June 11 facts for kids

2025 Calendar

June 11 in recent years

June 11 is the 162nd day of the year (163rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 203 days remain until the end of the year.

This page tells you about important events, famous people born, and notable people who passed away on this day in history. It's a great way to learn about the past and how it shaped our world today!

Historic Events
Famous Births
Notable Deaths
Holidays and Observances
See also

Historic Events

Early History (Before 1600)

173 – During the Marcomannic Wars, a Roman army was surrounded by the Quadi people. Emperor Marcus Aurelius defeated them in a battle known as the "miracle of the rain" because a big thunderstorm helped the Romans win.
631 – Emperor Taizong of Tang sent gifts of gold and silk to the Xueyantuo people. He wanted to get Chinese prisoners released who were captured during a big change in power.
786 – A rebellion in Mecca by the Hasanid group was stopped by the Abbasids at the Battle of Fakhkh.
980 – Vladimir the Great brought together the lands of Kievan Rus', from Ukraine to the Baltic Sea. He was declared the ruler, or knyaz, of this large area.
1011 – In the Norman conquest of southern Italy, people in Bari rose up against the Lombard rebels. They gave control of their city to the Byzantine governor, Basil Mesardonites.
1118 – Roger of Salerno, the Prince of Antioch, captured the city of Azaz from the Seljuk Turks.
1157 – Albert I of Brandenburg, also known as "The Bear," became the first ruler of Brandenburg, a region in Germany.
1429 – The Battle of Jargeau began during the Hundred Years' War.
1488 – The Battle of Sauchieburn was fought between rebel lords and James III of Scotland. The king died in this battle.
1509 – Henry VIII of England married Catherine of Aragon.
1594 – Philip II of Spain recognized the rights of local leaders in the Philippines. This helped stabilize Spanish rule there.

Modern History (1601–1900)

1702 – Forces from England and the Netherlands fought with French forces near Nijmegen. They stopped the city from falling to the French.
1748 – Denmark adopted its famous Nordic Cross flag. This flag design was later used by other Scandinavian countries.
1770 – British explorer Captain James Cook's ship got stuck on the Great Barrier Reef.
1775 – The American Revolutionary War's first naval battle, the Battle of Machias, happened. A small British ship was captured.
1776 – The Continental Congress chose five important people to write the United States Declaration of Independence. These were Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston.
1788 – Russian explorer Gerasim Izmailov reached Alaska.
1805 – A large fire destroyed much of Detroit in the Michigan Territory.
1825 – The first stone was laid for Fort Hamilton in New York City.
1837 – The Broad Street Riot happened in Boston. It was caused by tensions between different groups of people.
1865 – The Naval Battle of the Riachuelo was fought in Argentina. It was a key victory for Brazil and its allies in the Paraguayan War.
1892 – The Limelight Department, one of the world's first film studios, officially opened in Melbourne, Australia.
1895 – The Paris–Bordeaux–Paris race took place. Some call it the first car race in history.
1898 – The Hundred Days' Reform began in China. It was a plan to change social, political, and educational systems. However, it was stopped after 104 days.

Recent History (1901–Present)

