History of Today in India – 11 May

Explore the history of today 11 May in India, including important events, famous personalities, and milestones for UPSC SSC,Banking & PSC exams.

Last updated on 11 May 2026, 04:23 AM

📜 Important Events on 11 May in World History

11 May 2024: Start/Middle of the May 2024 Solar Storms, the most powerful set of geomagnetic storms since the 2003 Halloween solar storms. Read more
11 May 2024: The 68th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest is held in Malmö, Sweden. Nemo from Switzerland wins with their song "The Code", making them the contest's first non-binary winner. Read more
11 May 2022: The Burmese military executes at least 37 villagers during the Mon Taing Pin massacre in Sagaing, Myanmar. Read more
11 May 2022: Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh is killed while covering a raid in Jenin. Israel eventually admitted and apologized for the murder, after initial denials. Read more
11 May 2016: One hundred and ten people are killed in an ISIL bombing in Baghdad. Read more
11 May 2014: Fifteen people are killed and 46 injured in Kinshasa, DRC, in a stampede caused by tear gas being thrown into soccer stands by police officers. Read more
11 May 2013: Fifty-two people are killed in a bombing in Reyhanlı, Turkey. Read more
11 May 2011: An earthquake of magnitude 5.1 hits Lorca, Spain. Read more
11 May 2011: The Istanbul Convention is signed in Istanbul, Turkey. Read more
11 May 2010: David Cameron takes office as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom as the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats form the country's first coalition government since the Second World War. Read more
11 May 2009: An American soldier in Iraq opens fire on a counseling center at Camp Liberty in Baghdad, killing five other US soldiers and wounding three. Read more
11 May 2009: Space Shuttle Atlantis is launched on the final mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope. Read more
11 May 2000: Second Chechen War: Chechen separatists ambush Russian paramilitary forces in the Republic of Ingushetia. Read more
11 May 1998: India conducts three underground atomic tests in Pokhran. Read more
11 May 1997: Deep Blue, a chess-playing supercomputer, defeats Garry Kasparov in the last game of the rematch, becoming the first computer to beat a world-champion chess player in a classic match format. Read more
11 May 1996: After the aircraft's departure from Miami, a fire started by improperly handled chemical oxygen generators in the cargo hold of Atlanta-bound ValuJet Airlines Flight 592 causes the Douglas DC-9 to crash in the Florida Everglades, killing all 110 on board. Read more
11 May 1987: Klaus Barbie goes on trial in Lyon for war crimes committed during World War II. Read more
11 May 1985: Fifty-six spectators die and more than 200 are injured in the Bradford City stadium fire. Read more
11 May 1973: Citing government misconduct, Daniel Ellsberg's charges for his involvement in releasing the Pentagon Papers to The New York Times are dismissed. Read more
11 May 1973: Aeroflot Flight 6551 crashes in Semey, Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic (now Kazakhstan), killing all 63 aboard. Read more
11 May 1970: The 1970 Lubbock tornado kills 26 and causes $250 million in damage. Read more
11 May 1919: Uruguay becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires copyright treaty. Read more
11 May 1894: Four thousand Pullman Palace Car Company workers go on a wildcat strike. Read more
11 May 1889: An attack upon a U.S. Army paymaster and escort results in the theft of over $28,000 and the award of two Medals of Honor. Read more
11 May 1880: Seven people are killed in the Mussel Slough Tragedy, a gun battle in California. Read more
11 May 1878: Hödel assassination attempt by anarchist Max Hödel targeting the German Kaiser, Wilhelm I. Read more
11 May 1857: Indian Rebellion of 1857: Indian rebels seize Delhi from the British. Read more
11 May 1813: William Lawson, Gregory Blaxland and William Wentworth discover a route across the Blue Mountains, opening up inland Australia to settlement. Read more
11 May 1812: Prime Minister Spencer Perceval is assassinated by John Bellingham in the lobby of the British House of Commons. Read more

🎂 Important Births on 11 May in World History

11 May 2006: Konsta Helenius, Finnish ice hockey player Konsta Helenius is a Finnish professional ice hockey player who is a forward for the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted 14th overall by the Sabres in the 2024 NHL entry draft. Read more
11 May 2003: Fermín López, Spanish footballer Fermín López Marín, known simply as Fermín, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger for La Liga club Barcelona and the Spain national team. Read more
11 May 2000: Yūki Tsunoda, Japanese racing driver Yuki Tsunoda is a Japanese racing driver who serves as a reserve driver in Formula One for Red Bull Racing and Racing Bulls. Tsunoda competed in Formula One from 2021 to 2025. Read more
11 May 2000: Wang Chuqin, Chinese table tennis player Wang Chuqin is a Chinese professional table tennis player, Olympic champion, and World Champion. He is currently ranked world No.1 in men's singles. Read more
11 May 1999: Sabrina Carpenter, American singer and actress Sabrina Annlynn Carpenter is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She first gained prominence starring as Maya Hart on the Disney Channel series Girl Meets World (2014–2017). She signed with the Disney-owned Hollywood Records and achieved limited success with studio albums Eyes Wide Open (2015), Evolution (2016), Singular: Act I (2018), and Singular: Act II (2019). Read more
11 May 1998: Viktória Kužmová, Slovak tennis player Viktória Hrunčáková is a Slovak professional tennis player. She has been ranked as high as No. 43 in singles and No. 27 in doubles in the world by the WTA. Hrunčáková has won five doubles titles on the WTA Tour and 26 titles on the ITF Circuit. She also ended runner-up at the Premier-level 2019 St. Petersburg Trophy and at the 2021 Yarra Valley Classic in doubles, along with Anna Kalinskaya. With the Slovakia team, she contributed to achieve for the first time the final for her country at 2024 Billie Jean King Cup, losing only in the final to Italian Lucia Bronzetti. Read more
11 May 1997: Coi Leray, American rapper and singer Coi Leray Collins is an American rapper and singer. The daughter of rapper and media executive Benzino, she began her musical career in 2018 with the release of her debut mixtape, Everythingcoz. She signed with Republic Records to release her second mixtape EC2 (2019) and debut extended play, Now or Never (2020). In 2021, the Lil Durk remix of her song "No More Parties" peaked within the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 and received double platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Read more
11 May 1997: Lana Condor, American actress Lana Therese Condor is an American actress and YouTuber. She made her acting debut starring as Jubilee in the superhero film X-Men: Apocalypse (2016), and gained international recognition for portraying Lara Jean Covey in the romantic comedy To All the Boys film series (2018–2021). She has also portrayed Saya Kuroki in the television series Deadly Class and Koyomi in the film Alita: Battle Angel, and voiced the titular character in the animated teen comedy film Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken (2023). Read more
11 May 1996: Adin Hill, Canadian ice hockey player Adin Hill is a Canadian professional ice hockey player who is a goaltender for the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League (NHL). Hill was selected by the Arizona Coyotes, 76th overall, in the 2015 NHL entry draft. He has also played with the San Jose Sharks. As their starting goaltender, Hill won the Stanley Cup with the Golden Knights in 2023. Read more
11 May 1995: Gelson Martins, Portuguese footballer Gelson Dany Batalha Martins is a professional footballer who plays as a winger for Super League Greece club Olympiacos. Read more
11 May 1995: Sachia Vickery, American tennis player Sachia Vickery is an American professional tennis player. She reached a career-high of No. 73 in the WTA rankings on July 30, 2018.
