June 11 is the 162nd day of the year (163rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 203 days remaining until the end of the year.
Holidays
- Christian feast day:
- American Evacuation Day (Libya)
- Birthday of Prince Henrik (Denmark)
- Brazilian Navy commemorative day (Brazil)
- Davis Day (Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada)
- Kamehameha Day (Hawaii)
- Student Day (Honduras)
- National Corn on the Cob Day
History
In 1184 BC – Trojan War: Troy is sacked and burned, according to calculations by Eratosthenes.
In 173 – Marcomannic Wars: The Roman army in Moravia is encircled by the Quadi, who have broken the peace treaty (171). In a violent thunderstorm emperor Marcus Aurelius defeats and subdues them in the so-called “miracle of the rain”.
In 631 – Emperor Taizong of Tang, the Emperor of China, sends envoys to the Xueyantuo bearing gold and silk in order to seek the release of enslaved Chinese prisoners captured during the transition from Sui to Tang from the northern frontier; this embassy succeeded in freeing 80,000 Chinese men and women who were then returned to China.
In 786 – A Hasanid Alid uprising in Mecca is crushed by the Abbasids at the Battle of Fakhkh. Idris ibn Abdallah flees to the Maghreb, where he later founds the Idrisid dynasty.
In 1118 – Roger of Salerno, Prince of Antioch, captures Azaz from the Seljuk Turks.
In 1157 – Albert I of Brandenburg, also called, The Bear (Ger: Albrecht der Bär), becomes the founder of the Margraviate of Brandenburg, Germany and the first Margrave.
In 1345 – The megas doux Alexios Apokaukos, chief minister of the Byzantine Empire, is lynched by political prisoners.
In 1429 – Hundred Years’ War: start of the Battle of Jargeau.
In 1488 – Battle of Sauchieburn: fought between rebel Lords and James III of Scotland, resulting in the death of the King.
In 1509 – Henry VIII of England marries Catherine of Aragon.
In 1509, domestic animals were first sent to America.
In 1594 – Philip II recognizes the rights and privileges of the local nobles and chieftains in the Philippines, which paved way to the stabilization of the rule of the Principalía (an elite ruling class of native nobility in Spanish Philippines).
In 1742, Benjamin Franklin invented the Franklin stove.
In 1770 – British explorer Captain James Cook runs aground on the Great Barrier Reef.
In 1775 – The American Revolutionary War‘s first naval engagement, the Battle of Machias, results in the capture of a small British naval vessel.
In 1776 – The Continental Congress appoints Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston to the Committee of Five to draft a declaration of independence.
In 1788 – Russian explorer Gerasim Izmailov reaches Alaska.
In 1805 – A fire consumes large portions of Detroit in the Michigan Territory.
In 1825 – The first cornerstone is laid for Fort Hamilton in New York City.
In 1837 – The Broad Street Riot occurs in Boston, fueled by ethnic tensions between Yankees and Irish.
In 1838, the Iowa Territory was organized.
In 1859, Claim is filed for the Comstock Lode near Virginia City/Nevada. The mine eventually produces more than $300 million in silver.
In 1859, London’s Evening Standard newspaper was published for the first time, having been “The Standard” since 1827 and a morning paper for the previous two years.
In 1865 – The Naval Battle of Riachuelo is fought on the rivulet Riachuelo (Argentina), between the Paraguayan Navy on one side and the Brazilian Navy on the other. The Brazilian victory was crucial for the later success of the Triple Alliance (Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina) in the Paraguayan War.
In 1876, Republicans pick Rutherford B Hayes as presidential candidate.
In 1878, the District of Columbia is given a new government by Congress, three commissioners appointed by the president (change in 1974).
In 1891, Puerto Rican flag adopted.
In 1892, The Limelight Department, one of the world’s first film studios, is officially established in Melbourne, Australia.
In 1895, Paris–Bordeaux–Paris is sometimes called the first automobile race in history or the “first motor race”.
In 1898, Spanish–American War: U.S. war ships set sail for Cuba.
In 1898, The Hundred Days’ Reform is started by Guangxu Emperor with a plan to change social, political and educational institutions in China, but is suspended by Empress Dowager Cixi after 104 days. The failed reform though led to the abolition of the Imperial examination in 1905.
In 1901, The boundaries of the Colony of New Zealand are extended by the UK to include the Cook Islands.
In 1903, A group of Serbian officers stormed royal palace and assassinated King Alexander Obrenović and his wife queen Draga.
In 1905, Penns Railroad debuts fastest train in world (NY-Chicago in 18 hrs).
