April 11 in History

April 11 spans 57 recorded events across recorded history, from 491 to 2023. Below is a curated digest of the most significant moments tied to this date.

Holidays and observances on April 11

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The Treaty of Fontainebleau ends the War of the Sixth Coalition against Napoleon

1814 — The Treaty of Fontainebleau ends the War of the Sixth Coalition against Napoleon Bonaparte, and forces him to abdicate unconditionally for the first time.

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Historical Events 57 events 491 – 2023

More major events on April 11

The featured story and these ranked highlights form a quick summary. Every recorded event remains available in the chronology below.

  1. 1968 US President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1968, prohibiting discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of housing. Source
  2. 1921 Emir Abdullah establishes the first centralised government in the newly created British protectorate of Transjordan. Source

Did you know

In 1814, The Treaty of Fontainebleau ends the War of the Sixth Coalition against Napoleon Bonaparte, and forces him to abdicate unconditionally for the first time. This featured entry focuses on the immediate decision and its direct historical impact.

Did you know

The Treaty of Fontainebleau was an agreement concluded in Fontainebleau, France, on 11 April 1814 between Napoleon and representatives of Austria, Russia and Prussia. This helps explain why the event mattered beyond the initial announcement.

Did you know

The treaty was signed in Paris on 11 April by the plenipotentiaries of both sides and ratified by Napoleon on 13 April. This clarifies the institutional and public response around the event.

Did you know

With this treaty, the allies ended Napoleon's rule as emperor of the French and sent him into exile on Elba. This shows how the event shaped policy and public communication in the same period.

Did you know

In 1814, The Treaty of Fontainebleau ends the War of the Sixth Coalition against Napoleon Bonaparte, and forces him to abdicate unconditionally for the first time had consequences that extended beyond the first headline. The key context is the institutions involved, the policy shift, and how the public response evolved afterward.


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Showing all 56 events

491 List_of_Byzantine_emperors

Flavius Anastasius becomes Byzantine emperor, with the name of Anastasius I.

The foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD marks the conventional start of the Byzantine Empire, which fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as legitimate rulers and exercised sovereign authority are included, to the exclusion of junior co-emperors who never attained the status of sole or senior ruler, as well as of the various usurpers or rebels who claimed the imperial title.
672 Pope Adeodatus II

Consecration of Pope Adeodatus II following the death of Pope Vitalian.

Pope Adeodatus II (c. 621–17 June 676), sometimes called Deodatus, was the bishop of Rome from 672 to his death on 17 June 676. He devoted much of his papacy to improving churches and fighting monothelitism.
1241 Batu_Khan

Batu Khan defeats Béla IV of Hungary at the Battle of Mohi.

Batu Khan was a Mongol ruler and founder of the Golden Horde, a constituent of the Mongol Empire established after Genghis Khan's demise. Batu was a son of Jochi, thus officially a grandson of Genghis Khan. His ulus ruled over the Kievan Rus', Volga Bulgaria, Cumania, and the Caucasus for around 250 years.
1512 War_of_the_League_of_Cambrai

War of the League of Cambrai: Franco-Ferrarese forces led by Gaston de Foix and Alfonso I d'Este win the Battle of Ravenna against the Papal-Spanish forces.

The War of the League of Cambrai, also known by its second stage as the War of the Holy League, was fought from December 1508 to December 1516, as part of the wider Italian Wars of 1494–1559. The main participants of the war, who fought for its entire duration, were France, the Holy Roman Empire, the Papal States, and the Republic of Venice; they were joined at various times by nearly every significant power in Western Europe, including Spain, England, the Duchy of Milan, the Republic of Florence, the Duchy of Ferrara, and the Swiss.
1544 Italian_War_of_1542–1546

Italian War of 1542–46: A French army defeats Habsburg forces at the Battle of Ceresole, but fails to exploit its victory.

The Italian War of 1542–1546 was a conflict late in the Italian Wars, pitting Francis I of France and Suleiman I of the Ottoman Empire against the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and Henry VIII of England. The course of the war saw extensive fighting in Italy, France, and the Low Countries, as well as attempted invasions of Spain and England. The conflict was inconclusive and ruinously expensive for the major participants.
1689 William_III_of_England

William III and Mary II are crowned as joint sovereigns of Great Britain on the same day that the Scottish Parliament concurs with the English decision of 12 February.

William III and II, also known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel in the Dutch Republic from 1672, and King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 1689 until his death in 1702. He ruled England, Scotland, and Ireland with his wife, Queen Mary II, until her death in 1694; their joint reign is known as that of William and Mary.
1713 Peace of Utrecht

France and Great Britain sign the Treaty of Utrecht, bringing an end to the War of the Spanish Succession (Queen Anne's War).

Britain accepts Philip V as King of Spain, while Philip renounces any claim to the French throne.
The Peace of Utrecht was a series of peace treaties signed by the belligerents in the War of the Spanish Succession, in the Dutch city of Utrecht between April 1713 and February 1715. The war involved three contenders for the vacant throne of Spain, and had involved much of Europe for over a decade. Essentially, the treaties allowed Philip V (grandson of King Louis XIV of France) to keep the Spanish throne in return for permanently renouncing his claim to the French throne, along with other necessary guarantees that would ensure that France and Spain should not merge, thus preserving the balance of power in Europe. The treaties between several European states, including Spain, Great Britain, France, Portugal, Savoy and the Dutch Republic, helped end the war. The treaties were concluded between the representatives of Louis XIV of France and of his grandson Philip on one hand, and representatives of Queen Anne of Great Britain, King Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia, King John V of Portugal and the United Provinces of the Netherlands on the other. Though the king of France ensured the Spanish crown for his dynasty, the treaties marked the end of French ambitions of hegemony in Europe expressed in the continuous wars of Louis XIV, and paved the way to the European system based on the balance of power.
1727 Johann Sebastian Bach

Premiere of Johann Sebastian Bach's St Matthew Passion BWV 244b at St.

