October 11
| October 11 in recent years |
| 2024 (Friday) |
| 2023 (Wednesday) |
| 2022 (Tuesday) |
| 2021 (Monday) |
| 2020 (Sunday) |
| 2019 (Friday) |
| 2018 (Thursday) |
| 2017 (Wednesday) |
| 2016 (Tuesday) |
| 2015 (Sunday) |
October 11 is the 284th day of the year (285th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 81 days remain until the end of the year.
Events
- 1138 – A massive earthquake strikes Aleppo, Syria.
- 1142 – A peace treaty between the Jin Dynasty and Southern Song Dynasty is formally ratified when a Jin envoy visits the Song court.
- 1531 – Huldrych Zwingli is killed in battle with the Roman Catholic cantons of Switzerland.
- 1582 – Because of the implementation of the Gregorian calendar, this day does not exist in this year in Italy, Poland, Portugal and Spain.
- 1614 – Adriaen Block and 12 Amsterdam merchants petition the States General for exclusive trading rights in the New Netherland colony.
- 1634 – The Burchardi flood – "the second Grote Mandrenke" killed around 15,000 men in North Friesland, Denmark and Germany.
- 1649 – Sack of Wexford: After a ten-day siege, English New Model Army troops (under Oliver Cromwell) stormed the town of Wexford, killing over 2,000 Irish Confederate troops and 1,500 civilians.
- 1727 – George II and Caroline of Ansbach are crowned King and Queen of Great Britain.
- 1767 – Surveying for the Mason–Dixon Line separating Maryland from Pennsylvania is completed.
- 1776 – American Revolutionary War: Battle of Valcour Island – On Lake Champlain a fleet of American boats is defeated by the Royal Navy, but delays the British advance until 1777.
- 1797 – Battle of Camperdown: Naval battle between Royal Navy and Royal Netherlands Navy during the French Revolutionary Wars. The outcome of the battle was a decisive British victory.
- 1809 – Along the Natchez Trace in Tennessee, explorer Meriwether Lewis dies under mysterious circumstances at an inn called Grinder's Stand.
- 1811 – Inventor John Stevens' boat, the Juliana, begins operation as the first steam-powered ferry (service between New York City, New York, and Hoboken, New Jersey).
- 1833 – A big demonstration at the gates of the legislature of Buenos Aires forces the ousting of governor Juan Ramón Balcarce and his replacement with Juan José Viamonte.
- 1852 – The University of Sydney, Australia's oldest university, is inaugurated in Sydney.
- 1862 – American Civil War: In the aftermath of the Battle of Antietam, Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart and his men loot Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, during a raid into the north.
- 1864 – Campina Grande, Brazil is established as a city.
- 1865 – Paul Bogle led hundreds of black men and women in a march in Jamaica, starting the Morant Bay rebellion.
- 1890 – In Washington, DC, the Daughters of the American Revolution is founded.
- 1899 – Second Boer War begins: In South Africa, a war between the United Kingdom and the Boers of the Transvaal and Orange Free State erupts.
- 1899 – The Western League is renamed the American League.
- 1906 – San Francisco public school board sparks a diplomatic crisis between the United States and Japan by ordering Japanese students to be taught in racially segregated schools.
- 1910 – Former President Theodore Roosevelt becomes the first U.S. president to fly in an airplane. He flew for four minutes with Arch Hoxsey in a plane built by the Wright Brothers at Kinloch Field (Lambert-St. Louis International Airport), St. Louis, Missouri.
- 1912 – First Balkan War: The Greek Army liberates the city of Kozani.
- 1918 – San Fermín earthquake hits western Puerto Rico.
- 1929 – JC Penney opens store #1252 in Milford, Delaware, making it a nationwide company with stores in all 48 U.S. states.
- 1941 – Beginning of the National Liberation War of Macedonia.
- 1942 – World War II: Battle of Cape Esperance – On the northwest coast of Guadalcanal, United States Navy ships intercept and defeat a Japanese fleet on their way to reinforce troops on the island.
- 1944 – Tuvinian People's Republic or formerly Tannu Tuva is annexed by the U.S.S.R
- 1950 – Television: CBS's mechanical color system is the first to be licensed for broadcast by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission.