Vickery, a former USTA junior national champion, has also won three singles and three doubles titles on the ITF Circuit. Read more
11 May 1995: Shira Haas, Israeli actress Shira Haas is an Israeli actress. She first rose to local prominence for her role in the television series Shtisel (2013–2021). Her international breakthrough came with her portrayal of Esther "Esty" Shapiro in the Netflix miniseries Unorthodox (2020), for which she received Golden Globe and Primetime Emmy nominations, becoming the first Israeli actress to be nominated for the latter. Read more
11 May 1994: Hagos Gebrhiwet, Ethiopian runner Hagos Gebrhiwet Berhe is an Ethiopian long-distance runner. He won the bronze medal in the 5,000 m at the 2016 Summer Olympics. He won the gold medal in the 5 km at the 2023 World Road Running Championships. He has also won silver and bronze medals at the World Athletics Championships. Read more
11 May 1994: Nene Macdonald, Papua New Guinean rugby league player Nene Macdonald is a Papua New Guinean professional rugby league footballer who plays as a winger or centre for St Helens in the Super League, and Papua New Guinea at international level. Read more
11 May 1993: Maurice Harkless, American-Puerto Rican basketball player Maurice José "Moe" Harkless is an American-Puerto Rican professional basketball player for the Criollos de Caguas of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN). He played college basketball for the St. John's Red Storm before being drafted 15th overall, after his freshman season, in the 2012 NBA draft. Harkless has represented the Puerto Rican national team internationally. Read more
11 May 1993: Miguel Sanó, Dominican baseball player Miguel Ángel Jean Sanó is a Dominican professional baseball first baseman and third baseman for the Chunichi Dragons of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins and Los Angeles Angels. He made his MLB debut in 2015, and was an All-Star in 2017. He is currently playing winter baseball for the Estrellas Orientales of the Dominican Professional Baseball League. Read more
11 May 1992: Thibaut Courtois, Belgian footballer Thibaut Nicolas Marc Courtois is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for La Liga club Real Madrid and the Belgium national team. Regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time, he is known for his reflexes, acrobatic saves, and command of the penalty area. Read more
11 May 1992: Pablo Sarabia, Spanish footballer Pablo Sarabia García is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Qatar Stars League club Al-Arabi. Mainly an attacking midfielder, he can also play as a right winger. Read more
11 May 1992: Bobi, Portuguese Rafeiro do Alentejo, oldest recorded dog (died 2023) Bobi was a male purebred Rafeiro do Alentejo dog cared for by Leonel Costa of Conqueiros, Leiria, Portugal. Bobi was claimed by his caretaker to be the oldest dog to ever live and the first dog on record to reach 30 years. On 2 February 2023, Bobi was certified by Guinness World Records as the oldest living dog, along with being the oldest dog on record to ever live. However, after veterinarians became suspicious of his real age, an investigation was pursued. Once his records were revoked, he was stripped of the title. Bobi died on 21 October 2023, reportedly aged 31 years and 163 days. Read more
11 May 1989: Giovani dos Santos, Mexican footballer Giovani dos Santos Ramírez is a Mexican former professional footballer. A versatile forward, dos Santos played as an attacking midfielder, winger, and secondary striker. Read more
11 May 1989: Cam Newton, American football player Cameron Jerrell Newton is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons, primarily with the Carolina Panthers. Nicknamed "Super Cam", he is second in career quarterback rushing touchdowns and third in career quarterback rushing yards. Following a stint with the Florida Gators, Newton played college football for the Auburn Tigers, winning the Heisman Trophy and the 2011 BCS National Championship Game as a junior. He was selected first overall by the Panthers in the 2011 NFL draft. Read more
11 May 1988: Jeremy Maclin, American football player Jeremy Maclin is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons. He played college football for the Missouri Tigers, twice earning consensus All-American honors. Maclin was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the first round of the 2009 NFL draft and earned a Pro Bowl selection in 2014. He also played for the Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens. Read more
11 May 1988: Brad Marchand, Canadian ice hockey player Brad Marchand is a Canadian professional ice hockey player who is a left winger for the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Boston Bruins selected Marchand in the third round, 71st overall, of the 2006 NHL entry draft. Read more
11 May 1987: Lim Seul-ong, South Korean singer and actor Lim Seul-ong, also known by the mononym Seulong, is a South Korean singer and actor. He debuted as a singer in 2008 as a member of the K-pop boyband 2AM. He made his acting debut in 2010 in the Korean drama Personal Taste and also had a role in the series Hogu’s Love (2015). Read more
11 May 1986: Abou Diaby, French footballer Vassiriki Abou Diaby is a French former professional footballer. He played primarily in a box to box role, adept at both attacking and defending, and was described as a player who was "languid, elusive, and athletic" that could either "dribble past opponents or slip passes to team-mates". Of Ivorian descent, Diaby also possessed "superb touch" and "excellent close control". Diaby's career was hampered by numerous repetitive injuries, a problem that existed from his time in France. Read more
11 May 1986: Miguel Veloso, Portuguese footballer Miguel Luís Pinto Veloso is a Portuguese former professional footballer. Mainly a defensive midfielder, he could also operate as an attacking left-back. Read more
11 May 1985: Beau Ryan, Australian rugby league player and television host Beau Ryan is an Australian television and radio presenter and former professional rugby league footballer. He played for the Wests Tigers and Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in the National Rugby League as a winger, centre and fullback. Ryan is also known for his comedic work on The Footy Show. On 5 June 2014, Ryan announced his immediate retirement whilst on The Footy Show, due to a neck injury. Ryan released a single, "Where You From?" featuring Justice Crew on 19 September 2014. Read more
11 May 1984: Andrés Iniesta, Spanish footballer Andrés Iniesta Luján is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder and spent most of his career at La Liga club Barcelona. Widely regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of all time, he was lauded for his balance, ball control and agility in close spaces, combined with his skill, composure, and flair on the ball. Read more
11 May 1983: Matt Leinart, American football player Matthew Stephen Leinart is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons. He played college football for the USC Trojans, winning the Heisman Trophy and leading the team to a perfect season in 2004. Selected 10th overall by the Arizona Cardinals in the 2006 NFL draft, Leinart primarily served as Kurt Warner's backup for four seasons. He spent his final three seasons in a backup role for the Houston Texans and the Oakland Raiders. Leinart was inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2017. Read more
11 May 1983: Steven Sotloff, American-Israeli journalist (died 2014) Steven Joel Sotloff was an American-Israeli journalist. In August 2013, he was kidnapped in Aleppo, Syria, and held captive by militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). On September 2, 2014, ISIS released a beheading video, showing one of its members beheading Sotloff. Following Sotloff's beheading, U.S. President Barack Obama stated that the United States would take action to "degrade and destroy" ISIS. President Obama also signed an Executive Order dated June 24, 2015, in the presence of the Sotloff family and other hostage families, overhauling how the U.S. handles American hostages held abroad by groups such as ISIS. Read more
11 May 1983: Holly Valance, Australian actress, singer and model Holly Rachel Vukadinović, known professionally as Holly Valance, is an Australian and British actress, singer, model, and a right-wing political commentator. Read more
11 May 1982: Cory Monteith, Canadian actor and singer (died 2013) Cory Allan Michael Monteith was a Canadian actor and musician. He made his acting debut in the television series Stargate Atlantis (2004), and had other roles in shows including Smallville (2005), and Supernatural (2005). During his career, he starred in over eighteen dramas and seventeen films, with Monte Carlo (2011), Final Destination 3 (2006), and Sisters & Brothers (2011), all becoming commercially successful. Read more
11 May 1981: Lauren Jackson, Australian basketball player Lauren Elizabeth Jackson is an Australian former professional basketball player. Arguably the most notable Australian women's basketball player, Jackson has had a decorated career with the Australia women's national basketball team and has had multiple stints in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) between 1997 and 2024. Between 2001 and 2012, she played in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Read more
