June 11 in History

Historical Events on June 11

1509 Henry VIII of England marries Catherine of Aragon.

1748 Denmark adopts the characteristic Nordic Cross flag later taken up by all other Scandinavian countries.

1775 The American Revolutionary War's first naval engagement, the Battle of Machias, results in the capture of a small British naval vessel.

1937 Great Purge: The Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin executes eight army leaders.

1938 Second Sino-Japanese War: The Battle of Wuhan starts.

1963 American Civil Rights Movement: Governor of Alabama George Wallace defiantly stands at the door of Foster Auditorium at the University of Alabama in an attempt to block two black students, Vivian Malone and James Hood, from attending that school. Later in the day, accompanied by federalized National Guard troops, they are able to register.

1963 John F. Kennedy addresses Americans from the Oval Office proposing the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which would revolutionize American society by guaranteeing equal access to public facilities, ending segregation in education, and guaranteeing federal protection for voting rights.

1971 The U.S. Government forcibly removes the last holdouts to the Native American Occupation of Alcatraz, ending 19 months of control.

2004 Cassini-Huygens makes its closest flyby of the Saturn moon Phoebe.

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Famous Birthdays on June 11

1888 Bartolomeo Vanzetti

1930 Charles Rangel

1950 Lynsey de Paul

1971 Kenjiro Tsuda

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Famous Deaths on June 11

323 BC Alexander the Great

1859 Klemens von Metternich

1979 John Wayne

2015 Dusty Rhodes (wrestler)

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