February 11
Events
Pre-1600
1601–1900
1901–present
- 1903 - Anton Bruckner's 9th Symphony receives its first performance in Vienna, Austria.
- 1906 - Pope Pius X publishes the encyclical Vehementer Nos.
- 1919 - Friedrich Ebert, is elected President of Germany.
- 1929 - The Kingdom of Italy and the Vatican sign the Lateran Treaty.
- 1933 - LAPD Red Squad raid on John Reed Club art show in the U.S. results in the destruction of a dozen political artworks.
- 1937 - The Flint sit-down strike ends when General Motors recognizes the United Auto Workers trade union.
- 1938 - BBC Television produces the world's first ever science fiction television programme, an adaptation of a section of the Karel Čapek play R.U.R., that coined the term "robot".
- 1942 - World War II: Second day of the Battle of Bukit Timah is fought in Singapore.
- 1946 - The New Testament of the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, the first significant challenge to the Authorized King James Version, is published.
- 1953 - Cold War: U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower denies all appeals for clemency for Julius and Ethel Rosenberg.
- 1953 - Israeli-Soviet relations are severed.
- 1959 - The Federation of Arab Emirates of the South is created as a protectorate of the United Kingdom.
- 1963 — The Beatles recorded their first album Please Please Me
- 1970 - Japan launches Ohsumi, becoming the fourth nation to put an object into orbit using its own booster.
- 1971 - Cold War: the Seabed Arms Control Treaty opened for signature outlawing nuclear weapons on the ocean floor in international waters.
- 1978 - Pacific Western Airlines Flight 314 crashes at the Cranbrook/Canadian Rockies International Airport in Cranbrook, British Columbia, Canada with 42 deaths and seven survivors.
- 1979 - The Iranian Revolution establishes an Islamic theocracy under the leadership of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
- 1990 - Nelson Mandela is released from Victor Verster Prison outside Cape Town, South Africa after 27 years as a political prisoner.
- 1990 - Buster Douglas, a 42:1 underdog, knocks out Mike Tyson in ten rounds at Tokyo to win boxing's world Heavyweight title.
- 1997 - Space Shuttle Discovery is launched on a mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope.
- 1999 - Pluto crosses Neptune's orbit, ending a nearly 20-year period when it was closer to the Sun than the gas giant; Pluto is not expected to interact with Neptune's orbit again until 2231.
- 2000 - Space Shuttle Endeavour is launched on STS-99 to conduct the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission.
- 2001 - A Dutch programmer launched the Anna Kournikova virus infecting millions of emails via a trick photo of the tennis star.
- 2008 - Rebel East Timorese soldiers seriously wound President José Ramos-Horta. Rebel leader Alfredo Reinado is killed in the attack.
- 2011 - Arab Spring: The first wave of the Egyptian revolution culminates in the resignation of Hosni Mubarak and the transfer of power to the Supreme Military Council after 17 days of protests.
- 2013 - The Vatican confirmed that Pope Benedict XVI would resign the papacy as a result of his advanced age.
- 2013 - Militants claiming to be from the Sultanate of Sulu invade Lahad Datu District, Sabah, Malaysia, beginning the Lahad Datu standoff.
- 2014 - A military transport plane crashes in a mountainous area of Oum El Bouaghi Province in eastern Algeria, killing 77 people.
- 2015 - A university student was murdered as she resisted an attempted rape in Turkey, sparking nationwide protests and public outcry against harassment and violence against women.
- 2016 - A man shoots seven people dead at an education center in Jizan Province, Saudi Arabia.
- 2017 - North Korea test fires a ballistic missile across the Sea of Japan.
- 2018 - Saratov Airlines Flight 703 crashes near Moscow, Russia with 71 deaths and no survivors.
- 2020 - COVID-19 pandemic: The World Health Organization officially names the coronavirus outbreak as COVID-19, with the virus being designated SARS-CoV-2.
- 2024 - 2024 Finnish presidential election: Alexander Stubb is elected as the 13th president of Finland.
