June 11

Events
Up to 1900
1184 BC - Trojan War: Troy is sacked and burned, according to calculations by Eratosthenes.
1429 - Hundred Years' War: Battle of Jargeau.
1488 - The Battle of Sauchieburn is fought between rebel Lords and King James III of Scotland, who dies in the battle.
1509 - Henry VIII of England marries Catherine of Aragon.
1594 - King Philip II of Spain recognizes the rights and privileges of the local nobles and chieftains in the Philippines.
1641 - Caracas is struck by its first major earthquake since its founding.
1770 - James Cook reaches the Great Barrier Reef, after his ship, the HMS Endeavour, ran aground there.
1775 - American Revolutionary War: The war's first naval battle is fought in the Battle of Machias.
1776 - The Continental Congress appoints Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman and Robert Livingston to the committee of five, to draft the Declaration of Independence.
1788 - Russian explorer Gerasim Izmailov reaches Alaska.
1805 - Large parts of Detroit are destroyed by fire.
1865 - The naval Battle of Riachuelo in the War of the Triple Alliance is fought, with Brazil defeating Paraguay. This battle is important in the Triple Alliance defeating Paraguay in the war.
1881 - The current National Theatre of the Czech Republic, in Prague, is opened.
1898 - Spanish-American War: US warships set sail for Cuba.
1898 - The Hundred Days Reform is started by Guangxu Emperor in China.
1901 2000
1901 - New Zealand annexes the Cook Islands.
1903 - A group of Serbian military officer storm the royal palace in Belgrade and kill King Alexander Obrenovich and Queen Draga of Serbia.
1917 - Alexander of Greece becomes King, after Constantine I of Greece abdicates the throne under pressure from allied armies occupying Athens.
1935 - Edwin Armstrong gives the first public demonstration of FM broadcasting in the United States, in Alpine, New Jersey.
1936 - The International Surrealist Exhibition opens in London.
1937 - Joseph Stalin executes eight army leaders.
1938 - Second Sino-Japanese War: The Chinese nationalist government under Chiang Kai-shek orders the flooding of the Yellow River to halt Japanese forces, though more than 500,000 people are killed after not being warned before the flooding.
1938 - Second Sino-Japanese War: The Battle of Wuhan begins.
1945 - The Communist Party of Germany is re-formed.
1947 - US sugar rationing ends.
1955 - More than 80 people are killed in the Le Mans Disaster, the deadliest disaster in motorsport.
1961 - In the night to June 12, 37 electricity pylons are blown up in South Tyrol, a region of Northern Italy that used to be part of Austria. Members of the separatist underground network are considered to be responsible.
1962 - Frank Morris, John Anglin, and Clarence Anglin escape from Alcatraz prison, but are never seen again.
1963 - Buddhist monk Thich Quang Duc sets himself on fire with gasoline in Saigon, in protest at the lack of religious freedom in South Vietnam, under Ngo Dinh Diem.
1963 - Alabama Governor George Wallace refuses to let African American students Vivian Malone Jones and James Hood enroll at the University of Alabama, though he later gives in.
1964 - Retired World War II veteran Walter Seifert, on his 42nd birthday, runs amok in a Cologne school, killing at least 8 children and two teachers and injures many more with a flame thrower and a lance. He poisons himself and dies the next day.
1970 - Anna Mae Hays and Elizabeth P. Hoisington become the first female United States Army generals.
1971 - The prison island of Alcatraz is cleared, and the prison is shut down.
1981 - A magnitude 6.9 earthquake hits Golbaf, in Iran, killing at least 2,000 people.
1987 - Margaret Thatcher is elected to a third term as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
1994 - A law in Germany against homosexuality among people aged under 18 is removed.
1996 - A bomb attack on the Moscow Metro kills 4 people and injures 12.
From 2001
2001 - Timothy McVeigh is executed for the Oklahoma bombing.
2002 - United States Congress recognises Antonio Meucci as the inventor of the telephone.
2004 - The Cassini-Huygens probe makes its closest flyby of Saturn's moon Phoebe.
2007 - Mudslides in Chittagong, Bangladesh kill 130 people.
2008 - Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper makes a historic apology to the First Nations for abuse in the separation of children from their homes, families and cultures.
2010 - The 2010 FIFA World Cup begins in South Africa. It is the first FIFA World Cup to be held in Africa. The opening game ends in a 1-1 draw between South Africa and Mexico.
2019 - Botswana decriminalises homosexuality, due to a ruling by the country's highest law court.
2019 - 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup: The United States sets a tournament record for the margin of victory, defeating Thailand 13-0 in its opening game of the competition.