In 1907, George Dennett, aided by Gilbert Jessop, dismisses Northamptonshire for 12 runs, the lowest total in first-class cricket.
In 1917, King Alexander assumes the throne of Greece after his father Constantine I abdicates under pressure by allied armies occupying Athens.
In 1919, Sir Barton wins the Belmont Stakes, becoming the first horse to win the U.S. Triple Crown.
In 1920, During the U.S. Republican National Convention in Chicago, U.S. Republican Party leaders gathered in a room at the Blackstone Hotel to come to a consensus on their candidate for the U.S. presidential election, leading the Associated Press to first coin the political phrase “smoke-filled room“. Ohio Sen. Warren G. Harding was chosen as the “dark horse” Republican candidate for president. That November, he was elected the 29th president of the United States.
In 1921, Brazil voted for women suffrage.
In 1925, a gem dealer is thrown from a plane in Britain in the first recorded murder in the skies.
In 1928, THE 1ST PLYMOUTH AUTOMOBILE Built on this date by CHRYSLER Corp. Priced initially at $655, more than 58,000 of them would be sold that first year.
In 1934, the comic strip “Mandrake The Magician” debut.
In 1935, Inventor Edwin Armstrong gives the first public demonstration of FM broadcasting in the United States at Alpine, New Jersey.
In 1936 – The London International Surrealist Exhibition opens.
In 1936, Robert E. Howard, American author (b. 1906) dies. was an American author who wrote pulp fiction in a diverse range of genres. He is well known for his character Conan the Barbarian and is regarded as the father of the sword and sorcery subgenre. Howard was born and raised in the state of Texas. He spent most of his life in the town of Cross Plains with some time spent in nearby Brownwood. A bookish and intellectual child, he was also a fan of boxing and spent some time in his late teens bodybuilding, eventually taking up amateur boxing. From the age of nine he dreamed of becoming a writer of adventure fiction but did not have real success until he was 23. Thereafter, until his death at the age of 30 by suicide, Howard’s writings were published in a wide selection of magazines, journals, and newspapers, and he had become successful in several genres. Although a Conan novel was nearly published into a book in 1934, his stories never appeared in book form during his lifetime. The main outlet for his stories was in the pulp magazine Weird Tales. Howard’s suicide and the circumstances surrounding it have led to varied speculation about his mental health. His mother had been ill with tuberculosis his entire life, and upon learning that she had entered a coma from which she was not expected to wake, he walked out to his car and shot himself in the head. In the pages of the Depression-era pulp magazine Weird Tales, Howard created Conan the Barbarian, a character whose cultural impact has been compared to such icons as Tarzan, Count Dracula, Sherlock Holmes, Batman, and James Bond. With Conan and his other heroes, Howard created the genre now known as sword and sorcery, spawning many imitators and giving him a large influence in the fantasy field. Howard remains a highly read author, with his best works still reprinted.
In 1937, Great Purge: The Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin executes eight army leaders.
In 1938, Second Sino-Japanese War: The Battle of Wuhan starts.
In 1940, Italy declares war on allies/raids Malta.
In 1941, Daniel Carter Beard, American author and illustrator, founded the Boy Scouts of America (b. 1850) dies. He was an American illustrator, author, youth leader, and social reformer who founded the Sons of Daniel Boone in 1905, which Beard later merged with the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Beard merged his organization into the Boy Scouts of America when it was founded in 1910. Beard became one of the first National Scout Commissioners of the Boy Scouts and served it for 30 years. He later became the editor of Boys’ Life magazine, the BSA official magazine, and wrote a monthly column for youth. The work of both Beard and Ernest Thompson Seton are in large part the basis of the Traditional Scouting movement. Beard founded Boy Scouts Troop 1 in Flushing, New York, which is believed to be one of the oldest continuously chartered Boy Scout Troop in the United States. Beard became an Eagle Scout at the age of 64 on February 15, 1915.
In 1942, World War II: The United States agrees to send Lend-Lease aid to the Soviet Union.
In 1942, , the United States and the Soviet Union signed a lend-lease agreement to aid the Soviet war effort in World War II.
