On this day: July 11

Events on July 11

• 813 Byzantine emperor Michael I Rangabe, under threat by conspiracies, abdicated in favor of his general Leo the Armenian, and became a monk. Wikipedia
• 1276 Election of pope Adrian V under the influence of Charles I of Anjou following the death of pope Gregory X earlier that year. Adrian V dies the following month. Wikipedia
• 1302 Franco-Flemish War: Flemish infantry defeated a large French army near Kortrijk at the Battle of the Golden Spurs. Wikipedia
• 1405 Marking the start of the Ming treasure voyages, a Chinese expeditionary fleet led by Zheng He set sail for foreign regions of the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean. Wikipedia
• 1735 Mathematical calculations suggest that it is on this day that dwarf planet Pluto moved inside the orbit of Neptune for the last time before 1979. Wikipedia
• 1789 French Revolution: Jacques Necker was dismissed as Director-General of Finances of France, sparking public demonstrations in Paris that led to the storming of the Bastille. Wikipedia
• 1792 The Belfast Harp Festival, an early event in the Gaelic revival, began at the Assembly Rooms. Wikipedia
• 1801 French astronomer Jean-Louis Pons co-discovered the first of his 37 comets, more than any other person in history. Wikipedia
• 1833 Yagan, a Noongar warrior, was killed for leading attacks on British colonists in Western Australia. Wikipedia
• 1846 British soldier Frederick John White died after a flogging, leading to a campaign to end the practice in the British Army. Wikipedia
• 1848 Waterloo Bridge Station, which later became Britain's busiest railway station by passenger usage, was opened by the London and South Western Railway. Wikipedia
• 1864 American Civil War: Confederate forces under Jubal Early began an unsuccessful attempt to capture Washington, D.C.. Wikipedia
• 1864 A riot broke out in Leicester, England, at the failed launching of a gas balloon. Wikipedia
• 1914 The US Navy launched the USS Nevada (BB-36) as its first Standard-type battleship. Wikipedia
• 1921 A truce in the Irish War of Independence comes into effect. Wikipedia
• 1928 Archaeologist Ivan Borkovský discovered a medieval skeleton at Prague Castle; competing factions claimed the skeleton as Germanic or Slavic in origin. Wikipedia
• 1940 World War II: Vichy France regime is formally established. Philippe Pétain becomes Chief of the French State. Wikipedia
• 1943 World War II: Allied invasion of Sicily: German and Italian troops launch a counter-attack on Allied forces in Sicily. Wikipedia
• 1950 Pakistan joins the International Monetary Fund and the International Bank. Wikipedia
• 1960 To Kill a Mockingbird, a novel by Harper Lee featuring themes of racial injustice and the loss of innocence in the Deep South of America, was published. Wikipedia
• 1982 Italy defeated West Germany 3–1 to win their third FIFA World Cup title. Wikipedia
• 1991 Shortly after taking off from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria Airways Flight 2120 caught fire and crashed, killing all 261 people on board. Wikipedia
• 1995 Yugoslav Wars: Srebrenica massacre begins, lasting until 22 July. Wikipedia
• 2010 The Islamist militia group Al-Shabaab carried out multiple suicide bombings in Kampala, Uganda, killing 74 people and injuring 85 others. Wikipedia
• 2010 Spain defeated the Netherlands 1–0 after extra time to win their first FIFA World Cup title. Wikipedia
• 2011 An explosion at the Evangelos Florakis Naval Base killed 13 people, including the head of the Cyprus Navy. Wikipedia

Born on July 11

• 1274 Robert the Bruce, Scottish king (died 1329) Wikipedia
• 1561 Luis de Góngora, Spanish cleric and poet (died 1627) Wikipedia
• 1657 Frederick I of Prussia (died 1713) Wikipedia
• 1767 John Quincy Adams, American lawyer and politician, 6th President of the United States (died 1848) Wikipedia
• 1834 James McNeill Whistler, American-English painter and illustrator (died 1903) Wikipedia
• 1888 Carl Schmitt, German philosopher and jurist (died 1985) Wikipedia
• 1892 Thomas Mitchell, American actor, singer, and screenwriter (died 1962) Wikipedia
• 1899 E. B. White, American essayist and journalist (died 1985) Wikipedia
• 1916 Alexander Prokhorov, Australian-Russian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2002) Wikipedia
• 1916 Gough Whitlam, Australian lawyer, and politician, 21st Prime Minister of Australia (died 2014) Wikipedia
• 1920 Yul Brynner, Russian-American actor and dancer (died 1985) Wikipedia
• 1930 Harold Bloom, American literary critic (died 2019) Wikipedia
• 1934 Giorgio Armani, Italian fashion designer, founded the Armani Company (died 2025) Wikipedia
• 1943 Howard Gardner, American psychologist and academic Wikipedia
• 1956 Amitav Ghosh, Indian-American author and academic Wikipedia
• 1958 Hugo Sánchez, Mexican footballer, coach, and manager Wikipedia
• 1959 Suzanne Vega, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer Wikipedia
• 1967 Jhumpa Lahiri, Indian American novelist and short story writer Wikipedia
• 1986 Yoann Gourcuff, French footballer Wikipedia
• 1990 Caroline Wozniacki, Danish tennis player Wikipedia
• 1992 Mohamed Elneny, Egyptian footballer Wikipedia
• 2002 Amad Diallo, Ivorian footballer Wikipedia

