Summary of the Day ✨ 11 October (11/10)
On this day, space exploration experienced both triumph and disaster as NASA launched its 100th Space Shuttle mission while a Soyuz rocket carrying ISS crew members aborted its launch but landed safely. Meanwhile, tragedy struck in the Mediterranean where a migrant boat sinking claimed at least 359 lives, and in Finland where a shopping mall bombing killed seven people, while Polaroid Corporation filed for bankruptcy protection.
Historical Events 📜
- 2018: Soyuz MS-10, launching an intended crew for the ISS, suffers an in-flight abort. The crew lands safely.
- 2013: A migrant boat sinks in the Channel of Sicily, with at least 359 people drowning.
- 2002: A bomb attack in a Myyrmanni shopping mall in Vantaa, Finland kills seven.
- 2001: The Polaroid Corporation files for federal bankruptcy protection.
- 2000: NASA launches STS-92, the 100th Space Shuttle mission.
- 1999: Air Botswana pilot Chris Phatswe steals an ATR 42 from Sir Seretse Khama International Airport and later crashes it into two other aircraft at the airport, killing himself.
- 1991: Prof. Anita Hill delivers her televised testimony concerning sexual harassment during the Clarence Thomas Supreme Court nomination.
- 1987: The AIDS Memorial Quilt is first displayed during the Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights.
- 1987: Start of Operation Pawan by Indian forces in Sri Lanka. Thousands of civilians, insurgents, soldiers die.
- 1986: Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev meet in Iceland to continue discussions about scaling back IRBM arsenals in Europe.
- 1984: Aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger, astronaut Kathryn D. Sullivan becomes the first American woman to perform a space walk.
- 1984: Aeroflot Flight 3352 crashes into maintenance vehicles upon landing in Omsk, Russia, killing 178.
- 1976: George Washington is posthumously promoted to the grade of General of the Armies.
- 1968: NASA launches Apollo 7, the first successful crewed Apollo mission.
- 1962: The Second Vatican Council becomes the first ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church in 92 years.
Famous Births 👶
- 2001: Maja Chwalińska, Polish tennis player
- 2001: Daniel Maldini, Italian footballer
- 2001: Jacob Preston, Australian rugby league player
- 2001: Chu Ye-jin, South Korean actress
- 1999: Leicester Fainga’anuku, New Zealand rugby union player
- 1999: Keldon Johnson, American basketball player
- 1996: Rhea Ripley, Australian wrestler
- 1996: Arman Tsarukyan, Armenian professional mixed martial artist
- 1995: Nicolás Jarry, Chilean tennis player
- 1994: Clésio Baúque, Mozambican footballer
- 1994: Zior Park, South Korean rapper
- 1994: T. J. Watt, American football player
- 1993: Brandon Flynn, American actor
- 1993: Hardik Pandya, Indian cricketer
- 1992: Cardi B, American rapper
Notable Deaths 🕊️
- 2025: Diane Keaton, American actress (born 1946)
- 2024: Jamaluddin Hossain, Bangladeshi actor (born 1943)
- 2022: Angela Lansbury, English-American actress, singer, and producer (born 1925)
- 2019: Alexei Leonov, Soviet/Russian cosmonaut and first human to conduct a spacewalk (born 1934)
- 2017: Clifford Husbands, Barbadian politician (born 1926)
- 2015: Dean Chance, American baseball player and manager (born 1941)
- 2014: Anita Cerquetti, Italian soprano (born 1931)
- 2014: Carmelo Simeone, Argentinian footballer (born 1933)
- 2014: Bob Such, Australian educator and politician (born 1944)
- 2013: María de Villota, Spanish race car driver (born 1980)
- 2013: Erich Priebke, German captain (born 1913)
- 2012: Avrohom Genachowsky, Israeli rabbi (born 1936)
- 2012: Helmut Haller, German footballer and coach (born 1939)
- 2012: Edward Kossoy, Polish lawyer, publicist, and activist (born 1913)
- 2012: Édgar Negret, Colombian sculptor (born 1920)
Holidays & Observances 🎉
- Christian feast days:
Agilbert - Christian feast days:
Alexander Sauli - Christian feast days:
Andronicus, Probus, and Tarachus (Roman Catholic Church) - Christian feast days:
Æthelburh of Barking - Christian feast days:
Bruno the Great - Christian feast days:
Cainnech of Aghaboe - Christian feast days:
Gratus of Oloron - Christian feast days:
Gummarus - Christian feast days:
James the Deacon (Church of England, Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church) - Christian feast days:
Lommán of Trim - Christian feast days:
Maria Soledad Torres y Acosta - Christian feast days:
Nectarius of Constantinople - Christian feast days:
Nicasius, Quirinus, Scubiculus, and Pientia - Christian feast days:
Philip the Evangelist - Christian feast days:
Pope John XXIII (Roman Catholic Church)