August 11 in History

Luna 25 launches from the Vostochny Cosmodrome.

At least 41 people are killed and another 179 injured after two passenger trains collide in Alexandria, Egypt.

At least 306 people are killed and 3,000 others injured in a pair of earthquakes near Tabriz, Iran.

The oil tanker MT Solar 1 sinks off the coast of Guimaras and Negros Islands in the Philippines, causing the country's worst oil spill.

NATO takes over command of the peacekeeping force in Afghanistan, marking its first major operation outside Europe in its 54-year-history.

Jemaah Islamiyah leader Riduan Isamuddin, better known as Hambali, is arrested in Bangkok, Thailand.

An air rage incident occurs on board Southwest Airlines Flight 1763 when 19-year-old Jonathan Burton attempts to storm the cockpit, but he is subdued by other passengers and dies from his injuries.

The Russell Hill subway accident in Toronto kills 3 and injures 30, due to a combination of human error and a safety system design flaw.

The Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota opens. At the time the largest shopping mall in the United States.

Nickelodeon's first line of "Nicktoons" (Doug, Rugrats & Ren & Stimpy) premiere on the channel.

A meeting between Sayyed Imam Al-Sharif, Osama bin Laden, Abdullah Yusuf Azzam, and leaders of Egyptian Islamic Jihad in Afghanistan culminates in the formation of Al-Qaeda.

"We begin bombing in five minutes": United States President Ronald Reagan, while running for re-election, jokes while preparing to make his weekly Saturday address on National Public Radio.

A bomb explodes on Pan Am Flight 830, en route from Tokyo, Japan to Honolulu, Hawaii, killing one passenger and injuring 15 others.

Two Aeroflot Tupolev Tu-134s collide over the Ukrainian city of Dniprodzerzhynsk and crash, killing all 178 aboard both airliners.

East Timor: Governor Mário Lemos Pires of Portuguese Timor abandons the capital Dili, following a coup by the Timorese Democratic Union (UDT) and the outbreak of civil war between UDT and Fretilin.

At the 1520 Sedgwick Avenue apartment building in The Bronx, New York, DJ Kool Herc hosts a house party widely considered to mark the birthplace of hip-hop culture and music. DJ Kool Herc demonstrates a new technique of beat juggling and Coke La Rock performs a new style of vocal performance called rapping.

Vietnam War: The last United States ground combat unit leaves South Vietnam.

The Apollo 11 astronauts are released from a three-week quarantine following their liftoff from the Moon.

Race riots (the Watts Riots) begin in the Watts area of Los Angeles, California.

Vostok 3 launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome and cosmonaut Andrian Nikolayev becomes the first person to float in microgravity.

The former Portuguese territories in India of Dadra and Nagar Haveli are merged to create the Union Territory Dadra and Nagar Haveli.

Chad declares independence from France.

Sheremetyevo International Airport, the second-largest airport in Russia, opens.

Hussein bin Talal is proclaimed King of Jordan.

Poles in Kraków engage in a pogrom against Jews in the city, killing one and wounding five.

Actress Hedy Lamarr and composer George Antheil receive a patent for a Frequency-hopping spread spectrum communication system that later became the basis for modern technologies in wireless telephones, two-way radio communications, and Wi-Fi.

The first civilian prisoners arrive at the Federal prison on Alcatraz Island.

Babe Ruth becomes the first baseball player to hit 500 home runs in his career with a home run at League Park in Cleveland, Ohio.

The 1920 Cork hunger strike begins which eventually results in the deaths of three Irish Republicans including the Lord Mayor of Cork Terence MacSwiney.

The Latvian–Soviet Peace Treaty, which relinquished Russia's authority and pretenses to Latvia, is signed, ending the Latvian War of Independence.

Germany's Weimar Constitution is signed into law.

World War I: The Battle of Amiens ends.

Spanish–American War: American troops enter the city of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico.

An explosion of guncotton occurs in Stowmarket, England, killing 28.

The Eiger in the Bernese Alps is ascended for the first time by Charles Barrington accompanied by Christian Almer and Peter Bohren.