- 1954 – First Indochina War: The Viet Minh take control of North Vietnam.
- 1957 – Space Race: M.I.T. scientists calculate Sputnik I's booster rocket's orbit.
- 1958 – Pioneer program: NASA launches the lunar probe Pioneer 1 (the probe falls back to Earth and burns up).
- 1962 – Second Vatican Council: Pope John XXIII convenes the first ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church in 92 years.
- 1968 – Apollo program: NASA launches Apollo 7, the first successful manned Apollo mission, with astronauts Wally Schirra, Donn F. Eisele and Walter Cunningham aboard.
- 1972 – A race riot occurs on the United States Navy aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk off the coast of Vietnam during Operation Linebacker.
- 1975 – The NBC sketch comedy/variety show Saturday Night Live debuts with George Carlin as the host and Andy Kaufman, Janis Ian and Billy Preston as guests.
- 1976 – George Washington's appointment, posthumously, to the grade of General of the Armies of the United States by congressional joint resolution Public Law 94-479 is approved by President Gerald R. Ford.
- 1982 – The Mary Rose, a Tudor carrack which sank on July 19, 1545, is salvaged from the sea bed of the Solent, off Portsmouth.
- 1984 – Aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger, astronaut Kathryn D. Sullivan becomes the first American woman to perform a space walk.
- 1986 – Cold War: U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev meet in Reykjavík, Iceland, in an effort to continue discussions about scaling back their intermediate missile arsenals in Europe.
- 1987 – Start of Operation Pawan by Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka that killed thousands of ethnic Tamil civilians and hundreds of Tamil Tigers & Indian Army soldiers.
- 1996 – Pala accident: a wood lorry and school bus collide in Jõgeva county, Estonia, killing eight children.
- 2000 – NASA launches STS-92, the 100th Space Shuttle mission, using Space Shuttle Discovery.
- 2001 – The Polaroid Corporation files for federal bankruptcy protection.
- 2002 – A bomb attack in a shopping mall in Vantaa, Finland kills seven.
Births
- 1335 – Taejo of Joseon (d. 1408)
- 1616 – Andreas Gryphius, German poet (d. 1664)
- 1661 – Melchior de Polignac, French cardinal and poet (d. 1742)
- 1671 – Frederick IV of Denmark (d. 1730)
- 1672 – Pylyp Orlyk, Ukrainian diplomat (d. 1742)
- 1675 – Samuel Clarke, English philosopher (d. 1729)
- 1679 – Christian Vater, German organ builder (d. 1756)
- 1738 – Arthur Phillip, English admiral and politician, 1st Governor of New South Wales (d. 1814)
- 1739 – Grigory Potemkin, Russian military leader and politician (d. 1791)
- 1758 – Heinrich Wilhelm Matthias Olbers, German physician and astronomer (d. 1840)
- 1786 – Stevenson Archer, American politician (d. 1848)
- 1788 – Simon Sechter, Austrian organist, conductor, and composer (d. 1867)
- 1809 – Orson Squire Fowler, American phrenologist (d. 1887)
- 1814 – Jean-Baptiste Lamy, French archbishop (d. 1888)
- 1815 – Pierre Napoleon Bonaparte, Italian-French adventurer (d. 1881)
- 1821 – George Williams, English founder of the YMCA (d. 1905)
- 1844 – Henry J. Heinz, American businessman, founded the H. J. Heinz Company (d. 1916)
- 1865 – Hans E. Kinck, Norwegian author and philologist (d. 1926)
- 1871 – Johan Oscar Smith, Norwegian religious leader, founded the Brunstad Christian Church (d. 1943)
- 1872 – Emily Davison, English activist (d. 1913)
- 1872 – Harlan F. Stone, American lawyer and jurist, 12th Chief Justice of the United States (d. 1946)
- 1876 – Paul Masson, French cyclist (d. 1944)
