February 11

February 11 is the 42nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 323 days remaining, 324 in leap years.

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Events

• 660 BC – Traditional founding date of Japan by Emperor Jimmu Tenno.
• 731 – Gregory II ends his reign as Pope.
• 824 – Paschal I ends his reign as Pope.
• 1531 – Henry VIII of England recognized as supreme head of the Church of England.
• 1752 – Pennsylvania Hospital, 1st hospital in the United States, opens.
• 1790 – Society of Friends petitions U.S. Congress for abolition of slavery.
• 1794 – First session of United States Senate open to the public.
• 1808 – Anthracite coal first burned as fuel, experimentally.
• 1809 – Robert Fulton patents the steamboat
• 1810 – Napoléon marries Marie-Louise of Austria.
• 1812 – Massachusetts governor Elbridge Gerry gerrymanders for the first time.
• 1814 – Norway's independence is proclaimed, marking the ultimate end of the Kalmar Union
• 1826 – University College London is founded under the name University of London.
• 1837 – American Physiological Society organizes in Boston, Massachusetts.
• 1840 – Gaetano Donizetti's opera La Fille du Régiment receives its first performance in Paris.
• 1843 – Giuseppe Verdi's opera I Lombardi receives its first performance in Milan.
• 1855 – Kassa Hailu is crowned Tewodros II, Emperor of Ethiopia, by Abuna Salama III in a ceremony at the church of Derasge Maryam.
• 1858 – The Blessed Virgin Mary reputedly appears to Saint Bernadette Soubirous of Lourdes.
• 1861 – American Civil War: United States House of Representatives unanimously passes a resolution guaranteeing noninterference with slavery in any state.
• 1873 – King Amadeus I of Spain abdicates.
• 1889 – Meiji constitution of Japan adopted; 1st Diet of Japan convenes in 1890
• 1902 – Police beat up universal suffrage demonstrators in Brussels.
• 1903 – Anton Bruckner's 9th Symphony receives its first performance in Vienna.
• 1905 – Pope Pius X publishes the encyclical Vehementer nos.
• 1908 – Australia regain the Ashes with a 308 run cricket victory over England.
• 1916 – Emma Goldman arrested for lecturing on birth control.
• 1919 – Friedrich Ebert (SPD), elected President of Germany.
• 1928 – 1928 Winter Olympic Games open in St. Moritz, Switzerland
• 1929 – Italy and the Vatican sign the Lateran Treaty.
• 1937 – A sit-down strike ends when General Motors recognizes the United Auto Workers Union.
• 1938 – BBC Television produces the world's first ever science fiction television programme, an adaptation of a section of the Karel Capek play R.U.R. (This play coined the term 'robot.')
• 1941 – First Gold record presented to Glenn Miller for "Chattanooga Choo Choo".
• 1943 – General Dwight Eisenhower selected to command the allied armies in Europe.
• 1945 – Yalta Conference ends.
• 1948 – John Costello succeeds Éamon de Valera as Taoiseach of Ireland.
• 1953 – President Dwight Eisenhower refuses clemency appeal for Ethel and Julius Rosenberg
• 1953  – The Soviet Union breaks off diplomatic relations with Israel.
• 1961 – Trial of Adolf Eichmann begins in Jerusalem.
• 1963 – The Beatles tape 10 tracks for their first album, including "Please, Please Me".
• 1964 – At the Washington, DC Coliseum, The Beatles have their 1st live appearance in the United States.
• 1964 – Greeks and Turks begin fighting in Limassol, Cyprus.
• 1964  – The Republic of China (Taiwan) breaks off diplomatic relations with France.
• 1968 – Israeli-Jordanian border clashes.
• 1968  – Madison Square Garden III closes and Madison Square Garden IV opens in New York City
• 1971 – US, UK, USSR, others sign Seabed Treaty outlawing nuclear weapons in international waters.
• 1973 – Vietnam War: First release of American prisoners of war from Vietnam takes place.
• 1978 – Censorship: China lifts a ban on works by Aristotle, Shakespeare and Dickens.
• 1979 – Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini seizes power in Iran.
• 1981 – 100,000 gallons (380 m³) of radioactive coolant leak into the containment building of TVA Sequoyah 1 nuclear plant in Tennessee, contaminating 8 workers
• 1986 – Rights activist Anatoly Sharansky, released by the USSR, leaves the country.
• 1987 – Philippines constitution goes into effect.
• 1990 – James "Buster" Douglas KOs Mike Tyson to win heavyweight boxing crown.
• 1990 – Nelson Mandela, a political prisoner for 27 years, is freed from Victor Verster prison outside Cape Town, South Africa.
• 1991 – UNPO, the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization, forms in The Hague, Netherlands.
• 1999 – Pluto, a planet with an irregular orbit, changes from the eighth to ninth planet furthest from the sun. It had been the eighth furthest since 1979.

