December 11: Meaning (information, definition, explanation, facts)

December 11 is the 345th day (346th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 20 days remaining.

Events

• 1602 - A surprise attack by forces under the command of the Duke of Savoy and his brother-in-law, Philip III of Spain, is repelled by the citizens of Geneva. (This actually took place after midnight, in the early morning of December 12, but commemorations/celebrations on Fête de l'Escalade are usually held on December 11 or the closest weekend.)
• 1792 - French Revolution: King Louis XVI of France is put on trial for treason by the National Convention.
• 1816 - Indiana becomes the 19th U.S. state.
• 1872 - P.B.S. Pinchback is sworn in as the first black member of the U.S. House of Representatives.
• 1927 - Guangzhou Uprising: Communist militia and worker red guards launch an uprising in the Chinese city of Guangzhou, taking over most of the city and announcing the formation of a Guangzhou Soviet.
• 1931 - The British Parliament enacts the Statute of Westminster, which establishes a status of legislative equality between the self-governing dominions of the Commonwealth of Australia, the Dominion of Canada, the Irish Free State, Newfoundland, the Dominion of New Zealand, and the Union of South Africa.
• 1934 - A fire at the Hotel Kerns in Lansing, Michigan, kills 34 people.
• 1936 - Abdication Crisis: Edward VIII's abdication as King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the British Dominions beyond the Seas, and Emperor of India becomes effective.
• 1937 - Second Italo-Abyssinian War: Italy leaves the League of Nations
• 1941 - World War II: Germany and Italy declare war on the United States.
• 1946 - The United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) is established.
• 1954 - The American Nuclear Society is founded.
• 1958 - Upper Volta declares its independence from France, and becomes an autonomous republic in the French Community.
• 1970 - John Lennon releases the album Plastic Ono Band.
• 1971 - The United States Libertarian Party is formed.
• 1972 - Apollo 17 becomes the sixth mission to land on the Moon.
• 1981 - In his last fight, Muhammad Ali is defeated by Trevor Berbick.
• 1981 - Javier Pérez de Cuéllar becomes UN Secretary-General
• 1981 - El Mozote massacre: Salvadoran armed forces kill an estimated 900 civilians in an anti-guerrilla campaign during the country's civil war.
• 1981 - Clube de Regatas do Flamengo defeat Liverpool F.C in the final of the Intercontinental Cup in Tokyo.
• 1990 - Mafia: New York mafioso John Gotti is arrested.
• 1994 - First Chechen War: Russian President Boris Yeltsin orders Russian troops into Chechnya
• 1994 - A bomb assembled by Ramzi Yousef explodes on Philippine Airlines Flight 434, killing a Japanese businessman.
• 1998 - A Thai Airways Airbus A310-200 crashes near Surat Thani Airport, killing 101.
• 2001 - Members of the DrinkOrDie warez group are arrested in police raids.
• 2001 - The People's Republic of China joins the World Trade Organization.
• 2005 - The Buncefield Oil Depot in Hemel Hempstead is rocked by explosions, causing a huge oil fire.
• 2005 - Vengeance of Rain becomes Hong Kong's first World Racing Championship winner after winning the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Cup at Sha Tin Racecourse.
• 2005 - 2005 Sydney race riots: Thousands of Australian racists go on the rampage in Sydney, attacking non-whites.