Thomas Church in Leipzig, Electorate of Saxony (now Germany).
Johann Sebastian Bach (31 March [O.S. 21 March] 1685 – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety of instruments and forms, including the orchestral Brandenburg Concertos; solo instrumental works such as the Cello Suites and Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin; keyboard works such as the Goldberg Variations and The Well-Tempered Clavier; organ works such as the Schübler Chorales and the Toccata and Fugue in D minor; and choral works such as the St. Matthew Passion and the Mass in B minor. He is known for his mastery of counterpoint, as heard in The Musical Offering and The Art of Fugue. Felix Mendelssohn precipitated the Bach Revival with a performance of the St. Matthew Passion in 1829. Ever since, Bach has been acclaimed as one of the greatest composers in the history of Western music. The Bach family had already produced several composers when Johann Sebastian was born in Eisenach, the youngest child of the city musician Johann Ambrosius Bach. After being orphaned at age 10, he lived for five years with his eldest brother, Johann Christoph, then continued his musical education in Lüneburg. In 1703 he returned to Thuringia, working as a musician for Protestant churches in Arnstadt and Mühlhausen. Around that time he also paid extended visits to the courts in Weimar, where he expanded his organ repertory, and the reformed court at Köthen, where he was mostly engaged with chamber music. By 1723 he was hired as Thomaskantor, church music director of the city of Leipzig and thus responsible for music in four Lutheran city churches and for the St. Thomas School. He decided to compose annual cycles of church cantatas, and also wrote music for Leipzig University's student ensemble, Collegium Musicum. In 1726 he began publishing his organ and other keyboard music. In Leipzig, he had difficult relations with his employer, as he had during some of his earlier positions. This situation was somewhat remedied when his sovereign, Augustus III of Poland, granted him the title of court composer of the Elector of Saxony in 1736. In the last decades of his life, Bach reworked and extended many of his earlier compositions. He died due to complications following eye surgery in 1750 at the age of 65. Four of his twenty children, Wilhelm Friedemann, Carl Philipp Emanuel, Johann Christoph Friedrich, and Johann Christian, became composers. Bach enriched established German styles through his mastery of counterpoint, harmonic and motivic organisation, and his adaptation of rhythms, forms, and textures from abroad, particularly Italy and France. His compositions include hundreds of cantatas, both sacred and secular. He composed Latin church music, Passions, oratorios, and motets. He adopted Lutheran hymns, not only in his larger vocal works but also in such works as his four-part chorales and his sacred songs. Bach wrote extensively for organ and other keyboard instruments. He composed concertos, for instance for violin and for harpsichord, and suites, as chamber music as well as for orchestra. Many of his works use contrapuntal techniques like canon and fugue. Several decades after his death, in the 18th century, Bach was still primarily known as an organist. Several biographies of Bach were published in the 19th century, and by the end of that century all of his known music had been printed. Dissemination of Bach scholarship continued through periodicals (and later websites) devoted to him, other publications such as the Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis (BWV, a numbered catalogue of his works), and new critical editions of his compositions. His music was further popularised by a multitude of arrangements, including the "Air on the G String" and "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring", and recordings, among them three boxed sets of performances of his complete œuvre marking the 250th anniversary of his death.
1809 Battle of the Basque Roads

Battle of the Basque Roads: Admiral Lord Gambier fails to support Captain Lord Cochrane, leading to an incomplete British victory over the French fleet.

The Battle of the Basque Roads, also known as the Battle of Aix Roads (French: Bataille de l'île d'Aix, also Affaire des brûlots, rarely Bataille de la rade des Basques), was a major naval battle of the Napoleonic Wars, fought in the narrow Basque Roads at the mouth of the Charente River on the Biscay coast of France. The battle, which lasted from 11 to 24 April 1809, was unusual in that it pitted a hastily assembled squadron of small and unorthodox British Royal Navy warships against the main strength of the French Atlantic Fleet. The circumstances were dictated by the cramped, shallow coastal waters in which the battle was fought. The battle is also notorious for its controversial political aftermath in both Britain and France. In February 1809 the French Atlantic Fleet, blockaded in Brest on the Breton coast by the British Channel Fleet, attempted to break out into the Atlantic and reinforce the garrison of Martinique. Sighted and chased by British blockade squadrons, the French were unable to escape the Bay of Biscay and eventually anchored in the Basque Roads, near the naval base of Rochefort. There they were kept under observation during March by the British fleet under the dour Admiral Lord Gambier. The Admiralty, desiring an attack on the French fleet, ordered Lord Cochrane, an outspoken and popular junior captain, to lead an attack, over the objections of a number of senior officers. Cochrane organised an inshore squadron of fireships and bomb vessels, including a converted frigate, and personally led this force into Basque Roads on the evening of 11 April. The attack caused little direct damage, but in the narrow waters of the channel the fireships panicked the sailors of the French fleet and most of their ships grounded and were left immobile. Cochrane expected Gambier to follow his attack with the main fleet, which could then destroy the vulnerable French force, but Gambier refused. Cochrane continued the battle over the next several days, successfully destroying several French ships, but with little support from Gambier. This allowed most of the French fleet to refloat and retreat up the Charente to safety. Gambier recalled Cochrane on 14 April and sent him back to Britain, withdrawing most of the inshore squadron at the same time, although scattered fighting continued until 24 April. The increasingly marginalised French fleet was badly damaged and trapped in its home ports; several captains were court-martialled for cowardice and one was shot. In Britain the battle was celebrated as a victory, but many in the Navy were dissatisfied with Gambier's behaviour and Cochrane used his position as a Member of Parliament to publicly protest Gambier's leadership. Incensed, Gambier requested a court-martial to disprove Cochrane's accusations and Gambier's political allies ensured that the jury comprised his supporters. After bitter and argumentative proceedings Gambier was exonerated of any culpability for failings during the battle. Cochrane's naval career was ruined, although he remained a prominent figure in Britain for decades to come. Historians have almost unanimously condemned Gambier for his failure to support Cochrane.
1856 Second Battle of Rivas

Second Battle of Rivas: Juan Santamaría burns down the hostel where William Walker's filibusters are holed up.

