On this day in History - Aug. 11

• 3114 BC - On this date in the proleptic Gregorian calendar begins our current era in the Maya Long Count Calendar.
• 2492 BC - Traditional date of the defeat of Bel by Hayk, progenitor and founder of the Armenian nation.
• 0586 BC - The First Temple (originally built by King Solomon) is destroyed by the Babylonians in Jerusalem.
• 0480 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.
• 0480 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.
• 0480 BC - Leonidas dies. King of Sparta.
• 0070 - The Second Temple is destroyed by the Roman army in Jerusalem.
• 0355 - Claudius Silvanus, accused of treason, proclaims himself Roman Emperor against Constantius II.
• 1253 - Saint Clare of Assisi dies (b. 1193). Patron saint of television.
• 1255 - A monja Clara Offreduccio (1193-1253), fundadora da Ordem das Clarissas, companheira de S. Francisco de Assis, é canonizada enquanto Santa Clara de Assis.
• 1259 - Mongke dies. Mongol great-khan, grandson of Genghis Khan.
• 1467 - Mary of York was born (d. 1482). English princess.
  
• 1492 - Alexander VI is elected Pope. / Rodrigo de Borja, cardeal desde os 25 anos, bispo de Barcelona e arcebispo de Valência, é eleito Papa, adoptando o nome de Alexandre VI. A sua eleição foi um escândalo já que, enquanto cardeal, tinha cinco filhos de uma filha de uma antiga amante. Dois ficaram célebres com o apelido italianizado de Bórgia: César, nomeado cardeal pelo pai, e Lucrécia.
• 1510 - Margaret Palaeologina, Duchess of Mantua is born.
• 1578 - Pedro Nunes dies in Coimbra (b. 1502). Portuguese mathematician and astronomer (nonius).
• 1648 - Jeremiah Shepard was born (d. 1720). American minister.
  
• 1654 - D. João IV institui a Casa do Infantado - Portugal.
• 1667 - Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici was born (d. 1743). Last of the Medicis.
• 1673 - Richard Mead was born (d. 1754). English physician.
• 1675 - Fundação do Observatório Astronómico de Greenwich.
• 1676 - Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen dies. German writer.
• 1711 - The first race meeting was held at Ascot /Pela primeira vez acontece a corrida de cavalos Royal Ascot, a mais espetacular da Inglaterra.
• 1718 - Sir Frederick Haldimand was born (d. 1791). Swiss-born British colonial governor.
• 1722 - Richard Brocklesby was bornb (d. 1797). English physician.
• 1744 - Nascimento, no Porto, do poeta Tomás António Gonzaga (m. em Moçambique 1810). Marília de Dirceu, Cartas Chilenas.
• 1772 - 3000 personas mueren en la isla de Java causado por el volcán Papadang de 3.000 metros de altura que tras una violenta erupción queda reducido a los 1.700 metros.
• 1778 - Friedrich Ludwig Jahn was born (d. 15 Oct 1852). German known as the "father of gymnastics".
• 1786 - Captain Francis Light established the British colony of Penang in Malaysia.
• 1794 - James Barton Longacre was born (d. 1869). American engraver.
• 1801 - Eduard Devrient was born (d. 4 Oct 1877). German dramatist
• 1801 - Félix María Samaniego dies. Spanish writer and poet.
• 1804 - Francis II assumed title of first Emperor of Austria.
  
• 1807 - David Rice Atchison was born (d. 1886). American politician. He was president pro tempore of the U.S. Senate, and president of U.S. for one day [March 4, 1849], the Sunday before Zachary Taylor was sworn in
• 1813 - Henry James Pye dies (b. 1745). English poet.
• 1828 - William Corder is hanged at Bury St. Edmunds, England, for the murder of Maria Marten at the Red Barn a year ago.
• 1828 - Início do 1º mandato de Jose Miguel de Velasco (general) na presidência da Bolívia.
• 1833 - Kido Takayoshi was born (d. 1877). Japanese politician.
• 1833 - Robert G. Ingersoll was born (d. 1899). American politician and soldier.
• 1836 - Warren Brown was born (d. 1919). American politician.
• 1836 - Cato Maximilian Guldberg was born. Norwegian chemist.
• 1837 - Marie François Carnot was born (d. 1894). French statesman who was the the fourth president of the Third French Republic (1887-94).
• 1844 - Justo Figuerola assume (pela 2º vez) a presidência do Peru.
• 1855 - John Hodges was born (d. 1933). Australian cricketer.
  
