Historical events on this day

11 Feb 1543

Battle at Wayna Daga Ethiopian and Portuguese troops beat Muslim army

11 Feb 1659

The assault on Copenhagen by Swedish forces is beaten back with heavy losses

11 Feb 1720

Sweden & Prussia sign peace (2nd Treaty of Stockholm)

11 Feb 1766

Stamp Act declared unconstitutional in Virginia

11 Feb 1790

Society of Friends petitions Congress for abolition of slavery

11 Feb 1808

Anthracite coal 1st burned as fuel experimentally Wilkes-Barre Pennsylvania

11 Feb 1811

President Madison prohibits trade with Britain for 3rd time in 4 years

11 Feb 1812

Massachusetts Governor Elbridge Gerry signs a redistricting bill - first gerrymander

11 Feb 1826

University College London founded known until 1836 as London University

11 Feb 1837

American Physiological Society organizes in Boston

11 Feb 1840

Gaetano Donizettis Opera La Fille du Regiment premieres in Paris

11 Feb 1851

1st cricket 1st-class game in Australia Tasmania v Victoria Launceston

11 Feb 1852

First British public female toilet opens (Bedford Street London)

11 Feb 1854

For the 1st time coal gas is used to light major streets in San Francisco

11 Feb 1855

Kassa Hailu is crowned Tewodros II Emperor of Ethiopia by Abuna Salama III in a ceremony at the church of Derasge Maryam

11 Feb 1858

First vision of the Virgin Mary to 14-year-old Bernadette of Lourdes France

11 Feb 1861

US House unanimously passes resolution guaranteeing noninterference with slavery in any state

11 Feb 1878

1st US bicycle club Boston Bicycle Club forms

11 Feb 1889

Meiji constitution of Japan adopted 1st Diet convenes in 1890

11 Feb 1895

-17F (-27.2C) in Braemar Grampian (UK record)

11 Feb 1897

White Rose Mission opens on East 97th Street NYC

11 Feb 1898

Owen Smith of NC AME Zion minister named US minister to Liberia

11 Feb 1899

-15F (-26C) Washington D.C. (district record)

11 Feb 1902

Police beat up universal suffrage demonstrators in Brussels

11 Feb 1903

Anton Bruckners 9th Symphony premieres in Vienna

11 Feb 1905

James Blackstone Seattle bowls 299-last pin breaks but stands

11 Feb 1905

Pope Pius X publishes encyclical Vehementer nos

11 Feb 1907

Passenger ship Larchmont sinks by Block Island off Rhode Island 322 die

11 Feb 1908

Australia regain the Ashes with a 308 run cricket victory vs England

11 Feb 1916

Baltimore Symphony Orchestra presents its 1st concert

11 Feb 1916

Emma Goldman arrested for lecturing on birth control

11 Feb 1916

Germany and Austria-Hungary notify the US that they will sink any armed merchant ships starting on 1 March

11 Feb 1919

Friedrich Ebert (SPD) elected president of Germany

11 Feb 1922

Influential arts festival Semana de Arte Moderna (Modern Art Week) opens in So Paulo - the beginning of Modernism in Brazil

11 Feb 1926

Tokelau (Union) Islands in South Pacific transfers to NZ

11 Feb 1927

US female Figure Skating championship won by Beatrix Loughran

11 Feb 1927

US Mens Figure Skating championship won by Nathaniel Niles

11 Feb 1928

II Winter Olympic Games open in St Moritz Switzerland

11 Feb 1929

Vatican City (worlds smallest country) made an enclave of Rome

11 Feb 1932

73F highest temperature ever recorded in Cleveland in February

11 Feb 1932

Johan Grttumsbraaten leads a Norwegian medal sweep of the Nordic combined event at the Lake Placid Games retains combined title after also winning in St. Moritz

11 Feb 1935

-11F (-24C) Ifrane Morocco (African record low)

11 Feb 1935

1st US airplane flight with auto slung beneath fuselage NY

11 Feb 1936

Pumping begins to build Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay

11 Feb 1937

44-day sit-down strike at General Motors in Flint Mich ends

11 Feb 1938

Steve Casey beats Lou Thesz in Boston to win National Boxing Association world heavyweight title

