On This Day: 11 August

11 August in Indian history

• 1961The former Portuguese territories in India of Dadra and Nagar Haveli are merged to create the Union Territory Dadra and Nagar Haveli.India

11 August in world history

• 2012At least 306 people were killed and 3,000 others injured in a pair of earthquakes near Tabriz, Iran.
• 2006The oil tanker MT Solar 1 sinks off the coast of Guimaras and Negros Islands in the Philippines, causing the country's worst oil spill.
• 2003NATO takes over command of the peacekeeping force in Afghanistan, marking its first major operation outside Europe in its 54-year-history.
• 1992The Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, opened as the largest shopping mall in the United States.
• 1988A meeting between Sayyed Imam Al-Sharif, Osama bin Laden, Abdullah Yusuf Azzam, and leaders of Egyptian Islamic Jihad in Afghanistan culminates in the formation of Al-Qaeda.
• 1979Two Aeroflot passenger jets collided in mid-air near Dniprodzerzhynsk in the Ukrainian SSR, killing all 178 people on both aircraft.
• 1975East Timor: Governor Mário Lemos Pires of Portuguese Timor abandons the capital Dili, following a coup by the Timorese Democratic Union (UDT) and the outbreak of civil war between UDT and Fretilin.
• 1973At a party in New York City, Jamaican musician DJ Kool Herc began rapping during an extended break, laying the foundation for hip hop music.
• 1962Vostok 3 launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome and cosmonaut Andrian Nikolayev becomes the first person to float in microgravity.
• 1945Amid rumors of kidnappings of children by Jews in Kraków, a crowd of Poles took part in a pogrom, resulting in at least one death.
• 1929Babe Ruth becomes the first baseball player to hit 500 home runs in his career with a home run at League Park in Cleveland, Ohio.
• 1920The 1920 Cork hunger strike begins which eventually results in the deaths of three Irish Republicans including the Lord Mayor of Cork Terence MacSwiney.
• 1858The Eiger in the Bernese Alps is ascended for the first time by Charles Barrington accompanied by Christian Almer and Peter Bohren.
• 1813In Colombia, Juan del Corral declares the independence of Antioquia.
• 1492The first conclave to be held in the Sistine Chapel elected Roderic Borja as Pope Alexander VI to succeed Innocent VIII.
• 1309Reconquista: Aragonese forces led by King James II landed on the coast of Almería, beginning an ultimately unsuccessful siege of the city, then held by the Emirate of Granada.
• 106The region of Dacia, comprising parts of modern Romania, became a province of the Roman Empire.

Born on 11 August

• 1986Pablo Sandoval, Venezuelan baseball player
• 1962Charles Cecil, English video game designer and co-founded Revolution Software
• 1961Suniel Shetty, Indian actor and film producerIndia
• 1954Yashpal Sharma, Indian cricketer and umpire (died 2021)India
• 1929Manabendra Mukhopadhyay, Indian singer (died 1992)India
• 1909Uku Masing, Estonian philosopher and theologian (died 1985)

Died on 11 August

• 2013Zafar Futehally, Indian ornithologist and author (born 1919)India
• 1908Khudiram Bose, Indian Bengali revolutionary (born 1889)India
• 991Byrhtnoth, English soldier (born 956)
• 223Jia Xu, Chinese politician and strategist (born 147)

Frequently asked questions

What happened on 11 August in history?

2012: At least 306 people were killed and 3,000 others injured in a pair of earthquakes near Tabriz, Iran. 2006: The oil tanker MT Solar 1 sinks off the coast of Guimaras and Negros Islands in the Philippines, causing the country's worst oil spill. 2003: NATO takes over command of the peacekeeping force in Afghanistan, marking its first major operation outside Europe in its 54-year-history. 1992: The Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, opened as the largest shopping mall in the United States.

What happened on 11 August in Indian history?

1961: The former Portuguese territories in India of Dadra and Nagar Haveli are merged to create the Union Territory Dadra and Nagar Haveli.

Which famous people were born on 11 August?

Pablo Sandoval, Venezuelan baseball player (1986); Charles Cecil, English video game designer and co-founded Revolution Software (1962); Suniel Shetty, Indian actor and film producer (1961); Yashpal Sharma, Indian cricketer and umpire (died 2021) (1954).

Which day is observed on 11 August?

Flag Day (Pakistan); Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Chad from France in 1960.; Mountain Day (Japan).