- 1877 – Henri Hazebroucq, French rower
- 1879 – Ernst Mally, Austrian philosopher (d. 1944)
- 1881 – Hans Kelsen, Austrian jurist and philosopher (d. 1973)
- 1884 – Friedrich Bergius, German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1949)
- 1884 – Eleanor Roosevelt, American politician and humanitarian, 34th First Lady of the United States (d. 1962)
- 1884 – Sig Ruman, German-American actor (d. 1967)
- 1885 – François Mauriac, French author, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1970)
- 1890 – A. V. Kulasingham, Ceylon Tamil lawyer (d. 1978)
- 1895 – Jakov Gotovac, Croatian composer (d. 1982)
- 1897 – Nathan Farragut Twining, American general (d. 1982)
- 1899 – Eddie Dyer, American baseball player (d. 1964)
- 1902 – Jayaprakash Narayan, Indian activist and politician (d. 1979)
- 1905 – Fred Trump, American real estate developer (d. 1999)
- 1912 – Betty Noyes,American singer and actress (d. 1987)
- 1913 – Joe Simon, American writer and illustrator (d. 2011)
- 1913 – Dorothy Woolfolk, American writer and editor (d. 2000)
- 1915 – T. Llew Jones, Welsh author (d. 2009)
- 1918 – Fred Bodsworth, Canadian journalist (d. 2012)
- 1918 – Jerome Robbins, American choreographer, director, and producer (d. 1998)
- 1919 – Art Blakey, American drummer and bandleader (d. 1990)
- 1919 – Jean Vander Pyl, American actress (d. 1999)
- 1920 – Édgar Negret, Colombian sculptor (d. 2012)
- 1924 – André Emmerich, German-American art dealer (d. 2007)
- 1924 – Mal Whitfield, American runner
- 1925 – Elmore Leonard, American author and screenwriter (d. 2013)
- 1926 – Joe Ginsberg, American baseball player (d. 2012)
- 1926 – Thich Nhat Hanh, Vietnamese monk, author, and poet
- 1926 – Earle Hyman, American actor
- 1926 – Neville Wran, Australian lawyer and politician, 35th Premier of New South Wales
- 1927 – Princess Joséphine Charlotte of Belgium (d. 2005)
- 1928 – Alfonso de Portago, Spanish race car driver (d. 1957)
- 1928 – Roscoe Robinson, Jr., American general (d. 1993)
- 1929 – Curtis Amy, American saxophonist (d. 2002)
- 1929 – Raymond Moriyama, Canadian architect, designed the Ottawa Civic Centre and Scarborough Civic Centre
- 1929 – Liselotte Pulver, Swiss actress
- 1930 – LaVell Edwards, American football coach
- 1930 – K. P. Ummer, Indian Actor (d. 2001)
- 1930 – Sam Johnson, American pilot and politician
- 1932 – Dottie West, American singer-songwriter and actress (d. 1991)
- 1935 – Dan Evins, American businessman, founded Cracker Barrel (d. 2012)
- 1935 – Daniel Quinn, American environmentalist and author
- 1936 – Billy Higgins, American drummer (d. 2001)
- 1936 – Tom Zé, Brazilian singer-songwriter and musician
- 1937 – Bobby Charlton, English footballer
- 1937 – R. H. W. Dillard, American poet, author, and critic
- 1937 – Ron Leibman, American actor
- 1939 – Maria Bueno, Brazilian tennis player
- 1939 – Austin Currie, Irish politician
- 1941 – Lester Bowie, American trumpet player and composer (Art Ensemble of Chicago) (d. 1999)
- 1941 – Charles Shyer, American director
- 1942 – Amitabh Bachchan, Indian actor
- 1943 – John Nettles, English actor
- 1943 – Gene Watson, American singer
- 1944 – Mike Fiore, American baseball player
- 1944 – Rodney Marsh, English footballer
- 1946 – Oba Chandler, American convicted murderer (d. 2011)
- 1946 – Daryl Hall, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (Hall & Oates)
- 1946 – Sawao Kato, Japanese gymnast
- 1946 – Gary Mallaber, American drummer (Steve Miller Band)
- 1947 – Al Atkins, English singer-songwriter (Judas Priest)
- 1947 – Thomas Boswell, American columnist