In Colombia, Juan del Corral declares the independence of Antioquia.

Peninsular War: French troops engage British-Portuguese forces in the Battle of Majadahonda.

Francis II assumes the title of first Emperor of Austria.

Captain Francis Light establishes the British colony of Penang in Malaysia.

Morean War: The 49-day Siege of Coron ends with the surrender and massacre of its garrison by the Venetians.

Franco-Dutch War: Forces of the Holy Roman Empire defeat the French in the Battle of Konzer Brücke.

Rodrigo de Borja is elected as Head of the Catholic Church, taking the name Pope Alexander VI.

The Battle of Otlukbeli: Mehmed the Conqueror of the Ottoman Empire decisively defeats Uzun Hassan of Aq Qoyunlu.

Wars of Scottish Independence: Battle of Dupplin Moor: Scots under Domhnall II, Earl of Mar are routed by Edward Balliol.

The Great Famine of Europe becomes so dire that even the king of England has difficulties buying bread for himself and his entourage.

The Qarmatians of Bahrayn capture and pillage the city of Basra.

Battle of Adda: The Goths under Theodoric the Great and his ally Alaric II defeat the forces of Odoacer on the Adda River, near Milan.

Claudius Silvanus, accused of treason, proclaims himself Roman Emperor against Constantius II.

Hadrian is proclaimed Roman emperor, two days after Trajan's death.

The south-western part of Dacia (modern Romania) becomes a Roman province: Roman Dacia.

Traditional date of the defeat of Bel by Hayk, progenitor and founder of the Armenian nation.

The Mesoamerican Long Count calendar, used by several pre-Columbian Mesoamerican civilizations, notably the Maya, begins.

Marvin Harrison Jr., American football player

Moyuka Uchijima, Japanese tennis player

Gregoria Mariska Tunjung, Indonesian badminton player

Changbin, South Korean rapper

Sarah Clelland, Scottish footballer

Brad Binder, South African motorcycle racer

Storm Sanders, Australian tennis player

Anton Cooper, New Zealand cross-country cyclist

Joseph Barbato, French footballer

Song I-han, South Korean singer

Alyson Stoner, American actor, singer, and dancer

Tomi Lahren, American conservative political commentator

Cristian Tello, Spanish footballer

Lenka Juríková, Slovak tennis player

Junior Heffernan, Irish cyclist and triathlete (died 2013)

Sebastian Huke, German footballer

Rabeh Al-Hussaini, Filipino basketball player

Patty Mills, Australian basketball player

Mustafa Pektemek, Turkish footballer

Dany N'Guessan, French footballer

Drew Storen, American baseball player

Mokhtar Benmoussa, Algerian footballer

Hélène Defrance, French sailor

Pablo Sandoval, Venezuelan baseball player

Jacqueline Fernandez, Bahraini–Sri Lankan actress

Asher Roth, American rapper

Mojtaba Abedini, Iranian Olympic fencer

Melky Cabrera, Dominican baseball player

Lucas di Grassi, Brazilian race car driver

Chris Hemsworth, Australian actor

Luke Lewis, Australian rugby league player

Pavel 183, Russian painter (died 2013)

Andy Lee, American football player

Daniel Poohl, Swedish journalist

Daniel Lloyd, English cyclist and sportscaster

Lee Suggs, American football player

Walter Ayoví, Ecuadorian footballer

Spyros Gogolos, Greek footballer

Charlotte Leslie, British politician

Lillian Nakate, Ugandan politician

Isy Suttie, English comedian, musician, actress, and writer

Gemma Hayes, Irish singer-songwriter

Dênio Martins, Brazilian footballer

Iván Córdoba, Colombian footballer and manager

Bubba Crosby, American baseball player

Will Friedle, American actor and screenwriter

Ben Gibbard, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

Ľubomír Višňovský, Slovak ice hockey player

Chris Cummings, Canadian singer-songwriter

Marie-France Dubreuil, Canadian figure skater

Hadiqa Kiani, Pakistani singer, songwriter and philanthropist

Audrey Mestre, French biologist and diver (died 2002)

