11 February

660 BC Traditional date for the foundation of Japan by Emperor Jimmu.

55           Tiberius Claudius Caesar Britannicus, heir to the Roman Emperorship, dies under mysterious circumstances inRome. This clears the way for Nero to become Emperor (born 41).

244        Emperor Gordian III is murdered by mutinous soldiers in Zaitha (Mesopotamia). A mound is raised at Carchemish in his memory.

641        Heraclius (died), Byzantine emperor (born 575)

731        Pope Gregory II (died) (born 669)

1141       Hugh of Saint Victor (died), German philosopher and theologian (born 1096)

1380      Gian Francesco Poggio Bracciolini (born), Italian scholar (died 1459)

1503      Elizabeth of York (died) (born 1466)

1531       Henry VIII of England is recognized as supreme head of the Church of England.

1535      Pope Gregory XIV (born) (died 1591)

1626      Emperor Susenyos I of Ethiopia and Patriarch Afonso Mendes declare the primacy of the Roman See over theEthiopian Church, and Roman Catholicism the state religion of Ethiopia.

1626      Pietro Cataldi (died), Italian mathematician (born 1552)

1649      William Carstares (born), Scottish minister (died 1715)

1650      René Descartes (died), French philosopher and mathematician (born 1596)

1752      Pennsylvania Hospital, the first hospital in the United States, is opened by Benjamin Franklin.

1764      Joseph Chénier (born), French poet (died 1811)

1790      The Religious Society of Friends, also known as Quakers, petitions U.S. Congress for abolition of slavery.

1794      First session of United States Senate open to the public.

1800     Henry Fox Talbot (born), English photographer, invented the calotype (died 1877)

1802      Lydia Maria Child (born), American journalist, author, and activist (died 1880)

1805      Jean Baptiste Charbonneau (born), American explorer (died 1866)

1808     Jesse Fell burns anthracite on an open grate as an experiment in heating homes with coal.

1812      Alexander H. Stephens (born), American politician, Vice President of the Confederate States of America (died 1883)

1812      Massachusetts governor Elbridge Gerry “gerrymanders” for the first time.

1813      Otto Ludwig (born), German author, playwright, and critic (died 1865)

1821      Auguste Mariette (born), French archaeologist (died 1881)

1826      Swaminarayan writes the Shikshapatri, an important text within Swaminarayan Hinduism.

1826      University College London is founded under the name University of London.

1829      Samuel Lodge (born), English clergyman and author (died 1897)

1840      Gaetano Donizetti’s opera La fille du régiment receives its first performance in Paris, France.

1843      Giuseppe Verdi’s opera I Lombardi alla prima crociata receives its first performance in Milan, Italy.

1847      Thomas Edison (born), American businessman, invented the light bulb and phonograph (died 1931)

1855      Ellen Day Hale (born),American painter (died 1940)

1856      The Kingdom of Awadh is annexed by the British East India Company and Wajid Ali Shah, the king of Awadh, is imprisoned and later exiled to Calcutta.

1861      American Civil War: United States House of Representatives unanimously passes a resolution guaranteeing noninterference with slavery in any state.