The Second Battle of Rivas occurred on 11 April 1856 between Costa Rican militia under General Juan Rafael Mora Porras and the Nicaraguan forces of American mercenary William Walker. The lesser known First Battle of Rivas took place on the 29 June 1855 between Walker's forces and the forces of the Chamorro government of Nicaragua. Among the casualties was Charles Wilkins Webber, an American journalist and explorer serving in Walker's forces, whom some scholars suggest inspired the antagonist in Cormac McCarthy's novel Blood Meridian.
1868

Former shōgun Tokugawa Yoshinobu surrenders Edo Castle to Imperial forces, marking the end of the Tokugawa shogunate.

Shōgun , officially sei-i taishōgun , was the title of the military rulers of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, except during parts of the Kamakura period and Sengoku period when the shoguns themselves were figureheads, with real power in the hands of the shikken (執権) of the Hōjō clan and kanrei (管領) of the Hosokawa clan. In addition, Taira no Kiyomori and Toyotomi Hideyoshi were leaders of the warrior class who did not hold the position of shogun, the highest office of the warrior class, yet gained the positions of daijō-daijin and kampaku , the highest offices of the aristocratic class. As such, they ran their governments as its de facto rulers.
1871

Funeral of Prince Alexander John of Wales at St Mary Magdalene Church, Sandringham.

Prince Alexander John of Wales (Alexander John Charles Albert; 6 April 1871 – 7 April 1871) was the youngest child of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales (later Edward VII) and Alexandra of Denmark. He was born prematurely at Sandringham House in Norfolk and died less than 24 hours after birth; he was buried at St Mary Magdalene Church, Sandringham. News of the royal birth and the prince's short life attracted media coverage around the world.
1876 Benevolent_and_Protective_Order_of_Elks

The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks is organized.

The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE), commonly known as the Elks Lodge or simply The Elks, is an American fraternal order and charitable organization founded in 1868 in New York City. Originally established as a social club for minstrel show performers, it evolved into a nationwide brotherhood dedicated to community service, patriotism, and mutual aid. With over 750,000 members across 1,700-plus local lodges, the Elks are known for philanthropic programs supporting veterans, youth scholarships, and disaster relief. The organization upholds four pillars—Charity, Justice, Brotherly Love, and Fidelity—and maintains traditions like the nightly "Hour of Recollection" toast to absent members. Having restricted membership to white males until the late 20th century, the BPOE now admits all U.S. citizens over 21 who affirm belief in God. Its headquarters, the Elks National Veterans Memorial in Chicago, commemorates members who served in World War I.
1881 Spelman College

Spelman College is founded in Atlanta, Georgia, as the Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary, an institute of higher education for African-American women.

Spelman College is a private, historically Black, women's liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It is a founding member of the Atlanta University Center academic consortium. Founded in 1881 as the Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary, Spelman awarded its first college degrees in 1901 and is the oldest private historically Black liberal arts institution for women.
1885 Luton Town F.C.

Luton Town F.C.

is founded.
Luton Town Football Club is a professional football club from Luton, Bedfordshire, England. Founded in 1885, the club currently competes in EFL League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed the "Hatters", Luton have played their home games at Kenilworth Road since 1905. Luton Town joined the Football League before the 1897–98 season but left soon after in 1900 due to financial issues. The club did not rejoin the League until 1920. Luton competed in the First Division for the first time during the 1955–56 season and contested a major final for the first time against Nottingham Forest in the 1959 FA Cup final. The club was then relegated from the First Division at the end of the 1959–60 season, and further relegated twice more in five years, playing in the Fourth Division from the 1965–66 season, before returning to the First Division for the 1974–75 season for a single season. At the end of the 1981–82 season, the club won the Second Division and gained promotion to the First Division. Several years later, Luton defeated Arsenal 3–2 in the 1988 Football League Cup final and remained in the First Division until relegation at the end of the 1991–92 season. Between 2007 and 2009, financial difficulties caused the club to fall from the second tier of English football to the fifth in successive seasons. The last of these relegations, in the 2008–09 season, followed a 30-point deduction for financial irregularities. Luton spent five seasons in non-League football before winning the Conference Premier in the 2013–14 season, securing promotion back into the Football League. Luton was promoted from League Two and League One in successive seasons in 2017–18 and 2018–19 before being promoted to the Premier League at the conclusion of the 2023 Championship playoffs. After spending a season in the Premier League, Luton saw two back-to-back relegations, seeing them play in League One for the 2025–26 season.
1908 SMS_Blücher

SMS Blücher, the last armored cruiser to be built by the Imperial German Navy, is launched.

SMS Blücher was the last armored cruiser built for the German Kaiserliche Marine beginning in 1907. She was designed in response to the latest British armored cruisers, but the British had already begun work on the Invincible-class battlecruisers, which marked a significant increase in firepower over earlier armored cruisers. Blücher was armed with a main battery of twelve 21 cm (8.3 in) guns, compared to the eight 30.5 cm (12 in) guns of the British ships. Blücher entered service after the Invincibles were commissioned, and as a result, was obsolescent at the start of her career.
1909 Tel Aviv

The city of Tel Aviv is founded.