Carolyn Murphy, American model and actress

Kristin Armstrong, American cyclist

Alejandra Barros, Mexican actress and screenwriter

Tommy Mooney, English footballer

Andy Bell, British musician and songwriter

Dirk Hannemann, German footballer and manager

Gianluca Pessotto, Italian footballer

Anna Gunn, American actress

Sophie Okonedo, British actress

Charlie Sexton, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

Massimiliano Allegri, Italian footballer and manager

Enrique Bunbury, Spanish singer-songwriter and guitarist

Joe Rogan, American actor, comedian, and television host

Petter Wettre, Norwegian saxophonist and composer

Nigel Martyn, English footballer and coach

Juan María Solare, Argentinian pianist and composer

Marc Bergevin, Canadian ice hockey player and manager

Embeth Davidtz, American actress

Viola Davis, American actress

Jim Lee, South Korean-American author and illustrator

Grant Waite, New Zealand golfer

Hiromi Makihara, Japanese baseball player

Brian Azzarello, American author

Charles Cecil, English video game designer and co-founded Revolution Software

John Micklethwait, English journalist and author

Rob Minkoff, American director and producer

David Brooks, American journalist and author

Craig Ehlo, American basketball player and coach

Suniel Shetty, Indian actor and film producer

Gustavo Cerati, Argentinian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (died 2014)

Yoshiaki Murakami, Japanese businessman

Taraki Sivaram, Sri Lankan journalist and author (died 2005)

Richard Scudamore, English businessman

László Szlávics, Jr., Hungarian sculptor

Steven Pokere, New Zealand rugby player

Jah Wobble, English singer-songwriter and bass player

Ian Stuart Donaldson, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 1993)

Masayoshi Son, Japanese technology entrepreneur and investor

Pierre-Louis Lions, French mathematician and academic

Marc Bureau, Canadian politician, 16th Mayor of Gatineau

Sylvia Hermon, Northern Irish academic and politician

Bryan Bassett, American guitarist

Vance Heafner, American golfer and coach (died 2012)

Joe Jackson, English singer-songwriter and musician

Tarmo Rüütli, Estonian footballer, coach, and manager

Yashpal Sharma, Indian cricketer and umpire (died 2021)

Hulk Hogan, American professional wrestler (died 2025)

Wijda Mazereeuw, Dutch swimmer

Reid Blackburn, American photographer (died 1980)

Bob Mothersbaugh, American singer, guitarist, and producer

Erik Brann, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2003)

Gennadiy Nikonov, Russian engineer, designed the AN-94 rifle (died 2003)

Steve Wozniak, American computer scientist and programmer, co-founded Apple Inc.

Eric Carmen, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2024)

Tim Hutchinson, American lawyer and politician

Ian Charleson, Scottish-English actor and singer (died 1990)

Don Boyd, Scottish director, producer, and screenwriter

Theo de Jong, Dutch footballer, coach, and manager

Georgios Karatzaferis, Greek journalist and politician

Wilma van den Berg, Dutch sprinter

John Conlee, American singer-songwriter

Marilyn vos Savant, American journalist and author

Martin Linton, Swedish-English journalist and politician

Frederick W. Smith, American businessman, founded FedEx (died 2025)

Ian McDiarmid, Scottish actor

Jim Kale, Canadian bass player

Pervez Musharraf, Pakistani general and politician, 10th President of Pakistan (died 2023)

Denis Payton, English saxophonist (died 2006)

Mike Hugg, English drummer and keyboard player

Otis Taylor, American football player (died 2023)

John Ellison, American-Canadian musician and songwriter

Glenys Page, New Zealand cricketer (died 2012)

James Mancham, first President of Seychelles (died 2017)

Ronnie Dawson, American singer and guitarist (died 2003)

Anna Massey, English actress (died 2011)

Patrick Joseph McGovern, American businessman, founded International Data Group (died 2014)

Andre Dubus, American short story writer, essayist, and memoirist (died 1999)