Died on July 11

• 472 Anthemius, Roman emperor (born 420) Wikipedia
• 969 Olga of Kiev (born 890) Wikipedia
• 1382 Nicole Oresme, French philosopher (born 1325) Wikipedia
• 1593 Giuseppe Arcimboldo, Italian painter (born 1527) Wikipedia
• 1905 Muhammad Abduh, Egyptian jurist and scholar (born 1849) Wikipedia
• 1909 Simon Newcomb, Canadian-American astronomer and mathematician (born 1835) Wikipedia
• 1937 George Gershwin, American pianist, songwriter, and composer (born 1898) Wikipedia
• 1974 Pär Lagerkvist, Swedish novelist, playwright, and poet Nobel Prize laureate (born 1891) Wikipedia
• 1989 Laurence Olivier, English actor, director, and producer (born 1907) Wikipedia
• 2007 Lady Bird Johnson, American beautification activist; 43rd First Lady of the United States (born 1912) Wikipedia
• 2015 Satoru Iwata, Japanese game programmer and businessman (born 1959) Wikipedia
• 2023 Milan Kundera, Czech-French writer (born 1929) Wikipedia
• 2024 Shelley Duvall, American actress (born 1949) Wikipedia
• 2026 Lindsey Graham, American politician (born 1955) Wikipedia

Holidays and observances

• Christian Feast Day: Benedict of Nursia Wikipedia
• Christian Feast Day: Drostan Wikipedia
• Christian Feast Day: Kjeld Wikipedia
• Christian Feast Day: Marciana of Toledo Wikipedia
• Christian Feast Day: Olga of Kiev Wikipedia
• Christian Feast Day: Pope Pius I Wikipedia
• Christian Feast Day: Thomas Sprott Wikipedia
• Christian Feast Day: July 11 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) Wikipedia
• China National Maritime Day (China) Wikipedia
• Day of the Bandoneón (Argentina) Wikipedia
• Day of the Flemish Community (Flemish Community of Belgium) Wikipedia
• Eleventh Night (Northern Ireland) Wikipedia
• National Day of Remembrance of the victims of the Genocide of the Citizens of the Polish Republic committed by Ukrainian Nationalists (Poland, established by the 22 July 2016 resolution of Sejm in reference to the July 11, 1943 Volhynian Bloody Sunday) Wikipedia
• Gospel Day (Kiribati) Wikipedia
• National Day of Commemoration, held on the nearest Sunday to this date (Ireland) Wikipedia
• The first day of Naadam (July 11–15) (Mongolia) Wikipedia
• World Population Day (International) Wikipedia
• International Day of Reflection and Commemoration of the 1995 Genocide in Srebrenica, established by the U.N. in May 2024. Wikipedia

Sources

• Wikipedia — “July 11” — events, births, deaths and observances (text under CC BY-SA 4.0) (checked 2026-10-15)
• Wikipedia — “Selected anniversaries/July 11” — the anniversaries editors chose for the date and the article each one is about (checked 2026-10-15)
• Wikidata — in how many language editions each entry's own article exists, used to fill the lists (CC0) (checked 2026-10-15)
• vacanza/holidays (open-source holiday rules, MIT licence) — holiday rules used to build the lists (checked 2026-10-15)

The events, births, deaths and observances above are from the English Wikipedia article “July 11” and the articles it links to (authors and history), retrieved 2026-10-15 through the Wikimedia “On this day” feed. They are licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; this selection is shared under the same licence. Every anniversary that Wikipedia's editors selected for July 11 stays on the list; the remaining places, up to 26 events, 22 births and 14 deaths, go to the entries whose own article — about the event itself, or else the person or thing it is about — appears in the most language editions (counted from Wikidata); an article about a person or thing, which covers far more than one day, counts half. An entry with no article of its own counts, also at half, by the least covered article it links, and one that links only places counts for nothing. Each list runs by year, and the wording is unchanged apart from removing references to pictures, audio and video.