October 11

Historic Events

2018

Soyuz MS-10, launching an intended crew for the ISS, suffers an in-flight abort. The crew lands safely. ›

2013

A migrant boat sinks in the Channel of Sicily, with at least 359 people drowning. ›

2002

A bomb attack in a Myyrmanni shopping mall in Vantaa, Finland kills seven. ›

2001

The Polaroid Corporation files for federal bankruptcy protection. ›

2000

NASA launches STS-92, the 100th Space Shuttle mission. ›

1999

Air Botswana pilot Chris Phatswe steals an ATR 42 from Sir Seretse Khama International Airport and later crashes it into two other aircraft at the airport, killing himself. ›

1991

Prof. Anita Hill delivers her televised testimony concerning sexual harassment during the Clarence Thomas Supreme Court nomination. ›

1987

The AIDS Memorial Quilt is first displayed during the Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights. ›

1987

Start of Operation Pawan by Indian forces in Sri Lanka. Thousands of civilians, insurgents, soldiers die. ›

1986

Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev meet in Iceland to continue discussions about scaling back IRBM arsenals in Europe. ›

1984

Aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger, astronaut Kathryn D. Sullivan becomes the first American woman to perform a space walk. ›

1984

Aeroflot Flight 3352 crashes into maintenance vehicles upon landing in Omsk, Russia, killing 178. ›

1976

George Washington is posthumously promoted to the grade of General of the Armies. ›

1962

The Second Vatican Council becomes the first ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church in 92 years. ›

1958

NASA launches Pioneer 1, its first space probe, although it fails to achieve a stable orbit. ›

1954

In accord with the 1954 Geneva Conference, French troops complete their withdrawal from North Vietnam. ›

1950

CBS's field-sequential color system for television is the first to be licensed for broadcast by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission. ›

1944

The Tuvan People's Republic is annexed by the Soviet Union. ›

1942

World War II: Off Guadalcanal, United States Navy ships intercept and defeat a Japanese force. ›

1941

Beginning of the National Liberation War of Macedonia. ›

1937

The Duke and Duchess of Windsor tour Nazi Germany for 12 days and meet Adolf Hitler on 22 October. ›

1918

The 7.1 Mw San Fermín earthquake shakes Puerto Rico. The quake and resulting tsunami kill up to 116 people. ›

1912

First Balkan War: The day after the Battle of Sarantaporo, Greek troops liberate the city of Kozani. ›

1910

Piloted by Arch Hoxsey, Theodore Roosevelt becomes the first U.S. president to fly in an airplane. ›

1906

San Francisco sparks a diplomatic crisis between the United States and Japan by ordering segregated schools for Japanese students. ›

1899

The Second Boer War erupts in South Africa between the British-ruled Cape Colony, and the Boer-ruled Transvaal and Orange Free State. ›

1890

In Washington, D.C., the Daughters of the American Revolution is founded. ›

1865

Hundreds of black men and women march in Jamaica, starting the Morant Bay rebellion. ›

1862

American Civil War: Confederate troops conduct a raid on Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. ›

1852

The University of Sydney, Australia's oldest university, is inaugurated in Sydney. ›

1840

The Maronite leader Bashir Shihab II surrenders to the Ottoman Empire and later is sent to Malta in exile. ›

1811

The Juliana begins operation as the first steam-powered ferry in New York harbor. ›

1797

The Royal Navy decisively defeats the Batavian Navy at Camperdown during the French Revolutionary Wars. ›

1776

American Revolution: A fleet of American boats on Lake Champlain is defeated by the Royal Navy, but delays the British advance until 1777. ›

1649

Cromwell's New Model Army sacks Wexford, killing over 2,000 Irish Confederate troops and 1,500 civilians. ›

1634

The Burchardi flood kills around 15,000 in North Friesland, Denmark and Germany. ›

1614

The New Netherland Company applies to the States General of the Netherlands for exclusive trading rights in what is now the northeastern United States. ›

1311

The peerage and clergy restrict the authority of English kings with the Ordinances of 1311. ›

1142

A peace treaty ends the Jin–Song wars. ›

1138

A massive earthquake strikes Aleppo; it is one of the most destructive earthquakes ever. ›