11 Feb 1938

Worlds first science fiction TV programme - a broadcast of the play R.U.R. by Karel apek

11 Feb 1941

Sicherheitsdienst complains about Dutch anti German sentiments

11 Feb 1943

Transport 47 departs with French Jews to nazi-Germany

11 Feb 1945

1st gas turbine propeller-driven airplane flight tested Downey CA

11 Feb 1946

World War II Operation Deadlight ends after scuttling 116 of 156 captured U-boats

11 Feb 1948

Billy Griffith scores cricket century on debut Eng v WI out for 140

11 Feb 1948

John Costello follows Eamon Da Valera as premier of Ireland

11 Feb 1948

Test cricket debut of Frank Worrell for the West Indies vs. England at Port-of-Spain

11 Feb 1949

Willie Pep recaptures world featherweight boxing title

11 Feb 1950

4th British Empire Games close in Auckland New Zealand

11 Feb 1952

2nd NBA All-Star Game Boston Garden East beats West 108-91 MVP Paul Arizin Philadelphia Warriors F

11 Feb 1953

J Styne and Bob Hilliards musical Hazel Flagg opens at Mark Hellinger Theater NYC for 190 performances

11 Feb 1953

President Eisenhower refuses clemency appeal for Rosenberg couple

11 Feb 1954

6th Emmy Awards I Love Lucy Donald OConnor & Eve Arden win

11 Feb 1956

British diplomats Guy Burgess and Donald Maclean deny working as spies for Soviet Russia after reappearing in the Soviet Union after going missing 5 years earlier

11 Feb 1957

KUMV TV channel 8 in Williston ND (NBC) begins broadcasting

11 Feb 1958

Marshal Chen Yi succeeds Chu En-lai as Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs

11 Feb 1958

Ruth Carol Taylor is 1st African-American woman hired as flight attendant Ithaca NY

11 Feb 1958

WTVC TV channel 9 in Chattanooga TN (ABC) begins broadcasting

11 Feb 1959

Vinoo Mankad ends his final Test Cricket (v WI at Delhi)

11 Feb 1961

Robert Weaver sworn in with then highest federal post by a black

11 Feb 1963

American chef Julia Childs show The French Chef premieres

11 Feb 1964

Beatles 1st live appearance in US Washington D.C. Coliseum

11 Feb 1964

Greek & Turks begin fighting in Limassol Cyprus

11 Feb 1965

Braves propose to pay 5 cents from each ticket to bring a new team to Milwaukee

11 Feb 1968

Jeffrey Kramer survives 76-m jump Washington Bridge Hudson River New York

11 Feb 1968

Madison Square Garden III closes Madison Square Garden IV opens (NYC)

11 Feb 1969

Diana Crump becomes 1st US woman jockey to ride against men Hialelah

11 Feb 1969

Dorey Funk Jr beats Gene Kiniski in Tampa to become NWA champ

11 Feb 1970

26.37 cm (10.38) of rainfall Mt Washington NH (state 24-hr rec)

11 Feb 1970

Japan becomes 4th nation to put a satellite (Osumi) in orbit

11 Feb 1971

Montreal Canadien John Believau scores his 500th NHL goal

11 Feb 1971

US UK USSR others sign Seabed Treaty outlawing nuclear weapons

11 Feb 1973

1st sub 17-min 1500m female free style swim (Shane Gould 16m56.9s)

11 Feb 1973

Philadelphia 76ers lose their 20th NBA game in a row

11 Feb 1974

Dick Woodson is 1st of 48 to invoke baseballs new arbitration rule

11 Feb 1974

1st baseball arbitration Twins pitcher Dick Woodson seeking 29000 wins Twins offered 23000

11 Feb 1974

Libya nationalizes three US oil companies that had not agreed to 51 percent nationalization in September

11 Feb 1975

Tv drama Sarah T Portrait of A Teenage Alcoholic starring Linda Blair premieres on US network NBC

11 Feb 1976

Clifford Alexander Jr confirmed as 1st African American US Secretary of Army

11 Feb 1976

John Curry wins Britains first Olympic gold medal in figure skating at Innsbruck Winter Games finishes mens singles ahead of Soviet skater Vladimir Kovalyov and Canadian Toller Cranston

11 Feb 1977

20.2-kg lobster caught off Nova Scotia (heaviest known crustacean)

