On this day in history

March 11

28 births · 11 deaths · 5 events

Prev Pisces Next

Anniversary highlights

Event anniversary

2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami

15 years ago

Born this day

1952

Douglas Adams

Would be 74

Photo (modified): Michael Hughes · CC BY-SA 2.0

Oldest record

1804th

Elagabalus

death anniversary

View profile

Famous births28

1544 · 482 yrs

Torquato Tasso

Torquato Tasso ( TASS-oh, also US: TAH-soh, Italian:; 11 March 1544 – 25 April 1595) was an Italian poet of the 16th century, known for his 1581 poem Gerusalemme liberata (Jerusalem Delivered), in which he depicts a highly imaginative version of the combats between Christians and Muslims at the end of the First…

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

LiteratureDied aged 51

View profile Photo (modified): Jacopo Bassano · Public domain

1811 · 215 yrs

Urbain Le Verrier

Urbain Jean Joseph Le Verrier (French:; 11 March 1811 – 23 September 1877) was a French astronomer and mathematician who specialized in celestial mechanics and is best known for predicting the existence and position of Neptune using only mathematics.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ScienceDied aged 66

View profile Photo (modified): User Magnus Manske on en.wikipedia · Public domain

1838 · 188 yrs

Ōkuma Shigenobu

Marquess Ōkuma Shigenobu (Japanese: 大隈重信; 11 March 1838 – 10 January 1922) was a Japanese statesman who was a leading figure in the Meiji and Taishō eras of Japan, serving as Prime Minister in 1898, and from 1914 to 1916.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

PoliticsDied aged 83

View profile Photo (modified): published by 東洋文化協會 (The Eastern Culture Association) · Public domain

1890 · 136 yrs

Vannevar Bush

Vannevar Bush ( van-NEE-var; March 11, 1890 – June 28, 1974) was an American engineer, inventor and science administrator, who during World War II headed the U.S.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

TechnologyWould be 136

View profile Photo (modified): Harris & Ewing · Public domain

1899 · 127 yrs

Frederik IX of Denmark

Frederik IX (Christian Frederik Franz Michael Carl Valdemar Georg; 11 March 1899 – 14 January 1972) was King of Denmark from 1947 to 1972. Frederik was born into the House of Glücksburg during the reign of his great-grandfather King Christian IX.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

RoyaltyWould be 127

View profile Photo (modified): Elfelt & Co. · CC BY 3.0

1916 · 110 yrs

Harold Wilson

James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx (11 March 1916 – 23 May 1995), was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1964 to 1970 and from 1974 to 1976.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

PoliticsWould be 110

View profile Photo (modified): Eric Koch for Anefo · CC0

1920 · 106 yrs

Nicolaas Bloembergen

Nicolaas Bloembergen (March 11, 1920 – September 5, 2017) was a Dutch–American physicist recognized for his work in developing driving principles behind nonlinear optics for laser spectroscopy.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ScienceWould be 106

View profile Photo (modified): ... Vetter (Spaarnestad Photo) · CC BY-SA 3.0 nl

1921 · 105 yrs

Astor Piazzolla

Astor Pantaleón Piazzolla (Latin American Spanish:; Italian:; March 11, 1921 – July 4, 1992) was an Argentine tango composer, bandoneon player, and arranger. His works revolutionized the traditional tango into a new style termed nuevo tango, incorporating elements from jazz and classical music.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

MusicWould be 105

View profile Photo (modified): Unknown author · Public domain

1923 · 103 yrs

Agatha Barbara

Agatha Barbara, (11 March 1923 – 4 February 2002) was a Maltese politician, having served as a Labour Member of Parliament and Minister. She was the first woman to serve as president of Malta, and remains the longest-serving woman Member of Parliament in Maltese political history.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

PoliticsWould be 103

View profile Photo (modified): Department of Information, Malta · CC BY-SA 3.0

1931 · 95 yrs

Rupert Murdoch

Keith Rupert Murdoch ( MUR-dok; born 11 March 1931) is an American business magnate, investor, and media mogul.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

BusinessAge 95

View profile Photo (modified): Eva Rinaldi · CC BY-SA 2.0

1936 · 90 yrs

Harald zur Hausen

Harald zur Hausen NAS EASA APS (German pronunciation:; 11 March 1936 – 29 May 2023) was a German virologist. He carried out research on cervical cancer and discovered the role of papilloma viruses in cervical cancer, for which he received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2008.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ScienceWould be 90

View profile Photo (modified): Kuebi = Armin Kuebelbeck · CC BY-SA 3.0

1936 · 90 yrs

Antonin Scalia

Antonin Gregory Scalia (March 11, 1936 – February 13, 2016) was an American jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1986 until his death in 2016. He was described as the intellectual anchor for the originalist and textualist position in the Court's conservative wing.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

LawWould be 90

View profile Photo (modified): Steve Petteway, photographer, Supreme Court of the United States [1] (See [2] ) · Public domain

Showing 12 of 28

Famous deaths11

AD 222 · 1804 yrs

Elagabalus

Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (born Varius Avitus Bassianus; c. 204 – 13 March 222), known as Elagabalus ( EL-ə-GAB-ə-ləs), was Roman emperor from 218 to 222, while he was still a teenager. His short reign was notorious for religious controversy and alleged sexual debauchery.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

RoyaltyDied aged 18

View profile Photo (modified): José Luiz · CC BY-SA 4.0

1801 · 225 yrs

Paul I of Russia

Paul I (Russian: Па́вел I Петро́вич, romanized: Pavel I Petrovich; 1 October 1754 – 23 March 1801) was Emperor of Russia from 1796 until his assassination in 1801. Paul remained overshadowed by his mother, Catherine the Great, for most of his life.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

