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What happened in history on this day: May 11?
On May 11 in ...
- 1792 - Columbia River discovered and named by US Captain Robert Gray.
- 1814 - Americans defeat British at Battle of Plattsburgh.
- 1816 - American Bible Society forms (New York).
- 1837 - Philadelphia and Baltimore banks suspend specie payments.
- 1858 - Minnesota admitted as 32nd US state.
- 1861 - The New York Stock Exchange prohibits trading of Confederate States of America securities.
- 1862 - Confederates scuttle CSS Virginia off Norfolk, Virginia, CSA.
- 1864 - General J E B Stuart is mortally wounded in Battle of Yellow Tavern, Virginia (Sheridan's Raid, South Anna Bridge).
- 1869 - Colonel Hiram Whitley becomes Chief of the Secret Service Division.
- 1894 - American Railroad Union strikes Pullman Sleeping Car Co.
- 1910 - US President William Taft signs a bill into law establishing Glacier National Park, as the nation's 10th national park.
- 1912 - Alaska is organized as a US territory.
- 1927 - Louis B Mayer forms Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
- 1928 - General Electric opens first TV-station (Schenectady New York).
- 1929 - First regularly scheduled TV broadcasts (3 nights per week).
- 1934 - Over two days, the most severe dust storm to date in the USA sweeps an estimated 350 million tons of topsoil from the Great Plains across to the eastern seaboard.
- 1940 - New York World's Fair reopens for a second year.
- 1942 - US President Franklin Roosevelt establishes the Air Medal to recognize meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight.
- 1943 - US 7th division lands on Attu, Aleutian, (first US territory recaptured).
- 1945 - US marines conquer Awatsha Draw, Okinawa, Japan.
- 1947 - BF Goodrich manufactures first tubeless tire, in Akron, Ohio, USA.
- 1949 - First Polaroid camera sells for US$89.95 (New York City).
- 1951 - Jay Forrester patents computer core memory.
- 1953 - Tornado kills 114 in Waco, Texas, USA (US$39 million damage).
- 1953 - Winston Churchill criticizes John Foster Dulles' domino theory.
- 1958 - US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Bikini Island.
- 1958 - US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Enwetak.
- 1962 - US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Christmas Island.
- 1962 - US sends troops to Thailand.
- 1963 - Racial bomb attacks in Birmingham, Alabama, USA.
- 1965 - Ellis Island added to Statue of Liberty National monument.
- 1967 - 100,000,000th US phone connected.
- 1972 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.
- 1984 - Haunted Castle at Six Flags Great Adventure burns down, killing eight.
- 1985 - The FBI brings charges against the suspected heads of the five Mafia families in New York City.
- 1987 - First heart-lung transplant takes place (Baltimore, Maryland, USA).
- 1989 - President Bush orders nearly 2,000 troops to Panamá.
- 1993 - 28th Academy of Country Music Awards: Garth Brooks wins.
- 1994 - Grease opens at Eugene O' Neill Theater in New York City for 1,503 performances.
- 1995 - Sega of America begins shipping the Saturn video game system in the US. Price is US$399 with the VirtuaFighter game. 30,000 units are available for the initial launch, with ten game titles available.
- 1995 - The first Electronic Entertainment Expo is held in Los Angeles, over three days. The show takes its name from Electronic Entertainment magazine. 350 game companies show 1300 games for video game systems and personal computers. Total attendance is 28,000. Sony introduces the PlayStation in a US$4 million booth, including an appearance by Michael Jackson.
- 1995 - In New York City, more than 170 countries decide to extend the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty indefinitely and without conditions.
- 1996 - After takeoff from Miami, Florida, a fire started by improperly-handled oxygen canisters in the cargo hold of Atlanta-bound ValuJet Flight 592 causes the Douglas DC-9 to crash in the Florida Everglades, killing all 110 on board.
- 2005 - Serial killer Michael Ross becomes the first person executed in New England in 45 years.
- 2005 - US President George W. Bush signs into law the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense, the Global War on Terror, and Tsunami Relief, also known as the Real ID Act, setting national standards for identification cards for all citizens.
- 2008 - Tornadoes and strong storms across central United States kill 22 and severely damage towns of Picher, Oklahoma, and Seneca, Missouri.
- 2009 - The NASA space shuttle Atlantis blasts off from Florida's Kennedy Space Center on a mission to fix the Hubble Space Telescope.
- 2023 - In the USA, the Biden Administration ends the public-health emergency declaration due to the Covid-19 virus. Over 1.1 million Americans died from Covid-related causes.
