A Day in the Past

On this day: 11 August

126 things happened on 11 August, from 3,114 BC to 2023. UK stories come first, then the rest of the world.

Printable worksheet Take the quiz

In the UK 4

UK history first: stories from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

1786 240 years ago

UK story

Francis Light founded George Town (city hall pictured), the first British settlement in Southeast Asia and the present-day capital of the Malaysian state of Penang.

Explorers Find out more: Francis Light (Wikipedia)

Around the world 33

1858 168 years ago

The Eiger in the Bernese Alps is ascended for the first time by Charles Barrington accompanied by Christian Almer and Peter Bohren.

Find out more: Eiger (Wikipedia)
1942 84 years ago

Actress Hedy Lamarr and composer George Antheil receive a patent for a Frequency-hopping spread spectrum communication system that later became the basis for modern technologies in wireless telephones, two-way radio communications, and Wi-Fi.

InventionsArt, books & music Find out more: Hedy Lamarr (Wikipedia)

Quick quiz

Every answer is somewhere on this page. Have a go, then check!

  1. In which year did this happen: “Reconquista: Aragonese forces led by King James II landed on the coast of”?

    1. 1332
    2. 1309
    3. 1943
    Show the answer

    B: 1309. 1309 — that’s 717 years ago. Find it on the page

  2. In which year did this happen: “Francis Light founded George Town, the first British settlement in Southeast”?

    1. 1968
    2. 1309
    3. 1786
    Show the answer

    C: 1786. 1786 — that’s 240 years ago. Find it on the page

  3. Which of these happened first?

    1. Francis Light founded George Town, the first British settlement in Southeast
    2. Reconquista: Aragonese forces led by King James II landed on the coast of
    3. Peninsular War: French troops engage British-Portuguese forces in the Battle
    Show the answer

    B: Reconquista: Aragonese forces led by King James II landed on the coast of. 1786: Francis Light founded George Town, the first British settlement in Southeast · 1309: Reconquista: Aragonese forces led by King James II landed on the coast of · 1812: Peninsular War: French troops engage British-Portuguese forces in the Battle Find it on the page

  4. “Peninsular War: French troops engage British-Portuguese forces in the Battle” happened in 1812. How many years ago was that?

    1. 224 years
    2. 214 years
    3. 204 years
    Show the answer

    B: 214 years. 2026 − 1812 = 214. Find it on the page

Born on this day 35

Famous people whose birthday is 11 August.

Remembering 17

Well-known people who died on 11 August.

Special days 10

Festivals, holidays and saints’ days celebrated on 11 August somewhere in the world.

For older readers 27 Show stories about war, disasters, crime and other difficult history

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.

Where these facts come from

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 “August 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.