11 Feb 1979

Musical Theyre Playing Our Song opens at Imperial NYC for 1082 performances

11 Feb 1981

Australia all out 83 v India at MCG chasing 143 to win

11 Feb 1981

Polish premier Jozef Pinkowski replaced by Wojciech Jaruzelski

11 Feb 1982

Ozzie Smith for Garry Templeton trade finally goes through

11 Feb 1983

4th largest snowfall in NYC history (18(46 cm))

11 Feb 1984

10th space shuttle mission (41-B)-Challenger 4-returns to Earth

11 Feb 1984

Wayne Gretzky sets NHL short handed season scoring record at 11

11 Feb 1985

King Hussein of Jordan & PLO leader Arafat sign accord

11 Feb 1985

Kent Hrbek signs 5-year 6 million contract with Minnesota Twins

11 Feb 1985

Wasim Akram takes 10 wickets in his 2nd Test Cricket NZ still wins

11 Feb 1986

Activist Anatoly Scharansky released by USSR leaves country

11 Feb 1986

Australia beat India 2-0 to win crickets World Series Cup David Boon scores the most runs in the series (418)

11 Feb 1987

England beat Australia 2-0 to win crickets World Series Cup

11 Feb 1989

Barbara Clementine Harris consecrated 1st female bishop (Episcopalian)

11 Feb 1991

UNPO Unrepresented Nations & People Org forms in The Hague Netherlands

11 Feb 1992

F-16 jet crashes at residential district of Hengelo Netherlands (No deaths)

11 Feb 1992

Michael Johnson runs indoor world record 400m (44.97 sec)

11 Feb 1993

Howard Sterns radio show begins transmitting to Rochester NY (WRQI)

11 Feb 1993

Irina Privalova runs world record 60m indoor (6.92 secs)

11 Feb 1993

43rd Berlin International Film Festival Woman Sesame Oil Maker and The Wedding Banquet win the Golden Bear (tie)

11 Feb 1994

Lu Parker (South Carolina) crowned 43rd Miss USA

11 Feb 1995

Danyon Loader swims world record 400m freestyle (340.46)

11 Feb 1995

Mark Foster swims world record 50m butterfly (23.55 sec)

11 Feb 1995

Sandra Volker swims European record 50m backstroke (27.67 sec)

11 Feb 1998

Lyrics to Candle in the Wind 1997 auctioned for 442500

11 Feb 1998

48th Berlin International Film Festival Central Station wins the Golden Bear

11 Feb 1999

Pluto moves further away from the sun than Neptune regaining its status as solar systems outermost planet a title it will retain for 228 years

11 Feb 2001

50th NBA All-Star Game MCI Centre Washington D.C. East beats West 111-110 MVP Allen Iverson Philadelphia 76ers G

11 Feb 2007

A national referendum in Portugal legalises non-therapeutic abortion when requested by the woman during the first 10 weeks of pregnancy.

11 Feb 2007

60th British Film and Television Awards (BAFTAS) The Queen Best Film Paul Greengrass Best Director

11 Feb 2008

In East Timor assassination attempts were made on Xanana Gusmao and Jose Ramos-Horta. Both failed.

11 Feb 2010

60th Berlin International Film Festival Honey wins the Golden Bear

11 Feb 2012

Israeli Air Force conducts four air strikes in Gaza Strip

11 Feb 1961

Robert Weaver sworn in as Administrator of the Housing and Home Finance Agency the 1st African American to be appointed to a US cabinet-level position

11 Feb 1974

Minnesota Twins pitcher Dick Woodson is first of 48 to invoke Major League Baseballs new arbitration rule

11 Feb 1974

First Major League Baseball arbitration case Minnesota Twins pitcher Dick Woodson seeking 29000 wins Twins offered 23000

11 Feb 1929

Vatican City the worlds smallest country is made an enclave of Rome

11 Feb 1938

Worlds first science fiction TV program - a broadcast of the play R.U.R. by Karel apek

11 Feb 1950

Englishman Jack Holden wins Empire Games marathon in Auckland New Zealand in 23257 runs last 9 miles barefoot after his shoes fell apart during the race

