On This Day — 11 October

2018

Soyuz MS-10, launching an intended crew for the ISS, suffers an in-flight abort. The crew lands safely.

Soyuz MS-10

2013

A migrant boat sinks in the Channel of Sicily, with at least 359 people drowning.

2013 Lampedusa migrant shipwreck

2002

A bomb attack in a Myyrmanni shopping mall in Vantaa, Finland kills seven.

Myyrmanni bombing

2001

The Polaroid Corporation files for federal bankruptcy protection.

Polaroid Corporation

2000

NASA launches STS-92, the 100th Space Shuttle mission.

STS-92

1999

Air Botswana pilot Chris Phatswe steals an ATR 42 from Sir Seretse Khama International Airport and later crashes it into two other aircraft at the airport, killing himself.

Air Botswana

1991

Prof. Anita Hill delivers her televised testimony concerning sexual harassment during the Clarence Thomas Supreme Court nomination.

Anita Hill

1987

The AIDS Memorial Quilt is first displayed during the Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights.

NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt

1987

Start of Operation Pawan by Indian forces in Sri Lanka. Thousands of civilians, insurgents, soldiers die.

Operation Pawan

1986

Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev meet in Iceland to continue discussions about scaling back IRBM arsenals in Europe.

Ronald Reagan

1984

Aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger, astronaut Kathryn D. Sullivan becomes the first American woman to perform a space walk.

Kathryn D. Sullivan

1984

Aeroflot Flight 3352 crashes into maintenance vehicles upon landing in Omsk, Russia, killing 178.

Aeroflot Flight 3352

1976

George Washington is posthumously promoted to the grade of General of the Armies.

George Washington

1968

NASA launches Apollo 7, the first successful crewed Apollo mission.

Apollo 7

1962

The Second Vatican Council becomes the first ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church in 92 years.

Second Vatican Council

1958

NASA launches Pioneer 1, its first space probe, although it fails to achieve a stable orbit.

Pioneer 1

1954

In accord with the 1954 Geneva Conference, French troops complete their withdrawal from North Vietnam.

1954 Geneva Conference

1950

CBS's field-sequential color system for television is the first to be licensed for broadcast by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission.

Field-sequential color system

1944

The Tuvan People's Republic is annexed by the Soviet Union.

Tuvan People's Republic

1942

World War II: Off Guadalcanal, United States Navy ships intercept and defeat a Japanese force.

World War II

1941

Beginning of the National Liberation War of Macedonia.

World War II in Yugoslav Macedonia

1937

The Duke and Duchess of Windsor tour Nazi Germany for 12 days and meet Adolf Hitler on 22 October.

Edward VIII

1918

The 7.1 Mw San Fermín earthquake shakes Puerto Rico. The quake and resulting tsunami kill up to 116 people.

Seismic magnitude scales

1912

First Balkan War: The day after the Battle of Sarantaporo, Greek troops liberate the city of Kozani.

First Balkan War

1910

Piloted by Arch Hoxsey, Theodore Roosevelt becomes the first U.S. president to fly in an airplane.

Archibald Hoxsey

1906

San Francisco sparks a diplomatic crisis between the United States and Japan by ordering segregated schools for Japanese students.

Gentlemen's Agreement of 1907

1899

The Second Boer War erupts in South Africa between the British-ruled Cape Colony, and the Boer-ruled Transvaal and Orange Free State.

Second Boer War

1890

In Washington, D.C., the Daughters of the American Revolution is founded.

Daughters of the American Revolution

1865

Hundreds of black men and women march in Jamaica, starting the Morant Bay rebellion.

Morant Bay rebellion

1862

American Civil War: Confederate troops conduct a raid on Chambersburg, Pennsylvania.

American Civil War

1852

The University of Sydney, Australia's oldest university, is inaugurated in Sydney.

University of Sydney

1840

The Maronite leader Bashir Shihab II surrenders to the Ottoman Empire and later is sent to Malta in exile.

Bashir Shihab II

1811

The Juliana begins operation as the first steam-powered ferry in New York harbor.

John Stevens (inventor, born 1749)

1797

The Royal Navy decisively defeats the Batavian Navy at Camperdown during the French Revolutionary Wars.

Battle of Camperdown

1776

American Revolution: A fleet of American boats on Lake Champlain is defeated by the Royal Navy, but delays the British advance until 1777.

American Revolution

1649

Cromwell's New Model Army sacks Wexford, killing over 2,000 Irish Confederate troops and 1,500 civilians.

Sack of Wexford

1634

The Burchardi flood kills around 15,000 in North Friesland, Denmark and Germany.

Burchardi flood

1614

The New Netherland Company applies to the States General of the Netherlands for exclusive trading rights in what is now the northeastern United States.

New Netherland Company

1311

The peerage and clergy restrict the authority of English kings with the Ordinances of 1311.

England

1142

A peace treaty ends the Jin–Song wars.

Treaty of Shaoxing

1138

A massive earthquake strikes Aleppo; it is one of the most destructive earthquakes ever.

1138 Aleppo earthquake