In 1942, Free French Forces retreat from Bir Hakeim after having successfully delayed the Axis advance. Bir Hakeim is an oasis in the Libyan desert and the site of a former Ottoman Empire fort. During the Battle of Gazala (26 May – 21 June 1942), the 1st Free French Brigade of Général de brigade Marie Pierre Kœnig defended the site, from 26 May – 11 June against much larger German and Italian forces, commanded by Generaloberst Erwin Rommel. The battle was later used for propaganda purposes by all involved parties. Tobruk was taken ten days later by Panzerarmee Afrika but the delay imposed on the Axis offensive by the defence of the fortress, influenced the cancellation of Operation Herkules, the planned invasion of Malta. Rommel continued to advance against delaying actions by the British until halted at the First Battle of El Alamein in July.
In 1944, USS Missouri, the last battleship built by the United States Navy and future site of the signing of the Japanese Instrument of Surrender, is commissioned.
In 1944, 15 US aircraft carriers attack Japanese bases on Marianas.
In 1947, WW II sugar rationing finally ended in the United States (began May 28, 1942). Sweet!
In 1955, Eighty-three spectators are killed and at least 100 are injured after an Austin-Healey and a Mercedes-Benz collide at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the deadliest ever accident in motorsports.
In 1956, Start of Gal Oya riots, the first reported ethnic riots that target minority Sri Lankan Tamils in the Eastern Province. The total number of deaths is reportedly 150.
In 1959, the U.S. Postmaster General bans “Lady Chatterley’s Lover” from the U.S. mail (overruled by U.S. Court of Appeals in Mar. 1960).
In 1962, Frank Morris, John Anglin and Clarence Anglin allegedly become the only prisoners to escape from the prison on Alcatraz Island.
In 1963, American Civil Rights Movement: Governor of Alabama George Wallace defiantly stands at the door of Foster Auditorium at the University of Alabama in an attempt to block two black students, Vivian Malone and James Hood, from attending that school. Later in the day, accompanied by federalized National Guard troops, they are able to register.
In 1963, Buddhist monk Thích Quảng Đức burns himself with gasoline in a busy Saigon intersection to protest the lack of religious freedom in South Vietnam.
In 1963, John F. Kennedy addresses Americans from the Oval Office proposing the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that would revolutionize American society. Proposing equal access to public facilities, end segregation in education and guarantee federal protection for voting rights. JFK says segregation is morally wrong & that it is “time to act”.
In 1963, Alabama Governor George C. Wallace, who had defied a federal order to allow two African-Americans to enroll at the University of Alabama by standing at the schoolhouse door, relented after a confrontation with Federal troops.
In 1964, World War II veteran Walter Seifert runs amok in an elementary school in Cologne, Germany, killing at least eight children and two teachers and seriously injuring several more with a home-made flamethrower and a lance.
In 1967, Race riot in Tampa Florida; National Guard mobilizes.
In 1968, Lloyd J. Old identified the first cell surface antigens distinguishing cells of different lineages, introducing the concept of cell surface antigens that could differentiate different cell types.
In 1970, After being appointed on May 15, Anna Mae Hays and Elizabeth P. Hoisington officially receive their ranks as U.S. Army Generals, becoming the first females to do so.
In 1971, The U.S. Government forcibly removes the last holdouts to the Native American Occupation of Alcatraz, ending 19 months of control.
In 1971, US & Japan sign accord to return Okinawa to Japan.
In 1975, first oil pumped from North Sea oilfield.
In 1977, a 20-day hostage drama in the Netherlands ended as Dutch marines stormed a train and a school held by South Moluccan extremists. Six gunmen and two hostages on the train were killed.
In 1978, TV’S “60 MINUTES” A segment investigates the fire safety hazards of the Ford Pinto automobile
In 1978, Altaf Hussain founds the students’ political movement All Pakistan Muhajir Students Organisation (APMSO) in Karachi University.
In 1981, A Richter scale 6.9 magnitude earthquake at Golbaf, Iran, kills at least 2,000.
In 1982, The Sentosa Musical Fountain was officially opened as part of the second phase of construction on the island of Sentosa, Singapore.
In 1984, the Supreme Court declares that illegally obtained evidence may be admitted at a trial providing it could be proved that the evidence would have been discovered inevitably by lawful means.
In 1985, Karen Ann Quinlan, the comatose patient whose case prompted a historic right-to-die court decision, died in Morris Plains, New Jersey, at age 31.
In 1986, By a 5-4 vote, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a Pennsylvania abortion law, while reaffirming its 1973 decision establishing a constitutional right to abortion.
In 1987, Diane Abbott, Paul Boateng and Bernie Grant are elected as the first black Parliamentarians in Great Britain.
In 1987, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher won a third successive term. The last person to do so was Lord Liverpool in 1826.
In 1989, the government of China issued a warrant for the arrest of dissident Fang Lizhi (fahng lee-JER’), who had taken refuge inside the US Embassy in Beijing.