• 1465 - Ashikaga Yoshihisa, Japanese shogun (d. 1489)
• 1475 - Pope Leo X (d. 1521)
• 1566 - Manuel Cardoso, Portuguese composer (d. 1650)
• 1680 - Emanuele d'Astorga, Italian composer
• 1712 - Francesco Algarotti. Italian philosopher (d. 1764)
• 1725 - George Mason, American statesman (d. 1792)
• 1761 - Gian Domenico Romagnosi, Italian physicist (d. 1835)
• 1781 - Sir David Brewster, British physicist (d. 1868)
• 1801 - Christian Dietrich Grabbe, German writer (d. 1836)
• 1803 - Hector Berlioz, French composer (d. 1869)
• 1810 - Alfred de Musset, French poet (d. 1857)
• 1843 - Robert Koch, German bacteriologist and Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1910)
• 1858 - Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko, Russian-born Soviet theatre director (d. 1943)
• 1863 - Annie Jump Cannon, American astronomer (d. 1941)
• 1873 - Josip Plemelj, Austro-Hungarian-born Yugoslav mathematician (d. 1967)
• 1880 - Frank Tarrant, Australian cricketer (d. 1951)
• 1882 - Subramanya Bharathy, Indian poet (d. 1921)
• 1882 - Max Born, German physicist and Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1970)
• 1882 - Fiorello LaGuardia, Mayor of New York City (d. 1947)
• 1883 - Victor McLaglen, British-born American actor (d. 1959)
• 1890 - Mark Tobey, American painter (d. 1976)
• 1905 - Gilbert Roland, American actor (d. 1994)
• 1908 - Elliott Carter, American composer
• 1911 - Naguib Mahfouz, Egyptian writer and Nobel Prize laureate
• 1912 - Carlo Ponti, Italian film producer
• 1913 - Jean Marais, French actor (d. 1998)
• 1916 - Dámaso Pérez Prado, Cuban-born bandleader and composer (d. 1989)
• 1918 - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Soviet-born Russian writer and Nobel Prize laureate
• 1919 - Marie Windsor, American actress (d. 2000)
• 1920 - Big Mama Thornton (Willie Mae Thornton), American blues singer (d. 1984)
• 1922 - Grace Paley, American writer
• 1925 - Paul Greengard, American neuroscientist and Nobel Prize laureate
• 1930 - Jean-Louis Trintignant, French actor
• 1931 - Rita Moreno, Puerto Rican singer, dancer, and actress
• 1933 - Aquilino Pimentel, Jr., Filipino politician
• 1935 - Pranab Mukherjee, Indian politician
• 1936 - Taku Yamasaki, Japanese politician
• 1938 - McCoy Tyner, American jazz pianist
• 1939 - Tom Hayden, American politician
• 1942 - Donna Mills, American actress
• 1943 - John Kerry, American politician and Presidential candidate
• 1944 - Brenda Lee, American singer
• 1944 - Teri Garr, American film actress
• 1950 - Christina Onassis American heiress (d. 1988)
• 1954 - Guðlaugur Kristinn Óttarsson, Icelandic guitar player, polytechnic engineer and inventor
• 1954 - Jermaine Jackson, American singer and bassist
• 1958 - Nikki Sixx, American bassist (Mötley Crüe)
• 1962 - Ben Browder, Amazingly good looking American actor
• 1964 - Cosy Sheridan, American singer and songwriter
• 1966 - Leon Lai, Beijing-born Canadian actor and Cantopop singer
• 1969 - Vishwanathan Anand, Indian chess grandmaster
• 1972 - Dana Macsim, Romanian television news reporter
• 1979 - Rider Strong, American actor
• 1981 - Javier Saviola, Argentine international footballer and Olympic gold medalist

• 384 - Pope Damasus I
• 1121 - Al-Afdal Shahanshah, Caliph of Egypt (b. 1066)
• 1226 - Robert de Ros, English politician (b. 1177)
• 1282 - Llywelyn the Last, Welsh Prince of Gwynedd
• 1282 - Michael VIII Palaeologus, Byzantine Emperor (b. 1225)
• 1532 - Pietro Accolti, Italian Catholic cardinal (b. 1455)
• 1694 - Ranuccio II Farnese, Duke of Parma (b. 1630)
• 1737 - John Strype, English historian and biographer (b. 1643)
• 1757 - Edmund Curll, English bookseller and publisher (b. 1675)
• 1797 - Richard Brocklesby, British physician (b. 1722)
• 1840 - Emperor Kokaku of Japan (b. 1771)
• 1909 - Innokenty Annensky, Russian poet (b. 1855)
• 1920 - Olive Schreiner, South African writer (b. 1855)
• 1938 - Christian Lous Lange, Norwegian pacifist and recipient of Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1869)
• 1941 - John Gillespie Magee, Jr., American poet and aviator (b. 1922)
• 1945 - Charles Fabry, French physicist (b. 1867)
• 1950 - Leslie Comrie, New Zealand-born astronomer and computing pioneer (b. 1893)
• 1957 - Musidora (Jeanne Roques), French actress and director (b. 1889)
• 1964 - Sam Cooke, American singer (b. 1931)
• 1974 - Rey Mysterio, American Proffesional Wrestler
• 1978 - Vincent du Vigneaud, American chemist and Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1901)
• 1983 - Sir Neil Ritchie, British General. (b. 1897)
• 1996 - Willie Rushton, British cartoonist, satirist, and actor (b. 1937)
• 1998 - André Lichnerowicz, Polish-French physicist (b. 1915)
• 2003 - Ahmadou Kourouma, Côte d'Ivoire writer (b. 1927)
• 2004 - M.S. Subbulakshmi, Indian singer (b. 1916)

• Roman festivals - One of the four Agonalia, this day in honour of Sol Indiges; also the Septimontium festival
• R.C. Saints - pope Damasus I: optional memorial; also Daniel the Stylite (not universal)
• Also see December 11 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Argentina - Tango Day, Buenos Aires
• Burkina Faso - Republic Day (1958, Upper Volta became an autonomous republic in the French Community.)
• USA - Admission day for Indiana (19th state, 1816)

December 10 - December 12 - November 11 - January 11 -- listing of all days