Births
Up to 1900
1403 - John IV, Duke of Brabant (d. 1427)
1456 - Anne Neville, wife of Richard III of England (d. 1485)
1572 - Ben Jonson, English playwright, poet, actor and literary critic (d. 1637)
1672 - Francesco Antonio Bonporti, Italian priest and composer (d. 1749)
1690 - Giovanni Antonio Giay, Italian composer (d. 1764)
1696 - Francis Edward James Keith, Scottish soldier and Prussian field marshal (d. 1758)
1697 - Francesco Antonio Vallotti, Italian composer, musical theorist and organist (d. 1780)
1704 - Carlos Seixas, Portuguese composer (d. 1742)
1723 - Johann Georg Palitzsch, German astronomer (d. 1788)
1726 - Infanta Maria Teresa Rafaela of Spain (d. 1746)
1741 - Joseph Warren, American doctor and soldier (d. 1775)
1776 - John Constable, English painter (d. 1837)
1797 - Jose Trinidad Reyes, Honduran theorist and philosopher (d. 1855)
1815 - Julia Margaret Cameron, English photographer (d. 1879)
1818 - Alexander Bain, Scottish philosopher (d. 1903)
1829 - Edward Braddon, Australian politician, 18th Premier of Tasmania (d. 1904)
1832 - Augustus Hill Garland, Governor of Arkansas (d. 1899)
1842 - Carl von Linde, German engineer and industrialist (d. 1934)
1847 - Millicent Fawcett, British suffragette and feminist (d. 1929)
1857 - Antoni Grabowski, early supporter of Esperanto (d. 1921)
1861 - Alexander Peacock, Australian politician, 20th Premier of Victoria (d. 1933)
1864 - Richard Strauss, German composer (d. 1949)
1871 - Stjepan Radic, Croatian politician (d. 1928)
1875 - George Herbert Walker, American banker (d. 1953)
1879 - Roger Bresnahan, American baseball player and manager (d. 1944)
1880 - Jeannette Rankin, American politician, feminist and pacifist (d. 1973)
1888 - Bartolomeo Vanzetti, Italian anarchist (d. 1927)
1894 - Kiichiro Toyoda, Japanese entrepreneur (d. 1952)
1894 - Dai Vernon, Canadian magician (d. 1992)
1895 - Nikolai Bulganin, Soviet politician (d. 1975)
1897 - Ram Prasad Bismil, Indian revolutionary (d. 1927)
1899 - Yasunari Kawabata, Japanese writer (d. 1972)
1901 1950
1903 - Ernie Nevers, American football player (d. 1976)
1904 - Pinetop Smith, American blues pianist (d. 1929)
1908 - Francisco Marto, Portuguese religious figure (d. 1919)
1908 - Karl Hein, German hammer thrower (d. 1982)
1910 - Jacques-Yves Cousteau, French documentary movie maker and marine biologist (d. 1997)
1910 - Carmine Coppola, American composer, director and songwriter (d. 1991)
1912 - James Algar, American film director, screenwriter and producer (d. 1998)
1913 - Vince Lombardi, American football coach (d. 1970)
1914 - Rufus Isaacs, American mathematician (d. 1977)
1914 - Gerald Mohr, American actor (d. 1968)
1915 - Magda Gabor, Hungarian-American actress (d. 1997)
1915 - Nicholas Metropolis, American physicist, mathematician and computer scientist (d. 1999)
1918 - Ruth Aarons, American table tennis player (d. 1980)
1919 - Richard Todd, Irish-British actor (d. 2009)
1920 - King Mahendra of Nepal (d. 1972)
1920 - Keith Seaman, 29th Governor of South Australia (d. 2013)
1920 - Hazel Scott, Trinidad and Tobago-born American singer (d. 1981)
1922 - Michael Cacoyannis, Cypriot movie director and producer (d. 2011)
1922 - Alberto Bovone, Italian cardinal (d. 1998)
1922 - Walter Seifert, German retired World War II veteran, ran amok in a Cologne school (d. 1964)
1925 - William Styron, American writer (d. 2006)
1927 - Asghar Bichareh, Iranian photographer and actor (d. 2016)
1928 - Queen Fabiola of Belgium, former Queen Consort of Belgium (d. 2014)
1929 - Antonio Pujia, Argentine sculptor (d. 2018)
1930 - Charles B. Rangel, American politician
1930 - Ellen Schwiers, German actress (d. 2019)
1932 - Athol Fugard, South African-American actor, director and playwright
1932 - Tim Sainsbury, English businessman and politician
1933 - Gene Wilder, American actor, director, screenwriter and author (d. 2016)
1934 - Henrik, Prince Consort of Denmark (d. 2018)
1936 - Chad Everett, American actor (d. 2012)
1937 - Rino Marchesi, Italian footballer
1937 - Robin Warren, Australian pathologist
1939 - Jackie Stewart, Scottish racing driver
1939 - Diana Moran, English model, fitness expert and journalist
1942 - Gunter Gabriel, German singer, musician and composer (d. 2017)
1943 - Henry Hill, American convict (d. 2012)
1945 - Adrienne Barbeau, American actress
1945 - Robert Munsch, Canadian children's author
1946 - Jenny Pitman, English racehorse trainer
1947 - Richard Palmer-James, English musician
1947 - Lalu Prasad Yadav, Indian politician, 20th Chief Minister of Bihar
1948 - Lynsey de Paul, English singer-songwriter, pianist and actress (d. 2014)
1949 - Frank Beard, American musician (ZZ Top)
