March 11 in History

The Burmese military kills at least 30 villagers, including 3 Buddhist monks, during the Pinlaung massacre in Shan State, Myanmar.

US President Joe Biden signs the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan into law.

The World Health Organization (WHO) declares the COVID-19 virus epidemic a pandemic.

A Bombardier Challenger 604 crashes into the Zagros Mountains near the Iranian city of Shar-e-kord, killing all 11 people on board.

A U.S. soldier kills 16 civilians in the Panjwayi District of Afghanistan near Kandahar.

An earthquake measuring 9.0 in magnitude strikes 130 km (81 mi) east of Sendai, Japan, triggering a tsunami killing thousands of people. This event also triggered the second largest nuclear accident in history, and one of only two events to be classified as a Level 7 on the International Nuclear Event Scale.

Economist and businessman Sebastián Piñera is sworn in as President of Chile. Aftershocks of the 2010 Pichilemu earthquakes hit central Chile during the ceremony.

Winnenden school shooting: Fifteen are killed and nine are injured before recent graduate Tim Kretschmer shoots and kills himself, leading to tightened weapons restrictions in Germany.

Space Shuttle Endeavour launches on STS-123, carrying the first component of the Japanese Kibō module to the International Space Station.

Michelle Bachelet is inaugurated as the first female president of Chile.

Madrid train bombings: Simultaneous explosions on rush hour trains in Madrid, Spain kill 191 people.

The International Criminal Court holds its inaugural session in The Hague.

Lithuania declares independence from the Soviet Union.

Patricio Aylwin is sworn in as the first democratically elected President of Chile since 1970.

Mikhail Gorbachev is elected to the position of General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, making Gorbachev the USSR's de facto, and last, head of state.

Bob Hawke is appointed Prime Minister of Australia.

Fifteen people are killed when Widerøe Flight 933 crashes into the Barents Sea near Gamvik, Norway.

Hundreds of students protest in the University of Pristina in Kosovo, then part of Yugoslavia, to give their province more political rights. The protests then became a nationwide movement.

Coastal Road massacre: At least 37 are killed and more than 70 are wounded when Fatah hijack an Israeli bus, prompting Israel's Operation Litani.

The 1977 Hanafi Siege: Around 150 hostages held in Washington, D.C., by Hanafi Muslims are set free after ambassadors from three Islamic nations join negotiations.

Rudolf Höss, the first commandant of Auschwitz concentration camp, is captured by British troops.

World War II: The Imperial Japanese Navy attempts a large-scale kamikaze attack on the U.S. Pacific Fleet anchored at Ulithi atoll in Operation Tan No. 2.

World War II: The Empire of Vietnam, a short-lived Japanese puppet state, is established.

World War II: United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the Lend-Lease Act into law, allowing American-built war supplies to be shipped to the Allies on loan.

In New York City, Samuel Roxy Rothafel opens the Roxy Theatre.

World War I: Mesopotamian campaign: Baghdad falls to Anglo-Indian forces commanded by General Frederick Stanley Maude.

The Saint-Germain bombing ushers France into the Ère des attentats (1892-1894).

The Great Blizzard of 1888 begins along the eastern seaboard of the United States, shutting down commerce and killing more than 400 people.

Shō Tai formally abdicates his position of King of Ryūkyū, under orders from Tokyo, ending the Ryukyu Kingdom.

Construction of the Seven Sisters Colliery, South Wales, begins; it is located on one of the richest coal sources in Britain.

The Great Sheffield Flood kills 238 people in Sheffield, England.

American Civil War: The Constitution of the Confederate States of America is adopted.

The first performance of Rigoletto by Giuseppe Verdi takes place in Venice.

Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine and Robert Baldwin become the first Prime Ministers of the Province of Canada to be democratically elected under a system of responsible government.

Flagstaff War: Unhappy with translational differences regarding the Treaty of Waitangi, chiefs Hōne Heke, Kawiti and Māori tribe members chop down the British flagpole for a fourth time and drive settlers out of Kororāreka, New Zealand.

The Battle of Kharda is fought between the Maratha Confederacy and the Nizam of Hyderabad, resulting in Maratha victory.

The signing of the Treaty of Mangalore brings the Second Anglo-Mysore War to an end.

Queen Anne withholds Royal Assent from the Scottish Militia Bill, the last time a British monarch vetoes legislation.

The Daily Courant, England's first national daily newspaper, is published for the first time.

The Frondeurs and the French government sign the Peace of Rueil.

