Notable Birthdays for November 17
John Berrien Montgomery (1794-1837) - Naval commander during American-Mexican War.
Andrew L. Harris (1835-1915) - General and hero of the Battle of Gettysburg.
Grace Abbott (1878-1939) - Advocate for the rights of immigrants and the regulation of child labor.
Augustus Goessling (1878-1963) - Olympic water polo player.
Lester Allen (1891-1949) - Child acrobat who performed with the Barnum and Bailey Circus.
Frank Fay (1897-1961) - Pioneer for stand up comedy.
Rollie Stiles (1906-2007) - MLB pitcher.
Shelby Dade Foote Jr. (1916-2005) - Historian and author of The Civil War: A Narrative.
Ruth Aaronson Bari (1917-2005) - Mathematician known for her work with graph theory.
Stanley Cohen (1922-2020) - Biochemist who won the Nobel Prize for the discovery of epidermal growth factor.
Mike Garcia (1923-1986) - MLB pitcher who was nicknamed Big Bear or Mexican Mike.
Jean Faut (1925-2023) - Pitcher for All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.
Rock Hudson (1925-1985) - One of the most famous actors of all time.
Rance Howard (1928-2017) -Actor and father of Ron Howard.
Edgar White (1929-2014) - Olympic gold yachtsman winner.
Norm Zauchin (1929-1999) - MLB first baseman.
Bob Mathias (1930-2006) - Olympic gold medal decathlete.
Martin Scorsese (1942-Still Living) - Director, producer, and screenwriter.
Lauren Hutton (1943-Still Living) - Model and actress known for her role in American Gigolo.
Gene Clark (1944-1991) - Founding member of the rock band the Byrds.
Danny DeVito (1944-Still Living) - Actor who first gained attention for his role as the taxi dispatcher Louie De Palma in Taxi.
Tom Seaver (1944-2020) - MLB pitcher also known as Tom Terrific.
Sammy Younge Jr. (1944-1966) - Civil rights activist who was murdered for trying to desegregate a whites only restroom in AL.
Jim Babjak (1957-Still Living) - Guitarist and and co-founder of the band The Smithereens.
RuPaul (1960-Still Living) - Drag queen performer and television personality.
Ben Allison (1966-Still Living) - Co-founder of the non-profit Jazz Composers Collective.
Ronnie Devoe (1967-Still Living) - Pop singer for New Edition.
Memorable Events for November 17
1774 - The First City Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry is formed at Carpenter's Hall, PA. The Unit is still in service today.
1777 - The U.S. Articles of Confederation are submitted to the states for ratification.
1800 - The first session of the U.S. Congress are held in Washington, D.C.
1820 - Captain Nathaniel Palmer becomes the first American to see Antarctica.
1842 - Fugitive slave George Latimer is captured in Boston.
1858 - Denver, CO is founded.
1863 - Abraham Lincoln begins his first draft of the Gettysburg Address.
1889 - The Union Pacific Railroad begins daily through service between Portland and San Francisco.
1894 - H. H. Holmes becomes the first modern serial killers.
1913 - The first dental hygienists course are formed in CT.
1947 - Scientists John Bardeen and Walter Houser Brattain observe the basic principles of the transistor.
1962 - President Kennedy dedicates Washington Dulles International Airport.
1967 - As a way to update the nation about Vietnam, President Johnson says "We are inflicting greater losses than we're taking...We are making progress."
1973 - President Nixon tells 400 Associated Press managing editors "I am not a crook."
1980 - WHHM in Washington, D.C., becomes the first Black public-broadcasting television station.
1993 - U.S. House of Representatives establishes the North American Free Trade Agreement.
2013 - Six dozen tornadoes touch down in approximately an 11-hour time period, including seven EF3 and two EF4 tornadoes across the midwest.