Browse Historical Events by Day: What Happened on February 11th?

Traditional founding date of Rome by Romulus.

Battle of Nineveh, Byzantine Emperor Heraclius defeats the Sassanid Persian Empire, marking a turning point in the Byzantine-Sassanid wars.

King Edward IV of England dies, and his son, Edward V, ascends to the throne, initiating the brief reign known as the Princes in the Tower.

1Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci leaves Cadiz, Spain, on his first voyage to the New World.

Alexander Selkirk is rescued by Woodes Rogers after being marooned on a desert island, inspiring Daniel Defoe's novel "Robinson Crusoe."

A British expeditionary force captures the Cape of Good Hope from the Dutch during the Napoleonic Wars.

The first British public toilets for women are opened in Bedford Street, London.

Fourteen-year-old Bernadette Soubirous (Later St. Bernadette) claims to have seen the Virgin Mary in a small town located near Lourdes in the foothills of the Pyrenee mountains. in southern France. This was the first of 18 reported encounters, the last one took place on July 16, 1858. More

Japan launches Ohsumi , it first man-made satellite, making Japan the fourth country in the world (after the former Soviet Union, the United States and France) to have launched a satellite without aid from outside sources. More

The "MAS*H" finale becomes the most-watched television episode in history at the time.

Nelson Mandela is released from Victor Verster Prison in South Africa after 27 years in captivity as South African President F.W. de Klerk lifts the 30-year ban on the African National Congress, and other black liberation parties, allowing freedom of the press, and releasing political prisoners marking the beginning of the end of apartheid. More

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak resigns amidst widespread protests in Cairo's Tahrir Square.

Singer Whitney Houston dies at the age of 48.

The World Health Organization names officially names the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and the virus that causes it. The first case of COVID -19 had been confirmed On January 20, 2020, a day after 35-year-old man presented to an urgent care clinic in Snohomish County, Washington, with a 4-day history of cough and subjective fever. He disclosed that he had returned to Washington State on January 15 after traveling to visit family in Wuhan, China. More