Tel Aviv, officially Tel Aviv-Yafo, and also known as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a population of 494,900, it is the economic and technological center of the country and a global high-tech hub. If East Jerusalem is considered part of Israel, Tel Aviv is the country's second-most-populous city, after Jerusalem; if not, Tel Aviv is the most populous city, ahead of West Jerusalem. Tel Aviv is governed by the Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality, headed by Mayor Ron Huldai, and is home to most of Israel's foreign embassies. It is a beta+ world city and is ranked 53rd in the 2022 Global Financial Centres Index. Tel Aviv has the third- or fourth-largest economy and the largest economy per capita in the Middle East. Tel Aviv is ranked the 4th top global startup ecosystem hub. The city currently has the highest cost of living in the world. Tel Aviv receives over 2.5 million international visitors annually. Tel Aviv is home to Tel Aviv University, the largest university in the country with more than 30,000 students. The city was founded in 1909 by the Yishuv (Jewish residents) and initially given the Hebrew name Ahuzat Bayit (Hebrew: אחוזת בית, lit. 'House Estate' or 'Homestead'), namesake of the Jewish association which established the neighbourhood as a modern housing estate on the outskirts of the ancient port city of Jaffa (Yafo in Hebrew), then part of the Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem within the Ottoman Empire. Its name was changed the following year to Tel Aviv, after the biblical name Tel Abib (lit. "Tell of Spring") adopted by Nahum Sokolow as the title for his Hebrew translation of Theodor Herzl's 1902 novel Altneuland ("Old New Land"). Other Jewish suburbs of Jaffa had been established before Tel Aviv, the oldest among them being Neve Tzedek. Over the following decades, Tel Aviv started rapidly developing and expanding, under the leadership of Meir Dizengoff. Tel Aviv was given township status within the Jaffa Municipality in 1921, and eventually became independent from Jaffa in 1934. Accelerating Jewish immigration, largely from Nazi Germany, caused the growth of Tel Aviv to soon outpace that of Jaffa, which had a majority Arab population at the time. In 1948, the Israeli Declaration of Independence was proclaimed in the city, and government functions were carried out there until they moved to Jerusalem over the following few years. After the 1947–1949 Palestine war, Tel Aviv began the municipal annexation of parts of Jaffa, being fully reunified with Jaffa under the name Tel Aviv in April 1950, before a renaming to Tel Aviv-Yafo in August 1950. Tel Aviv's White City, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2003, comprises the world's largest concentration of International Style buildings, including Bauhaus and other related modernist architectural styles. Popular attractions include Old Jaffa, the Eretz Israel Museum, the Museum of Art, Yarkon Park, and the city's promenade and beach.
1921 Emir

Emir Abdullah establishes the first centralised government in the newly created British protectorate of Transjordan.

Emir, also transliterated as amir, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or ceremonial authority. The title has a history of use in West Asia, East Africa, North Africa, West Africa, Central Asia, and South Asia. In the modern era, when used as a formal monarchical title, it is roughly synonymous with "prince", applicable both to a son of a hereditary monarch, and to a reigning monarch of a sovereign principality, namely an emirate. The feminine form is emira, with the same meaning as "princess".
1935 Stresa Front

Stresa Front: Opening of the conference between the British Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald, the Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini and the French Minister for Foreign Affairs Pierre Laval to condemn the German violations of the Treaty of Versailles.

The Stresa Front was an agreement made in Stresa, a town on the banks of Lake Maggiore in Italy, between French prime minister Pierre-Étienne Flandin (with Pierre Laval), British prime minister Ramsay MacDonald, and Italian prime minister Benito Mussolini on 14 April 1935. Practically, the Stresa Front was an alliance between France, Italy, and the United Kingdom, aimed against Nazi Germany. Formally called the Final Declaration of the Stresa Conference, its aim was to reaffirm the Locarno Treaties and to declare that the independence of Austria "would continue to inspire their common policy". The signatories also agreed to resist any future attempt by the Germans to change the Treaty of Versailles. A factor in the Abyssinia Crisis, it encouraged Italian imperial ambitions, motivated by the perception that France and Britain would not intervene if Italy attacked Ethiopia. The Stresa Front began to collapse after the UK signed the Anglo-German Naval Agreement in June 1935, in which Germany was given permission to increase the size of its navy. The Front broke down completely after the Italian invasion of Ethiopia in October 1935. Italy had already made an agreement with the Soviet Union directed against Germany in 1933, known as the Italo-Soviet Pact.
1945 World_War_II

World War II: American forces liberate the Buchenwald concentration camp.

World War II, or the Second World War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated, with many engaging in total war on an unprecedented scale. World War II was the deadliest conflict in history, causing the deaths of 60 to 75 million people, a majority of whom were civilians. Millions died as a result of massacres, starvation, disease, and genocides including the Holocaust. After the Allied victory, Germany, Austria, Japan, and Korea were occupied, and German and Japanese leaders were tried for war crimes.
1951 Korean_War

Korean War: President Truman relieves Douglas MacArthur of the command of American forces in Korea and Japan.

The Korean War was an armed conflict fought on the Korean Peninsula between North Korea and South Korea and their allies. North Korea was supported by China and the Soviet Union, while South Korea was supported by the United Nations led by the United States under the auspices of the United Nations Command (UNC).
1951 Stone of Scone

The Stone of Scone, the stone upon which Scottish monarchs were traditionally crowned, is found on the site of the altar of Arbroath Abbey.