Bill Monbouquette, American baseball player and coach (died 2015)

Jonathan Spence, English-American historian and academic (died 2021)

Bob Hepple, South African lawyer and academic (died 2015)

Jerry Falwell, American minister and television host (died 2007)

Jerzy Grotowski, Polish director and producer (died 1999)

Tamás Vásáry, Hungarian pianist and conductor (died 2026)

Fernando Arrabal, Spanish actor, director, and playwright

Izzy Asper, Canadian lawyer, businessman, and politician, founded Canwest (died 2003)

Geoffrey Cass, English businessman

Peter Eisenman, American architect, designed the City of Culture of Galicia

John Gorrie, English director and screenwriter

Manabendra Mukhopadhyay, Indian singer (died 1992)

Raymond Leppard, English harpsichord player and conductor (died 2019)

Stuart Rosenberg, American director and producer (died 2007)

Aaron Klug, Lithuanian-English chemist and biophysicist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2018)

Floyd Curry, Canadian ice hockey player and manager (died 2006)

Arlene Dahl, American actress, businesswoman and writer (died 2021)

Stan Chambers, American journalist and actor (died 2015)

John "Mule" Miles, American baseball player (died 2013)

Alex Haley, American historian and author (died 1992)

Mike Douglas, American singer and talk show host (died 2006)

Chuck Rayner, Canadian ice hockey player (died 2002)

Luis Olmo, Puerto Rican-American baseball player and manager (died 2017)

Johnny Claes, English-Belgian race car driver and trumpet player (died 1956)

Morris Weiss, American author and illustrator (died 2014)

Paul Dupuis, Canadian actor (died 1976)

Bob Scheffing, American baseball player and manager (died 1985)

Angus Wilson, English author and academic (died 1991)

Eva Ahnert-Rohlfs, German astronomer and academic (died 1954)

Raphael Blau, American screenwriter and producer (died 1996)

Thanom Kittikachorn, Thai field marshal and politician, 10th Prime Minister of Thailand (died 2004)

Yūji Koseki, Japanese composer (died 1989)

Uku Masing, Estonian philosopher and theologian (died 1985)

Don Freeman, American author and illustrator (died 1978)

Torgny T:son Segerstedt, Swedish sociologist and philosopher (died 1999)

Ted a'Beckett, Australian cricketer and lawyer (died 1989)

Erwin Chargaff, Austrian-American biochemist and academic (died 2002)

Ernst Jaakson, Estonian diplomat (died 1998)

Alfredo Binda, Italian cyclist (died 1986)

Lloyd Nolan, American actor (died 1985)

Christian de Castries, French general (died 1991)

Charley Paddock, American sprinter (died 1943)

Philip Phillips, American archaeologist and scholar (died 1994)

Peter Mohr Dam, Faroese educator and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands (died 1968)

Enid Blyton, English author, poet, and educator (died 1968)

Louise Bogan, American poet and critic (died 1970)

Hugh MacDiarmid, Scottish poet and linguist (died 1978)

Eiji Yoshikawa, Japanese author (died 1962)

Stancho Belkovski, Bulgarian architect and educator (died 1962)

Edgar Zilsel, Austrian historian and philosopher of science, linked to the Vienna Circle (died 1944)

Stephen Butterworth, English physicist and engineer (died 1958)

Hermann Wlach, Austrian-Swiss actor (died 1962)

Aleksander Aberg, Estonian wrestler (died 1920)

Oliver W. F. Lodge, English poet and author (died 1955)

Adolph M. Christianson, American lawyer and judge (died 1954)

Princess Louise Charlotte of Saxe-Altenburg (died 1953)

Tom Richardson, English cricketer (died 1912)

Ottó Bláthy, Hungarian engineer and chess player (died 1939)

Christiaan Eijkman, Dutch physician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1930)

John Hodges, Australian cricketer (died 1933)

Marie François Sadi Carnot, French engineer and politician, 4th President of the French Republic (died 1894)

Warren Brown, American historian and politician (died 1919)