Births
Pre-1600
1601–1900
- 1624 - Ivan Ančić, Croatian Franciscan and religious writer
- 1649 - William Carstares, Scottish minister and academic
- 1657 - Bernard Le Bovier de Fontenelle, French poet and playwright
- 1708 - Egidio Duni, Italian composer
- 1764 - Marie-Joseph Chénier, French poet and playwright
- 1776 - Ioannis Kapodistrias, Greek politician, 1st Governor of Greece
- 1800 - Henry Fox Talbot, English photographer and politician, invented the calotype
- 1802 - Lydia Maria Child, American journalist, author, and activist
- 1805 - Jean Baptiste Charbonneau, Native American-French Canadian explorer
- 1812 - Alexander H. Stephens, American lawyer and politician, Vice President of the Confederate States of America
- 1813 - Otto Ludwig, German author, playwright, and critic
- 1821 - Auguste Mariette, French archaeologist and scholar
- 1830 - Hans Bronsart von Schellendorff, Prussian pianist and composer
- 1833 - Melville Fuller, American lawyer and jurist, 8th Chief Justice of the United States
- 1839 - Josiah Willard Gibbs, American physicist
- 1845 - Ahmet Tevfik Pasha, Ottoman soldier and politician, Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire
- 1847 - Thomas Edison, American engineer and businessman, developed the light bulb and phonograph
- 1855 - Ellen Day Hale, American painter and author
- 1860 - Rachilde, French author and playwright
- 1863 - John F. Fitzgerald, American politician; Mayor of Boston
- 1864 - Louis Bouveault, French chemist
- 1869 - Helene Kröller-Müller, German-Dutch art collector and philanthropist, founded the Kröller-Müller Museum
- 1869 - Else Lasker-Schüler, German poet and author
- 1874 - Elsa Beskow, Swedish author and illustrator
- 1877 - Aasa Helgesen, Norwegian midwife
- 1881 - Carlo Carrà, Italian painter
- 1888 - John Warren Davis, American educator, college administrator, and civil rights leader
- 1896 - Claire Myers Owens, American author
- 1897 - Emil Leon Post, Polish-American mathematician and logician
- 1898 - Leo Szilard, Hungarian-American physicist and academic
- 1900 - Ellen Broe, Danish nurse, pioneer in nursing education
- 1900 - Hans-Georg Gadamer, German philosopher and scholar
- 1900 - Jōsei Toda, Japanese educator and activist
1901–present
- 1902 - Arne Jacobsen, Danish architect, designed Radisson Blu Royal Hotel
- 1904 - Keith Holyoake, New Zealand farmer and politician, 26th Prime Minister of New Zealand
- 1904 - Lucile Randon, French supercentenarian
- 1908 - Philip Dunne, American screenwriter
- 1908 - Vivian Fuchs, English explorer
- 1909 - Max Baer, American boxer and actor
- 1909 - Joseph L. Mankiewicz, American director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1912 - Rudolf Firkušný, Czech-American pianist and educator
- 1914 - Matt Dennis, American singer-songwriter and pianist
- 1914 - Josh White, American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1915 - Patrick Leigh Fermor, English soldier, author, and scholar
- 1915 - Richard Hamming, American mathematician and academic
- 1917 - Sidney Sheldon, American author and screenwriter
- 1919 - Eva Gabor, Hungarian-American actress
- 1920 - Farouk of Egypt
- 1920 - Daniel F. Galouye, American author
- 1920 - Billy Halop, American actor
- 1920 - Daniel James, Jr., American general and pilot
- 1921 - Lloyd Bentsen, American politician, 69th United States Secretary of the Treasury
- 1921 - Ottavio Missoni, Italian hurdler and fashion designer, founded Missoni
- 1923 - Antony Flew, English philosopher and academic
- 1924 - Budge Patty, American tennis player
- 1925 - Virginia E. Johnson, American psychologist and academic
- 1925 - Kim Stanley, American actress
- 1926 - Paul Bocuse, French chef
- 1926 - Leslie Nielsen, Canadian-American actor and producer
- 1930 - Roy De Forest, American painter and academic.
