On This Day — 11 January

2020

COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei: Municipal health officials in Wuhan announce the first recorded death from COVID-19.

COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei

2013

One French soldier and 17 militants are killed in a failed attempt to free a French hostage in Bulo Marer, Somalia.

Bulo Marer hostage rescue attempt

2003

Illinois Governor George Ryan commutes the death sentences of 167 prisoners on Illinois's death row based on the Jon Burge scandal.

Governor of Illinois

1998

Over 100 people are killed in the Sidi-Hamed massacre in Algeria.

Sidi-Hamed massacre

1996

Space 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.

Space Shuttle program

1995

51 people are killed in a plane crash in María La Baja, Colombia.

Intercontinental de Aviación Flight 256

1994

The Irish Government announces the end of a 15-year broadcasting ban on the IRA and its political arm Sinn Féin.

Republic of Ireland

1986

The Gateway Bridge, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia is officially opened.

Sir Leo Hielscher Bridges

1983

United Airlines Flight 2885 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, killing three.

United Airlines Flight 2885

1977

The first episode of Finnish children's TV show Pikku Kakkonen ("Little Number Two") is aired on Yle TV2.

Pikku Kakkonen

1973

Major League Baseball owners vote in approval of the American League adopting the designated hitter position.

Major League Baseball

1972

East Pakistan renames itself Bangladesh.

East Pakistan

1966

The Tbilisi Metro is opened.

Tbilisi Metro

1964

Surgeon 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.

Surgeon General of the United States

1962

Cold War: While tied to its pier in Polyarny, the Soviet submarine B-37 is destroyed when fire breaks out in its torpedo compartment.

Cold War

1962

An avalanche on Huascarán in Peru causes around 4,000 deaths.

Huascarán

1961

Throgs Neck Bridge over the East River, linking New York City's boroughs of The Bronx and Queens, opens to road traffic.

Throgs Neck Bridge

1959

36 people are killed when Lufthansa Flight 502 crashes on approach to Rio de Janeiro/Galeão International Airport in Brazil.

Lufthansa Flight 502

1957

The African Convention is founded in Dakar, Senegal.

African Convention

1949

The first "networked" television broadcasts took place as KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania goes on the air connecting the east coast and mid-west programming.

KDKA-TV

1946

Enver Hoxha, Secretary General of the Communist Party of Albania, declares the People's Republic of Albania with himself as head of state.

Enver Hoxha

1943

The Republic of China agrees to the Sino-British New Equal Treaty and the Sino-American New Equal Treaty.

Republic of China (1912–1949)

1943

Italian-American anarchist Carlo Tresca is assassinated in New York City.

Carlo Tresca

1942

World War II: Japanese forces capture Kuala Lumpur, the capital of the Federated Malay States.

World War II

1942

World War II: Japanese forces attack Tarakan in Borneo, Netherlands Indies (Battle of Tarakan)

Tarakan

1935

Amelia Earhart becomes the first person to fly solo from Hawaii to California.

Amelia Earhart

1927

Louis 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.

Louis B. Mayer

1923

Occupation of the Ruhr: Troops from France and Belgium occupy the Ruhr area to force Germany to make its World War I reparation payments.

Occupation of the Ruhr

1922

Leonard Thompson becomes the first person to be injected with insulin.

Leonard Thompson (diabetic)

1917

The Kingsland munitions factory explosion occurs, possibly as a result of German sabotage.

Kingsland explosion

1914

The Karluk, flagship of the Canadian Arctic Expedition, sinks after being crushed by ice.

Karluk (ship)

1912

Immigrant textile workers in Lawrence, Massachusetts, go on strike when wages are reduced in response to a mandated shortening of the work week.

Lawrence, Massachusetts

1908

Grand Canyon National Monument is created.

Grand Canyon National Park

1879

The Anglo-Zulu War begins.

Anglo-Zulu War

1863

American 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.

Battle of Arkansas Post

1863

American Civil War: CSS Alabama encounters and sinks the USS Hatteras off Galveston Lighthouse in Texas.

CSS Alabama

1861

American Civil War: Alabama secedes from the United States.

American Civil War

1851

Taiping Rebellion: Hong Xiuquan proclaims the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, starting the Jintian Uprising.

Taiping Rebellion

1820

The Great Savannah Fire of 1820 destroys over 400 buildings in Savannah, Georgia.

Great Savannah Fire of 1820

1805

The Michigan Territory is created.

Michigan Territory

1787

William Herschel discovers Titania and Oberon, two moons of Uranus.

William Herschel

1759

The 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.

Life insurance

1654

Arauco War: A Spanish army is defeated by local Mapuche-Huilliches as it tries to cross Bueno River in Southern Chile.

Arauco War

1569

First recorded lottery in England.

Lottery

1158

Vladislaus II, Duke of Bohemia becomes King of Bohemia.

Vladislaus II, Duke and King of Bohemia

1055

Theodora is crowned empress of the Byzantine Empire.

Theodora Porphyrogenita

930

Sack of Mecca by the Qarmatians.

Sack of Mecca

630

Conquest of Mecca: Muhammad and his followers conquer the city, and the Quraysh association of clans surrenders.

Conquest of Mecca

532

Nika riots in Constantinople: A quarrel between supporters of different chariot teams—the Blues and the Greens—in the Hippodrome escalates into violence.

Nika riots