Robert G. Ingersoll, American soldier, lawyer, and politician (died 1899)

Kido Takayoshi, Japanese samurai and politician (died 1877)

Frederick Innes, Scottish-Australian politician, 9th Premier of Tasmania (died 1882)

William W. Chapman, American lawyer and politician (died 1892)

David Rice Atchison, American general, lawyer, and politician (died 1886)

James B. Longacre, American engraver (died 1869)

Friedrich Ludwig Jahn, Prussian gymnast, educator, and politician (died 1852)

Joseph Schuster, German composer (died 1812)

Richard Brocklesby, English physician (died 1797)

Frederick Haldimand, Swiss-English general and politician, 22nd Governor of Quebec (died 1791)

Richard Mead, English physician and astrologer (died 1754)

Margaret Paleologa, Sovereign Marchioness of Montferrat (died 1566)

Nikolaus von Schönberg, Catholic cardinal (died 1537)

Yolande of Aragon (died 1442)

Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (died 1125)

Miguel Uribe Turbay, Colombian precandidate to presidency (born 1986)

Danielle Spencer, American actress (born 1965)

Ángel Salazar, Cuban-American comedian and actor (born 1956)

Noël Treanor, Irish Roman Catholic prelate (born 1950)

Mike Ahern, Australian politician, 32nd Premier of Queensland (born 1942)

Anne Heche, American actress (born 1969)

Hanae Mori, Japanese fashion designer (born 1926)

Trini Lopez, American singer and guitarist (born 1937)

Sumner Redstone, American billionaire businessman (born 1923)

Sergio Obeso Rivera, Mexican Roman Catholic cardinal (born 1931)

V S Naipaul, British writer, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1932)

Terry A. Davis, American computer programmer, creator of TempleOS (born 1969)

Yisrael Kristal, Polish-Israeli supercentenarian; oldest living Holocaust survivor and one of the ten oldest men ever (born 1903)

Segun Bucknor, Nigerian musician and journalist (born 1946)

Serge Collot, French viola player and educator (born 1923)

Harald Nielsen, Danish footballer and manager (born 1941)

Richard Oriani, Salvadoran-American metallurgist and engineer (born 1920)

Vladimir Beara, Croatian footballer and manager (born 1928)

Raymond Gravel, Canadian priest and politician (born 1952)

Kika Szaszkiewiczowa, Polish author and blogger (born 1917)

Robin Williams, American actor and comedian (born 1951)

Sam Hall, American diver, legislator, and mercenary (born 1937)

Raymond Delisle, French cyclist (born 1943)

Zafar Futehally, Indian ornithologist and author (born 1919)

David Howard, English ballet dancer and educator (born 1937)

Red Bastien, American wrestler, trainer, and promoter (born 1931)

Michael Dokes, American boxer (born 1958)

Lucy Gallardo, Argentinian-Mexican actress and screenwriter (born 1929)

James Mourilyan Tanner, British paediatric endocrinologist (born 1920)

Eunice Kennedy Shriver, American activist, founded the Special Olympics (born 1921)

George Furth, American actor and playwright (born 1932)

Dursun Karataş, founding leader of the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party–Front (DHKP-C) in Turkey (born 1952)

Mike Douglas, American singer and talk show host (born 1920)

Armand Borel, Swiss-American mathematician and academic (born 1923)

Herb Brooks, American ice hockey player and coach (born 1937)

Galen Rowell, American photographer and mountaineer (born 1940)

Percy Stallard, English cyclist and coach (born 1909)

Jean Papineau-Couture, Canadian composer and academic (born 1916)

Rafael Kubelík, Czech conductor and composer (born 1914)

Ambrosio Padilla, Filipino basketball player and politician (born 1910)

Phil Harris, American singer-songwriter and actor (born 1904)

Peter Cushing, English actor (born 1913)

J. D. McDuffie, American race car driver (born 1938)

John Meillon, Australian actor (born 1934)

Anne Ramsey, American actress (born 1929)

János Drapál, Hungarian motorcycle racer (born 1948)

