Anniversaries and commemorations come and go daily. Most of us, even the best historians, miss most occasions. If we think of history as events then we are faced with a continually showering in the grains of sand. Nevertheless, we do pick out certain patterns in the remembrance of historical dates. The blog here reminds us of some dates where the local, state, national, and global perspectives entwine.

On 17, Wednesday November 1869, In Egypt, the Suez Canal, linking the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea, is inaugurated in an elaborate ceremony.
On 17, Friday November 1944, Gene Clark, American singer-songwriter, born (d. 1991)
On 17, Friday November 1944, Danny DeVito, American actor, film producer and director, born
On 17, Friday November 1944, Rem Koolhaas, Dutch architect, born
On 17, Friday November 1944, Lorne Michaels, Canadian television and film producer, born
On 17, Friday November 1944, Tom Seaver, American baseball player, born
On 17, Tuesday November 1959, William R. Moses, American actor, born
On 17, Tuesday November 1959, Heitor Villa-Lobos, Brazilian composer, died (b. 1887)
On 17, Monday November 1969, Sir Malcolm Barclay-Harvey, died (born 1890), 22nd Governor of South Australia (1939–1944)
On 17, Monday November 1969, Cold War: Negotiators from the Soviet Union and the United States meet in Helsinki, to begin the SALT I negotiations aimed at limiting the number of strategic weapons on both sides.
On 17, Monday November 1969, Ryōtarō Okiayu, Japanese voice actor, born
On 17, Monday November 1969, Jean-Michel Saive, Belgian table tennis player, born
On 17, Saturday November 1979, Iran hostage crisis: Iranian leader Ruhollah Khomeini orders the release of 13 female and African American hostages being held at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran.
On 17, Saturday November 1979, Matthew Spring, English footballer, born
On 17, Saturday November 1979, Immanuel Velikovsky, Russian author and psychiatrist, died (b. 1895)
On 17, Friday November 1989, Cold War-Velvet Revolution: A peaceful student demonstration in Prague, Czechoslovakia, is severely beaten back by riot police. This sparks a revolution aimed at overthrowing the Communist government (it succeeds on December 29).

Other On This Day days in history

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Neville Buch

Professional Historian at Professional Historians Association (Queensland) Inc.

Neville Buch (Pronounced Book) Ph.D. is a certified member of the Professional Historians Association (Queensland). Since 2010 he has operated a sole trade business in history consultancy. He was a Q ANZAC 100 Fellow 2014-2015 at the State Library of Queensland. Dr Buch was the PHA (Qld) e-Bulletin, the monthly state association’s electronic publication, and was a member of its Management Committee. He is the Managing Director of the Brisbane Southside History Network.

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