1949 - Tom Pryce, Welsh racing driver (d. 1977)
1949 - Ingrid Newkirk, English-American animal rights activist, co-founder of PETA
1951 1975
1952 - Yekaterina Podkopayeva, Russian middle-distance runner
1952 - Anote Tong, former President of Kiribati
1952 - Donnie Van Zant, American rock musician and singer
1952 - Doris Maletzki, German athlete
1953 - Peter Bergman, American actor
1956 - Joe Montana, American football player
1959 - Hugh Laurie, British actor
1960 - Mehmet Oz, Turkish-American television host, surgeon and inventor
1961 - Maria Barranco, Spanish actress
1962 - Jack Irons, American musician (Red Hot Chili Peppers)
1962 - Mano Menezes, Brazilian footballer and coach
1963 - Bruce Kimball, American diver
1963 - Sandra Schmirler, Canadian curler (d. 2000)
1964 - Kim Gallagher, American athlete
1965 - Joey Santiago, Filipino guitarist
1965 - Manuel Uribe, Mexican computer repairman, one of the heaviest people on record (d. 2014).
1968 - Prince Alois, Hereditary Prince of Liechtenstein
1969 - Peter Dinklage, American actor
1969 - Bryan Fogarty, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2002)
1970 - Chris Rice, American singer
1971 - Liz Kendall, English politician
1975 - Choi Ji Woo, South Korean actress and model
From 1976
1977 - Geoff Ogilvy, Australian golfer
1977 - Ryan Dunn, American television star and stuntman (d. 2011)
1977 - Ben Peyton, British actor
1978 - Joshua Jackson, Canadian actor
1982 - Johnny Candido, American professional wrestler
1982 - Joey Graham, American basketball player
1982 - Stephen Graham, American basketball player
1982 - Haakon Opdal, Norwegian footballer
1982 - Diana Taurasi, American basketball player
1983 - Chuck Hayes, American basketball player
1984 - Vagner Love, Brazilian footballer
1986 - Shia LaBeouf, American actor.
1986 - Magaly Solier, Peruvian actress and singer
1987 - TiA, Japanese singer
1987 - Didrik Solli-Tangen, Norwegian singer
1987 - Dappy, English rapper and actor (N-Dubz)
1988 - Yui Aragaki, Japanese actress and model
1988 - Claire Holt, Australian actress and model
1989 - Maya Moore, American basketball player
1990 - Christophe Lemaitre, French sprinter
1990 - Sherina Munaf, Indonesian actress and singer
1991 - Dan Powell, English YouTube personality
1992 - Jordanne Whiley, English wheelchair tennis player
1994 - Ivana Baquero, Spanish actress
1996 - Ayaka Sasaki, Japanese singer
Deaths
Up to 1950
1183 - Henry the Young King, son of Henry II of England (b. 1155)
1216 - Henry of Flanders, Emperor of the Latin Empire
1298 - Blessed Yolanda of Poland (b. 1235)
1488 - King James III of Scotland (b. 1451)
1557 - King John III of Portugal (b. 1502)
1727 - King George I of Great Britain (b. 1660)
1796 - Samuel Whitbread, English brewer and politician (b. 1720)
1847 - John Franklin, British naval officer and Arctic explorer (b. 1786)
1852 - Karl Briullov, Russian painter (b. 1799)
1859 - Klemens Wenzel von Metternich, Austrian statesman (b. 1773)
1868 - James Brooke, English adventurer (b. 1803)
1879 - William, Prince of Orange, heir to the throne of the Netherlands (b. 1840)
1882 - Louis Desire Maigret, French bishop (b. 1804)
1897 - Henry Ayers, 8th Premier of South Australia (b. 1821)
1903 - Nikolai Bulgaev, Russian mathematician (b. 1837)
1903 - Alexander Obrenovich, King of Serbia (b. 1876)
1903 - Draga Lunjevica, Queen of Serbia (b. 1861)
1911 - James Curtis Hepburn, American physician and missionary (b. 1815)
1913 - Mahmud Shevket Pasha, Ottoman general and politician (b. 1856)
1914 - Adolf Friedrich V, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (b. 1848)
1924 - Theodore Dubois, French organist, composer and educator (b. 1837)
1934 - Lev Vygotsky, Russian psychologist (b. 1896)
1941 - Daniel Carter Beard, founder of the Boy Scouts of America (b. 1850)
1948 - Hugh M. Dorsey, American politician, Governor of Georgia (b. 1871)
1949 - Koci Xoxe, Albanian politician (b. 1911)
1951 2000
1955 - Pierre Levegh, French racing driver (b. 1905)
1956 - Corrado Alvaro, Italian writer (b. 1895)
1963 - Thich Quang Duc, Vietnamese Buddhist monk (b. 1897)
1964 - Phibul Songkhram, Thai Prime Minister and military leader (b. 1897)
1965 - Jose Mendes Cabecades, Portuguese politician (b. 1883)
1967 - Ernesto Ruffini, Italian cardinal (b. 1888)
1970 - Frank Laubach, Christian missionary (b. 1884)
1974 - Eurico Gaspar Dutra, President of Brazil (b. 1883)
1974 - Julius Evola, Italian politician (b. 1922)
1979 - John Wayne, American actor (b. 1907)
1984 - Enrico Berlinguer, Italian politician (b. 1922)
1988 - Giuseppe Saragat, 5th President of Italy (b. 1898)
1996 - Brigitte Helm, German actress (b. 1908)
1998 - Catherine Cookson, British writer (b. 1906).