11 May 1981: JP Karliak, American actor, voice actor and comedian John Paul Karliak is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his voice acting as Morph in the television series X-Men '97, Wile E. Coyote in the television series New Looney Tunes, Wolfgang in the video game series Skylanders, and Gargamel and Razamel in the 2025 Smurfs film. Read more
11 May 1978: Laetitia Casta, French model and actress Laetitia Marie Laure Casta is a French model and actress. Read more
11 May 1978: Judy Ann Santos, Filipino actress Judy Anne Lumagui Santos is a Filipino actress and film producer. Prolific in film and television in the Philippines, and is known for her dramatic and comedic roles in blockbusters and independent films, as well as for her portrayals of oppressed and impoverished women. She has received various accolades, including a Cairo International Film Festival Award, a Fantasporto International Film Festival Award, a Gawad Urian, two Luna Awards, three Metro Manila Film Festival Awards, and three FAMAS Awards. Read more
11 May 1977: Pablo Gabriel García, Uruguayan footballer Pablo Gabriel García Pérez is a Uruguayan professional football manager and former player who played as a defensive midfielder. He is the manager of Cypriot First Division club APOEL. Read more
11 May 1977: Victor Matfield, South African rugby player, coach, and sportscaster Victor Matfield is a South African former professional rugby union player. He played for and captained the South Africa national team (Springboks) as well as the Blue Bulls in the Currie Cup and the Bulls franchise in Super Rugby. He is generally considered one of the best locks to have ever played for South Africa and had a long successful partnership with Springbok and Blue Bulls teammate Bakkies Botha. Read more
11 May 1977: Bobby Roode, Canadian professional wrestler Robert Francis Roode Jr. is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he works as a producer. Read more
11 May 1976: Kardinal Offishall, Canadian rapper and record producer/executive Jason Drew Harrow, better known by his stage name Kardinal Offishall, is a Canadian rapper and record producer. Often credited as Canada's "hip-hop ambassador", he has been regarded as one of the country's most prominent hip-hop producers during the 2000s and is distinctive for his reggae and dancehall-influenced style of hip-hop. Read more
11 May 1975: Francisco Cordero, Dominican baseball player Francisco Javier Cordero is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers, Texas Rangers, Milwaukee Brewers, Cincinnati Reds, Toronto Blue Jays, and Houston Astros from 1999 through 2012, often serving as the closer. On June 1, 2011, Cordero recorded his 300th career save with the Reds, becoming only the 22nd player to reach that mark. He completed his major league career with 329 saves and is a three-time MLB All-Star. Read more
11 May 1975: Ziad Jarrah, Lebanese terrorist, September 11 attacks (died 2001)[citation needed] Ziad Samir Jarrah, also known as Ziad al-Jarrah, was a Lebanese terrorist who was a member of al-Qaeda. During the September 11 attacks in 2001, he was one of 19 al-Qaeda members who hijacked four American commercial flights in an attempt to crash them into national landmarks in the country. Jarrah's group hijacked United Airlines Flight 93, departing Newark, New Jersey, for San Francisco, but they failed to reach their target when the plane crashed. Read more
11 May 1974: Stanley Gene, Papua New Guinean rugby league player Stanley Gene is a Papua New Guinean former rugby league Kumul player and Assistant Coach of Hull F.C. He previously coached Gateshead Thunder and assistant coach at Hull Kingston Rovers and served as the Papua New Guinea Kumuls head coach in 2010. Having moved to England following an impressive showing for PNG in the 1995 Rugby League World Cup, Gene enjoyed a long career in the British game with spells at Hull Kingston Rovers, Huddersfield Giants, Bradford Bulls, Hull FC and Halifax. Read more
11 May 1970: Harold Ford Jr., American lawyer and politician Harold Eugene Ford Jr. is an American financial managing director, pundit, author, and former U.S. Congressman who served from 1997 to 2007 in the United States House of Representatives as a member of the Democratic Party from Tennessee's 9th congressional district, centered in Memphis. He is a member of the Ford political family from Memphis, and is the son of former Congressman Harold Ford Sr., who held the same seat for 22 years. In 2006, Ford made an unsuccessful bid for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by the retiring Bill Frist. He was also the last chairman of the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC). Read more
11 May 1969: Mitch Healey, Australian rugby league player and coach Mitch Healey is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer, who played for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks. Read more
11 May 1969: Simon Vroemen, Dutch runner Simon Frans Vroemen is a Dutch runner, specialising in the steeplechase. Read more
11 May 1967: Alberto García Aspe, Mexican footballer and manager Alberto García Aspe Mena is a Mexican former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Read more
11 May 1964: Tim Blake Nelson, American actor Timothy Blake Nelson is an American actor, director, and writer. Described as a "modern character actor", his roles include Delmar O'Donnell in O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000), Gideon in Minority Report (2002), Doctor Steve Pendanski in Holes (2003), Doctor Jonathan Jacobo in Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004), Danny Dalton Jr. in Syriana (2005), Samuel Sterns / The Leader in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Richard Schell in Lincoln (2012), the eponymous character of The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018), and Henry McCarty in Old Henry (2021). He portrayed Wade Tillman / Looking Glass in the HBO limited series Watchmen (2019), for which he received a Critics' Choice Television Awards nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 2020. Read more
11 May 1964: Bobby Witt, American baseball player Robert Andrew Witt Sr. is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, Oakland Athletics, Florida Marlins, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Cleveland Indians, and Arizona Diamondbacks. Read more
11 May 1963: Natasha Richardson, English actress (died 2009) Natasha Jane Richardson was an English actress. A member of the Redgrave family, she was a daughter of actress Vanessa Redgrave and director-producer Tony Richardson and a granddaughter of Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson. She was married to Liam Neeson. Read more
11 May 1958: Sayuri Kume, Japanese singer-songwriter Sayuri Kume, also known as Saki Kubota, is a Japanese singer-songwriter whose song Ihojin (1979) sold more than 1.4 million copies and reached number 1 in the Japanese singles chart. The song was used in the "Silk Road" television commercial for Sanyo. Read more
11 May 1957: Mike Nesbitt, Northern Irish journalist and politician Michael Nesbitt, MLA is a Northern Irish politician and former broadcaster. He has been Minister of Health since 28 May 2024. Nesbitt became Leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) on 30 August 2024, following his successful candidacy in the 2024 leadership election, and left the position on 31 January 2026; he had previously served in that role from 2012 to 2017. He has been a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for Strangford since 2011. Read more
11 May 1955: James L. Dolan, American businessman James Lawrence Dolan is an American businessman, and the executive chairman and chief executive officer of Madison Square Garden Sports and Madison Square Garden Entertainment, and executive chairman of MSG Networks. As the companies' chairman, Dolan oversees all operations within the company and supervises day-to-day operations of its professional sports teams, the New York Knicks and New York Rangers, as well as their regional sports networks, which include MSG Network and MSG Plus. Dolan was previously CEO of Cablevision, founded by his father, until its sale in June 2016 to European telecom conglomerate Altice. Read more
11 May 1954: John Gregory, English footballer and manager John Charles Gregory is an English former football player and manager. He last served as the head coach of Super League Kerala side Malappuram. Read more
11 May 1951: Ed Stelmach, Canadian farmer and politician, 13th Premier of Alberta Edward Michael Stelmach is a Canadian politician who served as the 13th premier of Alberta, from 2006 to 2011. The grandson of Ukrainian immigrants, Stelmach was born and raised on a farm near Lamont and fluently speaks the distinctive Canadian dialect of Ukrainian. He spent his entire pre-political adult life as a farmer, except for some time spent studying at the University of Alberta. His first foray into politics was a 1986 municipal election, when he was elected to Lamont County council. A year into his term, he was appointed reeve. He continued in this position until his entry into provincial politics. Read more
