August 11
August 11 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 - Greco-Persian Wars: Battle of Thermopylae - Persians under Xerxes defeat Spartans under King Leonidas. The Spartans fought to the last man.
- 480 BC - Greco-Persian Wars: Battle of Artemisium - The Persian and Greek fleets also fight the indecisive .
- 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
- 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.
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).
- 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)
- 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)
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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)
- 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, climber (b. 1940)
- 2003 - Armand Borel, Swiss mathematician (b. 1923)
- 2003 - Herb Brooks, American 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
Liturgical feasts
Roman Catholicism
- Translation of St. Callistus, pope, martyr [Reims]
- Feast of the Crown of Thorns [Paris]
- Saint Hippolytus, martyr [Paris]
- Saint Equitius, abbot
- St. Gery/Gaugericus, 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]
External links
August 10 - August 12 - July 11 - September 11 -- listing of all days
Categories
August