1998 - Thomas Abernethy, American politician, Governor of Mississippi (b. 1903)
1999 - DeForest Kelley, American actor (b. 1920)
From 2001
2001 - Pierre Eyt, French cardinal (b. 1934)
2001 - Timothy McVeigh, American terrorist (b. 1968)
2004 - Mario Jeckle, German computer programmer (b. 1974)
2005 - Vasco Goncalves, Prime Minister of Portugal (b. 1922)
2006 - Bruce Shand, father of Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall (b. 1917)
2008 - Ove Andersson, Swedish rally driver (b. 1939).
2008 - Vo Van Kiet, Vietnamese politician (b. 1922).
2010 - Zenani Mandela, great-granddaughter of Nelson Mandela (b. 1997).
2011 - Kurt Nielsen, Danish tennis player (b. 1930).
2011 - Seth Putnam, American musician (b. 1968).
2011 - Eliyahu M. Goldratt, Israeli physicist (b. 1947).
2012 - Ann Rutherford, Canadian-American actress (b. 1920).
2012 - Teofilo Stevenson, Cuban boxer (b. 1952).
2013 - Robert Fogel, American economic historian (b. 1926).
2013 - Evelyn Kozak, American supercentenarian (b. 1899)
2013 - Vidya Charan Shukla, Indian politician (b. 1929)
2014 - Rafael Fruhbeck de Burgos, Spanish conductor and composer (b. 1933)
2014 - Mipham Chokyi Lodro, Tibetan Buddhist teacher (b. 1952)
2014 - Ruby Dee, American actress, poet, playwright, screenwriter, journalist and activist (b. 1922)
2014 - Gilles Segal, French actor and playwright (b. 1929)
2015 - Ron Moody, English actor (b. 1924)
2015 - Ornette Coleman, American saxophonist and free jazz pioneer (b. 1930)
2015 - Dusty Rhodes, American professional wrestler (b. 1945)
2015 - Jack King, American public affairs officer (b. 1931)
2015 - Jim Ed Brown, American country singer (b. 1934)
2015 - Sebastiano Mannironi, Italian weightlifter (b. 1930)
2016 - Rudi Altig, German cyclist (b. 1937)
2016 - Shaibu Amodu, Nigerian football manager (b. 1958)
2016 - Asghar Bichareh, Iranian photographer and actor (b. 1927)
2016 - Bryan Robinson, American football player (b. 1974)
2017 - Errol Christie, British boxer (b. 1963)
2017 - Jim Graham, Scottish-born American politician (b. 1945)
2017 - Geoffrey Rowell, British Anglican prelate (b. 1943)
2018 - Victoria Kalima, Zambian politician (b. 1972)
2018 - Norma Bessouet, Argentine artist (b. 1940)
2018 - John Coates, Australian general (b. 1932)
2018 - Oscar Furlong, Argentine basketball player and tennis coach (b. 1927)
2018 - Yvette Horner, French accordionist (b. 1922)
2019 - Domenico De Simone, Italian politician (b. 1926)
2019 - Martin Feldstein, American economist (b. 1939)
2019 - Gabriele Grunewald, American runner (b. 1986)
2019 - Velvel Pasternak, Canadian-American musicologist (b. 1933)
2019 - Valeria Valeri, Italian actress (b. 1921)
Observances
Kamehameha Day, official state holiday in Hawaii
Birthday of Prince Henrik (Denmark)
St. Barnabas Day
Days of the year