January 11 facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

January 11 is a day filled with many interesting events throughout history, from ancient times to the present day. It's also a day when many important people were born and passed away.

Important Events in History
Famous Birthdays
Notable Deaths
Holidays and Observances
See also

Important Events in History

Before 1600

532 – In Constantinople, a huge fight broke out between supporters of different chariot racing teams. This fight, called the Nika riots, quickly turned into a violent uprising.
630 – The city of Mecca was conquered by the prophet Muhammad and his followers. The local clans, known as the Quraysh, surrendered.
930 – The city of Mecca was attacked and taken over by the Qarmatians.
1055 – Theodora was crowned empress of the Byzantine Empire.
1158 – Vladislaus II became the King of Bohemia.
1569 – The very first recorded lottery in England took place.

1601 to 1900

1654 – During the Arauco War, a Spanish army was defeated by the local Mapuche-Huilliches as they tried to cross the Bueno River in Southern Chile.
1759 – The first American company to offer life insurance was officially started in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1779 – Ching-Thang Khomba was crowned King of Manipur.
1787 – Astronomer William Herschel discovered Titania and Oberon, which are two moons of the planet Uranus.
1805 – The Michigan Territory was created in the United States.
1861 – During the American Civil War, the state of Alabama decided to leave the United States.
1863 – The three-day Battle of Arkansas Post ended. Union forces, led by General John McClernand and Admiral David Dixon Porter, captured Fort Hindman, giving them control over the Arkansas River.
1863 – The Confederate ship CSS Alabama sank the Union ship USS Hatteras off the coast of Texas.
1879 – The Anglo-Zulu War began.

1901 to Today

1908 – The Grand Canyon National Monument was created.
1912 – Textile workers in Lawrence, Massachusetts, went on a large strike after their wages were cut.
1914 – The ship Karluk, which was the main ship of the Canadian Arctic Expedition, sank after being crushed by ice.
1917 – The Kingsland munitions factory explosion happened, believed to be caused by sabotage.
1922 – Leonard Thompson became the first person to be treated with insulin injections.
1923 – Troops from France and Belgium occupied the Ruhr area in Germany to make sure Germany paid its World War I reparation payments.
1927 – Louis B. Mayer, who ran the film studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), announced the creation of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which gives out the famous Oscar awards.
1935 – Amelia Earhart became the first person to fly solo across the Pacific Ocean from Hawaii to California.
1942 – During World War II, Japanese forces captured Kuala Lumpur, the capital of the Federated Malay States.
1942 – Also during World War II, Japanese forces attacked Tarakan in Borneo, which was part of the Netherlands Indies.
1943 – The Republic of China signed new treaties with Britain and America, giving up special rights that foreign countries had in China.
1946 – Enver Hoxha, the leader of the Communist Party of Albania, declared the People's Republic of Albania and became its head of state.
1949 – The first "networked" television broadcasts began, connecting TV programming across the east coast and mid-west of the United States.
1957 – The African Convention was founded in Dakar, Senegal.
1959 – Lufthansa Flight 502 crashed while trying to land in Rio de Janeiro/Galeão International Airport in Brazil, killing 36 people.
1961 – The Throgs Neck Bridge opened, connecting The Bronx and Queens in New York City.
1962 – During the Cold War, the Soviet submarine B-37 was destroyed by a fire in its torpedo section while docked in Polyarny.
1962 – A large avalanche on Huascarán in Peru caused about 4,000 deaths.
1964 – The Surgeon General of the United States, Dr. Luther Terry, published a very important report called Smoking and Health: Report of the Advisory Committee to the Surgeon General of the Public Health Service. It stated that smoking could be dangerous to health, leading to many anti-smoking efforts worldwide.
1966 – The Tbilisi Metro subway system opened.
1972 – East Pakistan officially changed its name to Bangladesh.
1973 – Major League Baseball owners voted to allow the designated hitter position in the American League.
1983 – United Airlines Flight 2885 crashed shortly after taking off from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, killing three people.
1986 – The Gateway Bridge in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, was officially opened.
1994 – The Irish Government announced that it would end a 15-year ban on broadcasting the voices of the IRA and its political group Sinn Féin.
1996 – The Space Shuttle Endeavour was launched on mission STS-72 to bring back the Japanese Space Flyer Unit.
2003 – Illinois Governor George Ryan changed the death sentences of 167 prisoners to life in prison due to concerns about unfair trials.
2020 – Health officials in Wuhan, China, announced the first recorded death from COVID-19.

Famous Birthdays

Before 1600

347 – Theodosius I, a Roman emperor. (d. 395)
889 – Abd-ar-Rahman III, the first Caliph of Córdoba. (d. 961)
1113 – Wang Chongyang, a Chinese religious leader and poet. (d. 1170)
1209 – Möngke Khan, a Mongolian emperor. (d. 1259)
1322 – Emperor Kōmyō of Japan. (d. 1380)
1359 – Emperor Go-En'yū of Japan. (d. 1393)
1503 – Parmigianino, a famous Italian artist. (d. 1540)

