November 11
Events
Up to 1900
1100 - Henry I of England marries Matilda of Scotland, daughter of Malcolm III of Scotland.
1417 - Pope Martin V is elected.
1500 - Treaty of Granada: Louis XII of France and Ferdinand III of Aragon agree to divide the Kingdom of Naples.
1620 - In what is now Provincetown Harbor near Cape Cod, the Mayflower Compact is signed on the Mayflower, establishing the basic laws for the Plymouth Colony.
1648 - France and the Netherlands agree to divide the island of Sint Maarten/Saint Martin.
1675 - Gottfried Leibniz demonstrated integral calculus for the first time to find the area under the y=x function.
1675 - Guru Gobind Singh becomes the Tenth Guru of the Sikhs.
1750 - Riots break out Lhasa after the murder of the Tibetan regent.
1839 - The Virginia Military Institute is founded in Lexington, Virginia.
1855 - An earthquake near Edo, now Tokyo, kills 6,000 people.
1864 - American Civil War: Union General William Tecumseh Sherman begins burning Atlanta, Georgia to the ground in preparation for his march south.
1865 - The Treaty of Sinchula is signed: Bhutan gives areas east of the Teesta River to the British East India Company.
1880 - Australian bushranger and bank robber Ned Kelly is hung in Melbourne.
1887 - Haymarket trials: August Spies, Albert Parsons, Adolph Fischer and George Engel are executed.
1887 - Building work begins on the Manchester Ship Canal.
1889 - Washington is admitted as the 42nd U.S. state.
1901 2000
1918 - World War I ends: Germany signs an armistice agreement with the Allies in a railroad car outside of Compiegne in France.
1918 - Jozef Pilsudski comes to Warsaw and assumes supreme military power in Poland.
1918 - Emperor Charles I of Austria abdicates.
1919 - Latvian forces defeat the Freikorps at Riga in the Latvian War of Independence.
1921 - The Tomb of the Unknowns is dedicated by US President Warren G. Harding at Arlington National Cemetery.
1926 - The US' numbered Highway system is introduced.
1930 - Patent number US1781541 is given to Albert Einstein and Leo Szilard for their invention, the Einstein refrigerator.
1934 - The Shrine of Remembrance is opened in Melbourne, Australia.
1940 - World War II: The Royal Navy launches the first aircraft carrier strike in history, on the Italian fleet at Taranto.
1940 - The Armistice Day Blizzard kills 144 people in the Midwestern United States.
1942 - World War II: Germany completes its occupation of France.
1954 - The Two Towers, part of the trilogy of The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien, is released in the UK.
1960 - In South Vietnam, a coup against Ngo Dinh Diem is crushed.
1965 - Rhodesia (now called Zimbabwe) was declared independent by the white minority regime of Ian Smith.
1966 - NASA launches spaceship Gemini 12.
1967 - Vietnam War: In a propaganda ceremony in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, three American prisoners of war are released by the NLF and turned over to "new left" antiwar activist Tom Hayden.
1968 - Vietnam War: Operation Commando Hunt initiated. The goal was to interdict men and supplies on the Ho Chi Minh Trail, through Laos into South Vietnam.
1968 - A second republic is declared in Maldives.
1972 - Vietnam War: Vietnamization - The United States Army turns over the massive Long Binh military base to South Vietnam.
1975 - Angola becomes independent from Portugal, with Agostinho Neto as president.
1975 - Australian Governor-General Sir John Kerr dismisses the government of Gough Whitlam and commissions Malcolm Fraser as Prime Minister.
1978 - Maumoon Gayoom succeeds Ibrahim Nasir as the President of the Republic of the Maldives.
1978 - A renovated Hollywood sign is unveiled, replacing the older version that was built in 1923.
1981 - Antigua and Barbuda joins the UN.
1986 - Sperry Rand and Burroughs merge to form Unisys. They become the second largest computer company.
1992 - The Church of England votes to allow women to become priests.
1997 - Mary McAleese was inaugurated as the eighth President of Ireland.
