On this day in History - Dec. 11

• 0359 - The first known Prefect of the City of Constantinople, Honoratus, took office.
• 0384 - Pope Damasus I dies.
• 0969 – Byzatine Emperor Nikephoros II assassinated by his wife Theofano and her lover, the later Emperor John I Tzimiskes.
  
• 1121 - Al-Afdal Shahanshah dies (b. 1066). Caliph of Egypt.
• 1226 - Robert de Ros dies (b. 1177). English politician.
• 1282 - Llywelyn the Last dies in battle. Welsh King of Gwynedd.
• 1282 - Michael VIII Palaeologus dies (b. 1225). Byzantine Emperor.
• 1465 - Ashikaga Yoshihisa was born (d. 1489). Japanese shogun.
• 1474 - Enrique IV de Castilla y León dies.
• 1475 - Pope Leo X was born (d. 1521).
• 1513 - Bernardino Pinturicchio dies. Italian painter.
• 1532 - Pietro Accolti dies (b. 1455). Italian Catholic cardinal.
• 1566 - Manuel Cardoso was born (d. 1650). Portuguese composer.
• 1602 - A surprise attack by forces under the command of the Duke of Savoy and his brother-in-law, Philip III of Spain, is repelled by the citizens of Geneva. (This actually took place after midnight, in the early morning of December 12, but commemorations/celebrations on Fête de l'Escalade are usually held on December 11 or the closest weekend).
• 1680 - Emanuele d'Astorga was born. Italian composer.
• 1694 - Ranuccio II Farnese, Duke of Parma dies (b. 1630).
• 1709 - Louise Elisabeth of Orléans wsborn (d. 1742). Queen consort of Spain.
• 1712 - Francesco Algarotti was born (d. 1764). Italian philosopher.
• 1725 - George Mason was born (d. 1792). American statesman.
• 1737 - John Strype dies (b. 1643). English historian and biographer.
• 1757 - Edmund Curll dies (b. 1675). English bookseller and publisher.
• 1761 - Gian Domenico Romagnosi was born (d. 1835). Italian physicist.
• 1769 - Paul Revere becomes initiated into The Free masons.
• 1781 - Sir David Brewster was born (d. 1868). British physicist.
• 1789 – The University of North Carolina is chartered by the North Carolina General Assembly.
• 1792 - French Revolution: King Louis XVI of France is put on trial for treason by the National Convention.
• 1797 - Richard Brocklesby dies (b. 1722). British physician.
• 1801 - Christian Dietrich Grabbe was born (d. 1836). German writer.
• 1803 - Louis-Hector Berlioz was born (d. 1869). French composer.
• 1807 - Motim em Lisboa, motivado pelo içar da bandeira francesa no castelo de São Jorge, após uma parada militar pelo exército francês de ocupação, comandado pelo general Junot.
• 1810 - Alfred de Musset was born (d. 1857). French poet.
• 1816 - United States: Indiana became the 19th state.
• 1817 - Max von Schenkendorf dies. German poet.
• 1826 - Maria Leopoldina de Áustria dies (b. 1797). First emperess of Brazil.
• 1838 - John Labatt was born (d. 1915). Irish-Canadian businessman and brewer (Labatt Brewing Company).
• 1838 - Francisco Manuel Trigoso dies (b. 1777). Portuguese politician.
• 1840 - Emperor Kokaku of Japan dies (b. 1771).
• 1843 - Robert Koch was born (d. 1910). German bacteriologist and Nobel Prize laureate.
• 1844 - Nitrous oxide was used for the first time in dentistry.
• 1845 - Começo da primeira Guerra Anglo-Sikh na Índia, com o ataque dos Sikhs a forças coloniais britânicas. Os Sikhs foram derrotados após quatro batalhas, e a região do Punjab foi anexada pelos britânicos.
• 1847 - Jerónimo Emiliano de Andrade dies (b. 30 Sep. 1789). Portuguese (Azorean) priest and writer.
• 1858 - Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko was born (d. 1943). Russian-born Soviet theatre .
• 1863 - Annie Jump Cannon was born (d. 1941). American astronomer.
• 1872 - P.B.S. Pinchback is sworn in as the first black member of the U.S. House of Representatives.
• 1873 - Josip Plemelj was born (d. 1967). Austro-Hungarian-born Yugoslav mathematician.
• 1880 - Frank Tarrant was born (d. 1951). Australian cricketer.
• 1880 - Oliver Fisher Winchester dies (b. 1810). American businessman and politician.
• 1882 - Fiorello LaGuardia was born (d. 1947). American statesman.
