October 11 is the 284th day of the year (285th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 81 days remaining until the end of the year. [edit] Events - 1138 – A massive earthquake struck Aleppo, Syria.
- 1531 – Huldrych Zwingli is killed in battle with the Roman Catholic cantons of Switzerland.
- 1582 – Because of the implementation of the Gregorian calendar, this day does not exist in this year in Italy, Poland, Portugal and Spain.
- 1614 – Adriaen Block and 12 Amsterdam merchants petition the States General for exclusive trading rights in the New Netherland colony.
- 1634 – The Burchardi flood — "the second Grote Mandrenke" killed around 15,000 men in North Friesland, Denmark and Germany.
- 1649 – Sack of Wexford: After a ten-day siege, English New Model Army troops (under Oliver Cromwell) stormed the town of Wexford, killing over 2,000 Irish Confederate troops and 1,500 civilians.
- 1727 – George II and Caroline of Ansbach are crowned King and Queen of Great Britain.
- 1776 – American Revolution: Battle of Valcour Island – On Lake Champlain 15 American gunboats are defeated but give Patriot forces enough time to prepare defenses of New York City.
- 1809 – Along the Natchez Trace in Tennessee, explorer Meriwether Lewis dies under mysterious circumstances at an inn called Grinder's Stand.
- 1811 – Inventor John Stevens' boat, the Juliana, begins operation as the first steam-powered ferry (service between New York, New York, and Hoboken, New Jersey).
- 1852 – The University of Sydney, Australia's oldest university, is inaugurated in Sydney.
- 1862 – American Civil War: In the aftermath of the Battle of Antietam, Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart and his men loot Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, during a raid into the north.
- 1864 – Campina Grande, Brazil is established as a city.
- 1865 – Paul Bogle led hundreds of black men and women in a march in Jamaica, starting the Morant Bay rebellion.
- 1890 – In Washington, DC, the Daughters of the American Revolution is founded.
- 1899 – Second Boer War begins: In South Africa, a war between the United Kingdom and the Boers of the Transvaal and Orange Free State erupts.
- 1899 – The Western League is renamed the American League.
- 1906 – San Francisco public school board sparks United States diplomatic crisis with Japan by ordering Japanese students to be taught in racially segregated schools.
- 1910 – Ex-president Theodore Roosevelt becomes the first U.S. president to fly in an airplane. He flew for four minutes with Arch Hoxsey in a plane built by the Wright Brothers at Kinloch Field (Lambert-St. Louis International Airport), St. Louis, Missouri.
- 1929 – JC Penney opens store #1252 in Milford, Delaware, making it a nationwide company with stores in all 48 U.S. states.
- 1941 – Beginning of the National Liberation War of Macedonia.
- 1942 – World War II: Battle of Cape Esperance – On the northwest coast of Guadalcanal, United States Navy ships intercept and defeat a Japanese fleet on their way to reinforce troops on the island.
- 1944 – Tuvinian People's Republic or formerly Tannu Tuva is annexed by the U.S.S.R
- 1950 – Television: CBS's mechanical color system is the first to be licensed for broadcast by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission.
- 1954 – First Indochina War: The Viet Minh take control of North Vietnam.
- 1957 – Space Race: M.I.T. scientists calculate Sputnik I's booster rocket's orbit.
- 1958 – Pioneer program: NASA launches the lunar probe Pioneer 1 (the probe falls back to Earth and burns up).
- 1962 – Second Vatican Council: Pope John XXIII convenes the first ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church in 92 years.
- 1968 – Apollo program: NASA launches Apollo 7, the first successful manned Apollo mission, with astronauts Wally Schirra, Donn F. Eisele and Walter Cunningham aboard.
- 1972 – A race riot occurs on the United States Navy aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk off the coast of Vietnam during Operation Linebacker.
- 1975 – The NBC sketch comedy/variety show Saturday Night Live debuts with George Carlin as the host and Andy Kaufman, Janis Ian and Billy Preston as guests.
- 1976 – George Washington's appointment, posthumously, to the grade of General of the Armies of the United States by congressional joint resolution Public Law 94-479 is approved by President Gerald R. Ford.
- 1982 – The Mary Rose, a Tudor gunship which sank on July 18 1545, is raised from the sea bed in the Solent Channel, near Portsmouth.
- 1984 – Aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger, astronaut Kathryn D. Sullivan becomes the first American woman to perform a space walk.
- 1986 – Cold War: U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev meet in Reykjavík, Iceland, in an effort to continue discussions about scaling back their intermediate missile arsenals in Europe.
