Stuff That Happened in History! November 17

Pretty soon we’re gonna run out of dates on the calendar where stuff didn’t happen, and start getting overrun by stuff that did! I literally just pick a day at random to use for my ‘Stuff That Happened’ assuming that maybe I’ll just run into a day here and there where so little went down and so few people were born that I’ll have to be expanding on things like, first tube-sock manufacturer opened or inventor of Spackle born. But no, no matter the date -so far- I run into a few really major deals and a good number of pretty famous folk’s birthdays. Oh well, let’s check out what happened on November 17.

1777: The Articles of Confederation are submitted to the States for ratification.


As we all know from our history lessons, these articles were basically the crude outline for the Constitution that, more or less, set forth the laws and regulations from which our Government was supposed acquire it’s actions. Fat lot of good that’s done us so far, am I right?

1800: The United States Congress holds its first session in Washington, D.C.


The U.S. Congress is our two-party legislature consisting of the Senate and the House. This historic day marked our first trek down the path of useless bipartisanship. Go Government!

1827: The Delta Phi fraternity, America’s oldest continuous social fraternity, is founded at Union College in Schenectady, New York.


Providing its members naked hazing rituals and endless keg-stands for nearly two centuries!

1911: The Omega Psi Phi fraternity, the first African-American fraternity at an historically black college or university, is founded at Howard University in Washington, D.C.


Providing its members naked hazing rituals and endless… somebody pass me a Four Loco!

1933: The United States recognizes the Soviet Union.


U.S.: Hey buddy! Weren’t you that dude at Norway’s party that did the vodka bong?
S.U.: Nah man, I was the guy holding Germany’s hair while she puked.
U.S.: Oh yeah! I knew I recognized you!
This is totally how I picture this.

1967: Vietnam War: Acting on optimistic reports that he had been given on November 13, US President Lyndon B. Johnson tells the nation that, while much remained to be done, “We are inflicting greater losses than we’re taking…We are making progress.”


Ah, Government intelligence… is there anything it can’t do?

1970: Douglas Engelbart receives the patent for the first computer mouse.


And thus began a series of massive failures from Microsoft Windows.

BIRTHS

1790: August Ferdinand Möbius, German mathematician (d. 1868)


Name sound familiar? He is best known for his discovery of the Möbius strip, a non-orientable two-dimensional surface with only one side when embedded in three-dimensional Euclidean space. See? That dude.

1925: Rock Hudson, American actor (d. 1985)


Roy Harold Sherer, Jr. Somehow ‘Rock Hudson’ sounds like a gay porn actor.

1938: Gordon Lightfoot, Canadian singer

We here in Michigan would have likely forgotten about the Wreck of the Edmond Fitzgerald were it not for this clown.

1942: Martin Scorsese, American film director


Dunno. Never heard of him.

1944: Danny DeVito, American actor


Surely best known for his tour de force portrayal of the opposite twin to Arnold Schwarzenegger.

DEATHS

2006: Bo Schembechler, American football coach (b. 1929)


Those of you who aren’t University of Michigan fans just have no idea.