• 1882 - Subramanya Bharathy was born (d. 1921). Indian poet.
• 1882 - Max Born was born (d. 5 Jan 1970). German physicist and Nobel Prize laureate in 1954, with Walther Bothe of Germany, for his statistical formulation of the behaviour of subatomic particles.
• 1883 - Victor McLaglen was born (d. 1959). British-born American actor.
• 1886 - Dial Square FC, a football club from Woolwich, London that will eventually become known as Arsenal FC, play their first match, a 6-0 win over Eastern Wanderers.
• 1889 - Walter Knott was born (d. 1981). American farmer.
• 1890 - Mark Tobey was born (d. 1976). American painter.
• 1890 - Carlos Gardel (Charles Romuald Gardés) was born in Toulouse (d. 24 Jun 1935). French-Argentine singer of Tango.
• 1892 - William Milligan dies (b. 1821). Scottish theologian.
• 1893 - Alceu Amoroso Lima (Tristão de Ataíde) was born in Petropólis (d. 14 Ago 1983). Brazilian literary critic and poligrapher.
• 1904 - Felix Nussbaum was born. German painter.
• 1905 – A workers' uprising occurs, establishing the Shuliavka Republic in Kiev.
• 1905 - Erskine Childers was born. President of Irland (1973-1974).
• 1905 - Gilbert Roland was born (d. 1994). American actor.
• 1905 - Robert Henriques was born (d. 1967). British writer.
• 1907 – The New Zealand Parliament Buildings are almost completely destroyed by fire.
• 1908 - Elliott Carter was born. American composer.
• 1908(*) - Manuel de Oliveira was born in Porto. Portuguese film director. (* some sources say 12 Dec).
• 1909 - Otacílio Anselmo e Silva was born in Jati, CE. Brazilian musician and folklorist.
• 1909 - Innokenty Annensky dies (b. 1855). Russian poet.
• 1910 - Noel Rosa was born in Rio de Janeiro (d. 04 May 1937). Brazilian singer and composer.
• 1911 - Naguib Mahfouz was born. Egyptian writer and Nobel Prize in 1988.
• 1911 - Val Guest was born (d. 2006). British film director.
• 1912 - Carlo Ponti was born. Italian film producer.
• 1913 - Jean Marais was born (d. 1998). French actor.
• 1914 - Arnaldo de Almeida (Seu Arnaldo da Estatística) was born in Mundo Novo (d. 21.Dec.2006). Brazilian popular poet.
• 1916 - Dámaso Pérez Prado was born (d. 1989). Cuban-born bandleader and composer.
• 1917 – British General Edmund Allenby enters Jerusalem on foot and declares martial law.
• 1917 – Lithuania declares its independence from Russia.
• 1918 - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn was born. Russian Writer, 1970 Nobel Prize laureate.
• 1918 - Ivan Cankar dies (b. 1876). Slovenian writer.
• 1919 - Marie Windsor was born (d. 2000). American actress.
• 1920 - Big Mama Thornton (Willie Mae Thornton) was born (d. 1984). American blues singer.
• 1920 - Olive Schreiner dies (b. 1855). South African writer.
• 1922 - Grigoris Bithikotsis was born (d. 2005). Greek singer.
• 1922 - Dilip Kumar was born. Indian actor.
• 1922 - Grace Paley was born. American writer.
• 1923 - Betsy Blair was born. American actress.
• 1925 – Quas Primas Roman Catholic papal encyclical introduces the Feast of Christ the King.
• 1925 - Bernardino Machado substitui Manuel Teixeira Gomes no cargo de presidente da República Portuguesa.
• 1925 - Paul Greengard was born. American neuroscientist and Nobel Prize laureate.
• 1926 - Big Mama Thornton was born (d. 1984). American singer.
• 1927 - Guangzhou Uprising: Communist militia and worker red guards launch an uprising in the Chinese city of Guangzhou, taking over most of the city and announcing the formation of a Guangzhou Soviet.
• 1927 - John Buscema was born (d. 2002). American comics artist.
• 1928 - police in Buenos Aires thwarted an attempt on the life of President-elect Herbert Hoover.
• 1930 - Chus Lampreave was born. Spanish actress.
• 1930 - Jean-Louis Trintignant was born. French actor (Trois Couleurs: Rouge, Is Paris Burning?, And God Created Woman, A Man and a Woman).
• 1931 - The British Parliament enacts the Statute of Westminster, which establishes a status of legislative equality between the self-governing dominions of the Commonwealth of Australia, the Dominion of Canada, the Irish Free State, Newfoundland, the Dominion of New Zealand, and the Union of South Africa.
