On Nov. 17, 1558, Elizabeth I ascended the English throne after Queen Mary I died.
In 1889 the Union Pacific Railroad Co. began direct, daily service between Chicago and Portland, Ore., and between Chicago and San Francisco.
In 1925 Roy Scherer Jr., who would become a screen star as Rock Hudson, was born in Winnetka.
In 1926 the Chicago Blackhawks played their first hockey game, beating the Toronto St. Patricks 4-1.
In 1968 NBC outraged football fans by cutting away from the closing minutes of a New York Jets-Oakland Raiders game to begin a television special, “Heidi,” on schedule. In 1973, speaking to a meeting of newspaper editors in Orlando, President Richard Nixon denied wrongdoing in the Watergate affair, asserting, “I am not a crook.”
In 1993 the House of Representatives voted 234-200 to approve the North American Free Trade Agreement in what was seen as a victory for President Bill Clinton.
In 2004 it was announced that Kmart was acquiring Sears in a surprise $11 billion deal.
