On This Day

What Happened on January 11 in History

8 events that happened on January 11, oldest first. Every entry is written in our own words and links to its source.

The Young Republic and the Civil War Era

1863
Union forces captured Arkansas Post, a Confederate fort on the Arkansas River.
General John McClernand and Admiral David Porter took the stronghold after a combined land and river attack. The victory secured central Arkansas for the Union and lifted Northern spirits after the defeat at Fredericksburg.
Source: history.com
1879
British troops invaded Zululand, starting the Anglo-Zulu War.
The Zulu king had ignored a British ultimatum to disband his army. Three columns under Lord Chelmsford crossed from Natal into the Zulu kingdom.
Source: history.com

1908
Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed Grand Canyon National Monument in Arizona Territory.
Roosevelt used the Antiquities Act of 1906 to protect the canyon from mining claims and development. Congress made the Grand Canyon a national park in 1919.
Source: history.com; presidency.ucsb.edu
1922
A 14-year-old Toronto patient, Leonard Thompson, became the first person treated with insulin for diabetes.
Type 1 diabetes had long been a death sentence. The insulin injections developed in Toronto turned it into a manageable condition and have saved millions of lives.
Source: history.com; nobelprize.org
1943
Franklin Roosevelt became the first president to fly on official business, heading for Casablanca.
He crossed the Atlantic in a Boeing 314 flying boat called the Dixie Clipper to meet Winston Churchill. German submarines made the sea route risky, so his advisors reluctantly chose to fly.
Source: history.com; archives.gov

1964
Surgeon General Luther Terry issued a landmark report linking cigarette smoking to lung cancer.
Terry released the findings on a Saturday to soften their effect on the stock market. The report led to warning labels on cigarette packs and a long decline in American smoking.
Source: history.com; archive.nytimes.com
1989
Ronald Reagan delivered his farewell address to the nation from the Oval Office.
Closing eight years in office, Reagan spoke with pride about his foreign policy record and said Americans had rediscovered their commitment to freedom around the world.
Source: history.com; millercenter.org

1996
The space shuttle Endeavour launched on STS-72 to retrieve a Japanese research satellite.
The six-person crew brought the satellite back aboard, deployed and recovered a NASA science payload, and made two spacewalks during the nine-day flight.
Source: nasa.gov