Births

• 1380 – Gianfrancesco Poggio Bracciolini, Italian humanist (d. 1459)
• 1465 – Elizabeth of York, queen of King Henry VII of England (d. 1503)
• 1535 – Pope Gregory XIV (d. 1591)
• 1557 – John Uijtenbogaert, Dutch theologian
• 1568 – Honore d'Urfe, French writer
• 1657 – Bernard Le Bovier Fontenelle, French scientist and man of letters
• 1755 – Albert Christoph Dies, composer
• 1764 – Marie-Joseph de Chenier, French poet (d. 1811)
• 1774 – Hans Jarta, Swedish political activist, administrator, publicist
• 1776 – Joannis Capodistrias, Greek governor of Troezen (d. 1836)
• 1780 – Karoline von Günderode, German poet (d. 1806)
• 1790 – Ignaz Assmayer, composer
• 1800 – William Henry Fox Talbot, English photographic pioneer (d. 1877)
• 1802 – Lydia Child, novelist and abolitionist (d. 1880)
• 1810 – Loisa Puget, composer
• 1812 – Benjamin Franklin Sands, U.S. Navy commander
• 1812  – Alexander Hamilton Stephens, Vice President of the Confederate States of America, (d. 1883)
• 1813 – Otto Ludwig, German novelist, playwright, and critic
• 1819 – Samuel Parkman Tuckerman, composer
• 1821 – Hermann Allmers, writer
• 1821  – Auguste Edouard Mariette, French Egyptologist
• 1830 – Peter Arnold Heise, composer
• 1830 – Hans Bronsart von Schellendorf, musician (d. 1913)
• 1833 – Melville Weston Fuller, 8th Chief Justice of the United States
• 1839 – Josiah Willard Gibbs, theoretical physicist and chemist (d. 1903)
• 1847 – Thomas Alva Edison, inventor (d. 1931)
• 1860 – Rachilde (Marguérite Vallette-Eymery), French author (d. 1953)
• 1867 – August W Messer, German philosopher, educator, and psychologist
• 1869 – Helene Kroller-Muller, Dutch museum founder and patron of the arts
• 1869  – Else Lasker-Schüler, lyricist, dramatist, and narrator (d. 1945)
• 1873 – Feodor Chaliapin, Russian singer (d. 1938)
• 1874 – Elsa Beskow (Maartman), Swedish]] children's book author (d. 1953)
• 1874  – Fritz Bennicke Hart, English-born Australian composer (d. 1949)
• 1875 – Sara Wennerberg-Reuter, composer
• 1879 – Jean Gilbert, composer
• 1882 – Gheorghe Cucu, composer
• 1883 – Paul August von Klenau, Danish composer, conductor
• 1887 – John van Melle, South African writer (d. 1953)
• 1889 – Vladimir Mikhaylovich Deshevov, composer
• 1890 – John de Vries, writer
• 1891 – J.W. Hearne English cricketer (d. 1965)
• 1893 – Johan Alberts, Dutch writer
• 1894 – Isaac Kolthoff, chemist
• 1894  – Alfonso Leng, composer (d. 1974)
• 1895 – Viktor Nikolayevich Trambitsky, composer
• 1896 – Else Lasker-Schüler, writer
• 1897 – Yves de La Casiniere, composer
• 1898 – Leó Szilárd, physicist, peace activist (d. 1964)
• 1900 – Hans-Georg Gadamer, German philosopher (d. 2002)
• 1900  – Thomas Hitchcock Jr, polo player
• 1902 – Arne Jacobsen, Danish architect and designer (d. 1971)
• 1903 – Hans Redlich, composer (d. 1968)
• 1904 – Sir Keith Holyoake, Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1983)
• 1904  – Henry LaBouisse, head of UNICEF
• 1905 – Elizabeth Vuyk, Dutch-Indonesian writer
• 1906 – Denis Barnett, British air chief marshal
• 1907 – E W Swanton, author, sports commentator
• 1908 – Sutan Takdir Alishahbana, Indonesian linguist, author, novelist
• 1908  – Vivian Ernest Fuchs, geologist, explorer (d. 1999)
• 1908  – Josh White
• 1909 – Max Baer, boxer and actor
• 1909  – Joseph Mankiewicz, director
• 1911 – Alec Cairncross, chancellor of the University of Glasgow
• 1912 – Roy Fuller, English poet and novelist