1901 – The Colony of New Zealand grew to include the Cook Islands.
1903 – Serbian officers stormed the royal palace and took the lives of King Alexander I of Serbia and his wife, Queen Draga.
1917 – Alexander became King of Greece. His father, Constantine I, stepped down under pressure from allied armies.
1919 – Sir Barton won the Belmont Stakes. He became the first horse to win the U.S. Triple Crown.
1920 – During the 1920 Republican National Convention in Chicago, political leaders met to choose their candidate for president. This led to the phrase "smoke-filled room" being used in politics.
1935 – Inventor Edwin Armstrong showed the public FM radio broadcasting for the first time in the United States.
1936 – The London International Surrealist Exhibition opened, showing off new art.
1937 – During the Great Purge, the Soviet Union executed eight army leaders.
1938 – The Battle of Wuhan began during the Second Sino-Japanese War.
1940 – World War II: The Siege of Malta started with Italian air raids.
1942 – World War II: The United States agreed to send aid to the Soviet Union.
1942 – Free French Forces left Bir Hakeim after successfully slowing down the Axis advance.
1944 – The USS Missouri was put into service. It was the last battleship built by the United States Navy.
1955 – A terrible accident happened at the 24 Hours of Le Mans car race. Eighty-three spectators were killed and many more were hurt when two cars crashed.
1956 – The Gal Oya riots began in Sri Lanka. These were ethnic riots that targeted the Tamil minority.
1962 – Frank Morris, John Anglin, and Clarence Anglin reportedly became the only prisoners to escape from the prison on Alcatraz Island.
1963 – American Civil Rights Movement: Governor George Wallace tried to stop two black students, Vivian Malone and James Hood, from attending the University of Alabama. Federal troops helped them register later that day.
1963 – John F. Kennedy spoke to Americans about the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This law would help ensure equal access to public places and end segregation.
1968 – Lloyd J. Old found the first markers on cell surfaces that could tell different cell types apart.
1970 – Anna Mae Hays and Elizabeth P. Hoisington became the first women to officially receive ranks as U.S. Army general officers.
1971 – The U.S. Government removed the last Native American people from Alcatraz Island, ending their 19-month control.
1978 – Altaf Hussain started the student political group All Pakistan Muhajir Students Organisation (APMSO) in Karachi University.
1981 – A strong earthquake in Golbaf, Iran, caused the deaths of at least 2,000 people.
1987 – Diane Abbott, Paul Boateng, and Bernie Grant were elected as the first black Members of Parliament in Great Britain.
1998 – Compaq Computer bought Digital Equipment Corporation for US$9 billion. This was a very large deal in the technology world.
2001 – Timothy McVeigh was executed for his part in the Oklahoma City bombing.
2002 – The United States Congress recognized Antonio Meucci as the first inventor of the telephone.
2004 – The Cassini–Huygens spacecraft flew very close to Saturn's moon Phoebe.
2007 – Mudslides in Chittagong, Bangladesh, caused the deaths of 130 people.
2008 – Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper officially apologized to Canada's First Nations for abuses at residential schools.
2008 – The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope was launched into space.
2010 – The first African FIFA World Cup began in South Africa.
2012 – More than 80 people died in a landslide in Afghanistan, caused by two earthquakes. An entire village was buried.
2013 – Greece's public broadcaster ERT was shut down by the prime minister. It was reopened exactly two years later.

Famous Births

Born Before 1600

1456 – Anne Neville, who became Queen of England.
1540 – Barnabe Googe, an English poet and translator.
1555 – Lodovico Zacconi, an Italian composer.
1572 – Ben Jonson, a famous English poet and playwright.
1588 – George Wither, an English poet.

Born 1601–1900

1620 – John Moore, an English businessman and Lord Mayor of London.
1662 – Tokugawa Ienobu, a Japanese shōgun.
1696 – James Francis Edward Keith, a Scottish-Prussian military leader.
1704 – Carlos Seixas, a Portuguese musician and composer.
1741 – Joseph Warren, an American physician and general.
1776 – John Constable, a famous English painter.
1796 – François-Louis Cailler, a Swiss chocolatier.
1815 – Julia Margaret Cameron, a pioneering photographer.
1818 – Alexander Bain, a Scottish philosopher.
1842 – Carl von Linde, a German engineer who invented refrigeration technology.
1847 – Millicent Fawcett, an English activist who fought for women's right to vote.
1864 – Richard Strauss, a famous German composer and conductor.
1876 – Alfred L. Kroeber, an American anthropologist.
1880 – Jeannette Rankin, an American social worker and politician.
1894 – Kiichiro Toyoda, a Japanese businessman who founded Toyota.
1899 – Yasunari Kawabata, a Japanese novelist who won the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Born 1901–Present

1903 – Ernie Nevers, an American football player and coach.
1908 – Francisco Marto, a Portuguese saint.
1910 – Jacques Cousteau, a French biologist, author, and inventor who helped create the aqua-lung.
1913 – Vince Lombardi, a legendary American football coach.
1915 – Nicholas Metropolis, an American mathematician and physicist.
1919 – Richard Todd, an Irish-English actor.
1920 – Hazel Scott, a Trinidadian-American singer, actress, and pianist.
1925 – William Styron, an American novelist.
1927 – Beryl Grey, a famous English ballerina.
1928 – Queen Fabiola of Belgium.
1933 – Gene Wilder, a beloved American actor and screenwriter.
1937 – Robin Warren, an Australian pathologist who won a Nobel Prize.
1939 – Jackie Stewart, a famous Scottish racing driver.
1945 – Adrienne Barbeau, an American actress.
1948 – Lalu Prasad Yadav, an Indian politician.
1949 – Frank Beard, an American drummer.
1950 – Lynsey de Paul, an English singer-songwriter.
1956 – Joe Montana, a legendary American football player.
1959 – Hugh Laurie, an English actor and screenwriter.
1960 – Mehmet Oz, an American surgeon and television host.
1964 – Jean Alesi, a French race car driver.
1969 – Peter Dinklage, an American actor and producer.
1977 – Geoff Ogilvy, an Australian golfer.
1978 – Joshua Jackson, a Canadian-American actor.
1982 – Diana Taurasi, an American basketball player.
1986 – Shia LaBeouf, an American actor.
1988 – Claire Holt, an Australian actress.
1990 – Christophe Lemaitre, a French sprinter.
1991 – Daniel Howell, an English YouTuber.
1997 – Kodak Black, an American rapper.
1998 – Charlie Tahan, an American actor.
1999 – Kai Havertz, a German footballer.

