The Abdication of Napoleon

1814

Napoleon abdicates the throne and is exiled to Elba

Born on This Day

Pioneering Chemist Percy Julian Holding Award

Percy Lavon Julian

1899 - 1975

American chemist and civil-rights advocate whose research on soybeans led to a glaucoma treatment and a foam fire extinguisher.

Oleg Cassini attends the Rita Hayworth Gala

Oleg Cassini

1913 - 2006

Fashion designer who created the widely copied "Jackie look" as First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy's personal couturier.

Joel Grey

Joel Grey

1932 -

Award-winning actor best known for playing the emcee in stage and screen versions of the musical "Cabaret."

Percy Lavon Julian

Bettmann Archive

Oleg Cassini

Getty Images

Joel Grey

Getty Images

1969

APR

11

The Beatles release their song “Get Back” as a 45-r.p.m. record. It is the only one of the band’s singles to credit an additional artist—keyboard player Billy Preston, who becomes known as the Fifth Beatle.

Timeline

Also on This Day in History

Discover more of the major events, famous births, notable deaths and everything else history-making that happened on April 11th

1803

French Foreign Minister Talleyrand offers to sell Louisiana Territory to U.S.

In one of the great surprises in diplomatic history, French Foreign Minister Charles Maurice de Talleyrand makes an offer to sell all of Louisiana Territory to the United States. Talleyrand was no fool. As the foreign minister to French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, he was one of the most powerful men in the world. Three years […]

2:50m read read

1870

Lord Muncaster of Britain is kidnapped in Greece, nearly causing war

While visiting Marathon, Greece, Lord Muncaster of Britain is kidnapped by brigands, almost resulting in war. The pirates, led by Takos Arvanitakis, were experienced in kidnapping and had used it as a lucrative source of income for many years. However, their capture of Lord Muncaster and a group of English tourists proved to be more […]

1:00m read read

1888

Henry Ford marries Clara Jane Bryant

On April 11, 1888, 24-year-old Henry Ford marries Clara Jane Bryant on her 22nd birthday at her parent’s home in Greenfield Township, Michigan. Clara Ford would prove to be a big supporter of her husband’s business ideas: Fifty years later, Henry Ford—who by then had founded the Ford Motor Company, invented the top-selling Model T […]

1898

President McKinley asks for declaration of war against Spain

President William McKinley asks Congress to declare war on Spain on April 11, 1898. In 1895, Cuba, located less than 100 miles south of the United States, attempted to overthrow Spanish colonial rule. The rebels received financial assistance from private U.S. interests and used America as a base of operations from which to attack. The […]

1:40m read read

1921

First live sporting event broadcast on radio

On April 11, 1921, KDKA in Pittsburgh broadcasts the first live sporting event on the radio, a boxing match between Johnny Ray and Johnny Dundee. Pittsburgh Daily Post sports editor Florent Gibson calls the event, about four months before KDKA’s Harold Arlin announces the first Major League Baseball game broadcast on radio. The lightweight bout pitted […]

1:28m read read

1931

Dorothy Parker announces she is resigning as drama critic for “The New Yorker”

The witty and caustic Dorothy Parker resigns her job as drama critic for The New Yorker. However, she continued to write book reviews until 1933, which were published in 1971 as A Month of Saturdays. The funny, sophisticated Parker symbolized the Roaring Twenties in New York for many readers. Parker was born in New Jersey […]

1:52m read read

1945

The U.S. army liberates Buchenwald concentration camp

On April 11, 1945, the American Third Army liberates the Buchenwald concentration camp, near Weimar, Germany, a camp that will be judged second only to Auschwitz in the horrors it imposed on its prisoners. As American forces closed in on the Nazi concentration camp at Buchenwald, Gestapo headquarters at Weimar telephoned the camp administration to […]

1:16m read read

This Day In History: The U.S. army liberates Buchenwald concentration camp, April 11, 1945

1945

Yugoslavian partisan leader Tito signs “friendship treaty” with Soviet Union

On April 11, 1945, Yugoslav partisan leader Tito signs an agreement permitting “temporary entry of Soviet troops into Yugoslav territory.” Josip Broz, alias “Tito,” secretary general of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, led a partisan counteroffensive movement against the Axis occupying powers of Germany and Italy in 1941. Recognized by the Allies as the leader […]

1951

President Truman relieves General MacArthur of duties in Korea

In perhaps the most famous civilian-military confrontation in the history of the United States, President Harry S. Truman relieves General Douglas MacArthur of command of the U.S. forces in Korea. The firing of MacArthur set off a brief uproar among the American public, but Truman remained committed to keeping the conflict in Korea a “limited […]

3:08m read read

General MacArthur and President Truman

1961

Bob Dylan plays his first major gig in New York City

On April 11, 1961, Bob Dylan plays his first major gig in New York City, opening for bluesman John Lee Hooker at Gerde’s Folk City. Who knows how many other young men arrived in New York City in the winter of 1961 looking like James Dean and talking like Jack Kerouac? It would have been […]

2:34m read read

1970

Apollo 13 launches to the moon

On April 11, 1970, Apollo 13, the third lunar landing mission, is successfully launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, carrying astronauts James A. Lovell, John L. Swigert and Fred W. Haise. The spacecraft’s destination was the Fra Mauro highlands of the moon, where the astronauts were to explore the Imbrium Basin and conduct geological experiments. After […]

3:40m read read

The Apollo 13 astronauts

1977

President Carter hosts White House Easter egg roll

On April 11, 1977, President Jimmy Carter, along with first lady Rosalynn Carter, hosts local children at the traditional White House “Easter egg roll.” According to White House curator Bill Allman, the curious tradition of egg-rolling on the White House lawn originated in the mid-to-late 19th century. First lady Dolley Madison is sometimes credited with […]

2:10m read read

1979

Ugandan dictator Idi Amin overthrown

On April 11, 1979, Ugandan dictator Idi Amin flees the Ugandan capital of Kampala as Tanzanian troops and forces of the Uganda National Liberation Front close in. Two days later, Kampala fell and a coalition government of former exiles took power. Amin, chief of the Ugandan army and air force from 1966, seized control of […]

1:14m read read

1988

Cher wins Best Actress Oscar for “Moonstruck”

On April 11, 1988, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, the actress and singer Cher collects the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in Moonstruck (1988). Cherilyn Sarkasian, who was born on May 20, 1946, first became famous as the taller, female half of the 1960s singing duo Sonny and Cher, alongside […]

2:24m read read

2004

Phil Mickelson wins first major at Masters

On April 11, 2004, Phil Mickelson wins the Masters Golf Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club, his first major championship in nearly 12 years as a professional golfer. A native of California, Mickelson graduated from Arizona State University, where he won three NCAA individual championships and three Haskins Awards as the nation’s outstanding college golfer. […]

1:28m read read

2015

Barack Obama and Raúl Castro meet in Panama

For the first time in over 50 years, the presidents of the United States and Cuba meet on April 11, 2015. Barack Obama and Raúl Castro, President of Cuba and brother of Fidel Castro, with whom the United States broke off diplomatic contact in 1961, shook hands and expressed a willingness to put one of […]

History Every Day

Sign Up for "This Day in History"

Uncover fascinating moments from the past every day! Learn something new with key events in history, from the American Revolution to pop culture, crime and more.

By submitting your information, you agree to receive emails from HISTORY and A+E Global Media. You can opt out at any time. You must be 16 years or older and a resident of the United States.

More details: Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Contact Us