11 Feb 2001

50th NBA All-Star Game MCI Centre Washington D.C. East beats West 111-110 MVP Allen Iverson Philadelphia 76ers G

11 Feb 1851

Inaugural 1st-class cricket match in Australia Tasmania v Victoria in Launceston Tasmania wins by 3 wickets

11 Feb 1958

BBC pioneering series Your Life in Their Hands first broadcast presented by Dr. Charles Fletcher 1st major TV series to deal with medicine

11 Feb 1984

10th NASA Space Shuttle Mission (41B) Challenger 4 returns to Earth

11 Feb 1991

Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) forms in The Hague Netherlands

11 Feb 1963

American chef Julia Childs show The French Chef premieres on WGBH in Boston - one of the first cooking shows in the US

11 Feb 1989

US Episcopal Church Diocese of Massachusetts installs Barbara Harris (59) as 1st female bishop of a US Episcopal church

11 Feb 2007

60th British Academy Film Awards (BAFTAs) The Queen Best Film Paul Greengrass Best Director

11 Feb 1840

Gaetano Donizettis opra comique La Fille du Regiment (The Daughter of the Regiment) premieres at the Salle de la Bourse in Paris France

11 Feb 1916

Baltimore Symphony Orchestra presents its 1st concert led by Gustav Strube of the Peabody Institute at the Lyric Theatre

11 Feb 1926

UK transfers administration of Tokelau (Union) Islands in South Pacific to New Zealand

11 Feb 1946

World War II The Royal Navys Operation Deadlight ends after scuttling 116 of 156 captured German U-boats

11 Feb 1963

Beatles record 10 of the 14 tracks for their 1st UK album Please Please Me

11 Feb 1964

Beatles 1st live appearance in US at the Washington Coliseum in Washington D.C.

11 Feb 1964

The Beatles first concert appearance in US at the Washington Coliseum in Washington D.C.

11 Feb 2008

In East Timor assassination attempts made on independence activists Xanana Gusmao and Jose Ramos-Horta. Both fail.

11 Feb 2013

18 coal miners are killed in an explosion in the Komi region Russia

11 Feb 2014

11 people are killed after a grenade was tossed into a movie theatre in Peshawar Pakistan

11 Feb 2014

77 people are killed after a military transport plane crashes in Algeria

11 Feb 2014

Peace talks resume in Geneva as leaders attempt to bring an end to the civil war in Syria

11 Feb 2014

Slopestyle freestyle skiing event makes Olympic debut at Sochi Winter Games Canadian Dara Howell is inaugural womens gold medallist

11 Feb 2015

Francesco Schettino Captain of the Costa Concordia that ran aground 2012 is convicted of manslaughter in Grosseto and sentenced to 16 years in jail

11 Feb 2016

Discover of gravitational waves (through collision of two black holes) announced by physicists from the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (Ligo)

11 Feb 2016

Last of Oregon militia occupying Malheur wildlife refuge surrenders to authorities after 41 days

11 Feb 2016

Riot between rival drug cartels at a prison in Monterrey Mexico leaves 52 dead

11 Feb 2016

Sixth Democratic presidential candidates debate broadcast on CNN and PBS and held in Milwaukee Wisconsin

11 Feb 2018

Dutchman Sven Kramer becomes only male speed skater to win same Olympic event 3 times claiming gold in the 5000m at Pyongchang first man to win total 8 Olympic medals in the sport

11 Feb 2018

Norway sweeps the medals in the Olympic 30k cross country skiathlon at Pyeongchang Simen Hegstad Krger wins gold ahead of teammates Martin Johnsrud Sundby & Hans Christer Holund

11 Feb 2018

Russian airliner crashes south-east of Moscow killing all 71 on board

11 Feb 2019

Artificial Intelligence system meant to assist diagnosis in the future pitted against physicians in test to diagnose 600000 patients in results published in Nature Medicine A.I. won just

11 Feb 2020

The Hot Wing King a play by Katori Hall premieres off-Broadway at Signature Theatre in New York (Pulitzer Prize 2021 for Drama) [1]

11 Feb 2020

Largest wave ever surfed by a woman by Brazilian Maya Gabeira riding a 73.5ft (22.4m) wave at Nazar Portugal