It had been taken by Scottish nationalist students from its place in Westminster Abbey.
The Stone of Scone (; Scottish Gaelic: An Lia Fàil, meaning Stone of Destiny, also called clach-na-cinneamhuinn; Scots: Stane o Scone) is an oblong block of red sandstone that was used in the coronation of Scottish monarchs until the 13th century when it was seized by Edward I during the First War of Scottish Independence and taken to England. Thereafter, it was used in the coronation of English and later British monarchs. It is considered an ancient symbol of the Scottish monarchy and the Kingdom of Scotland, with its first recorded use being in 1249 for the coronation of Alexander III of Scotland. The Stone measures 26 by 16+3⁄4 by 10+1⁄2 inches (66 cm × 43 cm × 27 cm) and weighs approximately 336 lb (152 kg; 24 st). A cross is roughly incised on one surface, and an iron ring at each end aids with transport. Monarchs sat on the Stone of Scone itself, until a wooden platform was added to the Coronation Chair in the 17th century. The artefact was originally kept at the Scone Abbey, now ruined, in Scone, near Perth. In 1296, the forces of Edward I of England captured it during Edward's invasion of Scotland. The Stone has been used in the coronation of English and British monarchs for over 500 years. In 1996, the stone was returned to Scotland, and kept in Edinburgh Castle with the Honours of Scotland. The stone remains property of the Crown, with Crown Estate Scotland, an executive agency of the Scottish Government responsible for the stone in the rights of the monarch. It is transported to London for use at coronations under the supervision of the Keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland. Since March 2024, it has been on permanent public display in Perth Museum, Perth, Scotland.
1952 Bolivian National Revolution

Bolivian National Revolution: Rebels take over Palacio Quemado.

The Bolivian Revolution of 1952 (Spanish: Revolución boliviana), also known as the Revolution of '52, was a series of political demonstrations led by the Revolutionary Nationalist Movement (MNR), which, in alliance with the liberals and the communists, sought to overthrow the ruling Bolivian oligarchy and implement a new socioeconomic model in Bolivia. Its main leaders were the former presidents Víctor Paz Estenssoro and Hernán Siles Zuazo. The MNR government after this Revolution lasted from 9 April 1952 until the coup of 4 November 1964. In these twelve years, there was a co-government and at the same time a power struggle between the party and the labor unions. The Revolution of 1952 sought to implement the rights to vote in Bolivia, the distribution of land and State control over natural resources and the Bolivian economy. In addition, it incorporated the peasant and female sector into political life by establishing universal suffrage. Besides its democratizing effect the revolution also inaugurated an era of political populism. The statist economic system established by the revolution was dismantled in 1985 bringing an end to a severe economic crisis in the 1980s. It was a political Revolution that at the time was equated to the Mexican Revolution and that preceded the Cuban Revolution. It developed in the context of the Cold War and was the only one of the social revolutions in Latin America that had the support of the United States.
1952 Pan Am Flight 526A

Pan Am Flight 526A ditches near San Juan-Isla Grande Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico, after experiencing an engine failure, killing 52 people.

Pan Am Flight 526A, a Douglas DC-4, took off from San Juan–Isla Grande Airport, Puerto Rico, at 12:11 PM AST on April 11, 1952, on a flight to Idlewild International Airport, New York City, with 64 passengers and 5 crew members on board. Due to inadequate maintenance, engine number 3 failed after takeoff, followed shortly by a loss of power from engine number 4. Nine minutes after takeoff, the aircraft ditched in rough seas 18 kilometers (11 mi) NW of San Juan Airport, broke apart, and sank after three minutes. Panicking passengers refused to leave the sinking wreck, resulting in 52 passenger deaths. The United States Coast Guard rescued 17 passengers and crew members. The accident led to the implementation of pre-flight safety demonstrations for over-water flights. The wreckage was discovered in June 2026.
1955 Air_India

The Air India Kashmir Princess is bombed and crashes in a failed assassination attempt on Zhou Enlai by the Kuomintang.

Air India is the flag carrier of India, headquartered in Gurugram, Haryana. Its primary hub is located at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, with secondary hubs at Kempegowda International Airport and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport. The airline is owned by Air India Limited, which is owned by the Tata Group (74.9%) and Singapore Airlines (25.1%). As of November 2025, the airline serves 87 domestic and international destinations, operates a variety of Airbus and Boeing aircraft, and is the second-largest airline in India by passenger volume, after IndiGo. Air India became the 27th member of Star Alliance on 11 July 2014.
1957 Singapore

United Kingdom agrees to Singaporean self-rule.

Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country in Southeast Asia. Its territory comprises a main island, over 60 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. The country is about one degree of latitude north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bordering the Strait of Malacca to the west, the Singapore Strait to the south along with the Riau Islands in Indonesia, the South China Sea to the east and the Straits of Johor along with the State of Johor in Malaysia to the north.
1961 Adolf_Eichmann

The trial of Adolf Eichmann begins in Jerusalem.

Otto Adolf Eichmann was a German-Austrian official of the Nazi Party, an officer of the Schutzstaffel (SS), a convicted war criminal, and one of the major organizers of the Holocaust. He participated in the January 1942 Wannsee Conference, at which the implementation of the genocidal Final Solution to the Jewish Question was planned. Following this, he was tasked by SS-Obergruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich with facilitating and managing the logistics involved in the mass deportation of millions of Jews to Nazi ghettos and Nazi extermination camps across German-occupied Europe. He was captured and detained by the Allies in 1945, but he escaped and eventually settled in Argentina. In May 1960, he was tracked down and abducted by Israel's Mossad intelligence agency and put on trial before a special tribunal of the Jerusalem District Court. The highly publicised Eichmann trial resulted in his conviction in Jerusalem, following which he was executed by hanging in 1962.
1963 Pope John XXIII

Pope John XXIII issues Pacem in terris, the first encyclical addressed to all Christians instead of only Catholics, and which described the conditions for world peace in human terms.

