On this day in history

February 11

30 births · 22 deaths · 5 events

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Anniversary highlights

Event anniversary

Release of Nelson Mandela

36 years ago

Born this day

1847

Thomas Edison

Died aged 84

Photo (modified): Louis Bachrach, Bachrach Studios , restored by Michel Vuijlsteke · Public domain

Oldest record

1782nd

Gordian III

death anniversary

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Famous births30

1535 · 491 yrs

Gregory XIV

Pope Gregory XIV (Latin: Gregorius XIV; Italian: Gregorio XIV; 11 February 1535 – 16 October 1591), born Niccolò Sfondrato or Sfondrati, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 5 December 1590 to his death, in October 1591.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ReligionDied aged 56

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1657 · 369 yrs

Bernard Le Bovier de Fontenelle

Bernard Le Bovier de Fontenelle (French:; 11 February 1657 – 9 January 1757), also called Bernard Le Bouyer de Fontenelle, was a French writer and a member of three of the academies of the Institut de France, noted especially for his accessible treatment of scientific topics during the unfolding of the Age of…

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

LiteratureDied aged 99

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1839 · 187 yrs

Josiah Willard Gibbs

Josiah Willard Gibbs (February 11, 1839 – April 28, 1903) was an American mechanical engineer and scientist who made fundamental theoretical contributions to physics, chemistry, and mathematics.

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ScienceDied aged 64

View profile Photo (modified): Unknown. Uploaded by Serge Lachinov (обработка для wiki) · Public domain

1847 · 179 yrs

Thomas Edison

Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847 – October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman known for his work on the incandescent light bulb, the phonograph, electric power distribution and early motion pictures.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

TechnologyDied aged 84

View profile Photo (modified): Louis Bachrach, Bachrach Studios , restored by Michel Vuijlsteke · Public domain

1878 · 148 yrs

Kazimir Malevich

Kazimir Severinovich Malevich (23 February 1879 – 15 May 1935) was a Russian avant-garde artist and art theorist, whose work and writings pioneered the development of abstract painting in the 20th century. He is best known as the founder of Suprematism, a radically non-objective form of painting he introduced in 1915.

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ArtWould be 148

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1898 · 128 yrs

Leó Szilárd

Leo Szilard (Hungarian: Leó Szilárd; born Leó Spitz; February 11, 1898 – May 30, 1964) was a Hungarian-born American physicist, biologist, and inventor who made numerous important discoveries in nuclear physics and the biological sciences. He conceived the nuclear chain reaction in 1933, and patented the idea in 1936.

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ScienceWould be 128

View profile Photo (modified): U.S. Department of Energy · Public domain

1900 · 126 yrs100 Club

Hans-Georg Gadamer

Hans-Georg Gadamer (German:; 11 February 1900 – 13 March 2002) was a German philosopher of the continental tradition best known for his work on hermeneutics, including Truth and Method (Wahrheit und Methode, 1960), which argues that understanding is shaped by history, language, and dialogue rather than by the…

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PhilosophyWould be 126

View profile Photo (modified): Oto Vega Ponce · CC BY-SA 3.0

1909 · 117 yrs

Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Joseph Leo Mankiewicz ( MANG-kə-wits; February 11, 1909 – February 5, 1993) was an American filmmaker. A four-time Academy Award winner, he is best known for his witty and literate dialogue and his preference for voice-over narration and narrative flashbacks.

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FilmWould be 117

View profile Photo (modified): Photographer unknown; work-for-hire on behalf of 20th Century Fox . · Public domain

1917 · 109 yrs

Sidney Sheldon

Sidney Sheldon (February 11, 1917 – January 30, 2007) was an American writer. He was prominent in the 1940s and 50s, first working on Broadway plays, and then in motion pictures, notably writing the successful comedy The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947), which earned him an Oscar in 1948.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

LiteratureWould be 109

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1920 · 106 yrs

Farouk I of Egypt

Farouk I (Arabic: فاروق الأول, romanized: Fārūq al-Awwal; 11 February 1920 – 18 March 1965) was the tenth ruler of Egypt from the Muhammad Ali dynasty and the penultimate King of Egypt and the Sudan, succeeding his father, Fuad I, in 1936 and reigning until his overthrow in a military coup in 1952.

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RoyaltyWould be 106

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1926 · 100 yrs

Leslie Nielsen

Leslie William Nielsen (February 11, 1926 – November 28, 2010) was a Canadian-American actor and comedian. With a career spanning 60 years, he appeared in more than 100 films and 150 television programs, portraying more than 220 characters.

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FilmWould be 100

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1934 · 92 yrs

Manuel Noriega

Manuel Antonio Noriega Moreno ( mahn-WEL NOR-ee-AY-gə; Spanish:; February 11, 1934 – May 29, 2017) was a Panamanian military officer and dictator who was the de facto ruler of Panama from 1983 to 1989.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

PoliticsWould be 92

View profile Photo (modified): U.S. Marshals Service in Miami, Florida · Public domain

Showing 12 of 30

Famous deaths22

AD 244 · 1782 yrs

Gordian III

Gordian III (Latin: Marcus Antonius Gordianus; 20 January 225 – c. February 244) was Roman emperor from 238 to 244.