• 1931 - Japan leaves the Golden Standard.
• 1931 - Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh was born (d. 1990). Indian guru.
• 1931 - Rita Moreno was born. Puerto Rican singer, dancer, and actress.
• 1931 - Pierre Pilote was born. National Hockey League defenseman.
• 1932 - Anne Heywood was born. English actress.
• 1933 - Aquilino Pimentel, Jr. was born. Filipino politician.
• 1934 - A fire at the Hotel Kerns in Lansing, Michigan, kills 34 people.
• 1935 - Pranab Mukherjee was born. Indian politician.
• 1935 - Elmer Vasko was born (d. 1998). Canadian ice hockey player.
• 1935 - Ron Carey was born (d. 2007). American actor.
• 1935 - Pranab Mukherjee was born. Indian politician.
• 1936 - Abdication Crisis: Edward VIII's abdication as King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the British Dominions beyond the Seas, and Emperor of India becomes effective.
• 1936 - Taku Yamasaki was born. Japanese politician.
• 1937 - Second Italo-Abyssinian War: Italy leaves the League of Nations.
• 1937 - Jim Harrison was born. American writer.
• 1938 - McCoy Tyner was born. American jazz pianist.
• 1938 - Enrico Macias was born. Algerian-born French singer.
• 1938 - Christian Lous Lange dies (b. 1869). Norwegian pacifist and recipient of Nobel Prize laureate.
• 1939 - Marlene Dietrich recorded Falling In Love Again - on the Decca label.
• 1939 - Tom Hayden was born. American politician and activist.
• 1939 - Thomas McGuane was born. American writer.
• 1940 - David Gates was born. American musician (Bread).
• 1941 - World War II: Germany and Italy declared war on the United States.
• 1941 - Jean-Paul Parise was born. Canadian ice hockey player.
• 1941 - John Gillespie Magee, Jr. dies (b. 1922). American poet and aviator.
• 1941 - Charles Émile Picard dies (b. 1856). French mathematician.
• 1942 - Donna Mills was born. American actress.
• 1943 - John Kerry was born. American politician and Presidential candidate.
• 1944 - Brenda Lee was born. American singer.
• 1944 - Teri Garr was born. American film actress.
• 1944 - Jon Garrison was born. American tenor.
• 1944 - Lynda Day George was born. American actress.
• 1945 - Manuel Gusmão was born in Évora. Portugues poet (2002 Miguel Nava Prize).
  
• 1945 - Charles Fabry dies (b. 1867). French physicist.
• 1946 - The United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) was established.
• 1948 - Stamatis Spanoudakis was born. Greek composer.
• 1950 - Christina Onassis was born (d. 1988). American heiress.
• 1950 - Leslie Comrie dies (b. 1893). New Zealand-born astronomer and computing pioneer.
• 1951 - Joe DiMaggio announces his retirement from baseball.
• 1953 - Bess Armstrong was born. American actress.
• 1954 - The American Nuclear Society is founded.
• 1954 - Jermaine Jackson was born. American singer and bassist.
• 1954 - Guðlaugur Kristinn Óttarsson was born. Icelandic engineer.
• 1955 - Paulo César Andrade was born in Carmo, RJ. Brazilian poet.
• 1955 - Adib Antoun Mercheck dies in Rio de Janeiro (b. 27 Mar. 1913). Brazilian poet and lawyer.
• 1956 - Lani Brockman was born. Playwright.
• 1957 - Musidora (Jeanne Roques) dies (b. 1889). French actress and director.
• 1958 - Upper Volta declares its independence from France, and becomes an autonomous republic in the French Community.
• 1958 - Nikki Sixx was born. American bassist (Mötley Crüe).
• 1959 - Lisa Gastineau was born. American reality show star.
• 1959 - Jim Bottomley dies (b. 1900). American baseball player.
• 1960 - French forces crack down in a violent clash with protesters in French Algeria during a visit by French president Charles de Gaulle. Black Sunday - Riot in Algiers, 114 die.
• 1961 - Melvin Calvin awarded Nobel Prize in Chemistry for process of photosynthesis.
• 1961 - Urbano Ortega was born. Uruguyan football player.
• 1962 – The last execution ever in Canada occurs to Arthur Lucas for murder
• 1962 - Ben Browder was born. American actor.
• 1962 - Nele Karajlić was born. Singer from Bosnia and Herzegovina.
• 1963 - Jon Brion was born. American musician/record producer.
• 1964 - An unknown terrorist fired a mortar shell at the United Nations building in New York City during a speech by Che Guevara.
• 1964 - Cosy Sheridan was born. American singer and songwriter.
