January 11Birthdays & History

On this day: January 11 in history

Oldest first. Tap a year to see it on the World Chronicle timeline.

1. 532Nika riots in Constantinople: A quarrel between supporters of different chariot teams—the Blues and the Greens—in the Hippodrome escalates into violence.Middle East
2. 630Conquest of Mecca: Muhammad and his followers conquer the city, and the Quraysh association of clans surrenders.Middle East
3. 930Sack of Mecca by the Qarmatians.Middle East
4. 1055Theodora is crowned empress of the Byzantine Empire.Europe
5. 1158Vladislaus II, Duke of Bohemia becomes King of Bohemia.Europe
6. 1569First recorded lottery in England.Europe
7. 1654Arauco War: A Spanish army is defeated by local Mapuche-Huilliches as it tries to cross Bueno River in Southern Chile.EuropeLatin America
8. 1759The first American life insurance company, the Corporation for Relief of Poor and Distressed Presbyterian Ministers and of the Poor and Distressed Widows and Children of the Presbyterian Ministers (now part of Unum Group), is incorporated in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.North America
9. 1787William Herschel discovers Titania and Oberon, two moons of Uranus.Europe
10. 1805The Michigan Territory is created.North America
11. 1820The Great Savannah Fire of 1820 destroys over 400 buildings in Savannah, Georgia.North America
12. 1851Taiping Rebellion: Hong Xiuquan proclaims the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, starting the Jintian Uprising.Asia
13. 1861American Civil War: Alabama secedes from the United States.North America
14. 1863American Civil War: The three-day Battle of Arkansas Post concludes as General John McClernand and Admiral David Dixon Porter capture Fort Hindman and secure control over the Arkansas River for the Union.North America
15. 1863American Civil War: CSS Alabama encounters and sinks the USS Hatteras off Galveston Lighthouse in Texas.North America
16. 1879The Anglo-Zulu War begins.Africa
17. 1908Grand Canyon National Monument is created.North America
18. 1912Immigrant textile workers in Lawrence, Massachusetts, go on strike when wages are reduced in response to a mandated shortening of the work week.North America
19. 1914The Karluk, flagship of the Canadian Arctic Expedition, sinks after being crushed by ice.North America
20. 1917The Kingsland munitions factory explosion occurs, possibly as a result of German sabotage.Europe
21. 1922Leonard Thompson becomes the first person to be injected with insulin.North America
22. 1923Occupation of the Ruhr: Troops from France and Belgium occupy the Ruhr area to force Germany to make its World War I reparation payments.Europe
23. 1927Louis B. Mayer, head of film studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), announces the creation of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, at a banquet in Los Angeles, California.North America
24. 1935Amelia Earhart becomes the first person to fly solo from Hawaii to California.North America
25. 1942World War II: Japanese forces capture Kuala Lumpur, the capital of the Federated Malay States.AsiaAsia
26. 1942World War II: Japanese forces attack Tarakan in Borneo, Netherlands Indies (Battle of Tarakan)AsiaAsiaEurope
27. 1943The Republic of China agrees to the Sino-British New Equal Treaty and the Sino-American New Equal Treaty.AsiaEuropeNorth America
28. 1943Italian-American anarchist Carlo Tresca is assassinated in New York City.EuropeNorth America
29. 1946Enver Hoxha, Secretary General of the Communist Party of Albania, declares the People's Republic of Albania with himself as head of state.Europe
30. 1949The first "networked" television broadcasts took place as KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania goes on the air connecting the east coast and mid-west programming.North America
31. 1957The African Convention is founded in Dakar, Senegal.Africa
32. 195936 people are killed when Lufthansa Flight 502 crashes on approach to Rio de Janeiro/Galeão International Airport in Brazil.Latin America
33. 1961Throgs Neck Bridge over the East River, linking New York City's boroughs of The Bronx and Queens, opens to road traffic.North America
34. 1962Cold War: While tied to its pier in Polyarny, the Soviet submarine B-37 is destroyed when fire breaks out in its torpedo compartment.Europe
35. 1962An avalanche on Huascarán in Peru causes around 4,000 deaths.Latin America
36. 1964Surgeon General of the United States Dr. Luther Terry, M.D., publishes the landmark report Smoking and Health: Report of the Advisory Committee to the Surgeon General of the Public Health Service saying that smoking may be hazardous to health, sparking national and worldwide anti-smoking efforts.North America
37. 1966The Tbilisi Metro is opened.Europe
38. 1972East Pakistan renames itself Bangladesh.Asia
39. 1973Major League Baseball owners vote in approval of the American League adopting the designated hitter position.North America
40. 1977The first episode of Finnish children's TV show Pikku Kakkonen ("Little Number Two") is aired on Yle TV2.Europe
41. 1983United Airlines Flight 2885 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, killing three.North America
42. 1986The Gateway Bridge, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia is officially opened.Oceania
43. 1994The Irish Government announces the end of a 15-year broadcasting ban on the IRA and its political arm Sinn Féin.Europe
44. 199551 people are killed in a plane crash in María La Baja, Colombia.Latin America
45. 1996Space Shuttle program: STS-72 launches from the Kennedy Space Center marking the start of the 74th Space Shuttle mission and the 10th flight of Endeavour.North America
46. 1998Over 100 people are killed in the Sidi-Hamed massacre in Algeria.Africa
47. 2003Illinois Governor George Ryan commutes the death sentences of 167 prisoners on Illinois's death row based on the Jon Burge scandal.North America
48. 2013One French soldier and 17 militants are killed in a failed attempt to free a French hostage in Bulo Marer, Somalia.EuropeAfrica
49. 2020COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei: Municipal health officials in Wuhan announce the first recorded death from COVID-19.Asia

Source: Wikipedia "January 11" / CC BY-SA 4.0