2000 - In Kaprun, Austria, 155 skiers and snowboarders die when a cable car catches fire in an alpine tunnel.
From 2001
2004 - New Zealand Tomb of the Unknown Warrior dedicated at the National War Memorial, Wellington
2004 - Mahmoud Abbas is elected chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization minutes after the death of Yasser Arafat.
2004 - Official Guided by Voices Day in San Diego, California.
2004 - Mary McAleese was inaugurated for a second term as President of Ireland.
2006 - Queen Elizabeth II unveils the New Zealand War Memorial in London.
2008 - The ship RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 sets sail for its last voyage.
2008 - Mohamed Nasheed succeeds Maumoon Gayoom as President of the Maldives.
2011 - Michael D. Higgins is inaugurated as President of Ireland.
2014 - 58 people are killed in a bus crash in Sukkur District in Pakistan's southern province of Sindh.
2018 - Ceremonies take place worldwide to mark 100 years since the end of World War I; several political leaders gather in France, while Frank-Walter Steinmeier becomes the first German Head of state to take part in the official Remembrance Day commemorations in London.
Births
Up to 1800
995 - Gisela of Swabia (d. 1041)
1050 - Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1106)
1154 - King Sancho I of Portugal (d. 1212)
1155 - King Alfonso VIII of Castile (d. 1214)
1220 - Alphonse, Count of Poitiers (d. 1271)
1441 - Charlotte of Savoy, Queen of France (d. 1483)
1491 - Martin Bucer, Alsatian theologian and religious reformer (d. 1551)
1493 - Paracelsus, Swiss physician, alchemist and mystic (d. 1541)
1493 - Bernardo Tasso, Italian poet (d. 1569)
1569 - Martin Ruland the Younger, German physician and alchemist (d. 1611)
1579 - Frans Snyders, Flemish painter (d. 1657)
1599 - Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg, Queen of Sweden (d. 1655)
1668 - Johann Albert Fabricius, German scholar and bibliographer (d. 1736)
1696 - Andrea Zani, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1757)
1733 - Philip John Schuyler, American politician and soldier (d. 1804)
1743 - Carl Peter Thunberg, Swedish naturalist (d. 1828)
1744 - Abigail Adams, First Lady of the United States (d. 1818)
1748 - King Charles IV of Spain (d. 1819)
1758 - Caleb P. Bennett, Governor of Delaware (d. 1836)
1781 - Caroline Bardua, German painter (d. 1864)
1791 - Josef Munzinger, Swiss politician (d. 1855)
1792 - Mary Anne Disraeli, Welsh wife of Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield (d. 1872)
1799 - Charles Bent, Territorial Governor of New Mexico (d. 1847)
1801 1900
1821 - Fyodor Dostoevsky, Russian writer (d. 1881)
1831 - Willard Fiske, American librarian and scholar (d. 1904)
1835 - Matthias Jochumsson, Icelandic poet (d. 1920)
1848 - Zinovy Rozhdestvensky, Russian admiral (d. 1909)
1854 - William Yates Atkinson, American politician, Governor of Georgia (d. 1899)
1858 - Marie Bashkirtseff, Russian painter (d. 1884)
1863 - Paul Signac, French painter (d. 1935)
1864 - Alfred Hermann Fried, Austrian pacifist (d. 1921)
1869 - Gaetano Bresci, Italian anarchist (d. 1901)
1869 - Victor Emmanuel III of Italy (d. 1946)
1872 - Maude Adams, American actress (d. 1953)
1872 - David I. Walsh, 46th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1947)
1882 - Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden (d. 1973)
1883 - Ernest Ansermet, Swiss conductor (d. 1969)