- 1947 – George McCorkle, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (The Marshall Tucker Band) (d. 2007)
- 1947 – Lucas Papademos, Greek economist and politician, Prime Minister of Greece
- 1948 – Cecilia, Spanish singer-songwriter (d. 1976)
- 1948 – Peter Turkson, Ghanaian cardinal
- 1949 – Henry Luke Orombi, Ugandan archbishop
- 1950 – Amos Gitai, Israeli director, producer, and author
- 1950 – Patty Murray, American politician
- 1951 – Bruce Bartlett, American economist, author, and historian
- 1951 – Jean-Jacques Goldman, French singer-songwriter and musician (Taï Phong and Fredericks Goldman Jones)
- 1952 – Paulette Carlson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Highway 101)
- 1952 – Mark Goodman, DJ and original MTV VJ
- 1953 – David Morse, American actor
- 1954 – David Michaels, American politician
- 1954 – Vojislav Šešelj, Serbian lawyer and politician
- 1955 – Norm Nixon, American basketball player
- 1956 – Nicanor Duarte, Paraguayan politician, President of Paraguay
- 1956 – Eduardo Arellano Félix, Mexican drug trafficker
- 1957 – Paul Bown, English actor
- 1957 – Dawn French, Welsh actress and screenwriter
- 1957 – Paul Sereno, American paleontologist
- 1958 – Gregory Dudek, Canadian computer scientist and academic
- 1959 – Wayne Gardner, Australian race car driver
- 1960 – Randy Breuer, American basketball player
- 1960 – Nicola Bryant, English actress
- 1960 – Curt Ford, American baseball player
- 1960 – Gábor Pölöskei, Hungarian footballer
- 1961 – Neil Buchanan, English television host, guitarist, and actor (Marseille)
- 1961 – Amr Diab, Egyptian singer-songwriter
- 1961 – Steve Young, American football player
- 1962 – Joan Cusack, American actress
- 1962 – Richard Paul Evans, American author
- 1962 – Andy McCoy, Finnish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (Hanoi Rocks, The Suicide Twins, and Shooting Gallery)
- 1963 – Prince Faisal bin Al Hussein of Jordan
- 1963 – Ronny Rosenthal, Israeli footballer
- 1963 – Brian Rice, Scottish footballer
- 1964 – Michael J. Nelson, American actor
- 1965 – Sean Patrick Flanery, American actor
- 1965 – Alexander Hacke, German singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (Einstürzende Neubauten)
- 1965 – Orlando Hernández, Cuban baseball player
- 1965 – Luke Perry, American actor
- 1965 – Ronit Roy, Indian actor and businessman
- 1965 – Volodymyr Horily, Ukrainian footballer
- 1966 – Rikishi, American wrestler
- 1966 – Todd Snider, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1967 – Tazz, American wrestler
- 1967 – Tony Chimel, American wrestling announcer
- 1967 – Artie Lange, American actor and comedian
- 1967 – Daniel Razon, Filipino television host, singer, and minister
- 1967 – David Starr, American race car driver
- 1968 – Jane Krakowski, American actress
- 1968 – Claude Lapointe, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1968 – Brett Salisbury, American football player and author
- 1969 – Prince Constantijn of the Netherlands
- 1969 – Stephen Moyer, English actor and director
- 1969 – Ty Murray, American professional bull rider
- 1970 – Chidi Ahanotu, American football player
- 1970 – Andy Marriott, English footballer
- 1970 – Constance Zimmer, American actress
- 1971 – Jason Ellis, Australian skateboarder
- 1971 – Petra Haden, American violinist and singer (That Dog, Tito & Tarantula, and The Decemberists)
- 1971 – MC Lyte, American rapper and actress
- 1971 – Oleksandr Pomazun, Russian footballer
- 1972 – Claudia Black, Australian actress
- 1973 – Mark Chapman, English radio host
- 1973 – Takeshi Kaneshiro, Japanese actor and singer
