On This Day
What Happened on February 11 in History
8 events that happened on February 11, oldest first. Every entry is written in our own words and links to its source.
The Young Republic and the Civil War Era
1847
Thomas Edison, inventor of the phonograph and a practical light bulb, is born in Milan, Ohio.
Edison received more than 1,000 patents and built one of the first industrial research laboratories at Menlo Park, New Jersey. His work on electric power, sound recording and motion pictures shaped everyday life in the 20th century.
Source: archive.nytimes.com
1858
Bernadette Soubirous reports the first of her visions of a lady in a grotto near Lourdes, France.
The 14-year-old miller's daughter said the figure appeared to her repeatedly over the following months. The Catholic Church later recognized the apparitions of the Virgin Mary, and Lourdes became one of the world's largest pilgrimage sites.
Source: history.com
The Early 1900s and the World Wars
1937
The Flint sit-down strike ends as General Motors agrees to recognize the United Auto Workers.
Workers had occupied GM plants in Flint, Michigan, for 44 days, halting much of the company's production. Michigan Governor Frank Murphy helped broker the deal, and the victory set off a wave of union organizing across American industry.
1945
The Yalta Conference ends with Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin agreeing on plans for the postwar world.
Meeting in Crimea, the three leaders agreed to divide Germany into occupation zones, to hold a conference to found the United Nations, and on terms for Soviet entry into the war against Japan. Promises of free elections in Poland and Eastern Europe went largely unkept.
Source: history.com; archive.nytimes.com
The Cold War
1970
Japan launches its first satellite, Ohsumi, becoming the fourth nation to reach orbit on its own.
The small satellite rode a Lambda 4S rocket from a launch site in southern Japan after several failed attempts. Only the Soviet Union, the United States and France had previously placed satellites in orbit with their own rockets.
Source: history.com
1971
The Seabed Arms Control Treaty, banning nuclear weapons on the ocean floor, opens for signature.
The treaty was signed in Washington, London and Moscow and barred placing nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction on the seabed beyond a coastal zone. It entered into force in May 1972.
Source: history.state.gov
1990
Nelson Mandela walks free from prison in South Africa after 27 years behind bars.
The release, ordered by President F. W. de Klerk, came days after the ban on the African National Congress was lifted. Mandela went on to negotiate the end of apartheid and was elected South Africa's first Black president in 1994.
Source: history.com; un.org
The Modern Era
2011
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak resigns after 18 days of mass protests.
Demonstrators centered on Cairo's Tahrir Square had demanded an end to his rule of nearly three decades. Power passed to the country's military council, and President Barack Obama said the people of Egypt had made their voices heard.
Source: obamawhitehouse.archives.gov