Births on May 11
- 1779 - Death of John Hart in Hopewell, New Jersey; New Jersey delegate to Second Continental Congress, voted for independence.
- 1894 - Birth of Martha Graham in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, USA; choreographer (Appalachian Spring).
- 1895 - Birth of William Grant Still in Woodville, Mississippi, USA; composer (Africao-American).
- 1896 - Birth of Mari Sandoz in Nebraska, USA; author (Cheyenne Autumn).
- 1907 - Birth of Kent Taylor [Louis Weiss] in Nashua, Iowa, USA; actor (Boston Blackie, Rough Riders).
- 1911 - Birth of Phil Silvers AKA Philip Silversmith in New York City, New York, USA; comedian (Sargeant Bilko - You'll Never Get Rich: The Phil Silvers Show, The Beverly Hillbillies).
- 1911 - Birth of Doodles Weaver in Los Angeles, California, USA; comedian (Spike Jones and City Slickers, Doodles Weaver).
- 1912 - Birth of Foster Brooks in Louisville, Kentucky, USA; comedian/actor (Miles - Mork and Mindy).
- 1913 - Birth of Tutti Camarata in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, USA; trumpet player (Jimmy and Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman), musical arranger (Glen Gray, Casa Loma Orchestra, Benny Goodman, Louis Armstrong, Bing Crosby, Billie Holliday, Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington), musical director (Startime TV show, The Vic Damone Show, The Alcoa Hour).
- 1920 - Birth of Denver Pyle in Bethune, Colorado, USA; actor (Uncle Jesse - The Dukes of Hazzard TV show, Code 3, Tammy, The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams, The Doris Day Show, Andy Griffith Show).
- 1930 - Birth of Stanley L Elkin in Brooklyn, New York, USA; writer/professor (The Living End).
- 1935 - Birth of Doug McClure in Glendale, California, USA; actor (Trampas - The Virginian TV show (1962-66), Backtrack! (1969), Checkmate, Roots).
- 1938 - Birth of Carla Bley [Carla Borg] in Oakland, California, USA; musician ("Escalator Over the Hill").
- 1938 - Birth of Harvey Sollberger in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, USA; flutist/composer ("2 Oboes Troping").
- 1942 - Birth of Terry McGovern in Berkley, California, USA; actor (Jim - Charlie and Company, Nine Months, Darkwing Duck).
- 1952 - Birth of Darrow Igus in Newark, New Jersey, USA; comedian (Fridays, Roll Out).
- 1953 - Birth of Boyd Gaines in Atlanta, Georgia, USA; actor (Mark - One Day at a Time, Sure Thing, Angela's Eyes).
- 1955 - Birth of Mark Herndon in Springfield, Massachusetts, USA; drummer (Alabama - "Take Me Down").
- 1959 - Birth of Martha Quinn in Albany, New York, USA; MTV VJ/actress (Tracey - Bradys).
- 1963 - Birth of Mark Breland in Brooklyn, New York, USA; welterweight boxer (Olympics-gold-1984).
- 1964 - Birth of Bobby Witt in Arlington, Virginia, USA; pitcher (Texas Rangers).
- 1964 - Birth of Drew Story in San Clemente, California, USA; canoe (alternate-Olympics-1996).
- 1966 - Birth of Trenidad Hubbard in Chicago, Illinois, USA; outfielder (Colorado Rockies).
- 1967 - Birth of Eric Young in New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA; infielder (Colorado Rockies).
- 1967 - Birth of Kenneth Gould in Chicago, Illinois, USA; welterweight boxer (Olympics-bronze-1988).
- 1973 - Birth of Michelle Venturella; US softball infielder (Olympics-gold-1996).
- 1980 - Birth of Matthew Lawrence in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; actor (Dynasty, Matthew - Brotherly Love).
- 1982 - Birth of Jonathan Jackson in Orlando, Florida; actor (Lucky - General Hospital).
Deaths on May 11
- 1920 - William D Howells, US author (A Woman's Reason), dies at age 83.
- 1956 - Walter S Adams, US astronomer/director of Mount Wilson, dies at age 79.
- 1981 - Death of Bob Marley at age 36 of brain and lung cancer in Miami, Florida, USA; reggae icon (Bob Marley and the Wailers - "Rastaman Vibration").
- 1986 - Death of Henry P. McIlhenny, American art collector, socialite, philanthropist. and the chairman of the Philadelphia Art Museum (born 1910).
- 1994 - Lewis B Puller, US writer (Pulitzer 1992), commits suicide at age 48.
- 2005 - Serial killer Michael Ross becomes the first person executed in New England in 45 years.
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