11 May 1950: Jeremy Paxman, English journalist and author Jeremy Dickson Paxman is an English former broadcaster, journalist and author, born in Yorkshire. Read more
11 May 1950: Sadashiv Amrapurkar, Indian actor (died 2014) Sadashiv Dattatray Amrapurkar was an Indian actor, best known for his performances in Marathi and Hindi films from 1983 to 2013. He acted in more than 300 movies in Hindi, Marathi, and other regional languages. Amrapurkar played a negative role against Dharmendra in Anil Sharma's first successful film Hukumat in 1987. Read more
11 May 1948: Nirj Deva, British politician Niranjan Joseph De Silva Deva Aditya, known as Nirj Deva, is a British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he served as a Member of the European Parliament for South East England from 1999 to 2019. He was a Member of Parliament (MP) in the British House of Commons from 1992 to 1997, for the seat of Brentford and Isleworth. Read more
11 May 1948: Pam Ferris, Welsh actress Pamela Ferris is a German-born Welsh actress. She starred in the British television series Connie (1985), The Darling Buds of May (1991–1993), Where the Heart Is (1997–2000), Rosemary & Thyme (2003–2006), and Call the Midwife. In film, she played Miss Trunchbull in Matilda (1996). For her role as Peggy Snow in Where the Heart Is, Ferris was nominated three times for Most Popular Actress at the National Television Awards. Read more
11 May 1947: Butch Trucks, American drummer (died 2017) Claude Hudson "Butch" Trucks was an American drummer. He was best known as a founding member of The Allman Brothers Band, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995. Trucks was born and raised in Jacksonville, Florida. Read more
11 May 1945: Hilda Pérez Carvajal, Venezuelan biologist Hilda Pérez Carvajal is a Venezuelan biologist from the Central University of Venezuela. She was president of the Venezuelan Society of Parasitology at the end of the 1980s. Perez studied at the Central University of Venezuela and graduated with a biology degree in the year 1967. Her undergraduate thesis was on E. Coli bacteriophages. Pérez is most known for the research she did on Malaria and Leishmania's in Venezuela. Read more
11 May 1943: Nancy Greene, Canadian skier and politician Nancy Catherine Greene Raine is a former Canadian Senator for British Columbia and an Olympic alpine champion voted as Canada's Female Athlete of the 20th Century. She was born in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Greene Raine won the giant slalom in the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, France. Read more
11 May 1941: Eric Burdon, English musician Eric Victor Burdon is an English singer and songwriter. He was previously the lead vocalist of the original lineup of the R&B and rock band the Animals and the funk band War. He is currently the lead vocalist of the present day lineup of Eric Burdon & the Animals. Burdon is regarded as one of the British Invasion's most distinctive singers with his deep, powerful blues-rock voice and is known for his intense stage performances. Read more
11 May 1941: Ian Redpath, Australian cricketer and coach (died 2024) Ian Ritchie Redpath MBE was an Australian international cricketer who played in 66 Test matches and five One Day Internationals between 1964 and 1976. Greg Chappell said he was one of only two players he knew who would kill to get into the Australian Test team, the other being Rod Marsh. Read more
11 May 1937: Ildikó Újlaky-Rejtő, Hungarian Olympic and world champion foil fencer Ildikó Rejtő is a retired Hungarian two-time Olympic and five-time World Champion foil fencer. Read more
11 May 1934: Jim Jeffords, American lawyer and politician (died 2014) James Merrill Jeffords was an American lawyer and politician from Vermont. Originally a Republican, he served as a member of the Vermont Senate from 1967 to 1969 and Vermont Attorney General 1969 to 1973. He lost the 1972 Republican primary for governor of Vermont, but in 1974 he won Vermont's at-large seat in the United States House of Representatives. He served in the US House from 1975 to 1989, and in 1988 won election to the United States Senate. In 2001, Jeffords left the Republican Party to become an independent and began caucusing with the senate's Democrats. Jeffords served in the Senate from 1989 until 2007. Read more
11 May 1934: Jack Twyman, American basketball player (died 2012) John Kennedy Twyman was an American professional basketball player and sports broadcaster. Twyman is a namesake of the NBA's Twyman–Stokes Teammate of the Year Award. Twyman was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1983. Read more
11 May 1933: Louis Farrakhan, American religious leader Louis Farrakhan is an American religious leader who has been the head of the Nation of Islam (NOI) since 1981, an organization which combines black nationalism and Islamic teachings. Prior to the NOI, Farrakhan was a calypso singer who used the stage name Calypso Gene from 1950 to 1955 and a violinist from 1939 to 1955. The longest-serving NOI leader, he also served as minister of several mosques in Boston and Harlem in the 1950s under the leadership of Elijah Muhammad. Farrakhan is most prominent for antisemitic statements and racist remarks directed at white people. Read more
11 May 1932: Valentino Garavani, Italian fashion designer (died 2026) Valentino Clemente Ludovico Garavani, known mononymously as Valentino, was an Italian fashion designer who founded Valentino S.p.A., a luxury fashion house, in 1960 and served as its creative director until 2007. A flamboyant designer noted for his retro pieces and celebrity collaborations, he is regarded as one of the preeminent figures in haute couture. Read more
11 May 1930: Edsger W. Dijkstra, Dutch computer scientist and academic (died 2002) Edsger Wybe Dijkstra was a Dutch computer scientist, programmer, mathematician, and science essayist. Read more
11 May 1930: Basil H. Losten, American Ukrainian Greek Catholic hierarch (died 2024) Basil Harry Losten was a bishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in the USA. He was until his death Bishop Emeritus of the Ukrainian Catholic Diocese of Stamford, Connecticut. He was succeeded by Bishop Paul Patrick Chomnycky. Read more
11 May 1929: Gerhard Klingenberg, Austrian actor (died 2024) Gerhard Klingenberg was an Austrian actor and stage director, and theatre manager. He was also involved in television productions as an actor, director, and scriptwriter. He was Intendant of the Burgtheater in Vienna from 1971 to 1976, and then of the Schauspielhaus Zürich from 1977 to 1982. Read more
11 May 1928: Arthur Foulkes, 9th governor-general of the Bahamas Sir Arthur Alexander Foulkes, ON, GCMG is a politician who was the ninth governor-general of the Bahamas from 2010 to 2014. Read more
11 May 1927: Bernard Fox, British actor (died 2016) Bernard Lawson, better known as Bernard Fox, was a Welsh actor. He is remembered for his roles as Dr. Bombay in the comedy fantasy series Bewitched (1964–1972) of which he was the last surviving adult cast member, Colonel Crittendon in the comedy series Hogan's Heroes (1965–1971), Malcolm Merriweather in The Andy Griffith Show (1963–1965), Max in Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo (1977), and Archibald Gracie IV in the film Titanic (1997). Read more
11 May 1927: Gene Savoy, American explorer, author, and scholar (died 2007) Douglas Eugene "Gene" Savoy was an American explorer, author, religious leader, and theologian. He served as Head Bishop of the International Community of Christ, Church of the Second Advent from 1971 until his death. Rising to prominence as one of the premier explorers of Peru in the 1960s, he is best known for his claims to have discovered more than 40 lost cities in Peru and is credited with bringing to light a number of Peru’s most important archeological sites, including Vilcabamba, the last refuge of the Incas during the Spanish conquest, and Gran Pajaten, which he named but did not discover. Read more
11 May 1925: Edward J. King, American politician, 66th Governor of Massachusetts (died 2006) Edward Joseph King was an American politician who served as the 66th governor of Massachusetts from 1979 to 1983. A member of the Democratic Party until 1985, he then became a member of the Republican Party. Elected in the 1978 Massachusetts gubernatorial election, he lost the Democratic primary of the 1982 election to his predecessor Michael Dukakis. Read more
11 May 1924: Antony Hewish, English astronomer and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2021) Antony Hewish was a British radio astronomer who won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1974 for his role in the discovery of pulsars. He was also awarded the Eddington Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1969. Read more
11 May 1918: Richard Feynman, American physicist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1988) Richard Phillips Feynman was an American theoretical physicist. He shared the 1965 Nobel Prize in Physics with Julian Schwinger and Shin'ichirō Tomonaga "for their fundamental work in quantum electrodynamics (QED), with deep-ploughing consequences for the physics of elementary particles".