• 1858 - First ascent of the Eiger.
• 1858 - Christiaan Eijkman was born(d. 1930). Dutch physician. Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1929.
• 1861 - James Bryan Herrick was born (d. 7 Mar 1954). American cardiologist who studied sickle-cell anemia
• 1863 - Gaston Doumergue was born (d. 1937). President of the French Third Republic.
• 1867 - Joe Weber was born (d. 10 May 1942). American comedian.
• 1869 - Nuno José de Moura Barreto substitui Bernardo de Sá Nogueira de Figueiredo no cargo de ministro do reino de Portugal.1870 - Tom Richardson was born (d. 1912). English cricketer.
• 1870 - Tom Richardson was born (d. 1912). English cricketer.
  
• 1870 – Walter Bowman was born. Canadian soccer player.
  
• 1872 - Shidehara Kijuro was born (d. 1951). Prime Minister of Japan.
• 1873 - Bertram Mills was born (d. 16 Apr 1938). English circus entrepreneur.
• 1877 - Adolph M. Christianson was born (d. 1954). Justice of the North Dakota Supreme Court.
• 1882 - Rodolfo Graziani was born (d. 11 Jan 1955). Italian field marshal; adherent of Mussolini
• 1884 - Rafael Wenceslao Núñez Moledo assume (pela 2º vez) a presidência da Colômbia.
• 1890 - John Henry Cardinal Newman dies (b. 1801). English Cardinal.
• 1892 - Término do mandato de Aniceto Arce Ruiz na presidência da Bolívia.
• 1892 – Archie Wiles was born (d. 1957). West Indian cricketer.
  
• 1892 - Eiji Yoshikawa was born (d. 1962). Japanese novelist.
• 1892 - Hugh MacDiarmid was born (d. 9 Sep 1978). Scottish poet.
• 1897 - Enid Blyton was born (d. 1968). English author / Nascimento da escritora britânica Enid Blynton. Ficou famosa com a publicação da série de aventuras protagonizadas pelos Cinco.
• 1897 - Louise Bogan was born (d. 4 Feb 1970). American poet.
• 1898 - Spanish-American War: American troops enter the city of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico.
• 1900 - Associação Atlética Ponte Preta is founded in Campinas - SP, Brazil.
• 1900 - Philip Phillips was born (d. 1994). American archaeologist.
• 1901 - Nasce Carlos Bernardo Gonzalez Pecotche, pensador Argentino, criador da Logosofia. Conhecido pelo pseudónimo Raumsol.
• 1902 - Alfredo Binda was born (d. 1986). Italian cyclist.
• 1902 - Lloyd Nolan was born (d. 27 Sep 1985). American actor.
  
• 1904 - German Massacre of Hereros.
  
• 1905 - Erwin Chargaff was born (d. 2002). Austrian biochemist.
• 1907 - Ted a'Beckett was born (d. 1989). Australian cricketer.
  
• 1909 - The international distress call, SOS, which replaced CQD (All stations - distress!), was first used by an American ship : the ocean liner Arapahoe.
• 1909 - Yuji Koseki was born (d. 1989). Japanese composer.
• 1912 - Eva Ahnert-Rohlfs was born (d. 1954). German astronomer.
• 1912 - Thanom Kittikachorn was born (d. 2004). Prime Minister of Thailand.
• 1913 - Angus Wilson was born (d. 1991). British novelist.
• 1913 – Bob Scheffing was born (d. 1985). American professional baseball player and manager.
• 1913 – Paul Dupuis was born (d. 1976). French Canadian actor.
• 1914 - José Silva was born (d. 1999). American parapsychologist.
• 1916 - Johnny Claes was born (d. 1956). Belgian racing driver.
  
• 1918 - World War I - Battle of Amiens ends.
• 1919 - Constitution of Weimar Republic adopted.
• 1919 - Ginette Neveu was born (d. 1949). French violinist.
• 1919 - Andrew Carnegie dies (b. 1835). Industrialist, philanthropist.
• 1920 - The Latvia - Soviet Russia peace treaty which relinquished Russia`s authority and pretences to Latvian nation and territory for all time. In 1940 the Soviet Union unilaterally broke this Treaty and occupied Latvia.
• 1920 - Chuck Rayner was born (d. 2002). Canadian ice hockey player.
  
