August 11
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Template:Linked-title is the 223rd day of the year (224th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 142 days remaining.
Events
- 3114 BC - On this date in the proleptic Gregorian calendar begins our current era in the Maya Long Count Calendar.
- 586 BC - The First Temple (originally built by King Solomon) is destroyed by the Babylonians in Jerusalem.
- 480 BC - Spartan hoplites under Leonidas I, along with Thespians under Demophilus, fought to the last man in the Battle of Thermopylae, losing to a large Persian invasion force led by Xerxes I.
- 480 BC - Greco-Persian Wars: Battle of Artemisium - The Persians achieve a naval victory over the Greeks in an engagement fought near Artemisium, a promontory on the north coast of Euboea. The Greek fleet holds its own against the Persians in three days of fighting but withdraws southward when news comes of the defeat at Thermopylae.
- 70 - The Second Temple is destroyed by the Roman army in Jerusalem.
- 355 - Claudius Silvanus, accused of treason, proclaims himself Roman Emperor against Constantius II.
- 1492 - Alexander VI is elected Pope.
- 1711 - The first race meeting was held at Ascot
- 1786 - Captain Francis Light established the British colony of Penang in Malaysia
- 1858 - First ascent of the Eiger.
- 1898 - Spanish-American War: American troops enter the city of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico.
- 1918 - World War I - Battle of Amiens ends
- 1919 - Constitution of Weimar Republic adopted
- 1920 - The Latvia-Bolshevist Russia peace treaty, which relinquished Russia's authority and pretenses to Latvia, is signed.
- 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.
- 1934 - Federal prison opened at Alcatraz Island
- 1951 - René Pleven becomes Prime Minister of France
- 1952 - Hussein proclaimed king of Jordan
- 1960 - Chad declares independence
- 1965 - Race riots (the Watts riots) begin in Watts area of Los Angeles, California
- 1966 - John Lennon holds a press conference in Chicago apologizing for stating that the Beatles were "more popular than Jesus".
- 1968 - The last steam passenger train service ran in Britain. A British Rail steam locomotive made the 314-mile journey from Liverpool to Carlisle and returned to Liverpool before being dispatched to the Wrecking yard.
- 1970 - A trademark application by the Van Brode Milling Company for the word Spork was published by the USPTO.
- 1972 - Vietnam War: The last United States ground combat unit depart South Vietnam
- 1984 - United States President Ronald Reagan, during a voice check for a radio broadcast remarks "My fellow Americans, I'm pleased to tell you today that I've signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes".
- 1987 - Alan Greenspan becomes Chairman of the United States Federal Reserve.
- 1992 - The Mall of America, the biggest shopping mall in the country, opened in Bloomington, Minnesota.
- 1995 - Russell Hill subway accident kills three people in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
- 1999 - A total solar eclipse visible from Europe and Asia.
- 1999 - The exceptional Salt Lake City Tornado tears through the downtown district of the city, killing one.
- 2003 - NATO takes over command of the peacekeeping force in Afghanistan, marking its first major operation outside Europe in its 54-year-history.
- 2003 - Jemaah Islamiyah leader Riduan Isamuddin, better known as Hambali, is arrested in Bangkok, Thailand.
- 2003 - A big heat wave in Paris had temperatures up to 112°F (44° C), with about 144 people dead.
- 2005 - Murderer Mitchell Johnson is released from prison on his 21st birthday.
- 2006 - The last software patent expired on the GIF format.
- 2006 - The largest string of firecrackers ever assembled is ignited in Buchanan, Wisconsin. It contains an estimated 10,500,000 firecrackers.
Births
- 1667 - Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici, last of the Medicis (d. 1743)
- 1673 - Richard Mead, English physician (d. 1754)
- 1718 - Sir Frederick Haldimand, Swiss-born British colonial governor (d. 1791)
- 1722 - Richard Brocklesby, English physician (d. 1797)
- 1794 - James Barton Longacre, American engraver (d. 1869)
- 1807 - David Rice Atchison, American politician (d. 1886)
- 1833 - Robert G. Ingersoll, American politician and soldier (d. 1899)
- 1833 - Kido Takayoshi, Japanese politician (d. 1877)
- 1836 - Warren Brown, American politician (d. 1919)
- 1837 - Marie François Sadi Carnot, French statesman (d. 1894)
- 1858 - Christiaan Eijkman, Dutch physician, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1930)
- 1863 - Gaston Doumergue, President of the French Third Republic (d. 1937)
- 1870 - Tom Richardson, English cricketer (d. 1912)
- 1870 - Walter Bowman, Canadian soccer player (d. ?)