Guaraní forces living in the Jesuit reductions defeat bandeirantes loyal to the Portuguese Empire at the Battle of Mbororé in present-day Panambí, Argentina.

Battle of Castagnaro: Padua, led by John Hawkwood, is victorious over Giovanni Ordelaffi of Verona.

Arnošt of Pardubice becomes the last Bishop of Prague (3 March 1343 O.S.), and, a year later, the first Archbishop of Prague.

Triumph of Orthodoxy: Empress Theodora II restores the veneration of icons in the Orthodox churches in the Byzantine Empire.

Margarita Kolosov, German rhythmic gymnast

Tristan Vukčević, Serbian-Swedish basketball player

Travis Konecny, Canadian ice hockey player

Ray Spalding, American basketball player

Conor Garland, American ice hockey player

Andy Robertson, Scottish footballer

Jodie Comer, English actress

Anthony Davis, American basketball player

Austin Swift, American producer and actor

Ayumi Morita, Japanese tennis player

Malcolm Delaney, American basketball player

Orlando Johnson, American basketball player

Anton Yelchin, Russian-American actor (died 2016)

Pedro Báez, Dominican baseball player

Fábio Coentrão, Portuguese footballer

Cecil Lolo, South African footballer (died 2015)

Marc-André Gragnani, Canadian ice hockey player

Tanel Kangert, Estonian cyclist

Ngonidzashe Makusha, Zimbabwean sprinter and long jumper

Dario Cologna, Swiss skier

Paul Bissonnette, Canadian ice hockey player

Daniel Vázquez Evuy, Equatoguinean footballer

Cassandra Fairbanks, American journalist and activist

Stelios Malezas, Greek footballer

Greg Olsen, American football player and commentator

Nikolai Topor-Stanley, Australian footballer

Rob Brown, American actor

Lukáš Krajíček, Czech ice hockey player

Brian Anderson, American baseball player

Thora Birch, American actress, producer, and director

David Anders, American actor

Lee Evans, American football player

Russell Lissack, English musician

LeToya Luckett, American singer-songwriter and actress

Rich Hill, American baseball player

Mark Rober, American YouTuber and engineer

Dan Uggla, American baseball player

Elton Brand, American basketball player

Fred Jones, American basketball player

Benji Madden, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

Joel Madden, American singer-songwriter and producer

Didier Drogba, Ivorian footballer

Albert Luque, Spanish footballer

Becky Hammon, American-Russian basketball player and coach

Michal Handzuš, Slovak ice hockey player

Thomas Gravesen, Danish footballer

Bobby Abreu, Venezuelan baseball player

Johnny Knoxville, American actor and entertainer

Martin Ručinský, Czech ice hockey player

Lee Sang-hoon, South Korean baseball player

Terrence Howard, American actor and producer

Soraya, Colombian-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (died 2006)

Michael Rulli, American politician and businessman

Lisa Loeb, American singer-songwriter

John Barrowman, Scottish-American actor and singer

Sergei Bautin, Belarusian ice hockey player and coach (died 2022)

Brad Carson, American lawyer and politician

John Thompson III, American basketball player and coach

Nigel Adkins, English footballer and manager

Jesse Jackson, Jr., American lawyer and politician

Wallace Langham, American actor

Jenny Packham, English fashion designer

Peter Berg, American director, producer, screenwriter, and actor

Raimo Helminen, Finnish ice hockey player and coach

Vinnie Paul, American drummer, songwriter and producer (died 2018)

Shane Richie, English actor and singer

Gary Barnett, English footballer and manager

Alex Kingston, English actress

David LaChapelle, American photographer and director

Matt Mead, American politician, 32nd Governor of Wyoming

Jeffrey Nordling, American actor

Elias Koteas, Canadian actor

Bruce Watson, Canadian-Scottish guitarist

Warwick Taylor, New Zealand rugby player

Nina Hartley, American pornographic actress/director, sex educator, sex-positive feminist, and author

Anissa Jones, American child actress (died 1976)

Qasem Soleimani, Former Iranian commander of the Quds Force (died 2020)

Willie Banks, American triple jumper

Helen Rollason, English sports journalist and sportscaster (died 1999)

Leslie Cliff, Canadian swimmer

Nina Hagen, German singer-songwriter

David Newman, American composer and conductor

Gale Norton, American politician, 48th United States Secretary of the Interior

Derek Daly, Irish-American race car driver and sportscaster

Jimmy Iovine, American record producer and businessman, co-founded Beats Electronics