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RoyaltyDied aged 19

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1650 · 376 yrs

René Descartes

René Descartes ( day-KART, also DAY-kart; French:; 31 March 1596 – 11 February 1650) was a French philosopher, mathematician, and scientist whose work was foundational to mathematics and modern philosophy.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ScienceDied aged 53

View profile Photo (modified): After Frans Hals · Public domain

1763 · 263 yrs

Pierre de Marivaux

Pierre Carlet de Chamblain de Marivaux (French:; 4 February 1688 – 12 February 1763), commonly referred to as Marivaux, was a French playwright and novelist.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

LiteratureDied aged 75

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1848 · 178 yrs

Thomas Cole

Thomas Cole (February 1, 1801 – February 11, 1848) was an Anglo-American artist who founded the Hudson River School art movement. He painted romantic landscapes and history paintings.

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ArtDied aged 47

View profile Photo (modified): Mathew Benjamin Brady · Public domain

1868 · 158 yrs

Léon Foucault

Jean Bernard Léon Foucault (UK:, US:; French:; 18 September 1819 – 11 February 1868) was a French physicist who invented the Foucault pendulum, a device demonstrating the effect of Earth's rotation.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ScienceDied aged 48

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1875 · 151 yrs

Charles Lyell

Sir Charles Lyell, 1st Baronet (14 November 1797 – 22 February 1875) was a Scottish geologist who demonstrated the power of known natural causes in explaining the earth's history.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

LiteratureDied aged 77

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1948 · 78 yrs

Sergei Eisenstein

Sergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein (22 January 1898 – 11 February 1948) was a Soviet film director, screenwriter, film editor and film theorist. Considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, he was a pioneer in the theory and practice of montage.

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FilmWould be 128

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1963 · 63 yrs

Sylvia Plath

Sylvia Plath (October 27, 1932 – February 11, 1963) was an American poet and author. She is credited with advancing the genre of confessional poetry and her works include The Colossus and Other Poems (1960), Ariel (1965), and The Bell Jar (1963), a semi-autobiographical novel published one month before her suicide.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

LiteratureWould be 94

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1973 · 53 yrs

Johannes Hans Daniel Jensen

Johannes Hans Daniel Jensen (German:; 25 June 1907 – 11 February 1973) was a German theoretical physicist. During World War II, Jensen worked on the German nuclear energy project, known as the Uranium Club, where he contributed to the separation of uranium isotopes.

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ScienceWould be 119

View profile Photo (modified): Nobel foundation · Public domain

1975 · 51 yrs

Hideo Shinojima

Hideo Shinojima (篠島秀雄, Shinojima Hideo; January 21, 1910 – February 11, 1975) was a Japanese football player.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

SportsWould be 116

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1977 · 49 yrs

Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed

Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed (Assamese pronunciation:; 13 May 1905 – 11 February 1977) was an Indian lawyer and politician who served as the President of India from 1974 to 1977. Born in Delhi, Ahmed studied in Delhi and Cambridge and was called to the bar from the Inner Temple, London in 1928.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

PoliticsWould be 121

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1978 · 48 yrs

Harry Martinson

Harry Martinson (6 May 1904 – 11 February 1978) was a Swedish writer, poet and former sailor. In 1949 he was elected into the Swedish Academy.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

LiteratureWould be 122

View profile Photo (modified): Gunnar Herbert Lundh · Public domain

Showing 12 of 22

Events5

1928 · 98 yrs

1928 Winter Olympics

The 1928 Winter Olympics, officially known as the II Olympic Winter Games (French: IIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver; German: II. Olympische Winterspiele; Italian: II Giochi olimpici invernali; Romansh: II Gieus olimpics d'enviern) and commonly known as St.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Sports

1929 · 97 yrs

Lateran Treaty

The Lateran Treaty was one component of the Lateran Pacts of 1929, agreements between Italy under King Victor Emmanuel III and Duce Benito Mussolini and the Holy See under Pope Pius XI to settle the long-standing Roman question.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Politics

1979 · 47 yrs

Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy conflict

Iran and Saudi Arabia are engaged in a proxy war over influence in the Middle East and other regions of the Muslim world. The two countries have provided varying degrees of support to opposing sides in nearby conflicts, including the civil wars in Syria and Yemen; and disputes in Bahrain, Lebanon, Qatar, and Iraq.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

War

1990 · 36 yrs

Release of Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela walks free after 27 years in prison.

Politics

2018 · 8 yrs

Saratov Airlines Flight 703

Saratov Airlines Flight 703 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Moscow to Orsk Airport in Russia that crashed shortly after take-off from Moscow Domodedovo Airport on 11 February 2018 in Stepanovskoye, Ramensky District.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Disaster

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