Pope John XXIII (born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli; 25 November 1881 – 3 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City from 28 October 1958 until his death on 3 June 1963. Roncalli was among 13 children born to Marianna Mazzola and Giovanni Battista Roncalli in a family of sharecroppers who lived in Sotto il Monte, a village in the province of Bergamo, Lombardy. He was ordained to the priesthood on 10 August 1904 and served in a number of posts, as nuncio in France and a delegate to Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey. In a consistory on 12 January 1953 Pope Pius XII made Roncalli a cardinal as the Cardinal-priest of Santa Prisca in addition to naming him as the Patriarch of Venice. Roncalli was unexpectedly elected pope on 28 October 1958 at age 76 after Pope Pius XII's death. Pope John XXIII surprised those who expected him to be a caretaker pope by calling the historic Second Vatican Council (1962–1965), the first session opening on 11 October 1962, which is now his feast. John XXIII made many passionate speeches during his pontificate. His views on equality were summed up in his statement, "We were all made in God's image, and thus, we are all Godly alike." He made a major impact on the Catholic Church, opening it up to the changes of the Second Vatican Council and by his own dealings with other churches and nations. In Italian politics, he prohibited bishops from interfering with local elections, and he helped the Christian Democracy party to cooperate with the Italian Socialist Party. In international affairs, his Ostpolitik engaged in dialogue with the communist countries of Eastern Europe. He especially reached out to the Eastern Orthodox churches. John XXIII's overall goal was to modernize the Church by emphasizing its pastoral role, and its necessary involvement with affairs of state. He dropped the traditional rule of 70 cardinals, increasing the number to 85. He used the opportunity to name the first cardinals from Africa, Japan, and the Philippines. He promoted ecumenical movements in cooperation with other Christian faiths. In doctrinal matters, he ended the practice of automatically formulating social and political policies on the basis of old theological propositions. John XXIII did not live to see the Second Vatican Council to completion. He was diagnosed with stomach cancer in September 1962 and died on 3 June 1963. His cause for canonization was opened on 18 November 1965 by his successor, Pope Paul VI, who declared him a Servant of God. He was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 2000. On 5 July 2013, Pope Francis, bypassing the traditionally required second miracle, declared John XXIII a saint based on his virtuous lifestyle and because of the good that came from his opening of the Second Vatican Council. He was canonized alongside Pope Saint John Paul II on 27 April 2014. Pope Saint John XXIII today is affectionately known as "the Good Pope" (Italian: il papa buono).
1964 Humberto de Alencar Castelo Branco

Brazilian Marshal Humberto de Alencar Castelo Branco is elected president by the National Congress.

Humberto de Alencar Castelo Branco (20 September 1897 – 18 July 1967) was a Brazilian military officer and politician who served as the 26th president of Brazil, the first leader of the Brazilian military dictatorship following the 1964 coup d'état. He was a member of a more liberal "legalist" faction within the regime, as opposed to his more authoritarian successors. His administration oversaw the consolidation of the military regime. One of his first acts was the enactment of Institutional Act No. 2, which abolished the multi-party system in the country and granted the President of the Republic the power to revoke the mandates of congressmen and call for indirect elections. In Brazilian foreign policy, he began to seek economic, political, and military support from the United States. He was the son of General Cândido Borges Castelo Branco, the sixth grandson of the eleventh Lord of Pombeiro and his wife, the ninth Lady of Belas, and his wife Antonieta de Alencar Gurgel, a member of the family of the writer José de Alencar.
1965 1965 Palm Sunday tornado outbreak

The Palm Sunday tornado outbreak of 1965: Fifty-five tornadoes hit in six Midwestern states of the United States, killing 266 people.

The 1965 Palm Sunday tornado outbreak was a historic severe weather event that affected the Midwestern and Southeastern United States on April 10–12, 1965. The tornado outbreak produced 55 confirmed tornadoes in one day and 16 hours. The worst part of the outbreak occurred during the afternoon hours of April 11 into the overnight hours going into April 12. The second-largest tornado outbreak on record at the time, this deadly series of tornadoes inflicted a swath of destruction from Cedar County, Iowa, to Cuyahoga County, Ohio, and a swath 450 miles long (724 km) from Kent County, Michigan, to Montgomery County, Indiana. The main part of the outbreak lasted 16 hours and 35 minutes and is among the most intense outbreaks, in terms of tornado strength, ever recorded, including at least four "double/twin funnel" tornadoes. In all, the outbreak killed 266 people, injured 3,662 others, and caused $1.217 billion (1965 USD) in damage. In 2023, tornado expert Thomas P. Grazulis created the outbreak intensity score (OIS) as a way to rank various tornado outbreaks. The 1965 Palm Sunday tornado outbreak received an OIS of 238, making it the fourth-worst tornado outbreak in recorded history.
1968 Lyndon_B._Johnson

US President Lyndon B.

Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1968, prohibiting discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of housing.
Lyndon Baines Johnson, also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He served as the 37th vice president under John F. Kennedy from 1961 to 1963, before assuming the presidency upon Kennedy's assassination. A Democrat from Texas, Johnson served in Congress until 1961, where he built a reputation as a talented and persuasive legislator. His presidency saw the passing of landmark civil rights legislation including the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the creation of "Great Society" programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, and a major escalation in U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War.
1968 Rudi_Dutschke

A failed assassination attempt on Rudi Dutschke, leader of the German student movement, leaves Dutschke suffering from brain damage.

Alfred Willi Rudolf Dutschke was a German sociologist and political activist who, until severely injured by an assassin in 1968, was a leading charismatic figure within both the Sozialistischer Deutscher Studentenbund in West Germany and that country's broader Außerparlamentarische Opposition.
1970 Apollo_program

Apollo Program: Apollo 13 is launched.