In 1990, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a federal law prohibiting desecration of the American flag, re-igniting calls for a constitutional amendment.
In 1990, a federal judge sentenced former national security adviser John M. Poindexter to six months in prison for making false statements to Congress about the Iran-Contra affair (however, Poindexter’s convictions were later overturned).
In 1991, Microsoft releases MS DOS 5.0.
In 1991, President Bush authorized $1.5 billion in agricultural credit guarantees for the Soviet Union.
In 1992, President Bush’s stopover in Panama en route to the Earth Summit in Brazil was disrupted when riot police fired tear gas at protesters, preventing Bush from speaking at a rally praising the revival of democracy in Panama.
In 1993, the Supreme Court ruled that people who commit “hate crimes” motivated by bigotry may be sentenced to extra punishment; the court also ruled religious groups have a constitutional right to sacrifice animals in worship services.
In 1994, the United States, South Korea and Japan agreed to seek punitive steps against North Korea over its nuclear program.
In 1995, In an unprecedented joint appearance, President Clinton and House Speaker Newt Gingrich sparred politely over Medicare and other issues before an audience of senior citizens in Claremont, New Hampshire.
In 1996, Closing a congressional career that had lasted 3 1/2 decades, Bob Dole said goodbye to the Senate to begin in earnest his campaign for the presidency. Trent Lott of Mississippi was elected Senate leader the next day.
In 1997, Netscape released its Communicator suite bundled with Netscape Navigator 4.0 on the Internet.
In 1997, the parents of Timothy McVeigh pleaded for their son’s life during the penalty phase of the Oklahoma City bombing trial.
In 1998, Pakistan announces moratorium on nuclear testing and offers to talk with India over disputed Kashmir.
In 1998, Compaq Computer pays US$9 billion for Digital Equipment Corporation in the largest high-tech acquisition.
In 1998, Mitsubishi Motors agreed to pay 34 million dollars to settle allegations that women on the assembly line at its Illinois factory were groped and insulted and that managers did nothing to stop it.
In 2000, A day after the death of Syrian President Hafez Assad, his son, Bashar, was unanimously nominated by Syria’s ruling Baath Party to succeed his father.
In 2001, Timothy McVeigh is executed for his role in the Oklahoma City bombing.
In 2002, Antonio Meucci is acknowledged as the first inventor of the telephone by the United States Congress.
In 2004, Cassini–Huygens makes its closest flyby of the Saturn moon Phoebe.
In 2008, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper makes a historic official apology to Canada’s First Nations in regard to a residential school abuse in which children are isolated from their homes, families and cultures for a century.
In 2008, The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope is launched into orbit.
In 2012, More than 80 people die in a landslide triggered by two earthquakes in Afghanistan; an entire village is buried.
In 2013, Shenzhou 10, China’s fifth manned spaceflight mission and the second and final one to the Tiangong-1 space laboratory, is launched with 3 taikonauts on a 15-day mission.
In 2013, James Grimsley, Jr., American general (b. 1921) dies. He was a major general in the United States Army, and was President of The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina from 1980 to 1989. He graduated from The Citadel, class of 1942, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the US Army and immediately went to the Pacific Theater to fight in World War II. He held numerous high leadership positions including command of an infantry brigade in Vietnam, a tour as Assistant Commander of the 2d Armored Division and service on the Army General Staff. His career culminated with an assignment as a Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense. After 33 years of service, Grimsley retired from the active duty in 1975. Grimsley came to The Citadel in 1975 as Vice President for Administration and Finance; he was named President in 1980 upon the retirement of his predecessor, Vice Admiral James B. Stockdale.
In 2014, Judge strikes down Wisconsin’s marriage law, refuses to stay ruling. A federal judge has ruled that a Wisconsin law defining marriage as a union between one man and one woman is unconstitutional, the latest in a string of such decisions handed down by U.S. courts this year. U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb stopped short of issuing a final judgment in the case, however, giving the eight homosexual couples who sued the state a deadline of June 16 to tell her exactly what they want her to order the state to do. Until then, the state is in legal limbo, as county clerks must decide for themselves whether to follow the law, which is technically still on the books.
In 2015, EPA takes first step to limit greenhouse-gas emissions from airlines. The proposal for a so-called “endangerment finding” under the Clean Air Act is a precursor to the EPA proposing regulations to limit heat-trapping emissions from plane exhaust. The agency will collect public comment about the proposal for 60 days and will hold a hearing Aug. 11.