He is also known for his work in the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, the theory of the physics of the superfluidity of supercooled liquid helium, and the parton model. Feynman developed a pictorial representation scheme for the mathematical expressions describing the behavior of subatomic particles, which later became known as Feynman diagrams and remains widely used. Read more
11 May 1916: Camilo José Cela, Spanish author and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2002) Camilo José Cela y Trulock, 1st Marquess of Iria Flavia was a Spanish novelist, poet, story writer and essayist associated with the Generation of '36 movement. Read more
11 May 1912: Saadat Hasan Manto, Pakistani author and screenwriter (died 1955) Saadat Hasan Manto NI was a Pakistani writer, playwright and novelist from Punjab, who is regarded as the greatest short-story author in Urdu literature. He was active from 1933 during British rule till his death in 1955 after independence. Read more
11 May 1911: Phil Silvers, American actor and comedian (died 1985) Phil Silvers was an American entertainer and comedic actor, known as "The King of Chutzpah". His career as a professional entertainer spanned nearly 60 years. He achieved major popularity when he starred in The Phil Silvers Show, a 1950s sitcom set on a U.S. Army post in which he played Master Sergeant Ernest (Ernie) Bilko. He also starred in the films It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963) and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966). He was a winner of two Primetime Emmy Awards for his work on The Phil Silvers Show and two Tony Awards for his performances in Top Banana and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. He also wrote the original lyrics to the jazz standard "Nancy ". Read more
11 May 1907: Rip Sewell, American baseball player and coach (died 1989) Truett Banks "Rip" Sewell was an American right-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played 13 years in the major leagues with the Detroit Tigers (1932) and Pittsburgh Pirates (1938–1949). Sewell was selected four times to the National League All-Star team (1943–1946) and is credited with inventing the "Eephus pitch." Read more
11 May 1905: Lise de Baissac, Mauritian SOE agent, war hero (died 2004) Lise Marie Jeanette de Baissac MBE CdeG, code names Odile and Marguerite, was a Mauritian agent in the United Kingdom's clandestine Special Operations Executive (SOE) organization in France during World War II. The purpose of SOE was to conduct espionage, sabotage, and reconnaissance in countries occupied by the Axis powers, especially Nazi Germany. SOE agents allied themselves with resistance groups and supplied them with weapons and equipment parachuted in from England. Read more
11 May 1905: Catherine Bauer Wurster, American architect and public housing advocate (died 1964) Catherine Krouse Bauer Wurster was an American public housing advocate and educator of city planners and urban planners. A leading member of the "housers," a group of planners who advocated affordable housing for low-income families, she dramatically changed social housing practice and law in the United States. Wurster's influential book Modern Housing was published by Houghton Mifflin Company in 1934 and is regarded as a classic in the field. Read more
11 May 1904: Salvador Dalí, Spanish artist (died 1989) Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí de Púbol, known as Salvador Dalí, was a Spanish surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, and the striking and bizarre images in his work. Read more
11 May 1903: Charlie Gehringer, American baseball player and manager (died 1993) Charles Leonard Gehringer, nicknamed "the Mechanical Man", was an American professional baseball second baseman. He played for the Detroit Tigers for 19 seasons from 1924 to 1942. He compiled a .320 career batting average with 2,839 hits and 1,427 runs batted in (RBIs). He had seven seasons with more than 200 hits and was the starting second baseman and played every inning of the first six All Star Games. He won the American League batting title in 1937 with a .371 average and won the American League Most Valuable Player Award. He helped lead the Tigers to three American League pennants and the 1935 World Series championship. Read more
11 May 1901: Rose Ausländer, poet and author (died 1988) Rose Ausländer was a Jewish poet writing in German and English. Born in Czernowitz in the Bukovina, she lived through its tumultuous history of belonging to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Kingdom of Romania, and eventually the Soviet Union. Rose Ausländer spent her life in several countries: Austria-Hungary, Romania, the United States, and West Germany. Read more
11 May 1901: Gladys Rockmore Davis, American painter (died 1967) Gladys Rockmore Davis was an American artist who worked in both commercial and fine arts. She gave up a career in advertising art to work in creative painting. Her work in pastels ranks with her oils, and her chief subjects are children, nudes, and still lifes. She also painted ballet dancers, vignettes of liberated Paris, and scenes of Spain. An art critic once called Davis "the ten-year wonder of United States art". Her husband Floyd Davis and her son Noel Rockmore were well-known artists as well. Read more
11 May 1897: Robert E. Gross, American businessman (died 1961) Robert Ellsworth Gross was an American businessman involved in the field of aviation. His first venture, the Viking Flying Boat Company, failed with the loss of the aircraft market brought on by the Great Depression. He was also credited with naming Bell Aircraft’s P-39 as the “AiraCobra”. Read more
11 May 1896: Josip Štolcer-Slavenski, Croatian composer and academic (died 1955) Josip Štolcer-Slavenski was a Croatian composer and professor at the Music Academy in Belgrade. Read more
11 May 1895: Jacques Brugnon, French tennis player (died 1978) Jacques Marie Stanislas Jean Brugnon, nicknamed "Toto", was a French tennis player, one of the famous "Four Musketeers" from France who dominated tennis in the late 1920s and early 1930s. He was born in and died in Paris. Read more
11 May 1895: Jiddu Krishnamurti, Indian philosopher and speaker (died 1986) Jiddu Krishnamurti was an Indian spiritual figure, speaker, and writer. Adopted by members of the Theosophical Society as a child, Krishnamurti was raised to fill the mantle of the prophesied World Teacher, a role tasked with aiding humankind's spiritual evolution. In 1922, he began to suffer from painful, seizure-like mystical episodes that would produce a lasting change in his perception of reality. In 1929, he broke from the Theosophy movement and disbanded the Order of the Star in the East which had been formed around him. He spent the rest of his life speaking to groups and individuals around the world, hoping to contribute a radical transformation of mankind. Read more
11 May 1895: William Grant Still, American composer and conductor (died 1978) William Grant Still Jr. was an American composer of nearly two hundred works, including five symphonies, four ballets, nine operas, and more than thirty choral works, art songs, chamber music, and solo works. Born in Mississippi and raised in Little Rock, Arkansas, Still attended Wilberforce University and Oberlin Conservatory of Music as a student of George Whitefield Chadwick and then as a student of Edgard Varèse. Because of his close association and collaboration with prominent African-American literary and cultural figures, Still is considered to be part of the Harlem Renaissance. Read more
11 May 1894: Martha Graham, American dancer and choreographer (died 1991) Martha Graham was an American modern dancer, teacher and choreographer responsible for creating the Graham technique. Read more
11 May 1890: Willie Applegarth, English-American sprinter (died 1958) William Reuben Applegarth was a British track and field athlete and winner of a gold medal in the 4 × 100 metres relay at the 1912 Summer Olympics. Read more
11 May 1890: Helge Løvland, Norwegian decathlete (died 1984) Helge Andreas Løvland was a Norwegian military officer, track and field athlete, sports official and writer. He won the gold medal in the decathlon at the 1920 Olympics. Løvland was awarded the Egebergs Ærespris in 1919. Read more
11 May 1889: Paul Nash, British painter (died 1946) Paul Nash was a British surrealist painter and war artist, as well as a photographer, writer and designer of applied art. Nash was among the most important landscape artists of the first half of the twentieth century. He played a key role in the development of Modernism in English art. Read more