Bernie LaBarge, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist

Douglas Adams, English author and playwright (died 2001)

Dominique Sanda, French model and actress

Bobby McFerrin, American singer-songwriter, producer, and conductor

Jerry Zucker, American director, producer, and screenwriter

Roy Barnes, American politician, 80th Governor of Georgia

Jim McMillian, American basketball player (died 2016)

Tristan Murail, French composer and educator

Mark Metcalf, American actor

Dock Ellis, American baseball player and coach (died 2008)

Harvey Mandel, American guitarist

Arturo Merzario, Italian race car driver

Shelly Zegart, quilt historian (died 2025)

Alberto Cortez, Argentinian-Spanish singer-songwriter (died 2019)

Antonin Scalia, American lawyer and jurist, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (died 2016)

Sam Donaldson, American journalist

Leroy Jenkins, American violinist and composer (died 2007)

Nigel Lawson, English journalist and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (died 2023)

Rupert Murdoch, Australian-American businessman and media magnate

David Gentleman, English illustrator and engraver

Claude Jutra, Canadian actor, director and screenwriter (died 1986)

Timothy Carey, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (died 1994)

Jackie McGlew, South African cricketer (died 1998)

Vince Boryla, American basketball player, coach, and executive (died 2016)

Freda Meissner-Blau, Austrian activist and politician (died 2015)

Robert Mosbacher, American businessman, and politician, United States Secretary of Commerce (died 2010)

Josep Maria Subirachs, Spanish sculptor and painter (died 2014)

Ralph Abernathy, American minister and activist (died 1990)

Margaret Oakley Dayhoff, American biochemist and academic (died 1983)

Louise Brough, American tennis player (died 2014)

Cornelius Castoriadis, Greek economist and philosopher (died 1997)

Abdul Razak Hussein, Malaysian lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of Malaysia (died 1976)

José Luis López Vázquez, Spanish actor, costume designer, scenic designer and assistant director (died 2009)

Astor Piazzolla, Argentine tango composer and bandoneon player (died 1992)

Nicolaas Bloembergen, Dutch-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2017)

Harold Wilson, English academic and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (died 1995)

Vijay Hazare, Indian cricketer (died 2004)

J. C. R. Licklider, American computer scientist and psychologist (died 1990)

Dude Martin, American country singer, bandleader, radio and television host (died 1991)

Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke, German colonel and pilot (died 1944)

Sir Fitzroy Maclean, 1st Baronet, Scottish general and politician (died 1996)

Robert Havemann, German chemist and academic (died 1982)

Matti Sippala, Finnish javelin thrower (died 1997)

Jessie Matthews, English actress, singer, and dancer (died 1981)

Ronald Syme, New Zealand historian and scholar (died 1989)

Lawrence Welk, American accordion player and bandleader (died 1992)

Frederik IX of Denmark (died 1972)

James H. Douglas, Jr., American lawyer, and politician, United States Deputy Secretary of Defense (died 1988)

Dorothy Gish, American actress (died 1968)

Henry Cowell, American pianist and composer (died 1965)

Wanda Gág, American author and illustrator (died 1946)

Vannevar Bush, American engineer and academic (died 1974)

Raoul Walsh, American actor and director (died 1980)

Malcolm Campbell, English race car driver (died 1948)

Lewi Pethrus, Swedish minister and hymn-writer (died 1974)

Harry H. Laughlin, American eugenicist and sociologist (died 1943)

Carl Ruggles, American composer and painter (died 1971)

Louis Bachelier, French mathematician and theorist (died 1946)

Andrew Stoddart, English cricketer and rugby player (died 1915)

Joseph Louis François Bertrand, French mathematician, economist, and academic (died 1900)

Henry Tate, English businessman and philanthropist, founded Tate & Lyle (died 1899)

Marius Petipa, French-Russian dancer and choreographer (died 1910)

Anna Bochkoltz, German operatic soprano, voice teacher and composer (died 1879)

Urbain Le Verrier, French mathematician and astronomer (died 1877)

Louis Boulanger, French Romantic painter, lithographer and illustrator (died 1867)

John McLean, American jurist and politician (died 1861)

Benjamin Tupper, American general (died 1792)

Torquato Tasso, Italian poet and educator (died 1595)

Mary of Woodstock, daughter of Edward I of England (died c. 1332)

Junior Bridgeman, American basketball player and businessman (born 1953)

Clive Revill, New Zealand actor and singer (born 1930)

Paul Alexander, Polio survivor (born 1946)

Rupiah Banda, President of Zambia (born 1937)