- 1930 - Mary Quant, British fashion designer
- 1932 - Dennis Skinner, English miner and politician
- 1934 - Mel Carnahan, American lawyer and politician, 51st Governor of Missouri
- 1934 - Tina Louise, American actress and singer
- 1934 - Manuel Noriega, Panamanian general and politician, Military leader of Panama
- 1934 - David Taylor, English veterinarian and television host
- 1935 - Gene Vincent, American singer and guitarist
- 1936 - Burt Reynolds, American actor and director
- 1937 - Ian Gow, British politician
- 1937 - Bill Lawry, Australian cricketer and sportscaster
- 1937 - Eddie Shack, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1937 - Phillip Walker, American singer and guitarist
- 1938 - Bevan Congdon, New Zealand cricketer
- 1939 - Gerry Goffin, American songwriter
- 1940 - Calvin Fowler, American basketball player
- 1941 - Sérgio Mendes, Brazilian pianist and composer
- 1942 - Otis Clay, American singer-songwriter
- 1943 - Joselito, Spanish singer and actor
- 1943 - Alan Rubin, American trumpet player
- 1944 - Mike Oxley, American lawyer and politician
- 1944 - Joy Williams, American novelist, short story writer, and essayist
- 1945 - Michael Scott, first CEO of Apple Inc.
- 1946 - Ian Porterfield, Scottish footballer and manager
- 1947 - Yukio Hatoyama, Japanese engineer and politician and Prime Minister of Japan
- 1947 - Derek Shulman, Scottish singer-songwriter and producer
- 1949 - James Silas, American basketball player
- 1951 - Mike Leavitt, American politician, 14th Governor of Utah
- 1953 - Philip Anglim, American actor
- 1953 - Jeb Bush, American banker and politician, 43rd Governor of Florida
- 1953 - Tom Veryzer, American baseball player
- 1954 - Wesley Strick, American director and screenwriter
- 1956 - Catherine Hickland, American actress
- 1956 - Didier Lockwood, French violinist
- 1957 - Tina Ambani, Indian actress and chairperson
- 1959 - Roberto Moreno, Brazilian race car driver
- 1960 - Richard Mastracchio, American engineer and astronaut
- 1961 - Carey Lowell, American actress
- 1962 - Tammy Baldwin, American lawyer and politician
- 1962 - Sheryl Crow, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1964 - Sarah Palin, American politician, 9th Governor of Alaska
- 1964 - Ken Shamrock, American martial artist and wrestler
- 1965 - Vicki Wilson, Australian netball player
- 1967 - Ciro Ferrara, Italian footballer and manager
- 1968 - Mo Willems, American author and illustrator
- 1969 - Jennifer Aniston, American actress and producer
- 1969 - Andreas Hilfiker, Swiss footballer
- 1969 - John Salako, Nigerian-English footballer, manager, and sportscaster
- 1971 - Damian Lewis, English actor
- 1972 - Steve McManaman, English footballer
- 1972 - Kelly Slater, American surfer
- 1973 - Varg Vikernes, Norwegian guitarist and songwriter
- 1974 - Nick Barmby, English footballer and manager
- 1974 - D'Angelo, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1974 - Alex Jones, American radio show host and conspiracy theorist
- 1974 - Isaiah Mustafa, American actor and football player
- 1974 - Jaroslav Špaček, Czech ice hockey player and coach
- 1975 - Andy Lally, American race car driver
- 1975 - Callum Thorp, Australian cricketer
- 1975 - Jacque Vaughn, American basketball player and coach
- 1976 - Tony Battie, American basketball player and sportscaster
- 1976 - Bryce Salvador, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1977 - Mike Shinoda, American musician and artist
- 1979 - Brandy Norwood, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
- 1980 - Matthew Lawrence, American actor and singer
- 1981 - Kelly Rowland, American singer and actress
- 1982 - Daryn Colledge, American football player
- 1982 - Natalie Dormer, English actress
- 1982 - Ľubomíra Kalinová, Slovak biathlete
- 1982 - Neil Robertson, Australian snooker player
