Today in History – August 11 in History
What happened on this day in history – August 11 in History around the world
991 | Danes under Olaf Tryggvason kill Ealdorman Brihtnoth and defeat the Saxons at Maldon. | |
1492 | Rodrigo Borgia is elected to the papacy as Pope Alexander VI. | |
1792 | A revolutionary commune is formed in Paris, France. | |
1856 | A band of rampaging settlers in California kill four Yokut Indians. The settlers had heard unproven rumors of Yokut atrocities. | |
1862 | President Abraham Lincoln appoints Union General Henry Halleck to the position of general in chief of the Union Army. | |
1904 | German General Lothar von Trotha defeats the Hereros tribe near Waterberg, South Africa. | |
1906 | In France, Eugene Lauste receives the first patent for a talking film. | |
1908 | Britain’s King Edward VII meets with Kaiser Wilhelm II to protest the growth of the German navy. | |
1912 | Moroccan Sultan Mulai Hafid abdicates his throne in the face of internal dissent. | |
1916 | The Russia army takes Stanislau, Poland, from the Germans. | |
1929 | Babe Ruth hits his 500th major league home run against the Cleveland Indians. | |
1941 | Soviet bombers raid Berlin but cause little damage. | |
1942 | The German submarine U-73 attacks a Malta-bound British convoy and sinks HMS Eagle, one of the world’s first aircraft carriers. | |
1944 | German troops abandon Florence, Italy, as Allied troops close in on the historic city. | |
1965 | A small clash between the California Highway Patrol and two black youths sets off six days of rioting in the Watts area of Los Angeles. | |
1972 | The last U.S. ground forces withdraw from Vietnam. | |
1975 | US vetoes admission of North and South Vietnam to UN. | |
1978 | Funeral of Pope Paul VI. | |
1984 | Carl Lewis wins four Olympic gold medals, tying the record Jesse Owens set in 1936. | |
1988 | Al Qaeda formed at a meeting in Peshawar, Pakistan. | |
1989 | Voyager 2 discovers two partial rings around Neptune. | |
1990 | Troops from Egypt and Morocco arrive in Saudi Arabia as part of the international operation to prevent Iraq from invading. | |
1999 | A tornado in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah, kills one person. | |
2003 | Temperatures rise to 112 degrees Fahrenheit (44 degrees Celsius); over 140 people die in the heat wave. | |
2003 | NATO assumes command of the international peacekeeping force in Afghanistan, its first major operation outside Europe. | |
Born on August 11 | ||
1833 | Robert G. Ingersoll, advocate of scientific realism and humanistic philosophy. | |
1862 | Carrie James Bond, songwriter who wrote “I Love You Truly” and “A Perfect Day.” | |
1861 | James Bryan Herrick, physician who first described sickle-cell anemia. | |
1892 | Hugh MacDiarmid, poet and founder of the Scottish Nationalist Party. | |
1921 | Alex Haley, genealogist and author of Roots. | |
1933 | Jerry Falwell, founder of the conservative political lobbying organization, the Moral Majority. | |
1943 | Kenny Gamble, songwriter, record producer; a pioneer of the “Philadelphia Sound” (“Ain’t Gonna Love Nobody,” “Me and Mrs. Jones”). | |
1946 | Marilyn Vos Savant, author, columnist, playwright; “Highest IQ (Women)” Guinness Book of World Records, 1986-1989 (category retired in 1990). | |
1950 | Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple Computer. | |
1950 | Gennidy Nikonov, inventor of AN-94 assault rifle. | |
1953 | Hulk Hogan, wrestler, actor (Assault on Devil’s Island); World Wrestling Federation heavyweight champion, 1984-89. |