Summary of the Day ✨ 11 June (11/06)
Greece’s public broadcaster ERT was shut down by Prime Minister Antonis Samaras only to be reopened two years later by his successor, while Afghanistan mourned 75 villagers killed in earthquake-triggered landslides. South Africa made history hosting the first African FIFA World Cup, Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper apologized to First Nations for residential school abuses, and NASA launched the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope into orbit.
Historical Events 📜
- 2013: Greece’s public broadcaster ERT is shut down by then-prime minister Antonis Samaras. It would be opened exactly two years later by then-prime minister Alexis Tsipras.
- 2012: 75 people die in a landslide triggered by two earthquakes in Afghanistan; an entire village is buried.
- 2010: The first African FIFA World Cup kicks off in South Africa.
- 2008: Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper makes a historic official apology to Canada’s First Nations in regard to abuses at a Canadian Indian residential school.
- 2008: The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope is launched into orbit.
- 2007: Mudslides in Chittagong, Bangladesh, kill 130 people.
- 2004: Cassini–Huygens makes its closest flyby of the Saturn moon Phoebe.
- 2002: Antonio Meucci is acknowledged as the first inventor of the telephone by the United States Congress.
- 2001: Timothy McVeigh is executed for his role in the Oklahoma City bombing.
- 1998: Compaq Computer pays US$9 billion for Digital Equipment Corporation in the largest high-tech acquisition.
- 1987: Diane Abbott, Paul Boateng and Bernie Grant are elected as the first black MPs in Great Britain.
- 1981: A magnitude 6.9 earthquake at Golbaf, Iran, kills at least 2,000.
- 1978: Altaf Hussain founds the student political movement All Pakistan Muhajir Students Organisation (APMSO) in Karachi University.
- 1971: The U.S. Government forcibly removes the last holdouts to the Native American Occupation of Alcatraz, ending 19 months of control.
- 1970: After being appointed on May 15, Anna Mae Hays and Elizabeth P. Hoisington officially receive their ranks as U.S. Army general officers, becoming the first women to do so.
Famous Births 👶
- 2004: Katrina Scott, American tennis player
- 2001: Billy Gilmour, Scottish footballer
- 1999: Eartha Cumings, Scottish footballer
- 1999: Kai Havertz, German footballer
- 1998: Charlie Tahan, American actor
- 1997: Kodak Black, American rapper
- 1997: Unai Simón, Spanish footballer
- 1997: Jorja Smith, English singer
- 1996: Philip Billing, Danish footballer
- 1996: Ayaka Sasaki, Japanese singer
- 1994: Ivana Baquero, Spanish actress
- 1992: Davide Zappacosta, Italian footballer
- 1991: Kyle Troup, American bowler
- 1990: Christophe Lemaitre, French sprinter
- 1989: Maya Moore, American basketball player
Notable Deaths 🕊️
- 2025: Brian Wilson, American singer and songwriter, co-founder of the Beach Boys (born 1942)
- 2024: Tony Lo Bianco, American actor (born 1936)
- 2024: Howard Fineman, American journalist (born 1948)
- 2024: Françoise Hardy, French singer-songwriter and actress (born 1944)
- 2024: Majed Abu Maraheel, Palestinian long-distance runner and football player (born 1963)
- 2022: Hilary Devey, English businesswoman, television presenter (born 1957)
- 2020: Stella Pevsner, children’s author (born 1921)
- 2019: Billy McKee, Irish republican and founding member of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (born 1921)
- 2016: Rudi Altig, German track and road racing cyclist (born 1937)
- 2015: Ornette Coleman, American saxophonist, violinist, trumpet player, and composer (born 1930)
- 2015: Ian McKechnie, Scottish footballer and manager (born 1941)
- 2015: Ron Moody, English actor and singer (born 1924)
- 2015: Dusty Rhodes, American wrestler (born 1945)
- 2014: Ruby Dee, American actress (born 1922)
- 2014: Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Spanish conductor and composer (born 1933)
Holidays & Observances 🎉
- Brazilian Navy Day (Brazil)
- Christian feast day:
Barnabas the Apostle - Christian feast day:
Bartholomew the Apostle (Eastern Christianity) - Christian feast day:
Blessed Ignatius Maloyan (Armenian Catholic Church) - Christian feast day:
Paula Frassinetti - Christian feast day:
Riagail of Bangor - Christian feast day:
June 11 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) - Davis Day (Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada)
- King Kamehameha I Day (Hawaii, United States)
- Student Day (Honduras)