On This Day: 11 March

11 March in Indian history

• 1917World War I: Mesopotamian campaign: Baghdad falls to Anglo-Indian forces commanded by General Frederick Stanley Maude.India
• 1795The Battle of Kharda is fought between the Maratha Confederacy and the Nizam of Hyderabad, resulting in Maratha victory.India

11 March in world history

• 2023The Burmese military kills at least 30 villagers, including 3 Buddhist monks, during the Pinlaung massacre in Shan State, Myanmar.
• 2020The World Health Organization (WHO) declares the COVID-19 virus epidemic a pandemic.
• 2018A Bombardier Challenger 604 crashes into the Zagros Mountains near the Iranian city of Shar-e-kord, killing all 11 people on board.
• 2012U.S. Army soldier Robert Bales murdered sixteen civilians and wounded six others in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan.
• 2011A massive earthquake and tsunami struck northeastern Japan and triggered a nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.
• 2010During the inauguration of Chilean president Sebastián Piñera, earthquakes registering 6.9 and 7.0 .mw-parser-output .tooltip-dotted{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}Mw struck the O'Higgins Region near the city of Pichilemu, causing widespread damage.
• 2008Space Shuttle Endeavour launches on STS-123, carrying the first component of the Japanese Kibō module to the International Space Station.
• 1982Fifteen people are killed when Widerøe Flight 933 crashes into the Barents Sea near Gamvik, Norway.
• 1981Hundreds of students protest in the University of Pristina in Kosovo, then part of Yugoslavia, to give their province more political rights. The protests then became a nationwide movement.
• 1978After hijacking a bus north of Tel Aviv, Israel, members of the Palestine Liberation Organization faction Fatah engaged in a shootout with police, resulting in the deaths of 38 civilians and most of the perpetrators.
• 1945World War II: The Imperial Japanese Navy attempts a large-scale kamikaze attack on the U.S. Pacific Fleet anchored at Ulithi atoll in Operation Tan No. 2.
• 1941World War II: United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the Lend-Lease Act into law, allowing American-built war supplies to be shipped to the Allies on loan.
• 1888The Great Blizzard of 1888 struck the northeastern United States, producing snowdrifts in excess of 50 ft (15 m) and confining some people to their houses for up to a week.
• 1845Māori forces, led by chiefs Te Ruki Kawiti and Hōne Heke, attacked the British settlement of Kororāreka, New Zealand, beginning the Flagstaff War.
• 1708Queen Anne withheld royal assent from the Scottish Militia Bill, in the most recent veto by a British monarch of a bill that had been passed by Parliament.
• 1669Mount Etna in Sicily began erupting, eventually producing the largest lava flow in the volcano's history, and damaging Catania and other towns.

Born on 11 March

• 1936Antonin Scalia, American lawyer and jurist, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (died 2016)
• 1932Nigel Lawson, English journalist and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (died 2023)
• 1931Rupert Murdoch, Australian-American businessman and media magnate
• 1926Ralph Abernathy, American minister and activist (died 1990)
• 1925Margaret Oakley Dayhoff, American biochemist and academic (died 1983)
• 1915Vijay Hazare, Indian cricketer (died 2004)India

Died on 11 March

• 2002James Tobin, American economist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1918)
• 1874Charles Sumner, American lawyer and politician (born 1811)
• 1689Sambhaji, second Chhatrapati of the Maratha Empire (born 1657)India
• 222Elagabalus, Roman emperor (born 203)

Frequently asked questions

What happened on 11 March in history?

2023: The Burmese military kills at least 30 villagers, including 3 Buddhist monks, during the Pinlaung massacre in Shan State, Myanmar. 2020: The World Health Organization (WHO) declares the COVID-19 virus epidemic a pandemic. 2018: A Bombardier Challenger 604 crashes into the Zagros Mountains near the Iranian city of Shar-e-kord, killing all 11 people on board. 2012: U.S. Army soldier Robert Bales murdered sixteen civilians and wounded six others in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan.

What happened on 11 March in Indian history?

1917: World War I: Mesopotamian campaign: Baghdad falls to Anglo-Indian forces commanded by General Frederick Stanley Maude. 1795: The Battle of Kharda is fought between the Maratha Confederacy and the Nizam of Hyderabad, resulting in Maratha victory.

Which famous people were born on 11 March?

Antonin Scalia, American lawyer and jurist, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (died 2016) (1936); Nigel Lawson, English journalist and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (died 2023) (1932); Rupert Murdoch, Australian-American businessman and media magnate (1931); Ralph Abernathy, American minister and activist (died 1990) (1926).

Which day is observed on 11 March?

Day of Restoration of Independence from the Soviet Union in 1990 (Lithuania); Moshoeshoe Day (Lesotho); Saudi Flag Day.