- 1973 – Steven Pressley, Scottish footballer
- 1973 – Mike Smith, American guitarist (Snot and Limp Bizkit)
- 1973 – Niki Xanthou, Greek long jumper
- 1973 – Dmitri Young, American baseball player
- 1973 – Samantha Marshall, English Academic
- 1974 – Jason Arnott, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1974 – Rachel Barton Pine, American violinist (Earthen Grave)
- 1974 – Terje Haakonsen, Norwegian snowboarder
- 1974 – Jamie Thomas, American skateboarder
- 1975 – Orlando Maturana, Colombian footballer
- 1976 – Dominic Aitchison, Scottish bass player and songwriter (Mogwai and Crippled Black Phoenix)
- 1976 – Brent Bennett, American soldier
- 1976 – Emily Deschanel, American actress
- 1977 – Napoleon, American rapper (Outlawz)
- 1977 – Matthew Bomer, American actor
- 1977 – Jérémie Janot, French footballer
- 1977 – Desmond Mason, American basketball player
- 1977 – Claudia Palacios, Colombian journalist
- 1977 – Ty Wigginton, American baseball player
- 1978 – Kali, Angolan footballer
- 1978 – Trevor Donovan, American actor
- 1979 – Bae Doona, South Korean model and actress
- 1979 – Andy Douglas, American wrestler
- 1979 – Gabe Saporta, Uruguayan-American singer-songwriter and producer (Cobra Starship, Midtown, and Humble Beginnings)
- 1979 – Kim Yong-Dae, South Korean footballer
- 1979 – Jamar Beasley, American footballer
- 1980 – Matthew Felker, American actor
- 1980 – Nyron Nosworthy, English footballer
- 1980 – Tomokazu Sugita, Japanese voice actor
- 1981 – Beau Brady, Australian actor
- 1982 – Liz Cantor, Australian journalist
- 1982 – Jeff Larish, American baseball player
- 1982 – Terrell Suggs, American football player
- 1982 – Kristy Wu, American actress
- 1983 – Bradley James, English actor
- 1983 – Ruslan Ponomariov, Ukrainian chess player
- 1983 – William Sledd, American video blogger
- 1984 – Sergio Hellings, Dutch footballer
- 1984 – Martha MacIsaac, Canadian actress
- 1985 – Álvaro Fernández, Uruguayan footballer
- 1985 – Michelle Trachtenberg, American actress
- 1985 – Yang Cheng, Chinese footballer
- 1987 – Mike Conley, Jr., American basketball player
- 1987 – Tony Beltran, American footballer
- 1989 – Henry Lau, Canadian-Chinese singer-songwriter (Super Junior-M)
- 1989 – Michelle Wie, American golfer
- 1991 – Patrick Leyland, American baseball player
- 1991 – Panagiotis Vlachodimos, Greek footballer
- 1993 – Sean Murray, Irish footballer
- 1993 – Josip Čalušić, Croatian footballer
Deaths
- 1188 – Robert I, Count of Dreux (b. 1123)
- 1303 – Pope Boniface VIII (b. 1235)
- 1347 – Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1282)
- 1424 – Jan Žižka, Czech general (b. 1360)
- 1531 – Huldrych Zwingli, Swiss pastor and theologian (b. 1484)
- 1572 – Sulaiman Khan Karrani, Indian sultan
- 1636 – Johann Albrecht Adelgrief, German man who claimed to be a prophet
- 1705 – Guillaume Amontons, French physicist (b. 1663)
- 1708 – Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus, German mathematician, physicist, physician, and philosopher (b. 1651)
- 1721 – Edward Colston, English merchant and politician (b. 1636)
- 1725 – Hans Herr, Swiss bishop (b. 1639)
- 1779 – Casimir Pulaski, Polish soldier (b. 1745)
- 1809 – Meriwether Lewis, American soldier and explorer, co-leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition (b. 1774)
- 1811 – Johann Conrad Ammann, Swiss physician and naturalist (b. 1724)
- 1821 – John Ross Key, American judge and lawyer (b. 1754)
- 1852 – Gotthold Eisenstein, German mathematician (b. 1823)
- 1889 – James Prescott Joule, English physicist (b. 1818)
- 1896 – Edward Benson, English archbishop (b. 1829)
