On This Day
What Happened on December 11 in History
8 events that happened on December 11, oldest first. Every entry is written in our own words and links to its source.
The Young Republic and the Civil War Era
1816
Indiana joined the Union as the 19th state.
Indiana entered the Union during the administration of President James Madison.
1862
The Battle of Fredericksburg began as Union troops fought their way into the Virginia town.
Ambrose Burnside's Army of the Potomac had waited weeks for pontoon bridges to cross the Rappahannock River, giving Robert E. Lee time to gather his army. The battle ended in a costly Union defeat.
Source: battlefields.org
The Early 1900s and the World Wars
1941
Germany and Italy declared war on the United States.
Adolf Hitler's declaration, four days after Pearl Harbor, brought the United States fully into the war in Europe. Congress answered with its own declarations of war the same day.
Source: history.com
The Cold War
1946
The UN General Assembly created UNICEF to aid children in war-torn countries.
The United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund first supplied food and medical relief after World War II. It later became a leading advocate for children's rights worldwide.
Source: history.com
1978
Masked robbers stole millions in the Lufthansa heist at New York's JFK Airport.
About half a dozen men raided the airline's cargo building and escaped with more than $5 million in cash and nearly $1 million in jewelry. It remains one of the largest robberies in U.S. history.
Source: history.com
The Modern Era
1994
Russian troops and tanks invaded the breakaway republic of Chechnya.
It was Russia's largest military offensive since the 1979 invasion of Afghanistan. President Boris Yeltsin refused to accept Chechnya's declaration of independence, and the war that followed lasted until 1996.
Source: history.com
1997
The Kyoto Protocol on cutting greenhouse gas emissions was adopted in Japan.
The treaty set binding emission targets for many industrialized nations while leaving major developing emitters such as China and India without binding limits.
Source: history.com
2008
Financier Bernard Madoff was arrested for running a giant Ponzi scheme.
Federal agents arrested Madoff at his New York apartment, and the SEC charged him the same day with a fraud then estimated at $50 billion. Later estimates put the losses even higher.
Source: history.com; sec.gov