- 1983 - Rafael van der Vaart, Dutch footballer
- 1984 - Maarten Heisen, Dutch sprinter
- 1984 - Marco Marcato, Italian cyclist
- 1984 - Aubrey O'Day, American singer and reality television personality
- 1984 - Maxime Talbot, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1984 - Alando Tucker, American basketball player and coach
- 1985 - Mike Richards, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1985 - Šárka Strachová, Czech skier
- 1986 - Gabriel Boric, Chilean politician, 36th President of Chile
- 1987 - Luca Antonelli, Italian footballer
- 1987 - Juanmi Callejón, Spanish footballer
- 1987 - Brian Matusz, American baseball player
- 1987 - Jan Smeekens, Dutch speed skater
- 1987 - Ellen van Dijk, Dutch cyclist
- 1988 - Vlad Moldoveanu, Romanian basketball player
- 1990 - Javier Aquino, Mexican footballer
- 1990 - Q'orianka Kilcher, German-American actress
- 1990 - Hwang Chan-sung, South Korean singer and actor
- 1991 - Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, Canadian football player and medical doctor
- 1991 - Nikola Mirotic, Spanish basketball player
- 1992 - Lasse Norman Hansen, Danish track and road cyclist
- 1992 - Taylor Lautner, American actor
- 1992 - Jake Matthews, American football player
- 1993 - Ben McLemore, American basketball player
- 1994 - Dansby Swanson, American baseball player
- 1995 - Milan Škriniar, Slovak footballer
- 1995 - Rick Karsdorp, Dutch footballer
- 1996 - Daniil Medvedev, Russian tennis player
- 1996 - Jonathan Tah, German footballer
- 1996 - Lucas Torreira, Uruguayan footballer
- 1997 - Damien Harris, American football player
- 1997 - Mike Hughes, American football player
- 1997 - Hubert Hurkacz, Polish tennis player
- 1997 - Rosé, New Zealand-South Korean singer and dancer
- 1997 - Zavier Simpson, American basketball player
- 1998 - Trent Frederic, American ice hockey player
- 1998 - Josh Jacobs, American football player
- 1998 - Khalid, American singer and songwriter
- 2000 - Nassir Little, American basketball player
- 2001 - Bryan Gil, Spanish footballer
- 2002 - Liam Lawson, New Zealand racing driver
Deaths
Pre-1600
1601–1900
- 1626 - Pietro Cataldi, Italian mathematician and astronomer
- 1650 - René Descartes, French mathematician and philosopher
- 1755 - Francesco Scipione, marchese di Maffei, Italian archaeologist, playwright, and critic
- 1763 - William Shenstone, English poet and gardener
- 1768 - George Dance the Elder, English architect, designed St Leonard's and St Botolph's Aldgate
- 1795 - Carl Michael Bellman, Swedish poet and composer
- 1811 - Juan Sánchez Ramírez, leader of the troops that fought against the French rule of Santo Domingo's colony between 1808 and 1809
- 1829 - Alexander Griboyedov, Russian poet, playwright, and composer
- 1854 - Magdalene Osenbroch, Norwegian actress
- 1862 - Elizabeth Siddal, English poet and artist's model
- 1868 - Léon Foucault, French physicist and academic
- 1898 - Félix María Zuloaga, Mexican general and unconstitutional interim president
1901–present
- 1901 - Milan I of Serbia
- 1905 - Mary Pitman Ailau, high chiefess of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi
- 1917 - Oswaldo Cruz, Brazilian physician and epidemiologist
- 1918 - Alexey Kaledin, Russian general
- 1931 - Charles Algernon Parsons, English-Irish engineer, invented the steam turbine
- 1938 - Kalle Korhonen, Finnish politician
- 1940 - John Buchan, Scottish-Canadian historian and politician, Governor General of Canada
- 1940 - Ellen Day Hale, American painter and author
- 1942 - Jamnalal Bajaj, Indian businessman and philanthropist
- 1947 - Martin Klein, Estonian wrestler and coach
- 1948 - Sergei Eisenstein, Russian director and screenwriter
- 1949 - Axel Munthe, Swedish doctor
- 1958 - Ernest Jones, Welsh neurologist and psychoanalyst