1601 to 1900

1638 – Nicolas Steno, a Danish bishop and anatomist known for his work in geology. (d. 1686)
1755 – Alexander Hamilton, an important American general, economist, and politician. He was the first United States Secretary of the Treasury. (d. 1804)
1807 – Ezra Cornell, an American businessman and philanthropist who helped found Western Union and Cornell University. (d. 1874)
1815 – John A. Macdonald, a Scottish-Canadian lawyer and politician who became the first Prime Minister of Canada. (d. 1891)
1842 – William James, an American psychologist and philosopher. (d. 1910)
1858 – Harry Gordon Selfridge, an American-English businessman who founded the famous department store Selfridges. (d. 1947)
1885 – Alice Paul, an American activist who fought for women's right to vote. (d. 1977)
1887 – Aldo Leopold, an American ecologist and author who wrote about nature. (d. 1948)
1895 – Laurens Hammond, an American engineer and businessman who founded the Hammond Clock Company and invented the Hammond organ. (d. 1973)

1901 to Today

1903 – Alan Paton, a South African author and activist. (d. 1988)
1906 – Albert Hofmann, a Swiss chemist. (d. 2008)
1907 – Pierre Mendès France, a French lawyer and politician who served as Prime Minister of France. (d. 1982)
1911 – Zenkō Suzuki, a Japanese politician who became the Prime Minister of Japan. (d. 2004)
1923 – Carroll Shelby, an American race car driver, engineer, and businessman who founded Carroll Shelby International. (d. 2012)
1924 – Roger Guillemin, a French-American physician and scientist who won the Nobel Prize. (d. 2024)
1934 – Jean Chrétien, a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as Prime Minister of Canada.
1942 – Clarence Clemons, an American saxophonist and actor, famous for playing with Bruce Springsteen. (d. 2011)
1946 – Naomi Judd, an American singer-songwriter and actress. (d. 2022)
1952 – Diana Gabaldon, an American author.
1954 – Kailash Satyarthi, an Indian activist who won the Nobel Peace Prize for his work against child labor.
1957 – Darryl Dawkins, an American basketball player. (d. 2015)
1957 – Bryan Robson, an English footballer and manager.
1971 – Mary J. Blige, an American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress.
1973 – Rahul Dravid, a famous Indian cricketer and captain.
1975 – Matteo Renzi, an Italian politician who served as Prime Minister of Italy.
1979 – Siti Nurhaliza, a popular Malaysian singer-songwriter.
1987 – Jamie Vardy, an English footballer.
1996 – Leroy Sané, a German footballer.
1997 – Cody Simpson, an Australian singer-songwriter and actor.

Notable Deaths

Before 1600

140 – Pope Hyginus, a Bishop of Rome. (b. 74)
705 – Pope John VI. (b. 655)
782 – Emperor Kōnin of Japan. (b. 709)
812 – Staurakios, a Byzantine emperor.
844 – Michael I Rangabe, a Byzantine emperor. (b. 770)
1055 – Constantine IX Monomachos, a Byzantine emperor. (b. 1000)
1494 – Domenico Ghirlandaio, a famous Italian painter. (b. 1449)

1601 to 1900

1753 – Hans Sloane, an Irish-English physician and academic whose collections helped start the British Museum. (b. 1660)
1788 – François Joseph Paul de Grasse, a French admiral. (b. 1722)
1801 – Domenico Cimarosa, an Italian composer. (b. 1749)
1836 – John Molson, a Canadian businessman who founded the Molson Brewing Company. (b. 1763)
1843 – Francis Scott Key, an American lawyer and author who wrote "The Star-Spangled Banner." (b. 1779)
1882 – Theodor Schwann, a German physiologist and biologist who contributed to cell theory. (b. 1810)
1891 – Georges-Eugène Haussmann, a French urban planner known for redesigning Paris. (b. 1809)

1901 to Today

1923 – Constantine I of Greece, a King of Greece. (b. 1868)
1928 – Thomas Hardy, a famous English novelist and poet. (b. 1840)
1941 – Emanuel Lasker, a German mathematician, philosopher, and chess player who was a World Chess Champion. (b. 1868)
1952 – Jean de Lattre de Tassigny, a French general. (b. 1889)
1966 – Alberto Giacometti, a Swiss sculptor and painter. (b. 1901)
1966 – Lal Bahadur Shastri, the second Prime Minister of India. (b. 1904)
1980 – Barbara Pym, an English author. (b. 1913)
1988 – Pappy Boyington, an American colonel and pilot who received the Medal of Honor. (b. 1912)
1988 – Isidor Isaac Rabi, a Polish-American physicist who won the Nobel Prize. (b. 1898)
1991 – Carl David Anderson, an American physicist who won the Nobel Prize for discovering the positron. (b. 1905)
1999 – Fabrizio De André, an Italian singer-songwriter. (b. 1940)
2008 – Edmund Hillary, a New Zealand mountaineer and explorer, famous for being one of the first two climbers to reach the summit of Mount Everest. (b. 1919)
2010 – Miep Gies, an Austrian-Dutch humanitarian who helped hide Anne Frank and her family during World War II. (b. 1909)
2013 – Aaron Swartz, an American programmer and activist. (b. 1986)
2014 – Ariel Sharon, a former general and Prime Minister of Israel. (b. 1928)
2015 – Anita Ekberg, a Swedish-Italian model and actress. (b. 1931)
2019 – Michael Atiyah, a British-Lebanese mathematician. (b. 1929)

Holidays and Observances

Children's Day in Tunisia.
Christian feast day for several saints, including Pope Hyginus and Theodosius the Cenobiarch.
Eugenio María de Hostos Day in Puerto Rico.
Independence Resistance Day in Morocco.
Kagami biraki in Japan, a traditional ceremony.
National Human Trafficking Awareness Day in the United States.
Republic Day (Albania) in Albania.
Carmentalia in Rome, an ancient Roman festival.
Prithvi Jayanti in Nepal.