August 11
August 11 is the 223rd day of the year (224th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 142 days remaining.
Events
- 3114 BC - On this date in the proleptic Gregorian calendar begins our current era in the Maya Long Count Calendar.
- 480 BC - Persians under Xerxes defeat Spartans under King Leonidas in the Battle of Thermopylae. The Spartans fought to the last man.
- 480 BC - The Persian and Greek fleets also fight the indecisive Battle of Artemisium.
- 1492 - Alexander VI is elected Pope.
- 1711 - The first race meeting was held at Ascot
- 1858 - First ascent of the Eiger.
- 1898 - American troops enter the city of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico during the Spanish-American War.
- 1918 - World War I - Battle of Amiens ends
- 1919 - Constitution of Weimar Republic adopted
- 1920 - The Latvia - Soviet Russia peace treaty which relinquished Russia`s authority and pretences to Latvian nation and territory for all time. In 1940 the Soviet Union unilaterally broke this Treaty and occupied Latvia
- 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.
- 1934 - Federal prison opened at Alcatraz Island
- 1943 - World War II - First Quebec Conference of Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt, T. V. Soong and William Lyon Mackenzie King begins.
- 1951 - René Pleven becomes Prime Minister of France
- 1952 - Hussein proclaimed king of Jordan
- 1956 - Jackson Pollock Died in car crash East Hampton, NY
- 1960 - Chad declares independence
- 1965 - Race riots (the Watts riots) begin in Watts area of Los Angeles, California
- 1966 - John Lennon holds a press conference in Chicago excusing himself from the "Jesus affair"
- 1970 - A trademark application by the Van Brode Milling Company for the word Spork was published by the USPTO.
- 1972 - Last United States ground combat unit departs South Vietnam
- 1984 - United States President Ronald Reagan, during a voice check for a radio broadcast remarks "My fellow Americans, I'm pleased to tell you today that I've signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes".
- 1987 - Alan Greenspan becomes Chairman of the United States Federal Reserve.
- 1991- The three original Nicktoons, Doug, Rugrats, and The Ren and Stimpy Show make their debuts on the Nickelodeon cable channel.
- 1995 - Three people are killed when a TTC train hits the back of a stationary train near Toronto's Dupont Station.
- 1999 - A total solar eclipse visible from Europe and Asia.
- 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.
Births
- 1667 - Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici, last of the Medicis (d. 1743)
- 1673 - Richard Mead, English physician (d. 1754)
- 1718 - Sir Frederick Haldimand, Swiss-born soldier (d. 1791)
- 1794 - James Barton Longacre, American engraver (d. 1869)
- 1807 - David Rice Atchison, American politician (d. 1886)
- 1833 - Robert G. Ingersoll, American politician and soldier (d. 1899)
- 1833 - Kido Takayoshi, Japanese politician (d. 1877)
- 1870 - Tom Richardson, English cricketer (d. 1912).
- 1872 - Shidehara Kijuro, Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1951)
- 1892 - Eiji Yoshikawa, Japanese novelist (d. 1962)
- 1897 - Louise Bogan, American poet (d. 1970)
- 1897 - Enid Blyton, English author of children's books (d. 1968)
- 1902 - Alfredo Binda, Italian cyclist (d. 1986)
- 1902 - Lloyd Nolan, American actor (d. 1982)
- 1905 - Erwin Chargaff, Austrian biochemist (d. 2002)
- 1912 - Eva Ahnert-Rohlfs, German astronomer (d. 1954)
- 1912 - Thanom Kittikachorn, Prime Minister of Thailand (d. 2004)
- 1913 - Angus Wilson, British novelist (d. 1991)
- 1919 - Ginette Neveu, French violinist (d. 1949)
- 1921 - Alex Haley, American historian and novelist (d. 1992)
- 1926 - Aaron Klug, Lithuanian-born chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1928 - Arlene Dahl, American actress
- 1932 - Fernando Arrabal, Spanish writer
- 1933 - Jerry Falwell, American preacher and politician
- 1943 - Abigail Folger, American heiress (d. 1969)
- 1943 - Pervez Musharraf, Pakistani general and leader
- 1944 - Ian McDiarmid, Scottish actor
- 1946 - Marilyn vos Savant, American newspaper columnist
- 1950 - Gennidy Nikonov, Russian weapons inventor
- 1950 - Steve Wozniak, American computer pioneer
- 1953 - Hulk Hogan, American professional wrestler
- 1954 - Joe Jackson, English singer
- 1954 - Juan Maria Solare, Argentine composer and pianist
- 1955 - Sylvia Hermon, British politician
- 1957 - Richie Ramone, American drummer (The Ramones)
- 1964 - Jim Lee, Korean-born comic book artist and publisher
- 1967 - Joe Rogan, American comedian and television host
- 1967 - Enrique Bunbury, Spanish singer and songwriter
- 1970 - Andy Bell, English bass player (Oasis)
- 1972 - Jonathon Prandi, American model
- 1974 - Audrey Mestre, French diver
- 1980 - Lee Suggs, American football player
- 1985 - Jarell Houston, African American singer/ actor (B2K)
Deaths
- 480 BC - Leonidas, King of Sparta
- 897 - Wilfred the Hairy, count of Barcelona
- 1253 - Clare of Assisi, Italian follower of Francis of Assis (b. 1194)
- 1464 - Nicholas of Cusa, German philosopher and mathematician (b. 1401)
- 1519 - Johann Tetzel, German opponent of the Reformation (b. 1465)
- 1563 - Bartolomé de Escobedo, Spanish composer
- 1578 - Pedro Nunes, Portuguese mathematician (b. 1502)
- 1614 - Lavinia Fontana, Italian painter (b. 1552)
- 1656 - Prince Octavio Piccolomini, Duke of Amalfi, Austrian field marshal (b. 1599)
- 1676 - Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen, German writer
- 1774 - Tiphaigne de la Roche, French writer (b. 1722)
- 1813 - Henry James Pye, English poet (b. 1745)
- 1890 - John Henry Cardinal Newman, English Catholic cardinal (b. 1801)
- 1919 - Andrew Carnegie, Scottish-born industrialist and philanthropist (b. 1835)
- 1937 - Edith Wharton, American author (b. 1862)
- 1939 - Jean Bugatti, Italian automobile designer (b. 1909)
- 1953 - Tazio Nuvolari, Italian race car driver (b. 1892)
- 1956 - Jackson Pollock, American artist (b. 1912)
- 1972 - Max Theiler, South African virologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1899)
- 1973 - Karl Ziegler, German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1898)
- 1982 - Ian Kyle Bagley, Cancer Survivor, recipient of a Bone Marrow Transplant, also a student at Hampshire College
- 1984 - Alfred A. Knopf, American publisher (b. 1892)
- 1988 - Anne Ramsey, American actress (b. 1929)
- 1996 - Rafael Kubelik, Czech-born conductor and composer (b. 1914)
- 2003 - Armand Borel, Swiss mathematician (b. 1923)
- 2003 - Herb Brooks, American hockey coach (b. 1937)
Holidays and observances
- Taiwan - Valentine's day
- Zimbabwe - Heroes Day
- Qi Xi (2005, the seventh day of the seventh lunar month of the Chinese calendar)
External links
August 10 - August 12 - July 11 - September 11 -- listing of all days