The Apollo program, also known as Project Apollo, was the United States human spaceflight program led by NASA, which landed the first humans on the Moon in 1969. The Apollo program was conceived in 1960 in the Dwight D. Eisenhower presidency during Project Mercury and executed after Project Gemini. The Apollo program was later dedicated to President John F. Kennedy's national goal, "before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth" in his address to the U.S. Congress on May 25, 1961.
1976 Apple_I

The Apple I is created.

The Apple Computer 1 (Apple-1), often referred to as the Apple I(written with a Roman numeral), is an 8-bit personal computer designed by Steve Wozniak and introduced by the Apple Computer Company in 1976. It was the company's first product and laid the foundation for what would become one of the world's largest technology companies. The idea of founding the company and marketing the computer came from Wozniak's friend and Apple co-founder Steve Jobs.
1977

London Transport's Silver Jubilee AEC Routemaster buses are launched.

The London Transport Executive was the executive agency within the Greater London Council, responsible for public transport in Greater London from 1970 to 1984. In common with all London transport authorities from 1933 to 2000, the public name and operational brand of the organisation was London Transport.
1979 Uganda

Ugandan dictator Idi Amin is deposed.

Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The southern part includes a substantial portion of Lake Victoria, shared with Kenya and Tanzania. Uganda is in the African Great Lakes region, lies within the Nile basin, and has a varied equatorial climate. As of 2024, it had a population of 45.9 million, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital and largest city, Kampala.
1981 1981_Brixton_riot

A massive riot in Brixton, south London, results in almost 300 police injuries and 65 serious civilian injuries.

The 1981 Brixton riot, or Brixton uprising, was a series of clashes between mainly black youths and the Metropolitan Police in Brixton, London, between 10 and 12 April 1981. It resulted from racial discrimination against the local black community by the mainly white police, notably over the police's increased use of stop-and-search in the area, and tensions resulting from the deaths of 13 black teenagers and young adults in the suspicious New Cross house fire that January. The main riot on 11 April, dubbed "Bloody Saturday" by Time magazine, resulted in 279 injuries to police and 45 injuries to members of the public; over a hundred vehicles were burned, including 56 police vehicles; almost 150 buildings were damaged, thirty of which were burnt out, and many shops were looted. There were 82 arrests. Reports suggested that up to 5,000 people were involved. The Brixton riot was followed by the 1981 England riots in July in many other English cities and towns. The Thatcher government commissioned an inquiry, which resulted in the Scarman Report.
1982

American-Israeli reservist Alan Harry Goodman carries out a mass shooting at the Dome of the Rock, killing two Palestinians and injuring at least seven others.

On 11 April 1982, American-Israeli reservist Alan Harry Goodman targeted the Dome of the Rock in a shooting, killing two Palestinians and wounding at least seven.
1986 1986_FBI_Miami_shootout

FBI Miami Shootout: A gun battle in broad daylight in Dade County, Florida, between two bank/armored car robbers and pursuing FBI agents.

During the firefight, FBI agents Jerry L. Dove and Benjamin P. Grogan are killed, while five other agents are wounded. As a result, the popular .40 S&W cartridge was developed.
On April 11, 1986, a shootout occurred between field agents for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and two armed men in what is now Pinecrest, Miami-Dade County, Florida. The two men, former U.S. Army servicemen Michael Lee Platt and William Russell Matix, were suspected of committing a series of robberies and violent crimes, including a murder, in and around the Miami metropolitan area.
1987

The London Agreement is secretly signed between Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister Shimon Peres and King Hussein of Jordan.

The London Agreement between King Hussein of Jordan and Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister Shimon Peres was signed during a secret meeting held at the residence of Lord Mishcon in London on April 11, 1987. Also present in the meeting were Jordanian Prime Minister Zaid al-Rifai and Director General of the Israeli Foreign Affairs Ministry, Yossi Beilin.
1990 Middlesbrough

Customs officers in Middlesbrough, England, seize what they believe to be the barrel of a massive gun on a ship bound for Iraq.

Middlesbrough, colloquially known as Boro, is a port town and unitary authority of North Yorkshire, located in North East England. Situated on the southern bank of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Borough of Middlesbrough, the Teesside built-up area and the Tees Valley. The town is governed by the Middlesbrough Council unitary authority, which is divided into twenty wards, as part of the Tees Valley Combined Authority along with Darlington, Hartlepool, Redcar and Cleveland, and Stockton-on-Tees. In 2021, it had a population of 148,215.
1993

Four hundred fifty prisoners riot at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville, Ohio, and would continue to do so for ten days, citing grievances related to prison conditions, as well as the forced vaccination of Nation of Islam prisoners (for tuberculosis) against their religious beliefs.

A prison riot is an act of concerted defiance or disorder by a group of prisoners against the prison administrators, prison officers, or other groups of prisoners.
1993 Guillem_Agulló_i_Salvador

Guillem Agulló, pro-Catalan independence and anti-fascist Valencian young activist, is assassinated by a group of Spanish nationalists and neo-nazis in Montanejos.

Guillem Agulló i Salvador was a young Valencian active in the pro-independence and revolutionary political organization Maulets. He was murdered on April 11, 1993 at age 18.
2001 Lockheed_EP-3

The detained crew of a United States EP-3E aircraft that landed in Hainan, China, after a collision with a J-8 fighter, is released.

The Lockheed EP-3 is an electronic signals reconnaissance variant of the P-3 Orion, formerly operated by the United States Navy.
2001 Australia_men's_national_soccer_team

The Australia national men's soccer team sets a world record for the largest victory in an international association football match, winning the game 31–0 against American Samoa at the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifiers for OFC.