• 1912  – Rudolf Firkusny Napajedla, pianist
• 1913 – Lucio Diestro, composer
• 1914 – Matt Dennis, singer
• 1914  – French Duynstee, Dutch lawyer
• 1914  – Winand Borgerhoff Mulder, Dutch judge
• 1914  – Menelaos Pallantios, composer
• 1915 – Patrick Leigh Fermor, author
• 1915  – Mervyn Levy, artist, critic
• 1915  – Haakon Stotijn, Dutch oboist
• 1916 – Joseph Alioto, Mayor of San Francisco, California
• 1916  – Bernice Levin Neugarten, social scientist and gerontologist
• 1917 – Richard Jock Kinneir, graphic designer
• 1917  – Sidney Sheldon, author
• 1919 – Gretchen Fraser, skier
• 1919  – Eva Gabor, actress (d. 1995)
• 1919  – Eddie Robinson, American football coach.
• 1920  – King Farouk I of Egypt (d. 1965)
• 1920  – Daniel Galouye, American science fiction author
• 1920  – Billy Halop, actor
• 1920  – Paul Peter Piech, artist (d. 1996)
• 1920 – General Daniel "Chappie" James, Jr., American soldier
• 1921 – Lloyd Bentsen, American politician
• 1922 – Tudor Jarda, composer
• 1923 – Ronald Arculus, British diplomat
• 1924 – Mary Tregear, Oriental art historian
• 1925 – Peter Berger, British Vice-Admiral
• 1925  – Virginia Johnson, doctor and sexologist
• 1925  – Kim Stanley, actress (d. 2001)
• 1926 – Paul Bocuse, French chef
• 1926  – Alexander Gibson, British conductor
• 1926 – Leslie Nielsen, Canadian actor
• 1928 – Gerry Alexander, West Indies cricketer
• 1928  – Raoul Cita, rocker
• 1928  – Gotthilf Fischer, choirmaste
• 1928  – Archibald Forster, business executive
• 1928  – Conrad Janis, actor
• 1929 – Leonard Gregory Kastle, composer
• 1930 – C H Dearnley, organist
• 1930  – Alevtina Koltschina, Soviet skier
• 1931 – Larry Merchant, author and boxing commentator
• 1932 – Jerome Lowenthal, pianist, professor
• 1934 – Tina Louise, actress
• 1934  – Francesco Pennisi, composer
• 1934  – Mary Quant, fashion designer
• 1934  – John Surtees, British race car driver
• 1934 – Mel Carnahan, American politician (d. 2000)
• 1935 – Bent Lorentzen, composer
• 1935  – (disputed) – Gene Vincent, guitarist and vocalist (d. 1971)
• 1936 – Burt Reynolds, actor
• 1937 – Lodewijk Boer, Dutch violinist and playwright
• 1937  – Marilyn Butler, English professor
• 1937  – Peter Lashley, West Indies cricket player
• 1937  – Bill Lawry, Australian cricket player
• 1938 – Bevan Congdon, New Zealand cricket player
• 1938  – Willy Correa de Oliveira, composer
• 1938  – Manuel Noriega, Panamanian general and dictator
• 1939 – Gerry Goffin, lyricist
• 1939  – Jane Yolen, science fiction author
• 1940 – Bobby "Boris" Pickett, American musician
• 1941 – Sergio Mendes, musician, songwriter
• 1942 – Otis Clay, gospel qand R&B singer
• 1943 – Iain Cameron, British brigadier
• 1944 – Buddhadev Dasgupta, film director
• 1944  – Bert Greene, golfer
• 1947 – Faith Popcorn, trend spotter
• 1953 – Philip Anglim, actor
• 1953 – Jeb Bush, American politician
• 1956 – Catherine Hickland, American actress
• 1961 – Mary Docter, speed skater
• 1961  – Carey Lowell, actress
• 1962 – Sheryl Crow, musician
• 1964 – Ken Shamrock, martial artist and professional wrestler
• 1967 – Hank Gathers, basketball player (d. 1990)
• 1969 – Jennifer Aniston, actress
• 1970 – Alistair Brown, English cricketer
• 1974 – D'Angelo, singer
• 1975 – Zsuzsa Hickel, Hungarian spiritualist
• 1975  – Chuck Watanabe, kayaker
• 1979 – Brandy Norwood, singer
• 1980 – Natasha Bobo, actress
• 1980  – Matthew Lawrence, actor
• 1981 – Kelly Rowland, singer (Destiny's Child)