1868      Léon Foucault (died), French physicist (born 1819)

1872      Hannah Mitchell (born), English activist (died 1956)

1874      Fritz Hart (born), English composer and conductor (died 1949)

1879      Honoré Daumier (died), French illustrator and painter (born 1808)

1903      Anton Bruckner’s 9th Symphony receives its first performance in Vienna, Austria.

1906      Pope Pius X publishes the encyclical Vehementer Nos.

1908      Vivian Fuchs (born), English geologist (died 1999)

1909      Joseph L. Mankiewicz (born), American director, screenwriter, and producer (died 1993)

1909      Max Baer (born), American boxer and actor (died 1959)

1916       Emma Goldman is arrested for lecturing on birth control.

1917       Oswaldo Cruz (died), Brazilian physician (born 1872)

1919       Eva Gabor (born), Hungarian-American actress (died 1995)

1923      Wilhelm Killing (died), German mathematician (born 1847)

1925      Virginia E. Johnson (born), American psychologist

1926      Leslie Nielsen (born), Canadian-American actor (died 2010)

1926      Paul Bocuse (born), French chef

1928      Hattie N. Harrison (born), American educator and politician (died 2013)

1930      Roy De Forest (born), American painter (died 2007)

1931       Charles Algernon Parsons (died), English-Irish engineer, invented the steam turbine (born 1854)

1931       Larry Merchant (born), American journalist

1934      John Surtees (born), English motorcycle racer and race car driver

1934      Manuel Noriega (born), Panamanian general and politician, Military Leader of Panama

1934      Mary Quant (born), English fashion designer

1936      Burt Reynolds (born), American actor and director

1937      A sit-down strike ends when General Motors recognizes the United Auto Workers.

1938      BBC Television produces the world’s first ever science fiction television program, an adaptation of a section of the Karel Čapek play R.U.R., that coined the term “robot”.

1939      A Lockheed P-38 Lightning flies from California to New York in 7 hours 2 minutes.

1940      Ellen Day Hale (died), American painter(born 1855)

1941       Sérgio Mendes (born), Brazilian pianist and composer

1942      The first gold record is presented to Glenn Miller for “Chattanooga Choo Choo”.

1942      World War II: The Battle of Bukit Timah is fought in Singapore.

1943      World War II: General Dwight D. Eisenhower is selected to command the allied armies in Europe.

1953      Jeb Bush (born), American politician, 43rd Governor of Florida

1953      President Dwight Eisenhower refuses a clemency appeal for Julius and Ethel Rosenberg.

1953      The Soviet Union breaks off diplomatic relations with Israel.

1958      Ernest Jones (died), Welsh neurologist and psychoanalyst (born 1879)

1959      Roberto Moreno (born), Brazilian race car driver

1959      The Federation of Arab Emirates of the South, which will later become South Yemen, is created as a protectorate of the United Kingdom.

1962      Sheryl Crow (born), American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actress

1962      Tammy Baldwin (born), American politician

1963      Sylvia Plath (died), American author and poet (born 1932)

1964      Sarah Palin (born), American politician, 9th Governor of Alaska

1968      Israeli-Jordanian border clashes.

1969      Jennifer Aniston (born), American actress, director, and producer

1971       87 countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, and Soviet Union, sign the Seabed Arms Control Treaty outlawing nuclear weapons on the ocean floor in international waters.

1973      Vietnam War: First release of American prisoners of war from Vietnam takes place.

1975      Andy Lally (born), American race car driver

1976      Lee J. Cobb (died), American actor (born 1911)

1978 –China lifts a ban on works by Aristotle, William Shakespeare and Charles Dickens.

1979      Iranian Revolution establishes an Islamic theocracy under the leadership of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

1981      100,000 US gallons (380 m3) of radioactive coolant leak into the containment building of TVA Sequoyah 1 nuclear plant in Tennessee, contaminating 8 workers.

1981      Franz Sondheimer (died), German-English chemist (born 1926)

1982      Eleanor Powell (died), American actress and dancer (born 1912)

1990      Nelson Mandela is released from Victor Verster Prison outside Cape Town, South Africa after 27 years as a political prisoner.

1994      Paul Feyerabend (died), Austrian philosopher (born 1924)

1994      William Conrad (died), American actor, producer, and director (born 1920)

1997      Space Shuttle Discovery is launched on a mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope.

2006     Peter Benchley (died), American author (born 1940)

2011      The first wave of the Egyptian revolution culminates in the resignation of Hosni Mubarak and the transfer of power to the Supreme Military Council after 18 days of protests.

2012      Whitney Houston (died), American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress (born 1963)

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EO Smith

Interests include biological anthropology, evolution, social behavior, and human behavior. Conducted field research in the Tana River National Primate Reserve, Kenya and on Angaur, Palau, Micronesia, as well as research with captive nonhuman primates at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center and the Institute for Primate Research, National Museums of Kenya.
EO Smith
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