11 Feb 2020

Snow falls in Baghdad Iraq for only the second time in a century

11 Feb 2020

US Attorney General William Barr recommends cutting suggested sentence of Roger Stone prompting prosecutors to resign

11 Feb 1720

Sweden and Prussia sign the Second Treaty of Stockholm

11 Feb 1808

Anthracite coal is first burned as fuel experimentally in Wilkes-Barre Pennsylvania

11 Feb 1851

Inaugural first-class cricket match in Australia Tasmania vs. Victoria in Launceston Tasmania wins by 3 wickets

11 Feb 1861

US House unanimously passes a resolution guaranteeing noninterference with slavery in any state

11 Feb 1878

First US bicycle club the Boston Bicycle Club forms

11 Feb 1878

First weekly weather report is published in the UK

11 Feb 1889

Japan adopts the Meiji Constitution the first Diet or Parliament convenes in 1890

11 Feb 1929

Eugene ONeills play Dynamo premieres in NYC

11 Feb 1929

Vatican City the worlds smallest country becomes an enclave of Rome

11 Feb 1935

First US airplane flight with an automobile slung beneath the fuselage occurs in New York

11 Feb 1938

Steve Casey beats Lou Thesz in Boston to win the American Wrestling Association World Heavyweight Championship

11 Feb 1945

First gas turbine propeller-driven airplane flight test in Downey California

11 Feb 1946

World War II Royal Navys Operation Deadlight ends after scuttling 116 of 156 captured German U-boats

11 Feb 1963

American chef Julia Childs show The French Chef premieres on WGBH in Boston one of the first cooking shows in the US

11 Feb 1963

The Beatles record 10 of the 14 tracks for their first UK album Please Please Me in marathon recording session

11 Feb 1964

Greeks and Turks begin fighting in Limassol Cyprus

11 Feb 1964

The Beatles first concert appearance in the US is at the Washington Coliseum in Washington D.C.

11 Feb 1966

SF Giants outfielder Willie Mays signs baseballs highest contract at 130000 per year

11 Feb 1970

Japan becomes the fourth nation to put a satellite (Ohsumi) in orbit

11 Feb 1971

US UK USSR and others sign the Seabed Arms Control Treaty outlawing nuclear weapons on the ocean floor

11 Feb 1973

First one-day international for Pakistan and New Zealand

11 Feb 1973

Philadelphia 76ers lose their 20th consecutive NBA game

11 Feb 1975

TV drama Sarah T Portrait of A Teenage Alcoholic starring Linda Blair premieres on US network NBC

11 Feb 1978

25th hat trick in NY Islander history Denis Potvins 2nd

11 Feb 1982

Ozzie Smith for Garry Templeton trade between San Diego Padres and St. Louis Cardinals finally goes through after 62 days [1]

11 Feb 1985

English pop stars Boy George and Culture Club appear on American TV action-adventure series The A-Team episode Cowboy George

11 Feb 1995

West Indies score 5-660 against New Zealand in Test cricket

11 Feb 2021

Californias COVID-19 death toll overtakes New Yorks reaching 45496 amid first sign of falling infection numbers (Johns Hopkins)

11 Feb 2021

UK Kent COVID-19 strain set to sweep the world and become the dominant strain globally according to UK scientist Sharon Peacock after strain detected in over 50 countries (later named Alpha)

11 Feb 2021

Caitlin Clark scores a season-high 39 points for Iowa against Nebraska breaking the single-game scoring record for Pinnacle Bank Arena

11 Feb 2021

Worlds second oldest person French nun Sister Andr celebrates her 117th birthday after surviving COVID-19 in Toulon

11 Feb 2022

Australia lists the koala as endangered for the first time in Queensland New South Wales and ACT after a steep decline in numbers [1]

11 Feb 2024

Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) final hosts Ivory Coast defeat Nigeria 2-1 at Alassane Ouattara Stadium Abidjan [1]

11 Feb 2024

Argentinas first female saint Mara Antonia de Paz y Figueroa (Mama Antula) canonised at a ceremony attended by President Javier Milei at the Vatican [1]

11 Feb 2024

Former Finnish Prime Minister Alexander Stubb wins the presidential election over the Green Party [1]

11 Feb 2024

Super Bowl LVIII is the most-watched TV program in US history averaging 123.4 million viewers across television and streaming platforms [1]

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