• 1964 - David Schools was born. American musician (Widespread Panic).
• 1964 - John Mark Karr was born. American involved in JonBenét Ramsey case.
• 1964 - Michel Courtemanche was born. Quebec comedian and actor.
• 1964 - Carolyn Waldo was born. Canadian synchronized swimmer.
• 1964 - Tuca Andrada was born in Recife. Brazilian actor.
• 1964 - Sam Cooke dies (b. 1931). American singer.
• 1964 - Percy Kilbride dies (b. 1888). American actor.
• 1966 - Leon Lai was born. Chinese-born Canadian actor and Cantopop singer.
• 1966 - Gary Dourdan was born. American actor.
• 1967 - Mo'Nique was born. American actress/comedienne.
• 1967 - DJ Yella was born. American DJ and music producer (N.W.A.).
• 1969 - Libya adopts constitution.
• 1969 - Vishwanathan Anand was born. Indian chess grandmaster. World Champion in 2000.
• 1969 - Stig Inge Bjørnebye was born. Norwegian footballer.
• 1969 - Sean Grande was born. American Sportscaster.
• 1969 - Dj Mind was born. Portuguese Dj and producer.
• 1970 - John Lennon releases the album Plastic Ono Band.
• 1971 – The Libertarian Party of the United States is formed.
• 1971 - Maurice "Mac" McDonald dies (b. 1902). American fast-food pioneer.
• 1972 - Apollo 17 becomes the sixth and, to date, last mission to land on the Moon.
• 1972 - Paulo Jorge da Silva Santos was born in Lisbon. Portuguese football player (goalkeeper of Sp. Braga).
• 1972 - Daniel Alfredsson was born. Swedish hockey player.
• 1972 - Dana Macsim was born. Romanian television news reporter.
• 1972 - Sami Al-Jaber was born. Saudi Arabian footballer.
• 1972 - Dana Macsim was born. Romanian television news reporter.
• 1973 - Mos Def was born. American rapper and actor.
• 1974 - Ben Shephard was born. TV personality.
• 1974 - Rey Mysterio was born. American professional wrestler.
• 1975 - Gerben de Knegt was born. Dutch cyclist.
• 1975 - Tomoka Kurotani was born. Japanese actress.
• 1976 - Shareef Abdur-Rahim was born. American basketball player.
• 1977 - Mark Streit was born. Swiss ice hokey player.
• 1978 - Paul O'Dea dies (b. 1920). American baseball player.
• 1978 - Vincent du Vigneaud dies (b. 1901). American chemist and Nobel Prize laureate.
• 1979 - Rider Strong was born. American actor (Boy Meets World) .
• 1980 - Dr Apollo Milton Obote is finally returned to power in Uganda.
• 1980 - The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (known as either CERCLA or Superfund) is enacted by the U.S. Congress.
• 1980 - Arya was born. Indian actor.
• 1980 - Victoria Louise dies (b. 1892). Princess of Prussia.
• 1981 - In his last fight, Muhammad Ali loses to Trevor Berbick.
• 1981 - Javier Pérez de Cuéllar becomes UN Secretary-General.
• 1981 - El Mozote massacre: Salvadoran armed forces kill an estimated 900 civilians in an anti-guerrilla campaign durin the country's civil war.
• 1981 - Clube de Regatas do Flamengo defeats Liverpool F.C in the final of the Intercontinental Cup in Tokyo.
• 1981 - Hamish Blake was born. Australian comedian.
• 1981 - Javier Saviola was born. Argentine international footballer (Olympic gold medalist).
• 1981 - Nikki Benz was born. Canadian actress.
• 1981 - Paul Medhurst was born. Australian rules footballer.
• 1981 - Zacky Vengeance was born. American musician (Avenged Sevenfold).
• 1982 - Pablo Pérez Companc was born. Argentine racing driver.
• 1983 - 72nd Australian Men Tennis: Mats Wilander beats Ivan Lendl (6-1, 6-4, 6-4).
• 1983 - Sir Neil Ritchie dies (b. 1897). British general.
• 1984 - Carlos Alberto Gomes de Jesus was born. Brazilian football player.
• 1984 - Leighton Baines was born. English footballer.
• 1984 - Oskar Seidlin dies (b. 1911). German-born American scholar.
• 1987 - Portugal: José Mattoso (b. 1933), Portuguese historian, receives The Pessoa Prize (Prémio Pessoa).
• 1987 - Natalia Gordienko was born. Moldovan singer and dancer.
• 1987 - G. A. Kulkarni dies (b. 1923). Indian (Marathi) writer.