11 May 1888: Irving Berlin, Belarusian-American pianist and composer (died 1989) Irving Berlin was a Russian-born American composer and songwriter. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook. Berlin received numerous honors including an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, and a Tony Award. He also received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Gerald R. Ford in 1977. The broadcast journalist Walter Cronkite stated he "helped write the story of this country, capturing the best of who we are and the dreams that shape our lives". Read more
11 May 1888: Willis Augustus Lee, American admiral (died 1945) Willis Augustus "Ching" Lee Jr. was a vice admiral of the United States Navy during World War II. Lee commanded the American ships during the second night of the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal and turned back a Japanese invasion force headed for the island. The victory ended Japanese attempts to reinforce their troops on Guadalcanal, and thus marked a turning point in both the Guadalcanal campaign and the Pacific War. Read more
11 May 1881: Al Cabrera, Spanish-Cuban baseball player and manager (died 1964) Alfredo A. Cabrera was a professional baseball shortstop who played many years in the Cuban League. His nickname was Pájaro, which is Spanish for "Bird." Read more
11 May 1881: Jan van Gilse, Dutch composer and conductor (died 1944) Jan Pieter Hendrik van Gilse was a Dutch conductor and composer. Among his works are five symphonies and the Dutch-language opera Thijl (1940). Read more
11 May 1881: Theodore von Kármán, Hungarian-American mathematician, physicist, and engineer (died 1963) Theodore von Kármán was a Hungarian-American mathematician, aerospace engineer, and physicist who worked in aeronautics and astronautics. He was responsible for crucial advances in aerodynamics characterizing supersonic and hypersonic airflow. The human-defined threshold of outer space is named the "Kármán line" in recognition of his work. Kármán is regarded as an outstanding aerodynamic theoretician of the 20th century. Read more
11 May 1875: Harriet Quimby, American pilot and screenwriter (died 1912) Harriet Quimby was an American pioneering aviator, journalist, and film screenwriter. In 1911, she became the first woman in the United States to receive a pilot's license and in 1912 the first woman to fly solo across the English Channel. Although Quimby only flew for one year, and died at the age of 37 in a flying accident, she strongly influenced the role of women in aviation. Read more
11 May 1871: Frank Schlesinger, American astronomer and author (died 1943) Frank Schlesinger was an American astronomer. His work concentrated on using photographic plates rather than direct visual studies for astronomical research. Read more
11 May 1869: Archibald Warden, English tennis player (died 1943) Archibald Adam Warden was a British tennis player who competed in the 1900 Summer Olympics. Read more
11 May 1854: Jack Blackham, Australian cricketer (died 1932) John McCarthy Blackham was a Test cricketer who played for Victoria and Australia. Read more
11 May 1852: Charles W. Fairbanks, American journalist and politician, 26th United States Vice President (died 1918) Charles Warren Fairbanks was the 26th vice president of the United States under President Theodore Roosevelt serving from 1905 to 1909. A member of the Republican Party, Fairbanks was previously a senator from Indiana from 1897 to 1905. Read more
11 May 1811: Jean-Jacques Challet-Venel, Swiss politician (died 1893) Jean-Jacques Challet-Venel was a Swiss politician and member of the Swiss Federal Council (1864–1872). Read more
11 May 1811: Chang and Eng Bunker, Siamese-American showmen, the original conjoined twins (died 1874) Chang Bunker and Eng Bunker were Siamese-American conjoined twin brothers whose fame propelled the expression "Siamese twins" to become synonymous for conjoined twins in general. They were widely exhibited as curiosities and were "two of the nineteenth century's most studied human beings". Read more

🕊️ Important Deaths on 11 May in World History

11 May 2024: Susan Backlinie, American actress and stuntwoman (born 1946) Susan Jane Backlinie was an American actress and stuntwoman. She was known for playing Chrissie Watkins, the shark attack victim in the opening beach party scene of Steven Spielberg's 1975 film Jaws. Read more
11 May 2021: Colt Brennan, American quarterback (born 1983) Colton James Brennan was an American football quarterback. He played college football for the Colorado Buffaloes, Saddleback Gauchos, and Hawaii Rainbow Warriors. With the Rainbow Warriors, he was a two-time third-team All-American and two-time NCAA passing leader. Brennan was selected by the Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL) in the sixth round of the 2008 NFL draft, but never played in a regular season NFL game. Read more
11 May 2021: Norman Lloyd, American actor, producer and director (born 1914) Norman Nathan Lloyd was an American actor, producer, director, and centenarian with a career in entertainment spanning nearly a century. He worked in every major facet of the industry, including theatre, radio, television, and film, with a career that started in 1923. Lloyd's final film, Trainwreck, was released in 2015, after he turned 100. Lloyd remained the oldest-living male actor from Classic Hollywood until his death in 2021. Read more
11 May 2020: Jerry Stiller, American comedian, actor (born 1927) Gerald Isaac Stiller was an American comedian and actor. He spent many years as part of the comedy duo Stiller and Meara with his wife, Anne Meara, to whom he was married for over 60 years until her death in 2015. Stiller saw a late-career resurgence starting in 1993, playing Frank Costanza on the sitcom Seinfeld, a part which earned him an Emmy nomination. In 1998, Stiller began his role as Arthur Spooner on the CBS comedy series The King of Queens, another role that garnered widespread acclaim. Read more
11 May 2019: Peggy Lipton, American actress, model, and singer (born 1946) Margaret Ann Lipton was an American model, actress, and singer. She made appearances in many of the most popular television shows of the 1960s before she landed her defining role as flower child Julie Barnes in the crime drama The Mod Squad (1968–1973), for which she was nominated for four Emmy Awards and four Golden Globe Awards, winning the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Television Series – Drama in 1970. Read more
11 May 2019: Thomas Silverstein, American murderer (born 1952) Thomas Edward Silverstein was an American criminal who spent the last 42 years of his life in prison after being convicted of three separate murders, with a fourth murder conviction being overturned and Silverstein being implicated in a fifth, while imprisoned for armed robbery. Silverstein spent the last 36 years of his life in solitary confinement for killing corrections officer Merle Clutts at the Marion Penitentiary in Illinois. Prison authorities described him as a brutal killer and a former leader of the Aryan Brotherhood prison gang. Silverstein maintained that the dehumanizing conditions inside the prison system contributed to the three murders he committed. He was the longest-held prisoner in solitary confinement within the Bureau of Prisons at the time of his death. Correctional officers refused to talk to Silverstein out of respect for Clutts. Read more
11 May 2011: Robert Traylor, American basketball player (born 1977) Robert DeShaun "Tractor" Traylor was an American professional basketball player. He got his nickname because of his hulking frame. Traylor was the sixth pick in the 1998 NBA draft and played seven seasons in the league. He averaged 4.8 points per game, mainly as a reserve center and power forward. Read more
11 May 2010: Doris Eaton Travis, American dancer and vaudevillian (born 1904) Doris Eaton Travis was an American dancer, stage and film actress, dance instructor, owner and manager, writer, and rancher, who was the last surviving Ziegfeld Girl, a troupe of acclaimed chorus girls who performed as members in the Broadway theatrical revues of the Ziegfeld Follies. Read more
11 May 2009: Abel Goumba, Central African physician and politician, Prime Minister of the Central African Republic (born 1926) Abel Nguéndé Goumba was a Central African politician. During the late 1950s, he headed the government in the period prior to independence from France, and following independence he was an unsuccessful candidate for President of the Central African Republic four times. Goumba, who was President of the Patriotic Front for Progress (FPP) political party, served under President François Bozizé as Prime Minister from March 2003 to December 2003 and then as Vice President of the Central African Republic from December 2003 to March 2005. Subsequently, he was appointed to the official post of Ombudsman. Read more