Australia's Archie Thompson also breaks the record for most goals scored by a player in an international match by scoring 13 goals.
The Australia men's national soccer team represents Australia in international men's soccer. Officially nicknamed the Socceroos, the team is controlled by the governing body for soccer in Australia, Football Australia, which is affiliated with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and the regional ASEAN Football Federation (AFF).
2002 Ghriba_synagogue_bombing

The Ghriba synagogue bombing by al-Qaeda kills 21 in Tunisia.

The Ghriba synagogue bombing was carried out by Niser bin Muhammad Nasr Nawar on the El Ghriba synagogue in Tunisia in 2002.
2002 2002_Venezuelan_coup_attempt

Over two hundred thousand people march in Caracas towards the presidential palace to demand the resignation of President Hugo Chávez.

Nineteen protesters are killed.
A failed coup d'état on 11 April 2002 saw Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, ousted from office for 47 hours before being restored to power. Chávez was aided in his return to power by popular support and mobilization against the coup by loyal ranks in the military. By early 2002, Chávez's approval rating had dropped to around 30%, with many business, church and media leaders being opposed to Chávez's use of emergency powers to bypass the National Assembly and institute significant government changes, arguing they were increasingly authoritarian. Meanwhile, the growing dissatisfaction with Chávez among those in the military due to his aggressive manner and alliances with Cuba and paramilitaries led multiple officers to call on Chávez to resign. Demonstrations and counter-demonstrations took place on a weekly basis as the country became increasingly divided. Retired military officers, former politicians, union leaders, and spokespeople for the Catholic Church claimed they had military support to remove Chávez from power, with an April 6 CIA intelligence report warning that plotters would try to exploit social unrest from upcoming opposition demonstrations for his removal.
2006 President_of_Iran

Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announces Iran's claim to have successfully enriched uranium.

The president of the Islamic Republic of Iran is the head of government and the second-highest ranking official of Iran, after the supreme leader. The system of government of the Islamic Revolution provides that the president must perform his functions in conformity with the directives of the supreme leader, who is the highest political and religious authority in the country.
2007

Algiers bombings: Two bombings in Algiers kill 33 people and wound a further 222 others.

The Algiers Government Palace bombings occurred on 11 April 2007 when two suicide car bombs exploded in the Algerian capital Algiers.
2008 Kata_Air_Transport_Flight_007

Kata Air Transport Flight 007 crashes while attempting an emergency landing at Chișinău International Airport, killing eight.

Kata Air Transport Flight 007 was an international flight from Vienna to Khartoum, with stopovers on Chișinău and Antalya. On April 11, 2008, the Antonov An-32 crashed short of the runway, near Băcioi. All eight people were killed.
2011 2011_Minsk_Metro_bombing

An explosion in the Minsk Metro, Belarus, kills 15 people and injures 204 others.

The 2011 Minsk Metro bombing took place on 11 April 2011 when 15 people were killed and 315 were injured when a bomb exploded within the Minsk Metro, Belarus. The explosion happened at the central Kastrychnitskaya station at 17:55 local time.
2012

A pair of great earthquakes occur in the Wharton Basin west of Sumatra in Indonesia.

The maximum Mercalli intensity of this strike-slip doublet earthquake is VII (Very strong). Ten are killed, twelve are injured, and a non-destructive tsunami is observed on the island of Nias.
The 2012 Indian Ocean earthquakes were magnitude 8.6 and 8.2 Mw undersea earthquakes that struck near the Indonesian province of Aceh on 11 April at 15:38 local time. Initially, authorities feared that the initial earthquake would cause a tsunami and warnings were issued across the Indian Ocean; however, these warnings were subsequently cancelled. These were unusually large intraplate earthquakes and the largest strike-slip earthquake ever recorded.
2017 Borussia_Dortmund

The tour bus of the German football team Borussia Dortmund is attacked with roadside bombs in Dortmund, Germany.

Three bombs exploded as the bus ferried the team to the Westfalenstadion for the first leg of their quarter-final against Monaco.
Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, often known simply as Borussia Dortmund or by its initialism BVB, or just Dortmund by international fans, is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its men's professional football team, which plays in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the German football league system.
2018 Ilyushin_Il-76

An Ilyushin Il-76 owned and operated by the Algerian Air Force crashes near Boufarik, Algeria, killing 257.

The Ilyushin Il-76 is a multi-purpose, fixed-wing, four-engine turbofan strategic airlifter designed by the Soviet Union's Ilyushin design bureau as a commercial freighter in 1967, to replace the Antonov An-12. It was developed to deliver heavy machinery to remote and poorly served areas. Military versions of the Il-76 have been widely used in Europe, Asia and Africa, including use as an aerial refueling tanker and command center.
2021 Killing_of_Daunte_Wright

Twenty-year-old Daunte Wright is shot and killed in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, by officer Kimberly Potter, sparking protests in the city, when the officer mistakes her pistol for her taser.

On April 11, 2021, Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old American man, was fatally shot in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, by police officer Kimberly Potter during a traffic stop and attempted arrest for an outstanding warrant. After a brief struggle with officers, Potter shot Wright in the chest once at close range. Wright then drove off a short distance until his vehicle collided with another and hit a concrete barrier. An officer administered CPR to Wright; paramedics were unable to revive him, and he was pronounced dead at the scene. Potter said she meant to use her service Taser, shouting "Taser! Taser! Taser!" just before mistakenly firing her service pistol instead.
2023

During the Pazigyi massacre, an airstrike conducted by the Myanmar Air Force kills at least 100 villagers in Pazigyi, Sagaing Region.

On 11 April 2023, the Myanmar Air Force massacred at least 165 people in the village of Pazigyi, Kantbalu Township, which is located 92 miles (148 km) west of Mandalay, Myanmar's second largest city. The air force used fighter jets and helicopters to attack a large crowd of people gathering for the opening of a local office of an opposition movement. The Pazigyi attack was the junta's deadliest attack since seizing power in the 2021 coup d'état.

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