Did you know
Ronald Reagan was the 40th President of the United States, serving from 1981 to 1989.
August 11 in History
52 events
3114 BC – 2023
Today in history
August 11 spans 52 recorded events across recorded history, from 3114 BC to 2023. Below is a curated digest of the most significant moments tied to this date.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
1984 — "We begin bombing in five minutes": United States President Ronald Reagan, while running for re-election, jokes while preparing to make his weekly Saturday address on National Public Radio
More major events on August 11
The featured story and these ranked highlights form a quick summary. Every recorded event remains available in the chronology below.
- 1991 Nickelodeon's first line of "Nicktoons" (Doug, Rugrats & Ren & Stimpy) premiere on the channel. Source
- 1962 Vostok 3 launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome and cosmonaut Andrian Nikolayev becomes the first person to float in microgravity. Source
- 1920 The Latvian–Soviet Peace Treaty, which relinquished Russia's authority and pretenses to Latvia, is signed, ending the Latvian War of Independence. Source
-3114
The Mesoamerican Long Count calendar, used by several pre-Columbian Mesoamerican civilizations, notably the Maya, begins.
One hundred years, from 3200 BC to 3101 BC
-2492
Traditional date of the defeat of Bel by Hayk, progenitor and founder of the Armenian nation.
One hundred years, from 2500 BC to 2401 BC
106
The south-western part of Dacia (modern Romania) becomes a Roman province: Roman Dacia.
Calendar year
117
355
Claudius Silvanus, accused of treason, proclaims himself Roman Emperor against Constantius II.
Roman army officer and imperial pretender
490
Battle of Adda: The Goths under Theodoric the Great and his ally Alaric II defeat the forces of Odoacer on the Adda River, near Milan.
Early Germanic people
923
The Qarmatians of Bahrayn capture and pillage the city of Basra.
Sevener Ismaili Shia group
1315
The Great Famine of Europe becomes so dire that even the king of England has difficulties buying bread for himself and his entourage.
Famine of medieval Europe
1332
Wars of Scottish Independence: Battle of Dupplin Moor: Scots under Domhnall II, Earl of Mar are routed by Edward Balliol.
War of national liberation between Scotland and England
1473
The Battle of Otlukbeli: Mehmed the Conqueror of the Ottoman Empire decisively defeats Uzun Hassan of Aq Qoyunlu.
Battle between the Aq Qoyunlu and the Ottoman Empire
1492
Rodrigo de Borja is elected as Head of the Catholic Church, taking the name Pope Alexander VI.
Head of the Catholic Church from 1492 to 1503
1675
Franco-Dutch War: Forces of the Holy Roman Empire defeat the French in the Battle of Konzer Brücke.
1672–1678 European war
1685
Morean War: The 49-day Siege of Coron ends with the surrender and massacre of its garrison by the Venetians.
Conflict between the Republic of Venice and the Ottoman Empire from 1684 to 1698
1786
Captain Francis Light establishes the British colony of Penang in Malaysia.
British sailor and explorer (c. 1740–1794)
1804
Francis II assumes the title of first Emperor of Austria.
Holy Roman Emperor from 1792 to 1806 and Emperor of Austria from 1806 to 1835
1812
Peninsular War: French troops engage British-Portuguese forces in the Battle of Majadahonda.
1807–1814 war against Napoleon in Iberia
1813
In Colombia, Juan del Corral declares the independence of Antioquia.
Country in South America
1858
The Eiger in the Bernese Alps is ascended for the first time by Charles Barrington accompanied by Christian Almer and Peter Bohren.
Mountain in the Bernese Alps, Switzerland
1871
An explosion of guncotton occurs in Stowmarket, England, killing 28.
1871 industrial disaster in Suffolk, England
1898
Spanish–American War: American troops enter the city of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico.
1898 conflict between Spain and the United States
1920
The 1920 Cork hunger strike begins which eventually results in the deaths of three Irish Republicans including the Lord Mayor of Cork Terence MacSwiney.
Part of the Irish War of Independence
1920
The Latvian–Soviet Peace Treaty, which relinquished Russia's authority and pretenses to Latvia, is signed, ending the Latvian War of Independence.
