Today in History: November 17

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On this day in 1558, Queen Mary I, the monarch of England and Ireland since 1553, died and was succeeded by her 25-year-old half-sister, Elizabeth Tudor who came to the English throne as Elizabeth I.

The two half-sisters, both daughters of King Henry VIII, had a stormy relationship during Mary’s five-year reign.

Mary, who was brought up Catholic, enacted pro-Catholic legislation and made efforts to restore the Pope to supremacy in England. A protestant rebellion ensued, and Queen Mary imprisoned her sister on suspicion of complicity.

In 1800, the U.S. Congress held its first session in Washington, D.C.

Fast forward to 1973 when U.S. President Richard Nixon who was embroiled in the Watergate scandal, held a press conference in which he declared, “I am not a crook.”

In 2003 Arnold Schwarzenegger was inaugurated as governor of California, following a recall election that ousted the sitting governor.

In 2008 the first film adaptation of Stephenie Meyer’s popular Twilight Saga, a vampire-themed series of novels for teenagers, premiered in Los Angeles.