• 1921 - Alex Haley was born (d. 10 Feb 1992). American historian, novelist. Pulitzer Prize-winning author: Roots [1977]; The Autobiography of Malcolm X, Queen.
• 1923 - Stan Chambers was born. American television reporter.
• 1925 - Carl Rowan was born (d. 23 Sep 2000). Journalist.
• 1925 – Floyd Curry was born (d. 2006). National Hockey League player.
• 1926 - Aaron Klug was born. Lithuanian-born chemist, Nobel Prize Laureate.
• 1926 – Claus von Bülow was born. Danish-born British socialite.
• 1927 - Raymond Leppard was born. English conductor.
• 1928 - Arlene Dahl was born. American actress.
• 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.
• 1932 - Fernando Arrabal was born. Spanish novelist, playwright and film director.
• 1932 - Israel Asper was born (d. 2003). Canadian tax lawyer.
• 1932 – John Gorrie was born. English director.
• 1933 - Jerry Falwell was born (d. 2007). American Christian preacher and politician.
• 1933 – Jerzy Grotowski was born (d. 1999). Polish theatre director.
  
• 1934 - First civilian prisoners arrive at Federal prison on Alcatraz Island.
• 1936 - Andre Dubus was born (d. 1999). American short-story writer.
• 1936 - Benjamín Jarnés dies. Spanish writer.
• 1936 - Blas Infante dies. Spanish politician and writer.
• 1937 - Edith Wharton dies (b. 1862). American author.
• 1938 - Branko Stanovnik was born. Slovenian chemist.
• 1939 - Ronnie Dawson was born (d. 2003). American rockabilly performer.
  
• 1939 - Jean Bugatti dies (b. 1909). Automobile designer.
• 1940 - Lennie Pond was born. American NASCAR driver.
• 1942 - The German submarine U-73 attacked a Malta bound British convoy and sank the HMS Eagle, one of the world's first aircraft carriers.
• 1942 - Mike Hugg was born. British musician (Manfred Mann).
• 1943 - World War II - First Quebec Conference of Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt, T. V. Soong and William Lyon Mackenzie King begins.
• 1943 - Abigail Folger was born (d. 1969). American coffee heiress.
• 1943 - Pervez Musharraf was born. Pakistani general and leader.
• 1943 – Stefania Toczyska was born. Polish mezzo-soprano.
• 1944 – Fred Smith was born. American entrepreneur.
• 1944 - Ian McDiarmid was born. Scottish actor.
• 1946 – John Conlee was born. American country music singer.
• 1946 - Marilyn vos Savant was born. American newspaper columnist.
• 1946 - Óscar Berger was born. President of Guatemala.
• 1947 - Georgios Karatzaferis was born. Greek politician.
• 1948 - Summer Olympics opens in London.
• 1948 - Jan Palach was born (d. 1969). Czechoslovakian student protester.
• 1949 - Eric Carmen was born in Cleveland, Ohio. American musician and Singer group: The Raspberries: Go All the Way; solo: All By Myself, Never Gonna Fall in Love, Almost Paradise, Again, Hungry Eyes, Make Me Lose Control.
• 1949 - Ian Charleson was born (d. 6 Jan 1990). English actor of stage, screen and television.
• 1949 – Tim Hutchinson was born. American politician.
• 1950 - Erik Brann was born (d. 2003). American musician (Iron Butterfly).
  