1920 treaty ending the Latvian War of Independence
1929
Babe Ruth becomes the first baseball player to hit 500 home runs in his career with a home run at League Park in Cleveland, Ohio.
American baseball player (1895–1948)
1934
The first civilian prisoners arrive at the Federal prison on Alcatraz Island.
Former island prison in San Francisco Bay
1942
Actress Hedy Lamarr and composer George Antheil receive a patent for a Frequency-hopping spread spectrum communication system that later became the basis for modern technologies in wireless telephones, two-way radio communications, and Wi-Fi.
Austrian-American actress and inventor (1914–2000)
1945
Poles in Kraków engage in a pogrom against Jews in the city, killing one and wounding five.
City in Poland
1952
1959
Sheremetyevo International Airport, the second-largest airport in Russia, opens.
International airport serving Moscow, Russia
1961
The former Portuguese territories in India of Dadra and Nagar Haveli are merged to create the Union Territory Dadra and Nagar Haveli.
Country in South Asia
1962
Vostok 3 launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome and cosmonaut Andrian Nikolayev becomes the first person to float in microgravity.
1962 Soviet human spaceflights into low Earth orbit
1965
Race riots (the Watts Riots) begin in the Watts area of Los Angeles, California.
1965 riots in Los Angeles, United States
1969
The Apollo 11 astronauts are released from a three-week quarantine following their liftoff from the Moon.
First crewed Moon landing (1969)
1972
Vietnam War: The last United States ground combat unit leaves South Vietnam.
1955–1975 war in Southeast Asia
1973
At the 1520 Sedgwick Avenue apartment building in The Bronx, New York, DJ Kool Herc hosts a house party widely considered to mark the birthplace of hip-hop culture and music.
DJ Kool Herc demonstrates a new technique of beat juggling and Coke La Rock performs a new style of vocal performance called rapping.
1975
East Timor: Governor Mário Lemos Pires of Portuguese Timor abandons the capital Dili, following a coup by the Timorese Democratic Union (UDT) and the outbreak of civil war between UDT and Fretilin.
Country in Southeast Asia
1979
Two Aeroflot Tupolev Tu-134s collide over the Ukrainian city of Dniprodzerzhynsk and crash, killing all 178 aboard both airliners.
National airline of Russia
1982
A bomb explodes on Pan Am Flight 830, en route from Tokyo, Japan to Honolulu, Hawaii, killing one passenger and injuring 15 others.
1982 airliner bombing
1988
A meeting between Sayyed Imam Al-Sharif, Osama bin Laden, Abdullah Yusuf Azzam, and leaders of Egyptian Islamic Jihad in Afghanistan culminates in the formation of Al-Qaeda.
Ex al-Qaeda member
1991
Nickelodeon's first line of "Nicktoons" (Doug, Rugrats & Ren & Stimpy) premiere on the channel.
American children's pay television channel
1992
The Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota opens.
At the time the largest shopping mall in the United States.
1995
The Russell Hill subway accident in Toronto kills 3 and injures 30, due to a combination of human error and a safety system design flaw.
Deadly Toronto Subway train collision
2000
An air rage incident occurs on board Southwest Airlines Flight 1763 when 19-year-old Jonathan Burton attempts to storm the cockpit, but he is subdued by other passengers and dies from his injuries.
Disruptive or violent behavior on an aircraft
2003
NATO takes over command of the peacekeeping force in Afghanistan, marking its first major operation outside Europe in its 54-year-history.
Intergovernmental military alliance
2003
Jemaah Islamiyah leader Riduan Isamuddin, better known as Hambali, is arrested in Bangkok, Thailand.
Southeast Asian salafist organization (1993–2024)
2006
The oil tanker MT Solar 1 sinks off the coast of Guimaras and Negros Islands in the Philippines, causing the country's worst oil spill.
Ship that carries petroleum
2012
At least 306 people are killed and 3,000 others injured in a pair of earthquakes near Tabriz, Iran.
Doublet earthquakes in northwest Iran
2017
At least 41 people are killed and another 179 injured after two passenger trains collide in Alexandria, Egypt.
2017 train accident in Egypt