Ray Campi, American singer and musician (born 1934)

Takis Mousafiris, Greek composer and songwriter (born 1936)

Ken Dodd, English comedian and singer (born 1927)

Siegfried Rauch, German actor (born 1932)

Karl Lehmann, German cardinal (born 1936)

Mary Rosenblum, American science fiction and mystery author (born 1952)

Iolanda Balaș, Romanian high jumper (born 1936)

Doreen Massey, English geographer and political activist (born 1944)

Walter Burkert, German philologist and scholar (born 1931)

Jimmy Greenspoon, American singer-songwriter and keyboard player (born 1948)

Dean Bailey, Australian footballer and coach (born 1967)

Joel Brinkley, American journalist and academic (born 1952)

Martin Adolf Bormann, German priest and theologian (born 1930)

Simón Alberto Consalvi, Venezuelan journalist and politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs for Venezuela (born 1927)

James B. Morehead, American colonel and pilot (born 1916)

Hans van Mierlo, Dutch politician, Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands (born 1931)

Bernie Geoffrion, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (born 1931)

Slobodan Milošević, Serbian lawyer and politician, 3rd President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (born 1941)

James Tobin, American economist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1918)

Herbert Jasper, Canadian psychologist, anatomist, and neurologist (born 1906)

Camille Laurin, Canadian psychiatrist and politician (born 1922)

Vince Edwards, American actor and director (born 1928)

Myfanwy Talog, Welsh actress and singer (born 1945)

Richard Brooks, American director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1912)

James Kee, American lawyer and politician (born 1917)

John J. McCloy, American lawyer and diplomat (born 1895)

Sonny Terry, American singer and harmonica player (born 1911)

Edmund Cooper, English poet and author (born 1926)

Horace Gregory, American poet, translator, and academic (born 1898)

Claude François, French entertainer (born 1939)

Philo Farnsworth, American inventor, developer of the first all electronic television system (born 1906)

Whitney Young, American activist (born 1921)

Erle Stanley Gardner, American lawyer and author (born 1889)

John Wyndham, English author (born 1903)

Geraldine Farrar, American soprano and actress (born 1882)

Roy Chapman Andrews, American paleontologist and explorer (born 1884)

Lester Dent, American author (born 1904)

Richard E. Byrd, American admiral and explorer (born 1888)

Aleksanteri Aava, Finnish poet (born 1883)

Alexander Fleming, Scottish biologist, pharmacologist, and botanist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1881)

Oscar F. Mayer, German-American businessman, founded Oscar Mayer (born 1859)

Pierre Renoir, French actor and director (born 1885)

Henri Giraud, French general and politician (born 1879)

Hendrik Willem van Loon, Dutch-American journalist and historian (born 1882)

Edgar Zilsel, Austrian historian and philosopher of science, linked to the Vienna Circle (born 1891)

Joseph S. Cullinan, American businessman, co-founded Texaco (born 1860)

F. W. Murnau, German-American director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1888)

Thomas Alexander Browne, English-Australian author (born 1826)

Edmondo De Amicis, Italian journalist and author (born 1846)

Benjamin Waugh, English minister and activist (born 1839)

Jean Casimir-Perier, French lawyer and politician, 6th President of France (born 1847)

William Rosecrans, American general and politician (born 1819)

Charles Sumner, American lawyer and politician (born 1811)

Moshoeshoe I of Lesotho (born 1786)

Vladimir Odoyevsky, Russian philosopher and critic (born 1803)

Sir James Outram, 1st Baronet, English general (born 1803)

Marie-Louise Coidavid, Queen of Haiti (born 1778)

George McDuffie, American lawyer and politician, 55th Governor of South Carolina (born 1790)

Benjamin West, American-English painter and academic (born 1738)

John Forbes, Scottish general (born 1707)

John Toland, Irish philosopher and theorist (born 1670)

Sambhaji, second Chhatrapati of the Maratha Empire (born 1657)

Clemente Tabone, Maltese landowner and militia member (born c. 1575)

Giovanni Maria Nanino, Italian composer and educator (born 1543)

Emilio de' Cavalieri, Italian organist and composer (born 1550)

Juan de Salcedo, Spanish conquistador (born 1549)

Matthias Flacius, Croatian theologian and reformer (born 1520)

Albrecht III Achilles, Elector of Brandenburg (born 1414)

Marie of France, Countess of Champagne (born 1145)

Sophronius of Jerusalem (born 560)

Elagabalus, Roman emperor (born 203)