131 things happened on 11 February, from 660 BC to 2024. UK stories come first, then the rest of the world.
1586 · 440 years ago
During a war between England and Spain, Sir Francis Drake led an English attack on Cartagena de Indias. This Spanish colonial port is now part of Colombia in South America. The English captured the city, held it for over two months, then left with treasure an…
UK history first: stories from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
UK story
Robert of Chester, an English scholar, finished translating a book about alchemy from Arabic into Latin. It was the first book on alchemy to become available in Europe. Alchemists hoped to change metals such as lead into gold, and their work later helped chemistry and medicine to develop. A year later, Robert also translated a famous Arabic book about algebra.
UK story
During a war between England and Spain, Sir Francis Drake led an English attack on Cartagena de Indias. This Spanish colonial port is now part of Colombia in South America. The English captured the city, held it for over two months, then left with treasure and a ransom. Drake is also famous for leading the second voyage around the world, from 1577 to 1580.
UK story
London University, which later became University College London (UCL), was founded. It was the first secular university in England, which means it was not run by a church or religion. UCL is now part of the University of London. It is the second-largest university in the United Kingdom by the number of students.
UK story
The BBC broadcast part of R.U.R., a play by the Czech writer Karel Čapek. It was the first time science fiction had ever been shown on television. R.U.R. is famous for giving the world a brand-new word: robot. Čapek also wrote other science fiction, including a novel called War with the Newts.
UK story
The Beatles recorded their first album, Please Please Me, in just one day at EMI Studios in London. The band from Liverpool were John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. The album came out on 22 March 1963 and stayed in the UK Top 10 for over a year. The Beatles went on to become one of the most influential bands in the history of pop music.
UK story
At the Convocation of Canterbury, the Catholic bishops comprising the Upper House of the Province of Canterbury agree to style Henry VIII supreme head of the English church and clergy "so far as the law of Christ allows".
UK story
The Kingdom of Awadh is annexed by the British East India Company and Wajid Ali Shah, the king of Awadh, is deposed.
UK story
The New Testament of the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, the first significant challenge to the Authorized King James Version, is published.
UK story
The Federation of Arab Emirates of the South is created as a protectorate of the United Kingdom.
Nelson Mandela was released from Victor Verster Prison near Paarl in South Africa. He had spent 27 years as a political prisoner for campaigning against apartheid, which kept people apart by race. In 1994 he became South Africa's first black president. His government worked to undo the harm that apartheid had caused.
Space Shuttle Discovery launched from Florida on NASA's second mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope. In orbit, the astronauts repaired and upgraded the telescope's scientific instruments. This meant Hubble could carry out even more research. Discovery itself launched and landed 39 times during its 27 years of service.
Pluto crossed the path of Neptune's orbit and moved back out beyond it. For nearly 20 years, Pluto had been closer to the Sun than Neptune. It is not expected to cross Neptune's orbit again until 2231. Pluto, once counted as a planet, is now called a dwarf planet made mostly of ice and rock.
Traditional date for the foundation of Japan by Emperor Jimmu.
Guo Wei, a court official, leads a military coup and declares himself emperor of the new Later Zhou.
Spanish explorer Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa founded the town of Nombre de Jesús, the first of two short-lived colonies at the Strait of Magellan.
First session of United States Senate opens to the public.
Jesse Fell burns anthracite on an open grate as an experiment in heating homes with coal.
Massachusetts governor Elbridge Gerry is accused of "gerrymandering" for the first time.
La fille du régiment (audio featured), an opéra comique by Gaetano Donizetti, premiered in Paris to highly negative reviews but later became a success.
Giuseppe Verdi's opera I Lombardi alla prima crociata receives its first performance in Milan, Italy.
As part of celebrations marking the separation of Victoria from New South Wales, the inaugural first-class cricket match in Australia began at the Launceston Racecourse in Tasmania.
Kassa Hailu is crowned Tewodros II, Emperor of Ethiopia.
Bernadette Soubirous's first vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary occurs in Lourdes, France.
American Civil War: The United States House of Representatives unanimously passes a resolution guaranteeing noninterference with slavery in any state.
King Amadeo I of Spain abdicates, triggering the proclamation of the First Spanish Republic.
The Meiji Constitution of Japan is adopted.
Anton Bruckner's 9th Symphony receives its first performance in Vienna, Austria.
Pope Pius X publishes the encyclical Vehementer Nos.
Friedrich Ebert was elected the provisional president of Germany by the Weimar National Assembly.
The Kingdom of Italy and the Vatican sign the Lateran Treaty.
The Flint sit-down strike ends when General Motors recognizes the United Auto Workers trade union.
World War II: Second day of the Battle of Bukit Timah is fought in Singapore.
Israeli-Soviet relations are severed.
Japan launches Ohsumi, becoming the fourth nation to put an object into orbit using its own booster.
Cold War: The Seabed Arms Control Treaty opens for signature, outlawing nuclear weapons on the ocean floor in international waters.
The Frente de Liberación Homosexual made their final public appearance, shortly before the group's dissolution due to political repression after the Argentine coup d'état.
The Iranian Revolution establishes an Islamic theocracy under the leadership of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
Buster Douglas, a 42:1 underdog, knocks out Mike Tyson in ten rounds at Tokyo to win boxing's world Heavyweight title.
Space Shuttle Endeavour is launched on STS-99 to conduct the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission.
The computer worm Anna Kournikova, which would affect millions of users worldwide, was released by a 20-year-old Dutch student.
Arab Spring: The first wave of the Egyptian revolution culminates in the resignation of Hosni Mubarak and the transfer of power to the Supreme Military Council after 17 days of protests.
The Vatican confirms that Pope Benedict XVI will resign the papacy as a result of his advanced age.
The European Space Agency's Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle is launched on a Vega rocket.
North Korea test fires a ballistic missile across the Sea of Japan.
COVID-19 pandemic: The World Health Organization officially names the coronavirus outbreak as COVID-19, with the virus being designated SARS-CoV-2.
2024 Finnish presidential election: Alexander Stubb is elected as the 13th president of Finland.
Every answer is somewhere on this page. Have a go, then check!
In which year did this happen: “The BBC shows the first science fiction on television”?
B: 1938. 1938 — that’s 88 years ago. Find it on the page
In which year did this happen: “England's first secular university is founded in London”?
C: 1826. 1826 — that’s 200 years ago. Find it on the page
Which of these happened first?
A: England's first secular university is founded in London. 1826: England's first secular university is founded in London · 1963: The Beatles record their first album in a single day · 1938: The BBC shows the first science fiction on television Find it on the page
“The Beatles record their first album in a single day” happened in 1963. How many years ago was that?
B: 63 years. 2026 − 1963 = 63. Find it on the page
Famous people whose birthday is 11 February.
Thomas Edison was an American inventor and businessman, famous for his work on the electric light bulb. He also developed the phonograph, an early machine for recording and playing back sound. He worked on early films and on ways of sending electricity to homes and businesses too. In the United States he registered 1,093 patents, which are official records of inventions.
UK story
Henry Fox Talbot was an English scientist and inventor who was a pioneer of photography. In 1841 he introduced the calotype, an early way of taking photographs using paper coated with silver iodide. His book The Pencil of Nature was illustrated with real photographs. He also took important early photographs of Oxford, Paris, Reading and York.
Well-known people who died on 11 February.
Festivals, holidays and saints’ days celebrated on 11 February somewhere in the world.
This day encourages women and girls to take an equal part in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM). The United Nations General Assembly chose 11 February for the day in 2015. Each year a theme is chosen to help make science fair and equal for women and men.
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 “February 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.