Deaths

• 641 – Heraclius, Emperor of Byzantium in 610-641 (b. ca. 575)
• 731 – Pope Gregory II
• 821 – Saint Benedict of Aniane (b. ca. 747)
• 824 – Pope Paschal I
• 1141 – Hugo of St. Victor, philosopher, theologian, mystic
• 1503 – Elizabeth of York, queen of Henry VII of England (b. 1466)
• 1622 – Alfonso Fontanelli, composer
• 1650 – René Descartes, French philosopher (b. 1596)
• 1685 – David Teniers III, Flemish painter
• 1762 – Johann Tobias Krebs, composer
• 1763 – William Shenstone, poet (b. 1714)
• 1797 – Antoine Dauvergne, composer
• 1806 – Vicente Martin y Soler, composer
• 1841 – J H Ferdinand Olivier, German painter
• 1862 – Elizabeth Siddal, poet and artist (b. 1829)
• 1868 – Léon Foucault, astronomer (b. 1819)
• 1870 – Leopold Eugen Mechura, composer
• 1871 – Gaspard Théodore Ignace de la Fontaine, Luxemburg politician.
• 1879 – Honoré Daumier, caricaturist and painter (b. 1808)
• 1879  – Willem J van Zeggelen, Dutch author
• 1882 – Gustav Schmidt, composer (b. 1874)
• 1892 – Erik Anthon Valdemar Siboni, composer
• 1894 – Pasqual Juan Emilio Arrieta y Corera, composer
• 1903 – Henryk Szulc, composer
• 1907 – Peter J Savelberg, Dutch monastery founder
• 1911 – Albert von Rothschild, Austrian banker
• 1922 – Gerardus J P Bolland, Dutch philosopher
• 1931 – Charles Algernon Parsons, British inventor
• 1939 – Franz Schmidt, Austrian composer
• 1940 – John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir, Governor-General of Canada (b. 1875)
• 1945 – Al Dubin, Swiss songwriter
• 1945  – J S H Lokerman, Dutch resistance fighter
• 1948 – Sergei Eisenstein, film director (b. 1898)
• 1959 – Marshall Teague, race car driver (b. 1922)
• 1960 – Ernst von Dohnanyi, Hungarian conductor (b. 1877)
• 1961 – Eduard R Verkade, Dutch actor, director
• 1963 – Sylvia Plath, American writer (b. 1932)
• 1968 – Howard Lindsay, playwright
• 1970 – Emil Abranyi, composer
• 1972 – Jan Wils, architect
• 1973 – Hans D Jensen, German physicist
• 1975 – Zsuzsa Hickel, Hungarian spiritualist
• 1976 – Lee J Cobb, actor
• 1976  – Alexander Lippisch, German scientist (b. 1894)
• 1977 – Louis Beel, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (b. 1902)
• 1978 – James B Conant, university president
• 1982 – Eleanor Powell, actress, dancer
• 1982  – Takashi Shimura, Japanese actor
• 1985 – Henry Hathaway actor, director
• 1985  – Ulysses Simpson Kay, composer
• 1985 – Heinz Eric Roemheld, composer
• 1985 – Ben Abruzzo, American businessman and balloonist
• 1986 – Frank Herbert, American author (b. 1920)
• 1989 – George O'Hanlon, actor and director
• 1991 – Oscar Nitzchke, German architect
• 1993 – George A Stephen, inventor
• 1994 – Neil Bonnett, American race car driver (b. 1946)
• 1994  – Sorrell Booke, actor
• 1994  – William Conrad, actor
• 1996 – Kebby Musokotwane, Prime Minister of Zambia
• 1996  – Cyril Poole, English cricketer
• 1996  – Amelia Rosselli, poet
• 1997 – Barry Evans, English actor
• 1997 – Don Porter, American actor
• 2000 – Roger Vadim, French director (b. 1928)
• 2002 – Frank Crosetti, American baseball player
• 2002 – Barry Foster, British actor
• 2003 – Arndt Brause, German singer
• 2003  – Daniel Toscan du Plantier, film producer
• 2005 – Arthur Miller, American playwright
• 2005  – Jack L. Chalker, author

Holidays and observances

• Catholicism – Feast day of Our Lady of Lourdes
• World Day of the Sick
• National Foundation Day in Japan (See Holidays of Japan.)

External links

• BBC: On This Day

February 10 – February 12 – January 11 – March 11 — listing of all days