1885 - George S. Patton, American general (d. 1945)
1887 - Roland Young, English actor (d. 1953)
1888 - Abul Kalam Azad, Indian independence activist (d. 1958)
1891 - Rabbit Maranville, American baseball player (d. 1954)
1893 - Paul van Zeeland, Prime Minister of Belgium (d. 1973)
1894 - Beverly Bayne, American silent movie actress (d. 1982)
1896 - Lucky Luciano, Italian-born American gangster (d. 1962)
1898 - Rene Clair, French movie director (d. 1981)
1899 - Pat O'Brien, American movie actor (d. 1983)
1901 1950
1901 - Magda Goebbels, wife of Joseph Goebbels (d. 1945)
1901 - Sam Spiegel, Austrian-American movie director (d. 1985)
1904 - Alger Hiss, American government official and spy (d. 1996)
1904 - J. H. C. Whitehead, British mathematician (d. 1960)
1904 - Andrzej Bogucki, Polish actor, operetta singer and songwriter (d. 1978)
1909 - Robert Ryan, American actor (d. 1973)
1910 - Carl A. Wirtanen, American astronomer (d. 1990)
1911 - Roberto Matta, Chilean painter (d. 2002)
1912 - Nina Andrycz, Polish actress (d. 2014)
1914 - Howard Fast, American writer (d. 2003)
1915 - Anna Schwartz, American economist and writer (d. 2012)
1917 - Manuel Alexandre, Spanish actor (d. 2010)
1918 - Stubby Kaye, American actor (d. 1997)
1920 - Roy Jenkins, British politician (d. 2003)
1921 - Terrel Bell, American politician, 2nd United States Secretary of Education (d. 1996)
1922 - Kurt Vonnegut, American novelist (d. 2007)
1925 - John Guillermin, English director, writer and producer (d. 2015)
1925 - June Whitfield, English actress (d. 2018)
1925 - Jonathan Winters, American comedy actor (d. 2013)
1926 - Torfi Bryngeirsson, Icelandic long jumper (d. 1995)
1926 - Harry Lumley, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1998)
1926 - Noah Gordon, American novelist
1926 - Maria Teresa de Filippis, Italian racing driver (d. 2016)
1927 - Mose Allison, American jazz musician (d. 2016)
1928 - Joseph Mercieca, former Archbishop of Malta (d. 2016)
1928 - Ernestine Anderson, American singer (d. 2016)
1928 - Gracita Morales, Spanish actress and singer (d. 1995)
1928 - Carlos Fuentes, Mexican writer (d. 2012)
1929 - Hans Magnus Enzensberger, German writer
1929 - LaVern Baker, American singer (d. 1997)
1930 - Hugh Everett, American physicist (d. 1982)
1930 - Vernon Handley, English conductor (d. 2008)
1930 - Mildred Dresselhaus, American physicist (d. 2017)
1932 - Germano Mosconi, Italian journalist
1936 - Mala Sinha, Bollywood movie actress
1936 - Susan Kohner, American actress
1937 - Andre Brugiroux, French traveler and writer
1937 - Stephen Lewis, Canadian politician and diplomat
1938 - Haruhiro Yamashita, Japanese gymnast
1938 - Ants Antson, Estonian speed skater (d. 2015)
1940 - Barbara Boxer, American politician and United States Senator for California
1944 - Kemal Sunal, Turkish actor
1945 - Daniel Ortega, President of Nicaragua
1945 - Vince Martell, American musician
1945 - Chris Dreja, English guitarist
1948 - Rene Harris, President of Nauru (d. 2008)
1950 - Jim Peterik, American musician
1951 1975
1951 - Kim Peek, American megasavant (d. 2009)
1951 - Fuzzy Zoeller, American golfer
1953 - Marshall Crenshaw, American rock music singer
1953 - Andy Partridge, British musician and singer-songwriter
1953 - Evelyn Matthei, Chilean politician
1955 - Friedrich Merz, German politician
1955 - Jigme Singye Wangchuck, former King of Bhutan