RoyaltyDied aged 46

View profile Photo (modified): Vladimir Borovikovsky · Public domain

1907 · 119 yrs

Jean Casimir-Perier

Jean Paul Pierre Casimir-Perier (French:; 8 November 1847 – 11 March 1907) was a French politician who served as President of France from June 1894 to January 1895.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

PoliticsDied aged 59

View profile Photo (modified): Internet Archive Book Images · No restrictions

1908 · 118 yrs

Edmondo de Amicis

Edmondo De Amicis (Italian pronunciation:; 21 October 1846 – 11 March 1908) was an Italian novelist, journalist, poet, and short-story writer. His best-known book is the children's novel Heart.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

LiteratureDied aged 61

View profile Photo (modified): Schemboche, Turin · Public domain

1931 · 95 yrs

F. W. Murnau

Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau (né Plumpe; 28 December 1888 – 11 March 1931) was a German film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is regarded as one of cinema's most influential filmmakers for his work in the silent era.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

FilmWould be 137

View profile Photo (modified): Unknown author · Public domain

1950 · 76 yrs

Heinrich Mann

Luiz Heinrich Mann (German:; March 27, 1871 – March 11, 1950), best known as simply Heinrich Mann, was a German-American writer known for his sociopolitical novels. From 1930 until 1933, he was president of the fine poetry division of the Prussian Academy of Arts.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

LiteratureDied aged 78

View profile Photo (modified): Photographer not credited · Public domain

1955 · 71 yrs

Alexander Fleming

Sir Alexander Fleming (6 August 1881 – 11 March 1955) was a Scottish physician and microbiologist. He shared the 1945 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Howard Florey and Ernst Chain "for the discovery of penicillin and its curative effect in various infectious diseases".

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ScienceWould be 145

View profile Photo (modified): Official photographer · Public domain

1957 · 69 yrs

Richard E. Byrd

Richard Evelyn Byrd Jr. (October 25, 1888 – March 11, 1957) was an American naval officer, and pioneering aviator, polar explorer, and organizer of polar logistics.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

MilitaryWould be 138

View profile Photo (modified): Underwood & Underwood · Public domain

1970 · 56 yrs

Peter II of Yugoslavia

Peter II Karađorđević (Serbo-Croatian: Петар II Карађорђевић, Petar II Karađorđević; 6 September 1923 – 3 November 1970) was the last King of Yugoslavia, reigning from October 1934 until he was deposed in November 1945. He was the last reigning member of the Karađorđević dynasty.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

RoyaltyWould be 103

View profile Photo (modified): Непознат · CC BY 3.0 rs

2002 · 24 yrs

James Tobin

James Tobin (March 5, 1918 – March 11, 2002) was an American economist who served on the Council of Economic Advisers and consulted with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and taught at Yale University.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ScienceWould be 108

View profile Photo (modified): Unknown author · Public domain

2006 · 20 yrs

Slobodan Milošević

Slobodan Milošević (Serbian Cyrillic: Слободан Милошевић, pronounced, 20 August 1941 – 11 March 2006) was a Yugoslav and Serbian politician who was the president of Serbia between 1989 and 1997 and president of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1997 until his overthrow in 2000.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

PoliticsWould be 85

View profile Photo (modified): Associated Press (AP) Agency / SCANPIX · CC BY-SA 2.5

Events5

1959 · 67 yrs

Eurovision Song Contest 1959

The Eurovision Song Contest 1959, originally known as the Grand Prix Eurovision 1959 de la Chanson Européenne (English: Grand Prix of the 1959 Eurovision Song Contest), was the fourth edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, held on Wednesday 11 March 1959 at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès in Cannes, France,…

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Culture

1967 · 59 yrs

Cambodian Civil War

The Cambodian Civil War (Khmer: សង្គ្រាមស៊ីវិលកម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: Sângkréam Sĭvĭl Kâmpŭchéa) was a civil war in Cambodia fought between the Khmer Rouge against the government of the Kingdom of Cambodia.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

War

2004 · 22 yrs

2004 Madrid train bombings

The 2004 Madrid train bombings (also known in Spain as 11M for 11 de marzo) (or 3/11) were a series of coordinated, nearly simultaneous bombings against the Cercanías commuter train system of Madrid, Spain, on the morning of 11 March 2004—three days before Spain's general elections.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Tragedy

2011 · 15 yrs

2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami

On 11 March 2011, at 14:46:24 local time (UTC+9), a Mw 9.0–9.1 undersea megathrust earthquake occurred in the Pacific Ocean, 72 km (45 mi) east of the Oshika Peninsula of the Tōhoku region of Japan. It lasted approximately six minutes and caused a tsunami.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Disaster

2011 · 15 yrs

Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster

On 11 March 2011, a major nuclear accident started at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Ōkuma, Fukushima, Japan. The direct cause was the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, which resulted in electrical grid failure and damaged nearly all of the power plant's backup energy sources.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Disaster

Nearby dates

Born on March 11? Find your birthday matches →

Share March 11

Living room with framed Who Shares My Birthday poster

Close-up

FrameShown to scale · framed 34 × 46 cmThis is the frame we'll deliver, with a white mount

Printable keepsake

Your birthday matches poster

A personalised A3 framed print of everyone famous born on March 11, what happened on your birthday in history and your zodiac sign. We print and frame it for you and deliver it to your door (UK only).

Name on poster

Your photo

Kept private and only used to make your poster.