January 11
Events
Pre-1600
- 532 - Nika riots in Constantinople: A quarrel between supporters of different chariot teams—the Blues and the Greens—in the Hippodrome escalates into violence.
- 630 - Conquest of Mecca: Muhammad and his followers conquer the city, and the Quraysh association of clans surrenders.
- 930 - Sack of Mecca by the Qarmatians.
- 1055 - Theodora is crowned empress of the Byzantine Empire.
- 1158 - Vladislaus II, Duke of Bohemia becomes King of Bohemia.
- 1569 - First recorded lottery in England.
1601–1900
- 1654 - Arauco War: A Spanish army is defeated by local Mapuche-Huilliches as it tries to cross Bueno River in Southern Chile.
- 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, is incorporated in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
- 1787 - William Herschel discovers Titania and Oberon, two moons of Uranus.
- 1805 - The Michigan Territory is created.
- 1820 - The Great Savannah Fire of 1820 destroys over 400 buildings in Savannah, Georgia.
- 1851 - Taiping Rebellion: Hong Xiuquan proclaims the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, starting the Jintian Uprising.
- 1861 - American Civil War: Alabama secedes from the United States.
- 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.
- 1863 - American Civil War: encounters and sinks the off Galveston Lighthouse in Texas.
- 1879 - The Anglo-Zulu War begins.
1901–present
- 1908 - Grand Canyon National Monument is created.
- 1912 - Immigrant textile workers in Lawrence, Massachusetts, go on strike when wages are reduced in response to a mandated shortening of the work week.
- 1914 - The Karluk, flagship of the Canadian Arctic Expedition, sinks after being crushed by ice.
- 1917 - The Kingsland munitions factory explosion occurs, possibly as a result of German sabotage.
- 1922 - Leonard Thompson becomes the first person to be injected with insulin.
- 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.
- 1927 - Louis B. Mayer, head of film studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, announces the creation of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, at a banquet in Los Angeles, California.
- 1935 - Amelia Earhart becomes the first person to fly solo from Hawaii to California.
- 1942 - World War II: Japanese forces capture Kuala Lumpur, the capital of the Federated Malay States.
- 1942 - World War II: Japanese forces attack Tarakan in Borneo, Netherlands Indies
- 1943 - The Republic of China agrees to the Sino-British New Equal Treaty and the Sino-American New Equal Treaty.
- 1943 - Italian-American anarchist Carlo Tresca is assassinated in New York City.
- 1946 - Enver Hoxha, Secretary General of the Communist Party of Albania, declares the People's Republic of Albania with himself as head of state.
- 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.
- 1957 - The African Convention is founded in Dakar, Senegal.
- 1959 - 36 people are killed when Lufthansa Flight 502 crashes on approach to Rio de Janeiro/Galeão International Airport in Brazil.
- 1961 - Throgs Neck Bridge over the East River, linking New York City's boroughs of The Bronx and Queens, opens to road traffic.
- 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.
- 1962 - An avalanche on Huascarán in Peru causes around 4,000 deaths.
- 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.
- 1966 - The Tbilisi Metro is opened.
- 1972 - East Pakistan renames itself Bangladesh.
- 1973 - Major League Baseball owners vote in approval of the American League adopting the designated hitter position.
- 1977 - The first episode of Finnish children's TV show Pikku Kakkonen is aired on Yle TV2.
- 1983 - United Airlines Flight 2885 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, killing three.
- 1986 - The Gateway Bridge, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia is officially opened.
- 1994 - The Irish Government announces the end of a 15-year broadcasting ban on the IRA and its political arm Sinn Féin.
- 1995 - 51 people are killed in a plane crash in María La Baja, Colombia.
- 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.
- 1998 - Over 100 people are killed in the Sidi-Hamed massacre in Algeria.
- 2003 - Illinois Governor George Ryan commutes the death sentences of 167 prisoners on Illinois's death row based on the Jon Burge scandal.
- 2013 - One French soldier and 17 militants are killed in a failed attempt to free a French hostage in Bulo Marer, Somalia.
- 2020 - COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei: Municipal health officials in Wuhan announce the first recorded death from COVID-19.