• 1950 - Gennidy Nikonov was born (d. 2003). Russian weapons inventor.
• 1950 - Steve Wozniakwas born. American computer pioneer (co-founder: Apple Computer, Inc).
• 1951 - René Pleven becomes Prime Minister of France.
• 1951 - Vincent Bilodeau was born. Quebec actor and comedian.
• 1952 - Hussein proclaimed king of Jordan.
• 1952 - Bob Mothersbaugh, AKA Bob 1, was born. American musician (Devo).
• 1952 - Harry Tavitian was born. Romanian Jazz musician.
• 1953 - Hulk Hogan was born. American professional wrestler.
• 1953 - Tazio Nuvolari dies (b. 1892). Italian race car driver.
• 1954 - Joe Jackson was born. English singer.
• 1954 - Juan Maria Solare was born. Composer and pianist.
• 1954 – M. V. Narasimha Rao was born. Indian cricketer.
• 1954 – Yashpal Sharma was born. Indian cricketer.
• 1955 – Marc Bureau was born. French Canadian politician.
• 1955 - Sylvia Hermon was born. British politician.
• 1956 - Pierre-Louis Lions was born. French mathematician.
• 1956 - Jackson Pollock dies in an automobile accident (b. 1912). American artist.
• 1957 – Ian Stuart Donaldson was born. British singer (Skrewdriver).
• 1957 - Richie Ramone was born. American drummer (The Ramones).
• 1959 - Gustavo Cerati was born. Argentinian musician (Soda Stereo).
• 1959 – Yoshiaki Murakami was born. Japanese investor.
• 1960 - Chad declares independence.
• 1960 - Tomislav Ivković was born. Croatian football goalkeeper.
• 1961 - Craig Ehlo was born. American basketball player.
• 1962 – Ennis Whatley was born. American basketball player.
• 1962 - Shaul Karnain was born. Sri Lankan cricketer.
• 1963 - Hiromi Makihara was born. Japanese baseball player.
• 1964 - Jim Lee was born. Korean-born comic book artist
• 1964 – Miguel A. Núñez, Jr. was boprn. American actor.
• 1964 - Nikki Randall was born. American pornographic actress.
• 1965 - Race riots begin in Watts area of Los Angeles, California. In the week that followed, 34 people were killed and more than 1,000 injured.
• 1965 – Duane Martin was born. American actor.
• 1965 – Embeth Davidtz was born. American actress.
• 1965 - Marc Bergevin was born. Canadian professional ice hockey player.
• 1965 – Shinji Mikami was born. Japanese video game designer (Resident Evil).
• 1965 – Viola Davis was born. American actress.
• 1966 - John Lennon held a press conference in Chicago excusing himself from the "Jesus affair".
• 1966 - Nigel Martyn was born. English footballer.
• 1966 - Mário Tavares Chicó dies (b. 1905). Portuguese historian of art and professor.
• 1967 – Collin Chou was born. Taiwanese actor.
• 1967 - Enrique Bunbury was born. Spanish singer.
• 1967 – Eric Maleson was born. Brazilian Bobsleigh 2002 Olympian.
• 1967 - Joe Rogan was born. American comedian, television host.
• 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.
• 1969 - Adriana de Oliveira was born (d. 1990). Brazilian model.
• 1970 - Daniela Perez was born (d. 1992). Brazilian actress.
• 1970 - Andy Bell was born. Bass player (Oasis).
• 1970 - Gianluca Pessotto was born. Italian football player.
• 1970 - Karina Barum was born. Brazilian actress.
• 1970 - A trademark application by the Van Brode Milling Company for the word Spork was published by the USPTO.
• 1971 – Alejandra Barros was born. Mexican actress.
• 1971 – Julie Clarke was born. Playboy playmate.
• 1971 - Tommy Mooney was born. English football player.
• 1972 - Last United States ground combat unit departs South Vietnam.
• 1972 - Jonathon Prandi was born. American male model.
• 1972 - Max Theiler dies. South African virologist and Nobel Prize winner.
• 1973 – Carolyn Murphy was born. American model.
• 1973 - Nigel Harman was born. British actor.
• 1974 – Anju Jain was born. Indian cricketer (women's team).
• 1974 - Audrey Mestre was born. French diver.
• 1974 – Hadiqa Kiyani was born. Pakistani pop star.
• 1974 – Marie-France Dubreuil was born. French Canadian figure skater.
• 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.
• 1975 - Davey von Bohlen was born. American musician, (The Promise Ring, Maritime).
• 1976 - Will Friedle was born. American actor.
• 1976 – Ben Gibbard was born. American musician (Death Cab for Cutie, The Postal Service).
• 1976 – Bubba Crosby was born. American baseball player.
• 1976 – Erick Lindgren was born. American poker player.
• 1976 – Ľubomír Višňovský was born. Slovak ice hockey player.
• 1977 - Gemma Hayes was born. Irish born singer.