- 1896 – Anton Bruckner, Austrian composer (b. 1824)
- 1897 – Léon Boëllmann, French composer (b. 1862)
- 1932 – William Alden Smith, American politician (b. 1859)
- 1935 – Steele Rudd, Australian author (b. 1868)
- 1940 – Lluís Companys, Spanish politician, 123rd President of Catalonia (b. 1882)
- 1940 – Vito Volterra, Italian mathematician and physicist (b. 1860)
- 1961 – Chico Marx, American comedian and actor (b. 1887)
- 1963 – Jean Cocteau, French author, poet, and playwright (b. 1889)
- 1963 – Édith Piaf, French singer-songwriter and actress (b. 1915)
- 1965 – Dorothea Lange, American photographer (b. 1895)
- 1965 – Walther Stampfli, Swiss politician (b. 1884)
- 1971 – Tamanoumi Masahiro, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 51st Yokozuna (b. 1944)
- 1971 – Chesty Puller, American general (b. 1898)
- 1976 – Alfredo Bracchi, Italian author (b. 1897)
- 1977 – MacKinlay Kantor, American author (b. 1904)
- 1986 – Norm Cash, American baseball player (b. 1934)
- 1988 – Bonita Granville, American actress (b. 1923)
- 1989 – M. King Hubbert, American geophysicist (b. 1904)
- 1991 – Steven "Jesse" Bernstein, American poet (b. 1950)
- 1991 – Redd Foxx, American comedian and actor (b. 1922)
- 1993 – Jess Thomas, American tenor (b. 1927)
- 1996 – Lars Ahlfors, Finnish mathematician (b. 1907)
- 1996 – Joe Morris, Canadian trade unionist (b. 1913)
- 1996 – Renato Russo, Brazilian singer-songwriter and guitarist (Legião Urbana and Aborto Elétrico) (b. 1960)
- 1998 – Richard Denning, American actor (b. 1914)
- 2000 – Luc-Marie Bayle, French navy officer and painter (b. 1914)
- 2000 – Donald Dewar, Scottish politician, 1st First Minister of Scotland (b. 1937)
- 2002 – Dina Pathak, Indian actress (b. 1922)
- 2004 – Keith Miller, Australian cricketer and pilot (b. 1919)
- 2005 – Shan-ul-Haq Haqqee, Pakistani poet and journalist (b. 1917)
- 2005 – Edward Szczepanik, Polish economist and politician, Prime Minister of Poland (b. 1915)
- 2006 – Cory Lidle, American baseball player (b. 1972)
- 2007 – Sri Chinmoy, Bengali-American spiritual leader and poet (b. 1931)
- 2007 – David Lee "Tex" Hill, Korean-American pilot (b. 1915)
- 2007 – Werner von Trapp, Austrian-Hungarian singer (b. 1915)
- 2008 – Jörg Haider, Austrian politician (b. 1950)
- 2008 – Ernst-Paul Hasselbach, Dutch television host and producer (b. 1966)
- 2008 – Neal Hefti, American trumpet player and composer (b. 1922)
- 2009 – Angelo DiGeorge, Italian-American endocrinologist (b. 1922)
- 2009 – Veronika Neugebauer, German actress (b. 1968)
- 2012 – Frank Alamo, French singer (b. 1941)
- 2012 – Pier Ugo Calzolari, Italian engineer and academic (b. 1938)
- 2012 – Helmut Haller, German footballer (b. 1939)
- 2012 – Edward Kossoy, Polish lawyer, publicist, and activist (b. 1913)
- 2012 – Erik Moseholm, Danish bassist, composer, and bandleader (b. 1930)
- 2012 – Édgar Negret, Colombian sculptor (b. 1920)
- 2012 – Sher Afgan Niazi, Pakistani politician (b. 1946)
- 2012 – Champ Summers, American baseball player (b. 1946)
Holidays and observances
- Christian feast days:
- International Day of the Girl Child (International)
- General Pulaski Memorial Day (United States)
- Meditrinalia, in honor of Meditrina (Roman Empire)
- National Coming Out Day (multinational, including United Kingdom, Switzerland, and United States among others)
- Old Michelmas Day (Celtic)
- Revolution Day (Republic of Macedonia)
- Mato Grosso do Sul Day (the state was created by dividing the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso)
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to October 11.