Notable Deaths

Died Before 1600

573 – Emilian of Cogolla, a saint from the Iberian Peninsula.
786 – Al-Husayn ibn Ali al-Abid, a rebel leader.
840 – Emperor Junna of Japan.
888 – Rimbert, an archbishop.
1183 – Henry the Young King of England.
1216 – Henry of Flanders, an emperor.
1253 – Amadeus IV, a count.
1298 – Yolanda of Poland.
1347 – Bartholomew of San Concordio, an Italian writer.
1488 – James III of Scotland.
1557 – John III of Portugal.
1560 – Mary of Guise, Queen of James V of Scotland.

Died 1601–1900

1695 – André Félibien, a French historian.
1727 – George I of Great Britain.
1796 – Samuel Whitbread, an English brewer who founded the Whitbread Company.
1847 – John Franklin, an English admiral and politician.
1852 – Karl Bryullov, a Russian painter.
1859 – Klemens von Metternich, a German-Austrian politician.
1879 – William, Prince of Orange.
1897 – Henry Ayers, an English-Australian politician.

Died 1901–Present

1903 – Nikolai Bugaev, a Russian mathematician.
1903 – Alexander I of Serbia and his wife, Draga Mašin.
1911 – James Curtis Hepburn, an American physician and missionary.
1913 – Mahmud Shevket Pasha, an Ottoman general and politician.
1924 – Théodore Dubois, a French composer.
1934 – Lev Vygotsky, a Belarusian-Russian psychologist.
1936 – Robert E. Howard, an American author.
1937 – R. J. Mitchell, an English engineer who designed the Supermarine Spitfire airplane.
1941 – Daniel Carter Beard, an American author who founded the Boy Scouts of America.
1955 – Pierre Levegh, a French race car driver.
1963 – Thích Quảng Đức, a Vietnamese monk.
1974 – Eurico Gaspar Dutra, a Brazilian general and politician.
1979 – John Wayne, a famous American actor.
1984 – Enrico Berlinguer, an Italian politician.
1986 – Chesley Bonestell, an American painter and illustrator.
1991 – Cromwell Everson, a South African composer.
1992 – Rafael Orozco Maestre, a Colombian singer.
1994 – A. Thurairajah, a Sri Lankan engineer.
1995 – Rodel Naval, a Filipino singer.
1996 – George Hees, a Canadian politician.
1998 – Catherine Cookson, an English author.
1999 – DeForest Kelley, an American actor.
2001 – Timothy McVeigh, an American terrorist.
2003 – David Brinkley, an American journalist.
2005 – Vasco Gonçalves, a Portuguese general and politician.
2006 – Neroli Fairhall, a New Zealand archer.
2008 – Ove Andersson, a Swedish race car driver.
2011 – Eliyahu M. Goldratt, an Israeli physicist.
2012 – Ann Rutherford, a Canadian-American actress.
2013 – Robert Fogel, an American economist who won a Nobel Prize.
2014 – Ruby Dee, an American actress.
2015 – Ornette Coleman, an American musician.
2016 – Rudi Altig, a German cyclist.
2020 – Stella Pevsner, a children's author.
2022 – Hilary Devey, an English businesswoman.

Holidays and Observances

American Evacuation Day (Libya)
Brazilian Navy commemorative day (Brazil)
Christian feast day:
- Barnabas the Apostle
- Bartholomew the Apostle (Eastern Christianity)
- Blessed Ignatius Maloyan (Armenian Catholic Church)
- Paula Frassinetti
- Riagail of Bangor
- June 11 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Davis Day (Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada)
King Kamehameha I Day (Hawaii, United States)
Student Day (Honduras)