• 1977 - Frederick Williams dies. Inventor of the mercury tube.
• 1978 - Chris Kelly was born. Rapper (Kris Kross).
• 1978 - Legionnaire's disease bacteria was isolated in Atlanta.
• 1978 – Amber Brkich was born. American reality television personality.
• 1978 - Jermain Taylor was born. American boxer.
• 1980 - Lee Suggs was born. American football player.
• 1981 – Fiona Sit was born. Hong Kong singer and actress.
• 1981 - Sandi Thom was born. Scottish born singer.
• 1982 - Alan Halsall was born. British actor.
• 1983 - Chris Hemsworth was born. Australian actor.
• 1984 - Carl Lewis duplicated Jesse Owens' 1936 feat with 4 Olympic track gold medals.
• 1984 - António Leitão conquista a medalha de bronze na final dos 5 000 metros nos XXIII Jogos Olímpicos, em Los Angeles, EUA.
• 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.
• 1984 – Katie Rees was born. American beauty pageant contestant.
• 1984 – Lucas Di Grassi was born. Brazilian racing driver.
• 1984 - Melky Cabrera was born. Dominican baseball player.
• 1984 - Alfred A. Knopf dies (b. 1892). American publisher.
• 1984 - Raul de Carvalho dies (b. 15 Fev 1901). Portuguese actor.
• 1985 - Grace Adams-Short was born. British reality television contestant.
• 1986 - Kaori Fukuhara was born. Japanese voice actress.
• 1987 - Alan Greenspan becomes Chairman of the United States Federal Reserve.
• will outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes".
• 1988 - Al-Qaeda formed.
• 1988 - The Charlotte Coliseum, once the largest arena in the NBA, was dedicated.
• 1988 - Anne Ramsey dies (b. 1929). American actress.
• 1991 - The three original Nicktoons, Doug, Rugrats, and The Ren and Stimpy Show make their debuts on the Nickelodeon cable channel.
• 1992 - The Mall of America, the biggest shopping mall in the country, opened in Bloomington, Minnesota.
• 1993 - Alyson Stoner was born. American actress, model, singer and dancer.
• 1994 - The Tenth International Conference on AIDS concluded in Yokohama, Japan.
• 1994 - Peter Cushing dies (b. 1913). British actor.
• 1994 - Joao B "Nino" Vieira elected President of Guinee-Bissau
• 1995 - A TTC subway accident took place when a southbound train hit the back of a stationary train, killing three people. see Russell Hill Subway accident.
• 1995 - Phil Harris dies (b. 1904). American singer, songwriter, and comedian.
• 1996 - Rafael Kubelik dies (b. 1914). Czech-born conductor and composer.
• 1998 - Steve Fossett (54) became the first man to cross the south Atlantic in aballoon. He was on his 4th attempt to float around the world.
• 1999 - The exceptional Salt Lake City Tornado tears through the downtown district of the city, killing one.
• 1999 - A total solar eclipse visible from Europe and Asia.
• 2000 - Jean Papineau-Couture dies (b. 1916). Canadian composer.
• 2001 - In northwestern Angola a train carrying hundreds of refugees and some soldiers hit a mine and derailed. Refugees were machine-gunned and over 252 were killed. Unita forces claimed responsibility.
• 2001 - Carlos Calado com a marca de 8m 21cm consegue a medalha de bronze no Salto em Comprimento dos 8ºs Campeonatos do Mundo de Atletismo, em Edmonton (8th IAAF World Championships in Athletics Edmonton 2001). Ivan Pedroso de Cuba ganhou com 8m 40 a medalha de ouro e Savante Stringfellow dos Estados Unidos ganhou a prata com 8m 24.
• 2001 - Percy Stallard dies (b. 1909). English racing cyclist.
• 2002 - Galen Rowell dies (b. 1940). American photographer and mountain climber.
• 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 - Charles Taylor resigned as Liberia's president and went into exile in Nigeria.
• 2003 - A big heat wave in Paris had temperatures up to 112°F (44° C), with about 144 people dead.
• 2003 - Armand Borel dies (b. 1923). Swiss mathematician.
• 2003 - Diana Mitford dies (b. 1910). Widow of British Fascist leader Oswald Mosley
• 2003 - Herb Brooks dies (b. 1937). Hockey coach.
• 2005 - Murderer Mitchell Johnson is released from prison on his 21st birthday.
• 2005 - James Booth dies (b. 1927). English actor.
• 2006 - The last software patent will expire 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.
• 2006 - Mike Douglas dies (b. 1925). American singer and talk show host.
• Zimbabwe - Heroes Day.
• Brazil - Student´s Day, Lawyer´s Day, Foundation of the Law Studies in Brazil.
• Taiwan - Valentine's Day.
• Chad - Independence Day.
• Roman Catholicism - feasts of St. Susanna , St. Clare of Assisi.