131 things happened on 11 January, from AD 140 to 2019. UK stories come first, then the rest of the world.
1787 · 239 years ago
Astronomer William Herschel spotted two moons travelling around the planet Uranus. His son John later named them Titania and Oberon. Herschel was born in Germany but moved to Britain as a young man. Six years earlier, he had discovered Uranus itself, the firs…
UK history first: stories from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
UK story
The first recorded official lottery in England was drawn, three years after Queen Elizabeth I approved it. The money was meant for public works such as rebuilding ports and building new ships for the royal fleet. Tickets cost 10 shillings, about three weeks' pay for ordinary people. Every ticket holder won something, from money to silver plates, tapestries and fine linen cloth.
UK story
Astronomer William Herschel spotted two moons travelling around the planet Uranus. His son John later named them Titania and Oberon. Herschel was born in Germany but moved to Britain as a young man. Six years earlier, he had discovered Uranus itself, the first new planet found since ancient times.
UK story
British troops led by Lord Chelmsford crossed the border into the Zulu Kingdom, in what is now South Africa. A British official, Sir Bartle Frere, had sent the Zulu king, Cetshwayo, demands that he knew could not be met. The government in London had not agreed to an invasion. The war lasted until July 1879, and Britain later took control of the Zulu Kingdom.
UK story
The Republic of China agrees to the Sino-British New Equal Treaty and the Sino-American New Equal Treaty.
US President Theodore Roosevelt made the Grand Canyon in Arizona a national monument, to help protect it. This huge, deep gorge of the Colorado River is often called one of the wonders of the world. Roosevelt had visited in 1903 and said it should be kept for future generations. It became a national park in 1919.
In Toronto, Canada, 13-year-old Leonard Thompson became the first person given an insulin injection to treat type 1 diabetes. His first dose was not pure enough, so a better way of preparing the insulin was quickly found. When his daily injections began twelve days later, his health improved rapidly. Before insulin, there was no good treatment for type 1 diabetes.
Troops from France and Belgium moved into the Ruhr, an important industrial area of Germany. After the First World War, Germany had been ordered to make payments called reparations, but it had fallen behind. The occupation made Germany's money problems much worse, as its government printed more and more paper money. The troops finally left in 1925.
Film studio boss Louis B. Mayer invited 36 people from the film industry to a banquet at a hotel in Los Angeles. There he announced a new organisation, which became the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Everyone at the dinner counted as one of its founders. The Academy is now best known for its yearly film prizes, the Academy Awards, which most people call the Oscars.
American pilot Amelia Earhart became the first person to fly alone from Honolulu, in Hawaii, to Oakland, in California. She flew a Lockheed Vega aeroplane. Many pilots had attempted this flight over the Pacific Ocean before, but hers went smoothly, with no mechanical problems. Three years earlier, she had become the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean without stopping.
Experts advising the US Surgeon General, one of America's top health officials, published a famous report about smoking. After studying more than 7,000 scientific articles and papers, they linked smoking to lung cancer, heart disease and other illnesses. The report was one of the biggest news stories of 1964. It led to new laws in the United States about cigarette labels and advertising.
Space Shuttle Endeavour blasted off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Its main job was to catch a Japanese research spacecraft called the Space Flyer Unit. This had spent ten months in orbit doing experiments. Astronaut Koichi Wakata used the shuttle's robotic arm to grab it, so it could be brought back to Earth.
Conquest of Mecca: Muhammad and his followers conquer the city, and the Quraysh association of clans surrenders.
Vladislaus II, Duke of Bohemia becomes King of Bohemia.
Arauco War: The Mapuche-Huilliche of southern Chile defeated a slave-hunting Spanish army at the Battle of Río Bueno.
The Michigan Territory is created.
A conflagration in Savannah, Georgia, destroyed more than 400 buildings and caused millions of dollars in damages.
Taiping Rebellion: Hong Xiuquan proclaims the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, starting the Jintian Uprising.
American Civil War: Alabama secedes from the United States.
American Civil War: The Battle of Arkansas Post concluded with the Union Army capturing a fort from Confederate forces near the mouth of the Arkansas River.
Immigrant textile workers in Lawrence, Massachusetts, went on strike in response to a pay cut corresponding to a new state law shortening the working week.
Occupation of the Ruhr: Troops from France and Belgium occupy the Ruhr area to force Germany to make its World War I reparation payments.
World War II: Japanese forces capture Kuala Lumpur, the capital of the Federated Malay States.
World War II: Japanese forces attack Tarakan in Borneo, Netherlands Indies (Battle of Tarakan)
The People's Republic of Albania was proclaimed, with Enver Hoxha as the country's de facto head of state.
The first "networked" television broadcasts took place as KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania goes on the air connecting the east coast and mid-west programming.
The African Convention is founded in Dakar, Senegal.
Throgs Neck Bridge over the East River, linking New York City's boroughs of The Bronx and Queens, opens to road traffic.
The Tbilisi Metro is opened.
East Pakistan renames itself Bangladesh.
Major League Baseball owners vote in approval of the American League adopting the designated hitter position.
The first episode of Finnish children's TV show Pikku Kakkonen ("Little Number Two") is aired on Yle TV2.
The Gateway Bridge (pictured) in Brisbane, Australia, opened as the largest prestressed-concrete, single-box bridge in the world.
The Irish Government announces the end of a 15-year broadcasting ban on the IRA and its political arm Sinn Féin.
Every answer is somewhere on this page. Have a go, then check!
In which year did this happen: “William Herschel discovers two moons of Uranus”?
C: 1787. 1787 — that’s 239 years ago. Find it on the page
In which year did this happen: “England's first official lottery is drawn”?
B: 1569. 1569 — that’s 457 years ago. Find it on the page
Which of these happened first?
A: England's first official lottery is drawn. 1569: England's first official lottery is drawn · 1879: British forces invade the Zulu Kingdom, starting the Anglo-Zulu War · 1787: William Herschel discovers two moons of Uranus Find it on the page
“British forces invade the Zulu Kingdom, starting the Anglo-Zulu War” happened in 1879. How many years ago was that?
C: 147 years. 2026 − 1879 = 147. Find it on the page
Famous people whose birthday is 11 January.
Well-known people who died on 11 January.
Festivals, holidays and saints’ days celebrated on 11 January somewhere in the world.
Kagami biraki, meaning 'opening the mirror', is a traditional Japanese ceremony usually held on 11 January. At New Year, many families display kagami mochi, which are two round rice cakes stacked on top of each other. On kagami biraki, the rice cakes, now hard and dry, are broken into pieces and eaten. They are never cut with a knife, because cutting is linked with cutting off ties.
Content note: these entries mention things like war, violence, deaths, disasters or crime. They are part of history, but they can be upsetting. Grown-ups and teachers: you may want to read them first. They come straight from Wikipedia and have not been rewritten for children.
Stories with a heading have been written for young readers by A Day in the Past, using the linked articles as sources. Other entries show text from Wikipedia’s “January 11” page and its “On this day” feed, written by Wikipedia contributors and shared under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. Each “Read more” link goes to the article an entry is based on. Photos are credited under each picture. Spotted a mistake? Please tell us.