• 1988 - Murugan Thiruchelvam was born. Chess prodigy.
• 1989 - "City of Angels" opens at Virginia Theater NYC for 878 performances.
• 1989 - Louise Dahl-Wolfe dies (b. 1895). American photographer.
• 1990 - Mafia: New York mafioso John Gotti is arrested.
• 1991 - Artur Lundkvist dies (b. 1906). Swedish writer and critic.
• 1991 - Robert Q. Lewis dies (b. 1921). American game show host and actor.
• 1993 - Eduardo Frei is elected president of Chile.
• 1993 - Forty-eight people are killed when a block of the Highland Towers collapses near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
• 1993 - Gina Miele was born. American singer and actress.
• 1993 - Elvira Popescu dies (b. 1894). Romanian-born French actress.
• 1994 - A bomb assembled by Ramzi Yousef explodes on Philippine Airlines Flight 434, killing a Japanese businessman.
• 1994 - Russian troups invade Chechnya in an unsuccessful attempt to restore Moscow's power in the region.
• 1994 - Dionísio Azevedo dies in S. Paulo (b. 4 Apr 1922). Brazilian actor.
• 1994 - Philip Phillips dies (b. 1900). American archaeologist.
• 1996 - Willie Rushton dies (b. 1937). British cartoonist, satirist, and actor.
• 1997 - Housing secretary Henry Cisneros is indicted for conspiracy, obstructing justice, and false statements to the FBI.
• 1997 - The Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change opens for signature.
• 1998 - A Thai Airways Airbus A310-200 crashes near Surat Thani Airport, killing 101.
• 1998 - André Lichnerowicz dies (b. 1915). Polish-French physicist.
• 1998 - Lynn Strait dies (b. 1968). American singer.
• 1999 - Kami dies (b. 1972). Japanese drummer (Malice Mizer).
• 2000 - Real Madrid football club is awarded 20th Century's Best Club award by FIFA.
• 2000 - Shaista Suhrawardy Ikramullah dies (b. 1915). Pakistani politician, diplomat and author.
• 2000 - Johannes Virolainen dies. Prime - Minister of Finland (1964-1966).
• 2001 - Members of the DrinkOrDie warez group are arrested in police raids.
• 2001 - The People's Republic of China joins the World Trade Organization.
• 2002 - Carlos Zara dies (b. 1930). Brazilian actor.
• 2003 - Ahmadou Kourouma dies (b. 1927). Ivory writer.
• 2004 - M.S. Subbulakshmi dies (b. 1916). Indian singer.
• 2004 - Arthur Lydiard dies (b. 1917). New Zealand running coach.
• 2004 - José Luis Cuciuffo dies (b. 1962). Argentinian footballer.
• 2005 - The Buncefield Oil Depot in Hemel Hempstead is rocked by explosions, causing a huge oil fire.
• 2005 - 2005 Cronulla riots: Thousands of White Australians demonstrate against ethnic violence resulting in a riot against anyone thought to be Lebanese (and many who were not) in Cronulla Sydney. These are followed up by ethnic attacks on Cronulla.
• 2005 - Presidential elections in Chile.
• 2006 - The International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust is opened in Tehran, Iran by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
• 2006 - Elizabeth Bolden dies (b. 1890). American, oldest verified person in the world at the time of her death.
• 2007 – Two car bombs explode at the Constitutional Court building in Algiers and the United Nations office. An estimated 45 people are killed in the bombings.
• 2007 – Christie Hennessy dies (b. 1945). Irish singer.
  
• 2007 – Grace Paley dies (b. 1922). American writer.
  
• 2008 – Bernard Madoff is arrested and charged with securities fraud in a $50 billion Ponzi scheme.
• 2008 – Bettie Page dies (b. 1923). American model.
  
• 2008 – Maddie Blaustein dies (b. 1960). American voice actress.
  
• International Mountain Day - UNESCO.
• Roman festivals - One of the four Agonalia, this day in honour of Sol Indiges; also the Septimontium festival.
• R.C. Saints - pope Damasus I: optional memorial; ; Victoricus, Fuscian, and Gentian.
• Argentina - Tango Day, Buenos Aires.
• Burkina Faso - Republic Day (1958, Upper Volta became an autonomous republic in the French Community).
• USA - Admission day for Indiana (19th state, 1816).
• USA - Governor Ralph Carr Day, Colorado's State Holiday since 2002.
• Wales - Remembrance Day of Llywelyn II.
• Philippines - Pampanga Day, local official holiday.
• Portimão (Portugal): local official holiday.
• Brasil: Dia do engenheiro; Dia do arquiteto; Dia do agrimensor.