11 May 2009: Claudio Huepe, Chilean economist and politician, Chilean Minister Secretary-General of Government (born 1939) Claudio Huepe García was a Chilean politician, engineer and economist, member of the Christian Democrat party, who occupied several government and political positions. During his career, he was the provincial intendant of Arauco, a member of the Chilean Chamber of Deputies, a government minister, and the Chilean ambassador to Venezuela. He was also among the first in his party to reject the 1973 coup by Pinochet and was exiled by the military dictatorship from 1975 until 1984. Read more
11 May 2009: Sardarilal Mathradas Nanda, Indian admiral (born 1915) Admiral Sardarilal Mathradas "Charles" Nanda, PVSM, AVSM was an Indian Navy admiral who served as the 6th Chief of the Naval Staff from 1 March 1970 until 28 February 1973. He led the Indian Navy during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 and successfully executed a naval blockade of both West and East Pakistan, helping India achieve an overwhelming victory during the war. For the important role he played in the war, the Government of India awarded him the Padma Vibhushan, India's second-highest civilian award. Nanda is recognised as one of the most notable commanders in the history of the Indian Navy. Read more
11 May 2008: John Rutsey, Canadian drummer (born 1953) John Howard Rutsey was a Canadian musician best known as a founding member and original drummer of Rush. He performed on the band's 1974 debut album, but left shortly after its release due to health problems which limited his ability to tour with the band. He was subsequently replaced by Neil Peart, who remained Rush's drummer until 2015. Read more
11 May 2007: Malietoa Tanumafili II, Samoan ruler (born 1913) Malietoa Tanumafili II was a Samoan paramount chief and politician who was O le Ao o le Malo of Samoa from its independence in 1962, and the Malietoa titleholder from 1940, until his death in 2007. Read more
11 May 2006: Floyd Patterson, American boxer and actor (born 1935) Floyd Patterson was an American professional boxer who competed from 1952 to 1972, and twice reigned as the world heavyweight champion between 1956 and 1962. At the age of 21, he became the youngest boxer in history to win the title, and was also the first heavyweight to regain the title after losing it. As an amateur, he won a gold medal in the middleweight division at the 1952 Summer Olympics. He has been named among the top 15 heavyweights of all time. Read more
11 May 2005: Léo Cadieux, Canadian politician, 17th Canadian Minister of National Defence (born 1908) Léo Alphonse Joseph Cadieux was a Canadian politician. Read more
11 May 2005: Horton Davies, Welsh minister and historian (born 1916) Horton Marlais Davies was a Welsh Protestant minister, historian of Christianity, and painter. After receiving degrees from the University of Edinburgh and the University of Oxford, he became the minister of Wallington and Carshalton Congregational Church in London in 1942, holding that position through World War II. From 1945 to 1946, he worked in Germany as a director of education for the YMCA, affiliated with the British Army of the Rhine. Read more
11 May 2003: Noel Redding, English bass player (born 1945) David Noel Redding was an English rock musician, best known as the bass player for the Jimi Hendrix Experience and guitarist/singer for Fat Mattress. Read more
11 May 2002: Renaude Lapointe, Canadian journalist and politician (born 1912) Louise Marguerite Renaude Lapointe, was a Canadian journalist and a Senator. She was among the first Canadian women to work as a professional journalist and the first French-Canadian woman to preside over the Senate. Read more
11 May 2002: Bill Peet, American animator and screenwriter (born 1915) William Bartlett Peet was an American children's book illustrator and a story writer and animator for Walt Disney Animation Studios. Read more
11 May 2001: Douglas Adams, English novelist and screenwriter (born 1952) Douglas Noël Adams was an English author, humourist, and screenwriter. He was best known as the creator of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, a 1978 radio comedy series which he adapted into a "trilogy" of five books that sold over 14 million copies in his lifetime. He also adapted it into a 1981 television series, a 1984 video game and a 2005 feature film. Read more
11 May 1994: Timothy Carey, American actor, director, and producer (born 1928) Timothy Agoglia Carey was an American film and television character actor who was typically cast as manic or violent characters who are driven to extremes. He is particularly known for his collaborations with Stanley Kubrick in the films The Killing (1956) and Paths of Glory (1957), and for appearing in the two John Cassavetes directed films Minnie and Moskowitz (1971) and The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976). Other notable film credits include Crime Wave (1954), East of Eden (1955), One-Eyed Jacks (1961), Beach Blanket Bingo (1965), Head (1968) and The Outfit (1973). Read more
11 May 1991: Ulyana Barkova, Russian farm worker (born 1906) Ulyana Spiridonovna Barkova was a Russian dairy farmer who was the forewoman at the Karavaevo state farm in the Kostroma Oblast who was twice awarded the title of Heroine of Socialist Labour. Read more
11 May 1990: Stratos Dionysiou, Greek Singer, composer and lyricist (born 1935) Stratos Dionysiou, nicknamed "To Geraki tis Pistas", was a Greek singer, composer and lyricist. Read more
11 May 1988: Kim Philby, British-Soviet double agent (born 1912) Harold Adrian Russell "Kim" Philby was a British intelligence officer and a double agent for the Soviet Union. In 1963, he was revealed to be a member of the Cambridge Five, a spy ring that had divulged British secrets to the Soviets during World War II and in the early stages of the Cold War. Of the five, Philby is widely considered to have been the most successful in providing secret information to the Soviets. Read more
11 May 1987: James Jesus Angleton, CIA counterintelligence leader (born 1917) James Jesus Angleton was an American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer who served as chief of the counterintelligence department of the CIA from 1954 to 1975. According to director of central intelligence Richard Helms, Angleton was "recognized as the dominant counterintelligence figure in the non-communist world". Read more
11 May 1986: Fritz Pollard, American football player and coach (born 1894) Frederick Douglass "Fritz" Pollard was an American professional football player and coach. In 1921, he became the first African-American head coach in the National Football League (NFL). Pollard and Bobby Marshall were the first two African-American players in the NFL in 1920. He is also recognized as the first Black quarterback in NFL history, playing the position for the Hammond Pros in 1923. Football pioneer Walter Camp called Pollard "one of the greatest runners these eyes have ever seen." Read more
11 May 1985: Chester Gould, American cartoonist, created Dick Tracy (born 1900) Chester Gould was an American cartoonist, best known as the creator of the Dick Tracy comic strip, which he wrote and drew from 1931 to 1977, incorporating numerous colorful and monstrous villains. Read more
11 May 1983: Zenna Henderson, American writer (born 1917) Zenna Chlarson Henderson was an American elementary school teacher and science fiction and fantasy author. Her first story was published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction in 1951. Her work is cited as pre-feminist, often featuring middle-aged women, children, and their relationships, but with stereotyped gender roles. Many of her stories center around human aliens called "The People", who have special powers. Henderson was nominated for a Hugo Award in 1959 for her novelette Captivity. Science fiction authors Lois McMaster Bujold, Orson Scott Card, Connie Willis, Dale Bailey, and Kathy Tyers have cited her as an influence on their work. Read more
11 May 1981: Odd Hassel, Norwegian chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1897) Odd Hassel was a Norwegian physical chemist and Nobel Laureate. Read more
11 May 1981: Bob Marley, Jamaican singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1945) Robert Nesta Marley was a Jamaican singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, he fused elements of reggae, ska, and rocksteady, and was renowned for his distinctive vocal and songwriting style. Marley increased the visibility of Jamaican music worldwide and became a global figure in popular culture. He became known as a Rastafarian icon, and he infused his music with a sense of spirituality. Marley is also considered a global symbol of Jamaican music, culture and identity and was controversial in his outspoken support for democratic social reforms. Marley also supported the legalisation of cannabis and advocated for pan-Africanism. Read more
