August 11

Historic Events

2023

Luna 25 launches from the Vostochny Cosmodrome. ›

2017

At least 41 people are killed and another 179 injured after two passenger trains collide in Alexandria, Egypt. ›

2012

At least 306 people are killed and 3,000 others injured in a pair of earthquakes near Tabriz, Iran. ›

2006

The oil tanker MT Solar 1 sinks off the coast of Guimaras and Negros Islands in the Philippines, causing the country's worst oil spill. ›

2003

NATO takes over command of the peacekeeping force in Afghanistan, marking its first major operation outside Europe in its 54-year-history. ›

2003

Jemaah Islamiyah leader Riduan Isamuddin, better known as Hambali, is arrested in Bangkok, Thailand. ›

2000

An air rage incident occurs on board Southwest Airlines Flight 1763 when 19-year-old Jonathan Burton attempts to storm the cockpit, but he is subdued by other passengers and dies from his injuries. ›

1996

The killing of Tassos Isaac by Turkish nationalists of the Grey Wolves in the United Nations Buffer Zone in Cyprus. ›

1995

The Russell Hill subway accident in Toronto kills three and injures 30, due to a combination of human error and a safety system design flaw. ›

1992

The Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota opens. At the time, it is the largest shopping mall in the United States. ›

1991

Nickelodeon's first line of "Nicktoons" (Doug, Rugrats and Ren & Stimpy) premiere on the channel. ›

1988

A meeting between Sayyed Imam Al-Sharif, Osama bin Laden, Abdullah Yusuf Azzam, and leaders of Egyptian Islamic Jihad in Afghanistan culminates in the formation of Al-Qaeda. ›

1984

"We begin bombing in five minutes": United States President Ronald Reagan, while running for re-election, jokes while preparing to make his weekly Saturday address on National Public Radio. ›

1982

A bomb explodes on Pan Am Flight 830, en route from Tokyo, Japan to Honolulu, Hawaii, killing one passenger and injuring 15 others. ›

1979

Two Aeroflot Tupolev Tu-134s collide over the Ukrainian city of Dniprodzerzhynsk and crash, killing all 178 aboard both airliners. ›

1975

East Timor: Governor Mário Lemos Pires of Portuguese Timor abandons the capital Dili, following a coup by the Timorese Democratic Union (UDT) and the outbreak of civil war between UDT and Fretilin. ›

1973

At the 1520 Sedgwick Avenue apartment building in The Bronx, New York, DJ Kool Herc hosts a house party widely considered to mark the birthplace of hip-hop culture and music. DJ Kool Herc demonstrates a new technique of beat juggling and Coke La Rock performs a new style of vocal performance called rapping. ›

1972

Vietnam War: The last United States ground combat unit leaves South Vietnam. ›

1969

The Apollo 11 astronauts are released from a three-week quarantine following their liftoff from the Moon. ›

1965

Race riots (the Watts Riots) begin in the Watts area of Los Angeles, California. ›

1962

Vostok 3 launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome and cosmonaut Andrian Nikolayev becomes the first person to float in microgravity. ›

1961

The former Portuguese territories in India of Dadra and Nagar Haveli are merged to create the Union Territory Dadra and Nagar Haveli. ›

1960

Chad declares independence from France. ›

1959

Sheremetyevo International Airport, the second-largest airport in Russia, opens. ›

1952

Hussein bin Talal is proclaimed King of Jordan. ›

1945

Poles in Kraków engage in a pogrom against Jews in the city, killing one and wounding five. ›

1942

Actress Hedy Lamarr and composer George Antheil receive a patent for a Frequency-hopping spread spectrum communication system that later became the basis for modern technologies in wireless telephones, two-way radio communications, and Wi-Fi. ›

1934

The first civilian prisoners arrive at the Federal prison on Alcatraz Island. ›

1929

Babe Ruth becomes the first baseball player to hit 500 home runs in his career with a home run at League Park in Cleveland, Ohio. ›

1920

The 1920 Cork hunger strike begins which eventually results in the deaths of three Irish Republicans including the Lord Mayor of Cork Terence MacSwiney. ›

1920

The Latvian–Soviet Peace Treaty, which relinquished Russia's authority and pretenses to Latvia, is signed, ending the Latvian War of Independence. ›

1919

Germany's Weimar Constitution is signed into law. ›

1918

World War I: The Battle of Amiens ends. ›

1898

Spanish–American War: American troops enter the city of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. ›

1871

An explosion of guncotton occurs in Stowmarket, England, killing 28. ›

1858

The Eiger in the Bernese Alps is ascended for the first time by Charles Barrington accompanied by Christian Almer and Peter Bohren. ›

1813

In Colombia, Juan del Corral declares the independence of Antioquia. ›

1812

Peninsular War: French troops engage British-Portuguese forces in the Battle of Majadahonda. ›

1804

Francis II assumes the title of first Emperor of Austria. ›

1786

Captain Francis Light establishes the British colony of Penang in Malaysia. ›

1685

Morean War: The 49-day Siege of Coron ends with the surrender and massacre of its garrison by the Venetians. ›

1675

Franco-Dutch War: Forces of the Holy Roman Empire defeat the French in the Battle of Konzer Brücke. ›

1492

Rodrigo de Borja is elected as Head of the Catholic Church, taking the name Pope Alexander VI. ›

1473

The Battle of Otlukbeli: Mehmed the Conqueror of the Ottoman Empire decisively defeats Uzun Hassan of Aq Qoyunlu. ›

1332

Wars of Scottish Independence: Battle of Dupplin Moor: Scots under Domhnall II, Earl of Mar are routed by Edward Balliol. ›

1315

The Great Famine of Europe becomes so dire that even the king of England has difficulties buying bread for himself and his entourage. ›

923

The Qarmatians of Bahrayn capture and pillage the city of Basra. ›

490

Battle of Adda: The Goths under Theodoric the Great and his ally Alaric II defeat the forces of Odoacer on the Adda River, near Milan. ›

355

Claudius Silvanus, accused of treason, proclaims himself Roman Emperor against Constantius II. ›

117

Hadrian is proclaimed Roman emperor, two days after Trajan's death. ›

106

The south-western part of Dacia (modern Romania) becomes a Roman province: Roman Dacia. ›

2492 BC

Traditional date of the defeat of Bel by Hayk, progenitor and founder of the Armenian nation. ›

3114 BC

The Mesoamerican Long Count calendar, used by several pre-Columbian Mesoamerican civilizations, notably the Maya, begins. ›