On this day: February 11th

On this day: February 11th

There are many and several events on this day in history. Read and discover what happened on this day: On this day: February 11th

On this day: February 11th

Events On this day: February 11th

• 1531: Henry VIII becomes the head of the Church of England.
• 1752: The 1st hospital in the US opens in Pennsylvania.
• 1858: Bernadette Soubirous sees a vision of the Virgin Mary near Lourdes. The small town in southern France became one of the most important Christian places of pilgrimage.
• 1929: Italian dictator Benito Mussolini granted political independence to Vatican City and recognized the sovereignty of the Pope (Holy See) over the area, measuring about 110 acres.
• 1938: The BBC broadcasts Karel Čapek’s “R.U.R.”, the world’s first science fiction TV program. The Czech play whose abbreviated title stands for “Rossum’s Universal Robots” introduced the word “robot” to the English language.
• 1941: First gold record presented.
• 1975: Margaret Thatcher becomes the first female leader of the British Conservative Party. Thatcher won the general elections in 1979 and became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
• 1979: Ayatollah Khomeini seizes power in Iran. A few days after Khomeini’s triumphant return from French exile, the Iranian army steps aside, making way for the creation of an Islamic theocracy.
• 1990: In South Africa, Nelson Mandela, at age 71, was released from prison after serving 27 years of a life sentence on charges of attempting to overthrow the apartheid government. In April 1994, he was elected president in the first all-race elections.
• 2011: In Egypt, President Hosni Mubarak resigned amid a massive protest calling for his ouster. Thousands of young Egyptians and others had protested non-stop for 18 days in Cairo, Alexandria, and elsewhere. Mubarak had ruled Egypt for nearly 30 years, functioning as a virtual dictator.

Birthdays on this day: February 11th

• 1847: Thomas Edison (Inventor)
• 1926: Leslie Nielsen (Canadian/American actor)
• 1934: Manuel Noriega (Panamanian general, politician, and Military Leader of Panama)
• 1936: Burt Reynolds (Actor)
• 1941: Sergia Mendes (Singer)
• 1963: Sheryl Crow (Singer)
• 1964: Sarah Palin (Politician)
• 1969: Jennifer Aniston (Actress)

Deaths On this day: February 11th

• 1650: René Descartes (French philosopher, mathematician)
• 1963: Sylvia Plath (American poet)
• 1978: James Bryant Conant (American chemist, academic, diplomat, 1st United States Ambassador to West Germany)
• 2010: Alexander McQueen (English fashion designer, founded)
• 2012: Whitney Houston (American singer, actress, producer, model)

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