- 1963 - John Olof Dahlgren, Swedish-American soldier, Medal of Honor recipient
- 1963 - Sylvia Plath, American poet, novelist, and short story writer
- 1967 - A. J. Muste, Dutch-American minister and activist
- 1968 - Howard Lindsay, American playwright
- 1973 - J. Hans D. Jensen, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1975 - Richard Ratsimandrava, Malagasy colonel and politician, President of Madagascar
- 1976 - Lee J. Cobb, American actor
- 1976 - Alexander Lippisch, German pilot and engineer
- 1977 - Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, Indian lawyer and politician, 5th President of India
- 1977 - Louis Beel, Dutch academic and politician, Prime Minister of the Netherlands
- 1978 - James Bryant Conant, American chemist and academic
- 1978 - Harry Martinson, Swedish novelist, essayist, and poet, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1982 - Eleanor Powell, American actress and dancer
- 1985 - Henry Hathaway, American actor, director, and producer
- 1986 - Frank Herbert, American journalist and author
- 1986 - Evelio Javier, Filipino politician
- 1989 - George O'Hanlon, American actor and voice artist
- 1991 - Dude Martin, American country singer, bandleader, radio and television host
- 1993 - Robert W. Holley, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1994 - Neil Bonnett, American race car driver
- 1994 - Sorrell Booke, American actor and director
- 1994 - William Conrad, American actor, director, and producer
- 1994 - Paul Feyerabend, Austrian-Swiss philosopher and academic
- 1996 - Amelia Rosselli, Italian poet and author
- 2000 - Lord Kitchner, Trinidadian singer
- 2000 - Roger Vadim, French director, producer, and screenwriter
- 2002 - Frankie Crosetti, American baseball player and coach
- 2002 - Barry Foster, English actor
- 2004 - Tony Pope, American voice actor
- 2004 - Shirley Strickland, Australian runner
- 2005 - Jack L. Chalker, American author
- 2006 - Peter Benchley, American author and screenwriter
- 2006 - Ken Fletcher, Australian tennis player
- 2006 - Jackie Pallo, English wrestler and actor
- 2006 - Matilda, American chicken and stage magician, oldest known chicken
- 2008 - Tom Lantos, American lawyer and politician
- 2008 - Frank Piasecki, American engineer
- 2009 - Estelle Bennett, American singer
- 2009 - Willem Johan Kolff, Dutch-American physician and academic
- 2010 - Heward Grafftey, Canadian businessman and politician
- 2010 - Alexander McQueen, English fashion designer, founder of his eponymous brand
- 2011 - Chuck Tanner, American baseball player and manager
- 2012 - Siri Bjerke, Norwegian politician, Norwegian Minister of the Environment
- 2012 - Aharon Davidi, Israeli general
- 2012 - Whitney Houston, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
- 2013 - Rick Huxley, English bass player
- 2014 - Alice Babs, Swedish singer and actress
- 2014 - Tito Canepa, Dominican-American painter
- 2014 - Fernando González Pacheco, Colombian journalist and actor
- 2015 - Roger Hanin, French actor, director, and screenwriter
- 2015 - Bob Simon, American journalist
- 2015 - Jerry Tarkanian, American basketball player and coach
- 2016 - Kevin Randleman, American mixed martial artist and wrestler
- 2016 - Zeng Xuelin, Thai-Chinese footballer and manager
- 2017 - Fab Melo, Brazilian basketball player
- 2017 - Jaap Rijks, Dutch Olympian
- 2017 - Trish Doan, Korean-Canadian musician
- 2018 - Vic Damone, American singer, songwriter and actor
- 2018 - Asma Jahangir, Pakistani human-rights lawyer and social activist
- 2018 - Jan Maxwell, American stage and television actress
- 2018 - Qazi Wajid, Pakistani drama actor, writer and artist
- 2023 - Donald Spoto, American biographer
- 2024 - Allen J. Bard, American chemist
- 2025 - Betsy Arakawa, American classical pianist
- 2025 - Moses Lim, Singaporean actor
Holidays and observances