3. England flourishes on the world stage” But Nixon resigns the following year when the Watergate scandal forces him from office.

1558, Elizabeth I begins the four and a half decade reign as Queen of England, ascending the throne after her half-sister Queen Mary dies. Under what’s known as the Elizabethan Age, England flourishes on the world stage, from military might to exploration and trade to the works of William Shakespeare.

1869, in Egypt, the Suez Canal opens, a vital waterway connecting the Mediterranean and Red Seas.

1800, the US Congress holds its first session in Washington D.C. in the partially completed Capitol Building.

1917, sculptor Auguste Rodin, whose best-known works include The Thinker and The Kiss, dies in France. He was 77 years old.

And 1942, “Whether I like it or not, I actually end the movies I’ve made, for better for worse; however, people understand them and who I am, that’s all I really can be.” Movie director Martin Scorsese is born in New York City. Among his films, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Good Fellas, Gangs of New York, and The Departed . Today in history. November 17th. Camille Bohannon, the Associated Press.