11 May 1980: Dyre Vaa, Norwegian sculptor and painter (born 1903) Dyre Vaa was a Norwegian sculptor and painter. Read more
11 May 1979: Lester Flatt, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1914) Lester Raymond Flatt was an American singer, bluegrass guitarist, and mandolinist, best known for his collaboration with banjo picker Earl Scruggs in the duo Flatt and Scruggs. Read more
11 May 1967: James E. Brewton, American painter (born 1930) James Edward Brewton was an American painter and printmaker who synthesized expressionism, graffiti and Pataphysics. At the time of his death, Brewton was beginning to distinguish himself as one of Philadelphia's premier painters and printmakers. Read more
11 May 1964: Janne Mustonen, Finnish politician (born 1901) Johannes Aadolfinpoika Mustonen was a Finnish politician and member of the Parliament of Finland, the national legislature of Finland. A member of the Communist Party of Finland and the Finnish People's Democratic League, he represented Oulu Province between April 1945 and February 1962 and between December 1963 and May 1964. Prior to being elected, he was imprisoned for eight years for political reasons. Read more
11 May 1963: Herbert Spencer Gasser, American physiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1888): 169 Herbert Spencer Gasser was an American physiologist, and recipient of the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1944 for his work with action potentials in nerve fibers while on the faculty of Washington University in St. Louis, awarded jointly with Joseph Erlanger. Read more
11 May 1960: John D. Rockefeller Jr., American businessman and philanthropist (born 1874) John Davison Rockefeller Jr. was an American financier and philanthropist. Rockefeller was the fifth child and only son of Standard Oil co-founder John D. Rockefeller. He was involved in the development of the vast office complex in Midtown Manhattan known as Rockefeller Center, making him one of the largest real estate holders in the city at that time. Towards the end of his life, he was famous for his philanthropy, donating over $500 million to a wide variety of different causes, including educational establishments. Among his projects was the reconstruction of Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia. He was widely blamed for having orchestrated the Ludlow Massacre and other offenses during the Colorado Coalfield War. Rockefeller was the father of six children: Abby, John III, Nelson, Laurance, Winthrop, and David. Read more
11 May 1955: Gilbert Jessop, English cricketer (born 1874) Gilbert Laird Jessop was an English cricket player, often reckoned to have been one of the fastest run-scorers cricket has ever known. He was Wisden Cricketer of the Year for 1898 and compiled the fastest century ever for England. Read more
11 May 1946: Seán McCaughey, Irish Republican, died on hunger strike (born 1915) Seán McCaughey was an Irish militant and Republican activist. He was an Irish Republican Army (IRA) leader in the 1930s and 1940s and hunger striker. Read more
11 May 1938: George Lyon, Canadian golfer and cricketer (born 1858) George Seymour Lyon was a Canadian golfer, an Olympic gold medalist in golf, an eight-time Canadian Amateur Championship winner, and a member of Canada's Sports Hall of Fame. He worked in the insurance industry. Read more
11 May 1929: Jozef Murgaš, Slovak-American priest, architect, botanist, and painter (born 1864) Jozef Murgaš was a Slovak inventor, architect, botanist, painter and Roman Catholic priest. He contributed to radio development, which at the time was commonly known as "wireless telegraphy". Read more
11 May 1927: Juan Gris, Spanish painter and sculptor (born 1887) José Victoriano González-Pérez , better known as Juan Gris, was a Spanish painter born in Madrid who lived and worked in France for most of his active period. Closely connected to the innovative artistic genre Cubism, his works are among the movement's most distinctive. Read more
11 May 1920: James Colosimo, Italian-American mob boss (born 1878) Vincenzo Colosimo, known as James "Big Jim" Colosimo or as "Diamond Jim", was an Italian-American Mafia crime boss who emigrated from Calabria, Italy, in 1895 and built a criminal empire in Chicago based on prostitution, gambling and racketeering. He gained power through petty crime and heading a chain of brothels. From 1902 until his death in 1920, he led a gang known after his death as the Chicago Outfit. Colosimo was assassinated on May 11, 1920, and no one was ever charged with his murder. Johnny Torrio, an enforcer whom Colosimo imported in 1909 from New York, seized control of Colosimo's businesses after his death. Al Capone, a close associate of Torrio, has been accused of involvement in Colosimo's murder but was not yet in Chicago at the time. Read more
11 May 1920: William Dean Howells, American novelist, literary critic, and playwright (born 1837) William Dean Howells was an American realist novelist, literary critic, playwright, and diplomat, nicknamed "The Dean of American Letters". He was particularly known for his tenure as editor of The Atlantic Monthly, as well as for the novels The Rise of Silas Lapham and A Traveler from Altruria, and the Christmas story "Christmas Every Day", which was adapted into a 1996 film of the same name. Read more
11 May 1918: George Elmslie, Australian politician, 25th Premier of Victoria (born 1861) George Alexander Elmslie was an Australian politician who served as the 25th and shortest serving Premier of Victoria, and the first Labor Premier. Read more
11 May 1916: Karl Schwarzschild, German astronomer and physicist (born 1873): xix Karl Schwarzschild was a German physicist and astronomer. Read more
11 May 1908: Charles Kingston, Australian politician, 20th Premier of South Australia (born 1850) Charles Cameron Kingston was an Australian politician. From 1893 to 1899 he was Premier of South Australia, leading a coalition of Radicals supported by the Labor Party. Read more
11 May 1889: John Cadbury, English businessman and philanthropist, founded the Cadbury Company (born 1801) John Cadbury was an English Quaker and businessman, who founded the Cadbury chocolate company in Birmingham, England. He was also involved in activism and philanthropy, championing workers' rights, environmental and industrial reform, temperance, animal welfare, education, and healthcare, while actively opposing cruelty, exploitation, and indulgent practices. Read more
11 May 1882: Frederick Innes, Scottish-Australian politician, 9th Premier of Tasmania (born 1816) Frederick Maitland Innes was Premier of Tasmania from 4 November 1872 to 4 August 1873. Read more
11 May 1849: Juliette Récamier, French businesswoman (born 1777) Jeanne Françoise Julie Adélaïde Récamier, known as Juliette, was a French socialite whose salon drew people from the leading literary and political circles of early 19th-century Paris. An icon of neoclassicism, Récamier cultivated a public persona as a great beauty, and her fame quickly spread across Europe. She befriended many intellectuals, sat for the finest artists of the age, and spurned an offer of marriage from Prince Augustus of Prussia. Read more
11 May 1848: Tom Cribb, English boxer (born 1781) Tom Cribb was an English bare-knuckle boxer of the 19th century. He was All England Champion from 1808 to 1822. Read more
11 May 1812: Spencer Perceval, English lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (born 1762) Spencer Perceval was a British statesman and barrister who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from October 1809 until his assassination in May 1812. He is the only British prime minister to have been assassinated, and the only solicitor-general or attorney-general to have become prime minister. Read more

Why is 11 May Important in World History?

Several significant political, cultural, educational, and sporting events took place on 11 May, making it an important topic for general knowledge and competitive examinations.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on 11 May in World history?

On 11 May, several important historical events, notable births, and major milestones occurred in World history.

Is History of Today important for competitive exams?

Yes, History of Today is frequently asked in UPSC, SSC, Banking, Railway, and State PSC exams as part of static GK and current awareness sections.