- 1987 – Start of Operation Pawan by Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka that killed few thousand ethnic Tamil civilians, several hundred Tamil Tigers and few hundred Indian Army soldiers.
- 1996 – Pala accident: a wood lorry and school bus collide in Jõgeva county, Estonia, killing eight children.
- 1998 – A Congo Airlines Boeing 727 is shot down by rebels in Kindu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, killing 40 people.
- 2000 – The 100th Space Shuttle mission (STS-92) is flown.
- 2001 – The Polaroid Corporation files for federal bankruptcy protection.
- 2002 – A bomb attack in a shopping mall in Vantaa, Finland kills seven.
- 2007 – The record high of the Dow Jones Industrial Average occurs at 14,198.10 points.
[edit] Births - 1335 – Taejo of Joseon, ruler of Korea (d. 1408)
- 1616 – Andreas Gryphius, German writer (d. 1664)
- 1661 – Melchior de Polignac, French diplomat (d. 1742)
- 1671 – Frederick IV of Denmark (d. 1730)
- 1671 – Richard Moungler (d. 1730)
- 1672 – Pylyp Orlyk, Ukrainian Zaporozhian Cossack starshina, diplomat (d. 1742)
- 1675 – Samuel Clarke, English philosopher (d. 1729)
- 1738 – Arthur Phillip, Governor of New South Wales (d. 1814)
- 1758 – Heinrich Wilhelm Matthäus Olbers, German astronomer (d. 1840)
- 1786 – Stevenson Archer, American Congressman (d. 1848)
- 1788 – Simon Sechter, Austrian music teacher (d. 1867)
- 1809 – Orson Squire Fowler, American phrenologist (d. 1887)
- 1814 – Jean Baptiste Lamy, first Archbishop of Santa Fe (d. 1888)
- 1815 – Pierre Napoleon Bonaparte, Italian-born adventurer (d. 1881)
- 1821 – George Williams, English founder of the YMCA (d. 1905)
- 1844 – Henry Heinz, American food manufacturer (d. 1916)
- 1865 – Hans E. Kinck, Norwegian author and philologist (d. 1926)
- 1871 – Johan Oscar Smith, Norweigian religious leader (d. 1943)
- 1872 – Harlan Fiske Stone, 12th Chief Justice of the United States (d. 1946)
- 1879 – Ernst Mally, Austrian philosopher (d. 1944)
- 1881 – Hans Kelsen, Austrian legal theorist (d. 1973)
- 1884 – Friedrich Bergius, German chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1949)
- 1884 – Eleanor Roosevelt, First Lady of the United States and humanitarian (d. 1962)
- 1884 – Sig Ruman, German-American actor (d. 1967)
- 1885 – François Mauriac, French author, Nobel laureate (d. 1970)
- 1895 – Jakov Gotovac, Croatian composer (d. 1982)
- 1897 – Nathan Twining, USAF general (d. 1982)
- 1899 – Eddie Dyer, American baseball player (d. 1964)
- 1902 – Jayaprakash Narayan, Indian freedom fighter and political leader (d. 1979)
- 1905 – Fred Trump, American real estate developer, father of Donald Trump (d. 1999)
- 1913 – Dorothy Woolfolk, American comic book editor (d. 2000)
- 1915 – T. Llew Jones, Welsh author (d. 2009)
- 1918 – Jerome Robbins, American choreographer (d. 1998)
- 1919 – Art Blakey, American jazz drummer (d. 1990)
- 1919 – Jean Vander Pyl, American voice actress (d. 1999)
- 1924 – Mal Whitfield, American athlete
- 1925 – Elmore Leonard, American novelist
- 1926 – Neville Wran, Premier of New South Wales
- 1926 – Nhất Hạnh, Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk
- 1927 – Princess Joséphine-Charlotte of Belgium (d. 2005)
- 1928 – Alfonso de Portago, Spanish race car driver (d. 1957)
- 1929 – Liselotte Pulver, Swiss actress
- 1930 – Sam Johnson, American politician
- 1930 – LaVell Edwards, American football coach
- 1932 – Dottie West, American singer (d. 1991)
- 1936 – Billy Higgins, American jazz drummer (d. 2001)
- 1937 – Sir Bobby Charlton, English footballer
- 1937 – R. H. W. Dillard, American poet
- 1939 – Maria Bueno, Brazilian tennis player
- 1939 – Austin Currie, Northern Irish politician
- 1941 – Lester Bowie, American jazz trumpeter (d. 1999)
- 1941 – Charles Shyer, American film director
