11 January in history
9 events that happened on 11 January, from 630 to 1964.
✦ Anniversary of the day
1158 CE 868 years ago
Vladislaus II becomes King of Bohemia
Emperor Frederick Barbarossa granted Duke Vladislaus II a royal crown in return for support in Italy. He was crowned at Regensburg, only the second Bohemian ruler to hold the title of king.
1569 CE 457 years ago
England's first recorded state lottery is drawn
Chartered by Elizabeth I to raise money for harbours and public works, England's first state lottery was drawn at the west door of St Paul's Cathedral. Ticket holders were promised immunity from arrest for minor crimes.
1787 CE 239 years ago
William Herschel discovers Titania and Oberon
Six years after finding Uranus, Herschel spotted its two largest moons. They were later named after the king and queen of the fairies in Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'.
1861 CE 165 years ago
Alabama secedes from the Union
Alabama's convention voted 61 to 39 to leave the United States, the fourth state to secede. Its capital Montgomery hosted the founding of the Confederate States the next month.
1935 CE 91 years ago
Amelia Earhart sets out on the first solo flight from Hawaii
Earhart took off from Honolulu and landed in Oakland, California, about 18 hours later. She became the first person to fly solo across this stretch of the Pacific, some 3,900 km.
1946 CE 80 years ago
Albania proclaimed a People's Republic
Albania's assembly abolished the monarchy and declared a People's Republic under communist leader Enver Hoxha. His regime became one of the most isolated and repressive in Europe.
1964 CE 62 years ago
US Surgeon General reports that smoking causes cancer
Luther Terry's advisory committee concluded that cigarette smoking causes lung cancer in men. The report led to health warnings on cigarette packets and decades of anti-smoking policy.
Born on 11 January 7
Died on 11 January 10
Dates as the sources give them: in the Julian calendar before 1582, and in some countries for longer (Britain until 1752, Russia until 1918). Only people whose day of birth or death the records agree on are listed.