1956 - Jose Luis Brown, Argentine footballer (d. 2019)
1956 - Ian Craig Marsh, English guitarist
1958 - Luz Casal, Spanish singer
1958 - Kathy Lette, Australian author
1960 - Marcel Koller, Swiss footballer and coach
1960 - Stanley Tucci, American actor and director
1960 - Cristina Odone, Italian journalist, writer and editor
1960 - Chuck Hernandez, American baseball player and coach
1961 - Luca Zingaretti, Italian actor
1962 - James Morrison, Australian musician
1962 - Demi Moore, American actress
1964 - Calista Flockhart, American actress
1966 - Benedicta Boccoli, Italian actress
1966 - Alison Doody, Irish actress and model
1966 - Paul Monaghan, Scottish politician
1968 - Peaches, Canadian-German singer-songwriter, DJ, producer and actress
1968 - Alfredo Reinado, East Timorese rebel leader (d. 2008)
1969 - Carson Kressley, American television host and fashion designer
1970 - Lee Battersby, Australian writer
1971 - Jennifer Celotta, American director, producer and screenwriter
1972 - Tyler Christopher, American actor
1973 - Jason White, American musician (Green Day)
1974 - Leonardo DiCaprio, American actor
From 1976
1977 - Ben Hollioake, English cricketer (d. 2002)
1977 - Maniche, Portuguese footballer
1978 - Ludmilla Radchenko, Russian actress
1978 - Erik Edman, Swedish footballer
1981 - Guillaume, Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg
1981 - Raphael Gualazzi, Italian pianist and singer
1981 - Natalie Glebova, Russian-Canadian beauty queen, Miss Universe 2005
1982 - Gonzalo Canale, Argentine-born Italian rugby player
1983 - Philipp Lahm, German footballer
1983 - Arouna Kone, Ivorian footballer
1986 - Greta Salome Stefansdottir, Icelandic singer, songwriter and violinist
1986 - Francois Trinh-Duc, French rugby player
1987 - Yuya Tegoshi, Japanese singer and actor
1989 - Reina Tanaka, Japanese singer (Morning Musume)
1989 - Adam Rippon, American figure skater
1990 - Georginio Wijnaldum, Dutch footballer
1990 - Tom Dumoulin, Dutch cyclist
1991 - Christa B. Allen, American actress
1993 - Jamaal Lascelles, English footballer
1994 - Ellie Simmonds, British Paralympic swimmer
Deaths
Up to 1900
855 - Petronas, Byzantine Empire general
1028 - Constantine VIII, Byzantine Emperor
1130 - Theresa, Countess of Portugal (b. 1080)
1189 - William II of Sicily (b. 1153)
1623 - Philippe de Mornay, French theorist (b. 1549)
1686 - Otto von Guericke, German scientist, inventor and politician (b. 1602)
1724 - Joseph Blake, English outlaw and highwayman (b. 1700)
1751 - Julien Offray de La Mettrie, French physician and philosopher (b. 1709)
1831 - Nat Turner, American slave rebel (b. 1800)
1855 - Soren Kierkegaard, Danish philosopher (b. 1813)
1861 - King Pedro V of Portugal (b. 1837)
1862 - James Madison Porter, American lawyer and politician (b. 1793)
1880 - Ned Kelly, Australian bushranger (b. 1855)
1880 - Lucretia Mott, American feminist and abolitionist (b. 1793)
1887 - Haymarket affair executions:
George Engel, German-American businessman and activist (b. 1836)
Adolph Fischer, German-American printer and activist (b. 1858)
Albert Parsons, American journalist and activist (b. 1848)
August Spies, American journalist and activist (b. 1855)
1901 2000
1917 - Liliuokalani, Queen of Hawaii (b. 1838)
1918 - George Lawrence Price, Canadian soldier (b. 1892)
1918 - Victor Adler, Austrian politician (b. 1852)
1919 - Pavel Chistyakov, Russian painter (b. 1832)