Alfred A. Knopf Sr., American publisher, founded Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. (born 1892)

Paul Felix Schmidt, Estonian–American chemist and chess player (born 1916)

Tom Drake, American actor and singer (born 1918)

Paul Robert, French lexicographer and publisher (born 1910)

J. G. Farrell, English author (born 1935)

Berta Ruck, Indian-born Welsh romance novelist (born 1878)

Frederic Calland Williams, British co-inventor of the Williams-Kilborn tube, used for memory in early computer systems (born 1911)

Vicente Emilio Sojo, Venezuelan conductor and composer (born 1887)

Max Theiler, South African-American virologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1899)

Miriam Licette, English soprano and educator (born 1885)

Bill Woodfull, Australian cricketer and educator (born 1897)

Otto Wahle, Austrian-American swimmer and coach (born 1879)

Antanas Škėma, Lithuanian-American author, playwright, actor, and director (born 1910)

Jackson Pollock, American painter (born 1912)

Tazio Nuvolari, Italian race car driver and motorcycle racer (born 1892)

Stefan Jaracz, Polish actor and theater producer (born 1883)

Jean Bugatti, German-Italian engineer (born 1909)

Siegfried Flesch, Austrian fencer (born 1872)

Edith Wharton, American novelist and short story writer (born 1862)

Blas Infante, Spanish historian and politician (born 1885)

Mary Sumner, English philanthropist, founded the Mothers' Union (born 1828)

Andrew Carnegie, Scottish-American businessman and philanthropist, founded the Carnegie Steel Company and Carnegie Hall (born 1835)

Khudiram Bose, Indian Bengali revolutionary (born 1889)

Eugenio María de Hostos, Puerto Rican-American sociologist, philosopher, and lawyer (born 1839)

Enrico Betti, Italian mathematician and academic (born 1813)

John Henry Newman, English cardinal and theologian (born 1801)

Lydia Koidula, Estonian poet and playwright (born 1843)

Halfdan Kjerulf, Norwegian pianist and composer (born 1815)

Macedonio Melloni, Italian physicist and academic (born 1798)

Lorenz Oken, German botanist, biologist, and ornithologist (born 1779)

Henry James Pye, English poet and politician (born 1745)

Charles-François Tiphaigne de la Roche, French physician and author (born 1722)

Prince Vittorio Amedeo Theodore of Savoy (born 1723)

Ottavio Piccolomini, Austrian-Italian field marshal (born 1599)

Lavinia Fontana, Italian painter (born 1552)

Hamnet Shakespeare, son of William Shakespeare (born 1585)

Pedro Nunes, Portuguese mathematician and academic (born 1502)

Bartolomé de Escobedo, Spanish composer and educator (born 1500)

John Bell, English bishop

Johann Tetzel, German preacher (born 1465)

Hans Memling, German-Belgian painter (born 1430)

William Waynflete, English Lord Chancellor and bishop of Winchester (born c. 1398)

Kettil Karlsson, regent of Sweden and Bishop of Linköping (born 1433)

Nicholas of Cusa, German cardinal and mystic (born 1401)

John Hunyadi, Hungarian general and politician (born 1387)

Domhnall II, Earl of Mar

Robert II Keith, Marischal of Scotland

Thomas Randolph, 2nd Earl of Moray

Murdoch III, Earl of Menteith

Robert Bruce, Lord of Liddesdale

Agnes of Faucigny, Dame ruler of Faucigny, Countess consort of Savoy

Möngke Khan, Mongolian emperor (born 1208)

Clare of Assisi, Italian follower of Francis of Assisi (born 1194)

Guttorm of Norway (born 1199)

Sokkate, king of the Pagan dynasty of Burma (born 1001)

Byrhtnoth, English soldier (born 956)

Gero, Count of Alsleben

Dhuka al-Rumi, Abbasid governor of Egypt

Rusticula, abbess of Arles

Archbishop Flavian of Constantinople

Magnentius, Roman usurper (born 303)

Jia Xu, Chinese politician and strategist (born 147)