- 1872 - Shidehara Kijuro, Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1951)
- 1892 - Eiji Yoshikawa, Japanese novelist (d. 1962)
- 1892 - Hugh MacDiarmid, Scottish poet (d. 1978)
- 1897 - Louise Bogan, American poet (d. 1970)
- 1897 - Enid Blyton, English author (d. 1968)
- 1900 - Philip Phillips, American archaeologist (d. 1994)
- 1902 - Alfredo Binda, Italian cyclist (d. 1986)
- 1902 - Lloyd Nolan, American actor (d. 1985)
- 1905 - Erwin Chargaff, Austrian biochemist (d. 2002)
- 1907 - Ted a'Beckett, Australian cricketer (d. 1989)
- 1912 - Eva Ahnert-Rohlfs, German astronomer (d. 1954)
- 1912 - Thanom Kittikachorn, Prime Minister of Thailand (d. 2004)
- 1913 - Angus Wilson, British novelist (d. 1991)
- 1914 - José Silva, American parapsychologist (d. 1999)
- 1919 - Ginette Neveu, French violinist (d. 1949)
- 1920 - Chuck Rayner, American ice hockey player (d. 2002)
- 1921 - Alex Haley, American historian (d. 1992)
- 1925 - Mike Douglas, American entertainer (d. 2006)
- 1925 - Floyd Curry, National Hockey League player (d. 2006)
- 1926 - Aaron Klug, Lithuanian-born chemist, Nobel Prize Laureate
- 1928 - Arlene Dahl, American actress
- 1932 - Fernando Arrabal, Spanish writer
- 1932 - Israel Asper, Canadian tax lawyer (d. 2003)
- 1933 - Jerry Falwell, American preacher
- 1936 - Andre Dubus, American short-story writer (d. 1999)
- 1938 - Branko Stanovnik, Slovenian chemist
- 1939 - Ronnie Dawson, American rockabilly performer (d. 2003)
- 1943 - Abigail Folger, American coffee heiress and Manson murder victim (d. 1969)
- 1943 - Pervez Musharraf, Pakistani general, 12th President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan
- 1944 - Ian McDiarmid, Scottish actor
- 1944 - Fred Smith, American entrepreneur
- 1946 - Marilyn vos Savant, American newspaper columnist
- 1946 - John Conlee, American country music singer
- 1948 - Jan Palach, Czechoslovakian student protester
- 1949 - Eric Carmen, American musician
- 1950 - Gennidy Nikonov, Russian weapons inventor
- 1950 - Steve Wozniak, American computer pioneer
- 1953 - Hulk Hogan, American wrestler
- 1954 - Joe Jackson, English singer
- 1954 - Juan Maria Solare, Argentine composer
- 1955 - Sylvia Hermon, British politician
- 1956 - Pierre-Louis Lions, French mathematician
- 1957 - Richie Ramone, American musician (The Ramones)
- 1957 - Ian Stuart Donaldson, British singer (Skrewdriver)
- 1960 - Gustavo Cerati, Argentinian musician (Soda Stereo)
- 1964 - Jim Lee, Korean-born comic book artist
- 1965 - Marc Bergevin, professional ice hockey player
- 1966 - Nigel Martyn, English footballer
- 1966 - Embeth Davidtz, American actress
- 1967 - Joe Rogan, American television host
- 1967 - Enrique Bunbury, Spanish singer
- 1968 - Lorenzo Bernardi, Italian volleyball player
- 1968 - Charlie Sexton, American musician
- 1968 - Alan Kelly, England-born Irish footballer
- 1968 - Veda Hille, Canadian singer
- 1969 - Jonah Matranga, American singer
- 1970 - Andy Bell, English musician (Oasis)
- 1971 - Tommy Mooney, English football player
- 1972 - Jonathon Prandi, American model
- 1974 - Audrey Mestre, French diver
- 1974 - Will Friedle, American actor
- 1974 - Hadiqa Kiyani, Pakistani pop star
- 1976 - Ben Gibbard, American musician (Death Cab for Cutie, The Postal Service)
- 1976 - Ľubomir Visnovsky, Slovak ice hockey player
- 1976 - Bubba Crosby, American baseball player
- 1978 - Jermain Taylor, American boxer
- 1978 - Amber Brkich, reality show contestant
- 1980 - Lee Suggs, American football player