1919 - Felix von Hartmann, German cardinal (b. 1861)
1938 - Typhoid Mary, Irish-American carrier of typhoid fever (b. 1869)
1939 - Jan Opletal, Czech student (b. 1915)
1945 - Jerome Kern, American composer (b. 1885)
1948 - Fred Niblo, American movie actor, director and producer (b. 1874)
1950 - Alexandros Diomidis, Greek banker and statesman (b. 1875)
1953 - Princess Irene of Hesse and by Rhine (b. 1866)
1968 - Jeanne Demessieux, French composer (b. 1921)
1972 - Berry Oakley, American musician (b. 1948)
1973 - Artturi Ilmari Virtanen, Finnish chemist (b. 1895)
1976 - Alexander Calder, American artist (b. 1898)
1977 - Greta Keller, Austrian-American actress and singer (b. 1903)
1979 - Dmitri Tiomkin, Ukrainian-American composer and conductor (b. 1894)
1984 - Martin Luther King, Sr., American civil rights figure (b. 1899)
1985 - Pelle Lindbergh, Swedish ice hockey player (b. 1959)
1990 - Yiannis Ritsos, Greek poet (b. 1909)
1993 - Erskine Hawkins, American trumpeter and big band leader (b. 1914)
1994 - Pedro Zamora, Cuban-American AIDS activist (b. 1972)
1994 - John A. Volpe, 61st Governor of Massachusetts (b. 1908)
1997 - Rod Milburn, American athlete (b. 1950)
1999 - Vivian Fuchs, British geologist and polar explorer (b. 1908)
2000 - Sandra Schmidt, German skier (b. 1981)
From 2001
2004 - Yasser Arafat, President of the Palestinian Authority (b. 1929)
2004 - Richard Dembo, French director and screenwriter (b. 1948)
2005 - Patrick Anson, 5th Earl of Lichfield, British photographer (b. 1939)
2010 - Marie Osborne, American actress (b. 1911)
2012 - Rex Hunt, former British Governor of the Falkland Islands (b. 1926)
2013 - Domenico Bartolucci, Italian cardinal (b. 1917)
2013 - Stein Grieg Halvorsen, Norwegian theatre actor (b. 1909)
2014 - John Doar, American lawyer (b. 1921)
2014 - Carol Ann Susi, American actress (b. 1952)
2014 - Harry Lonsdale, American scientist, entrepreneur and politician (b. 1932)
2015 - Nathaniel Marston, American actor (b. 1975)
2015 - Phil Taylor, English musician (Motorhead) (b. 1954)
2016 - Robert Vaughn, American actor (b. 1932)
2016 - Aki Schmidt, German footballer (b. 1935)
2016 - Ilse Aichinger, Austrian writer (b. 1921)
2017 - Kirti Nidhi Bista, Prime Minister of Nepal (b. 1927)
2017 - Valery Rozov, Russian BASE jumper (b. 1964)
2017 - Ian Wachtmeister, Swedish business executive and politician (b. 1932)
2017 - Henry Emeleus, British geologist (b. 1930)
2018 - D. J. Finney, British statistician (b. 1917)
2018 - Olga Harmony, Mexican playwright (b. 1928)
2018 - Wayne Maunder, Canadian-American actor (b. 1937)
2018 - Douglas Rain, Canadian actor (b. 1928)
2018 - Frankie Schneider, American NASCAR driver (b. 1926)
2019 - Zeke Bratkowski, American football player (b. 1931)
2019 - Frank Dobson, British politician (b. 1940)
2019 - Winston Lackin, Surinamese politician (b. 1954)
2019 - James Le Mesurier, British army officer and aid worker (b. 1971)
2019 - Ralph T. O'Neal, Premier of the British Virgin Islands (b. 1933)
2019 - Mumtaz Soysal, Turkish politician and lawyer (b. 1929)
2019 - Edward Zacca, Acting Governor-General of Jamaica (b. 1931)
Observances
Christian feast day of Martin of Tours (St. Martin)
Remembrance Day (some English-speaking countries)
Veterans Day (United States)
Armistice Day (France, Belgium)
Independence Day (Poland, Angola)
Lacplesis Day (Latvia)
Republic Day (Maldives)
Singles Day (China)
Women's Day (Belgium)
Days of the year