- 1942 – Amitabh Bachchan, Indian actor
- 1943 – John Nettles, English actor
- 1944 – Mike Fiore, American baseball player
- 1944 – Rodney Marsh, English Footballer
- 1946 – Sawao Kato, Japanese gymnast
- 1946 – Oba Chandler, American convicted murderer
- 1946 – Daryl Hall, American musician
- 1946 – Gary Mallaber, American musician (The Steve Miller Band)
- 1947 – Al Atkins, English musician
- 1947 – Lucas Papademos, Greek economist
- 1947 – Thomas Boswell, American sports columnist
- 1948 – Cecilia, Spanish singer-songwriter
- 1950 – Patty Murray, American politician, senior senator from Washington
- 1951 – Jean-Jacques Goldman, French singer/songwriter
- 1953 – David Morse, American actor
- 1954 – Vojislav Seselj, Serbian politician
- 1955 – Norm Nixon, American basketball player
- 1956 – Nicanor Duarte Frutos, President of Paraguay
- 1957 – Paul Bown, English actor
- 1957 – Dawn French, Welsh comedian,actress and screenwriter
- 1957 – Paul Sereno, American paleontologist
- 1958 – Gregory Dudek, Canadian roboticist and computer scientist
- 1959 – Wayne Gardner, Australian racing driver
- 1960 – Curt Ford, American baseball player
- 1960 – Randy Breuer, American basketball player
- 1961 – Neil Buchanan, English television presenter
- 1961 – Amr Diab, Egyptian singer
- 1961 – Steve Young, American football player
- 1962 – Nicola Bryant, English actress
- 1962 – Joan Cusack, American actress
- 1963 – Prince Faisal bin Al Hussein of Jordan
- 1963 – Ronny Rosenthal, Israeli footballer
- 1964 – Michael J. Nelson, American actor
- 1965 – Alexander Hacke, German musician (Einstürzende Neubauten)
- 1965 – Sean Patrick Flanery, American actor
- 1966 – Solofa Fatu, aka Rikishi, American professional wrestler
- 1966 – Luke Perry, American actor
- 1967 – Daniel Razon, Vice Presiding Minister, Church of God International
- 1967 – Tony Chimel, American professional wrestling announcer
- 1967 – Artie Lange, American actor and comedian
- 1967 – David Starr, American race car driver
- 1967 – Tazz, American professional wrestler and commentator
- 1968 – Claude Lapointe, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1968 – Jane Krakowski, American actress
- 1969 – Prince Constantijn of the Netherlands
- 1969 – Stephen Moyer, British actor
- 1970 – Chidi Ahanotu, American football player
- 1970 – Andy Marriott, English footballer
- 1970 – U-God, American rapper (Wu-Tang Clan)
- 1970 – Constance Zimmer, American actress
- 1971 – MC Lyte, American rapper
- 1971 – Petra Haden, American musician (The Rentals)
- 1971 – Jason Ellis, Australian professional skateboarder
- 1972 – Claudia Black, Australian actress
- 1972 – Cherokee Parks, American basketball player
- 1973 – Takeshi Kaneshiro, actor/model
- 1973 – Steven Pressley, Scottish footballer
- 1973 – Mike Smith, American guitarist (Snot, Limp Bizkit)
- 1973 – Dmitri Young, American baseball player
- 1973 – Niki Xanthou, Greek long jumper
- 1974 – Jason Arnott, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1974 – Terje Haakonsen, Norwegian snowboarder
- 1974 – Jamie Thomas, American skateboarder
- 1976 – Dominic Aitchison, Scottish musician (Mogwai)
- 1976 – Brent Bennett, American mercenary
- 1976 – Emily Deschanel, American actress
- 1977 – Matthew Bomer, American actor
- 1977 – Desmond Mason, American basketball player
- 1977 – Claudia Palacios, Colombian television journalist
- 1977 – Ty Wigginton, American baseball player
- 1978 – Kali, Angolan footballer
- 1979 – Bae Doona, South Korean model and actress
- 1979 – Andy Douglas, American professional wrestler
- 1979 – Gabe Saporta, Uruguayan-born American musician (Cobra Starship, Midtown)
- 1980 – Nyron Nosworthy, English footballer
- 1981 – Beau Brady, Australian Actor
- 1982 – Kristy Wu, American Actress