- 1981 - Sandi Thom, Scotish born singer
- 1981 - Fiona Sit, Hong Kong singer and actress
- 1984 - Melky Cabrera, American baseball player
- 1984 - Katie Rees, ex. Miss Nevada USA
- 1993 - Alyson Stoner, American actress
Deaths
- 480 BC - Leonidas, King of Sparta
- 353 - Magnentius, Roman usurper
- 449 - Flavian, Patriarch of Constantinople
- 897 - Wilfred the Hairy, Count of Barcelona
- 1204 - King Guttorm of Norway (b. 1199)
- 1253 - Clare of Assisi, Italian follower of Francis of Assisi (b. 1194)
- 1456 - John Hunyadi, regent of Hungary (b. 1387)
- 1464 - Nicholas of Cusa, German philosopher and mathematician (b. 1401)
- 1519 - Johann Tetzel, German opponent of the Reformation (b. 1465)
- 1563 - Bartolomé de Escobedo, Spanish composer
- 1578 - Pedro Nunes, Portuguese mathematician (b. 1502)
- 1614 - Lavinia Fontana, Italian painter (b. 1552)
- 1656 - Prince Octavio Piccolomini, Duke of Amalfi, Austrian field marshal (b. 1599)
- 1774 - Tiphaigne de la Roche, French writer (b. 1722)
- 1813 - Henry James Pye, English poet (b. 1745)
- 1851 - Lorenz Oken, German naturalist (b. 1779)
- 1854 - Macedonio Melloni, Italian physicist (b. 1798)
- 1890 - John Henry Cardinal Newman, English Catholic cardinal (b. 1801)
- 1892 - Enrico Betti, Italian mathematician (b. 1813)
- 1919 - Andrew Carnegie, Scottish-born industrialist and philanthropist (b. 1835)
- 1937 - Edith Wharton, American author (b. 1862)
- 1939 - Jean Bugatti, Italian automobile designer (b. 1909)
- 1953 - Tazio Nuvolari, Italian race car driver (b. 1892)
- 1956 - Jackson Pollock, American artist (b. 1912)
- 1961 - Antanas Škėma, Lithuanian writer, stage actor and director (b. 1910)
- 1972 - Max Theiler, South African virologist, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1899)
- 1974 - Jan Tschichold, German typographer (b. 1902)
- 1980 - Paul Robert, French lexicographer and publisher (b. 1910)
- 1982 - Tom Drake, American actor (b. 1918)
- 1984 - Alfred A. Knopf, American publisher (b. 1892)
- 1984 - Paul Felix Schmidt, Estonian–German chess player (b. 1916)
- 1988 - Anne Ramsey, American actress (b. 1929)
- 1991 - J.D. McDuffie, NASCAR driver (b. 1939)
- 1994 - Peter Cushing, British actor (b. 1913)
- 1995 - Phil Harris, American singer, songwriter, and comedian (b. 1904)
- 1996 - Rafael Kubelík, Czech-born conductor and composer (b. 1914)
- 2000 - Jean Papineau-Couture, Canadian composer (b. 1916)
- 2002 - Galen Rowell, photographer and climber (b. 1940)
- 2003 - Armand Borel, Swiss mathematician (b. 1923)
- 2003 - Herb Brooks, American ice hockey coach (b. 1937)
- 2005 - James Booth, English actor (b. 1927)
- 2006 - Mike Douglas, American singer and talk show host (b. 1925)
Holidays and observances
- Brazil - Student's Day, Lawyer's Day, Foundation of the Law Studies in Brazil
- Taiwan - Valentine's Day
- Zimbabwe - Heroes Day
Liturgical feasts
- Translation of St. Callistus, pope, martyr [Reims]
- Feast of the Crown of Thorns [Paris]
- Saint Hippolytus, martyr [Paris]
- Saint Equitius, abbot
- Gaugericus (Géry), bishop of Cambrai, confessor (sometimes martyr) [Cambrai, Liège, Magdeburg, Paderborn, Winchester]
- Saint Taurinus, bishop of Evreux, confessor [northern France, England]
- Saints Tiburtius and Chromatius, martyrs [common]
- ~? Saint Susanna, virgin, martyr in 295 [common]
- Saint Clare of Assisi, virgin
- Saint Gilberte
- Saint Philomena
- Saint Radegundis, virgin (sometimes also queen) [Salzburg]
- Saint Rusticola, abbess at Arles, virgin [Arles]
- Saint Attracta