Births
Pre-1600
- 347 - Theodosius I, Roman emperor
- 889 - Abd-ar-Rahman III, first Caliph of Córdoba
- 1113 - Wang Chongyang, Chinese religious leader and poet
- 1209 - Möngke Khan, Mongolian emperor
- 1322 - Emperor Kōmyō of Japan
- 1359 - Emperor Go-En'yū of Japan
- 1395 - Michele of Valois, daughter of Charles VI of France
- 1503 - Parmigianino, Italian artist
- 1589 - William Strode, English politician
- 1591 - Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex, English general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Staffordshire
1601–1900
- 1624 - Bastiaan Govertsz van der Leeuw, Dutch painter
- 1630 - John Rogers, English-American minister, physician, and academic
- 1638 - Nicolas Steno, Danish bishop and anatomist
- 1642 - Johann Friedrich Alberti, German organist and composer
- 1650 - Diana Glauber, Dutch-German painter
- 1671 - François-Marie, 1st duc de Broglie, French general and diplomat
- 1755 - Alexander Hamilton, Nevisian-American general, economist and politician, 1st United States Secretary of the Treasury
- 1757 - Samuel Bentham, English engineer and architect
- 1760 - Oliver Wolcott Jr., American lawyer and politician, 2nd United States Secretary of the Treasury, 24th Governor of Connecticut
- 1777 - Vincenzo Borg, Maltese merchant and rebel leader
- 1786 - Joseph Jackson Lister, English physicist
- 1788 - William Thomas Brande, English chemist and academic
- 1800 - Ányos Jedlik, Hungarian physicist and engineer
- 1807 - Ezra Cornell, American businessman and philanthropist, founded Western Union and Cornell University
- 1814 - James Paget, English surgeon and pathologist
- 1814 - Socrates Nelson, American businessman and politician
- 1815 - John A. Macdonald, Scottish-Canadian lawyer and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Canada
- 1825 - Bayard Taylor, American poet, author, and critic
- 1839 - Eugenio María de Hostos, Puerto Rican lawyer, philosopher, and sociologist
- 1842 - William James, American psychologist and philosopher
- 1843 - Adolf Eberle, German painter
- 1845 - Albert Victor Bäcklund, Swedish mathematician and physicist
- 1850 - Joseph Charles Arthur, American pathologist and mycologist
- 1852 - Constantin Fehrenbach, German lawyer and politician, 4th Chancellor of Weimar Germany
- 1853 - Georgios Jakobides, Greek painter and sculptor
- 1856 - Christian Sinding, Norwegian pianist and composer
- 1857 - Fred Archer, English jockey
- 1858 - Harry Gordon Selfridge, American-English businessman, founded Selfridges
- 1859 - George Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston, English politician, 35th Governor-General of India
- 1864 - Thomas Dixon, Jr., American minister, lawyer, and politician
- 1867 - John Ernest Adamson, English educationalist and Director of Education of the Colony of Transvaal
- 1867 - Edward B. Titchener, English psychologist and academic
- 1868 - Cai Yuanpei, Chinese philosopher, academic, and politician
- 1870 - Alexander Stirling Calder, American sculptor and educator
- 1872 - G. W. Pierce, American physicist and academic
- 1873 - John Callan O'Laughlin, American soldier and journalist
- 1874 - Alfonso Quiñónez Molina, Salvadoran politician, physician, and three-time president of El Salvador
- 1875 - Reinhold Glière, Russian composer and academic
- 1876 - Elmer Flick, American baseball player
- 1876 - Thomas Hicks, American runner
- 1878 - Theodoros Pangalos, Greek general and politician, President of Greece
- 1885 - Alice Paul, American activist and suffragist
- 1886 - George Zucco, British actor
- 1887 - Aldo Leopold, American ecologist and author
- 1888 - Joseph B. Keenan, American jurist and politician
- 1889 - Calvin Bridges, American geneticist and academic
- 1890 - Max Carey, American baseball player and manager
- 1890 - Oswald de Andrade, Brazilian poet and critic
- 1891 - Andrew Sockalexis, American runner
- 1893 - Ellinor Aiki, Estonian painter
- 1893 - Charles Fraser, Australian rugby league player and coach
- 1893 - Anthony M. Rud, American journalist and author
- 1895 - Laurens Hammond, American engineer and businessman, founded the Hammond Clock Company
- 1897 - Bernard DeVoto, American historian and author
- 1897 - August Heissmeyer, German SS officer
- 1899 - Eva Le Gallienne, English-American actress, director, and producer