- 1983 – William Sledd, American internet personality
- 1983 – Ruslan Ponomariov, Ukrainian chess player
- 1983 – Bradley James, British actor
- 1984 – Sergio Hellings, Dutch footballer
- 1984 – Martha MacIsaac, Canadian actress
- 1985 – Michelle Trachtenberg, American actress
- 1987 – Mike Conley, Jr., American basketball player
- 1989 – Henry Lau, member of Korean Boy Band Super Junior M
- 1989 – Michelle Wie, American golfer
- 1991 – Chauncey Matthews, American Juniors singer
[edit] Deaths - 1188 – Robert I of Dreux, son of Louis VI of France
- 1303 – Pope Boniface VIII
- 1347 – Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1282)
- 1424 – Jan Žižka, leader of the Hussites (b. 1360)
- 1531 – Huldrych Zwingli, Swiss Protestant leader (b. 1484)
- 1705 – Guillaume Amontons, French physicist and instrument maker (b. 1663)
- 1708 – Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus, German mathematician (b. 1651)
- 1721 – Edward Colston, English merchant and philanthropist (b. 1636)
- 1725 – Hans Herr, Swiss-born Mennonite bishop (b. 1639)
- 1779 – Kazimierz Pułaski, Polish fighter for American independence (b. 1745)
- 1809 – Meriwether Lewis, American explorer (b. 1774)
- 1811 – Johann Conrad Ammann, Swiss physician and naturalist (b. 1724)
- 1821 – John Ross Key, American judge and lawyer (b. 1754)
- 1852 – Ferdinand Eisenstein, German mathematician (b. 1823)
- 1889 – James Prescott Joule, English physicist (b. 1818)
- 1896 – Anton Bruckner, Austrian composer (b. 1824)
- 1896 – Edward White Benson, Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 1829)
- 1897 – Léon Boëllmann, French composer (b. 1862)
- 1935 – Steele Rudd, Australian author (b. 1868)
- 1940 – Lluís Companys, President of Generalitat of Catalonia (shot) (b. 1882)
- 1940 – Vito Volterra, Italian mathematician and physicist (b. 1860)
- 1961 – Chico Marx, American comedian (b. 1887)
- 1963 – Jean Cocteau, French writer (b. 1889)
- 1963 – Édith Piaf, French Singer and Actress (b. 1915)
- 1965 – Dorothea Lange, American photographer (b. 1895)
- 1965 – Walther Stampfli, member of the Swiss Federal Council (b. 1884)
- 1971 – Chesty Puller, the most decorated american Marine in history (b. 1898)
- 1976 – Alfredo Bracchi, Italian author (b. 1897)
- 1977 – MacKinlay Kantor, American author (b. 1904)
- 1986 – Norm Cash, American baseball player (b. 1934)
- 1988 – Bonita Granville, American actress (b. 1923)
- 1989 – M. King Hubbert, American geophysicist (b. 1904)
- 1991 – Steven Jesse Bernstein, American underground poet (suicide) (b. 1950)
- 1991 – Redd Foxx, American comedian and actor (b. 1922)
- 1993 – Jess Thomas, American tenor (b. 1927)
- 1996 – Lars Ahlfors, Finnish mathematician (b. 1907)
- 1996 – Joe Morris, C.C., LL.D., Canadian trade unionist (b. 1913)
- 1996 – Renato Russo, Brazilian rock singer-songwriter (b. 1960)
- 1998 – Richard Denning, American actor (b. 1914)
- 2000 – Donald Dewar, First Minister of Scotland (b. 1937)
- 2002 – Dina Pathak, Indian Actress (b. 1922)
- 2004 – Keith Miller, Australian sportsman (b. 1919)
- 2005 – Edward Szczepanik, Polish economist and Prime Minister in exile (b. 1915)
- 2005 – Shan-ul-Haq Haqqee, Linguist, and writer of Pakistan (b. 1917)
- 2006 – Cory Lidle, American baseball pitcher (b. 1972)
- 2006 – Howard Kerzner, Chief Executive Officer of Kerzner International (b. 1964)
- 2007 – Werner von Trapp, member of the Trapp Family Singers (b. 1915)
- 2007 – David Lee "Tex" Hill, World War II fighter pilot, flying ace, 1st American Volunteer Group (b. 1915)
- 2007 – Sri Chinmoy Chinmoy Kumar Ghose founder of the Sri Chinmoy meditation centres (b. 1931)
- 2008 – Jörg Haider, Austrian politician (b. 1950)
- 2009 – Veronika Neugebauer, German actress and voice actress (b. 1969)
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