [births and deaths] | St Hilda of Whitby, one of the leading abbesses of Anglo-Saxon England, founder of Whitby Abbey, dies in Whitby, Northumbria, England (c. 66). |
| 17 November 1494 | Italy, Florence [political events] | King Charles VIII of France enters Florence, Italy, where a popular revolution influenced by the messianic Dominican friar Savonarola expels Piero de' Medici, who had supported Ferrante of Naples. Florence returns to a republican government. |
| 17 November 1511 | England, Spain, France [political events] | King Henry VIII of England, having joined the Holy League of the papacy, Venice, and Spain against France on 13 November, augments it with an offensive alliance with Spain. |
| 17 November 1558 | England [births and deaths] | Mary I (‘Bloody Mary’), first reigning queen of England 1553–58, daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, wife of Philip II of Spain, dies in London, England (42). |
| 17 November 1558 | England [political events] | The death of Queen Mary I of England brings an end to the attempt to reconvert England to Roman Catholicism. Her Protestant half-sister Elizabeth I, daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, succeeds her. The Protestant exiles in Geneva, Zürich, and the German states begin to return to England. |
| 17 November 1796 | Russia [political events] | Paul I becomes emperor of Russia on the death of his mother, Catherine II the Great. |
| 17 November 1796 | Russia [births and deaths] | Catherine the Great, German-born empress of Russia 1762–96 who brings Russia into the political and cultural life of Europe, dies in Tsarskoye Selo, near St Petersburg, Russia (67). |
| 17 November 1831 | Venezuela, Ecuador, New Granada [political events] | Venezuela, Ecuador, and New Granada (now Colombia) dissolve the Union of Colombia (of 1819) and New Granada becomes an independent state. |
| 17 November 1869 | Egypt [canals] | French diplomat and engineer Ferdinand de Lesseps completes the 168 km/105 mi long Suez Canal in Egypt that links the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, and which reduces the route from Europe to Asia by 8,000 km/5,000 mi. |
| 17 November 1903 | Russian Empire [political parties] | The Russian Social Democratic Party splits into the Mensheviks (‘minority’), led by Grigory Plekhanov, and the Bolsheviks (‘majority’), led by Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, at their London congress. The latter group favours a violent seizure of power. |
| 17 November 1913 | Panama [political events] | The first vessel passes through the Panama Canal. |
| 17 November 1917 | [births and deaths] | Auguste Rodin, French sculptor renowned for his realistic treatment of the human figure, dies in Meudon, France (77). |
| 17 November 1922 | Far Eastern Republic, Russia [political events] | The Far Eastern Republic votes for union with Russia, following the defeat of White Russian forces previously active in the region. |
| 17 November 1929 | USSR [political events] | The ‘Right Opposition’ led by Nikolai Bukharin is expelled from the Communist Party of the USSR by the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin. |
| 17 November 1942 | USA [births and deaths] | Martin Scorsese, US film writer and director, born in Flushing, Long Island. |
| 17 November 1993 | Nigeria [political events] | A military coup ends a brief period of civilian rule in Nigeria; defence minister General Sanni Abacha takes over as head of state. |
| 17 November 1995 | UK [newspapers] | The last edition of the British newspaper Today, launched in 1986, is published. Its owner, News International, blames its demise on continuing losses (£11 million in its final year). |
| 17 November 1999 | USA, Arctic [ecology] | Scientists from the University of Washington in Seattle, USA, publish data showing that the Arctic icecap has shrunk by around 40% over the past 50 years, probably due to global warming. The Canadian Wildlife Service reports that polar bears in the area are in danger of starving to death because of their shortened hunting season. |
