1817: The first predecessor of the bicycle is demonstrated
Using his revolutionary Laufmaschine, also known as Draisine, a two-wheeler without pedals, German inventor Karl Drais completed a 14 km test run in less than an hour, presenting a viable alternative to transportation by horse.
1882: Anti-Christian riots flare in Alexandria, Egypt, as part of a nationalist uprising against the government’s close ties with Britain and France. British and French navies respond by bombarding the city, reducing large sections to rubble. The uprising is used as an excuse for a British military takeover of Egypt, which will last until the Egyptian Revolution of 1952.
You will also like...
1913: Having earned the reputation as “one of the prettiest towns in West Africa,” Lomé in Togoland now has a population of 7,042 Togolese and 194 Germans.
1934: The first black superhero that appears in popular culture, an as African, Prince Lothar of the fictional Kingdom of the Seven Nations, is featured for the first time today in U.S. newspapers in the comic strip Mandrake the Magician. Mandrake seeks Prince Lothar’s assistance in fighting criminals and dictators. Lothar can lift cars and elephants and is too strong to be harmed by knives, spears, and bullets — four years before Superman will be created in comic books. Identified as Mandrake’s “servant” in the first stories, they function as partners.
1938: China launches the 1938 Yellow River flood
In what Steven Dutch, a Professor at the University of Wisconsin, called “the world’s largest act of environmental warfare in history”, the Chinese government created the flood to halt invading Japanese forces.
1955: More than 80 people die in the Le Mans car race disaster
In one of history’s worst car racing accidents, Pierre Levegh’s Mercedes crashed into a crowd of spectators and burst into flames.
1959: Christopher Cockerell first presents the hovercraft.
The amphibious air-cushion vehicle first crossed the English Channel just weeks after Cockerell first demonstrated his prototype, the SR.N1. The scheduled “flights” between Dover (U.K.) and Calais (France) were discontinued in 2000.
1965: It was announced that all four members of the British group The Beatles, would be awarded MBEs (Member of the Order of the British Empire) in Queen Elizabeth II’s birthday honours list. John Lennon returned his MBE to the Queen on 25th November 1969, as an act of protest against the Vietnam War.
1966: A smallpox outbreak in Nigeria raises fears of an epidemic. The World Health Organisation mounts a massive nationwide vaccination programme financed by the U.S. The programme will see 90% of Nigerians vaccinated. Some outbreaks will occur in 1967 among religious groups that refuse vaccinations.
1979: On June 11, 1979, John Wayne, an iconic American film actor famous for starring in countless westerns, dies at age 72 after battling cancer for more than a decade.
The actor was born Marion Morrison on May 26, 1907, in Winterset, Iowa, and moved as a child to Glendale, California. A football star at Glendale High School, he attended the University of Southern California on a scholarship but dropped out after two years. After finding work as a movie studio laborer, Wayne befriended director John Ford, then a rising talent. His first acting jobs were bit parts in which he was credited as Duke Morrison, a childhood nickname derived from the name of his beloved pet dog.
1987: Margaret Thatcher declared she was ‘raring to go’ after winning a record third term as Prime Minister.
2010: Africa hosts the FIFA World Cup for the first time. The 19th association football world cup was opened in Johannesburg, South Africa. The winner of this historic edition was Spain.
1963: The University of Alabama desegregated. Two African American students, Vivian Malone and James A. Hood, register for classes at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa on June 11, 1963, after federalized Alabama National Guard troops force Alabama Governor George Wallace to halt his blockade and submit to a judge’s order ending segregation at the university.
1963: Buddhist immolates himself in protest. Buddhist monk Thich Quang Duc publicly burns himself to death in a plea for President Ngo Dinh Diem to show “charity and compassion” to all religions. Diem, a Catholic who had been oppressing the Buddhist majority, remained stubborn despite continued Buddhist protests and repeated U.S. requests to liberalize his government’s policies. More Buddhist monks immolated themselves during the ensuing weeks.
2002: The reality competition TV series American Idol debuted, and it became one of the most-watched shows in the United States
2012: Downing Street admitted that David Cameron had left his eight-year-old daughter in the pub after a Sunday lunch two months previously, because of a mix-up with his wife Samantha. The story proved embarrassing for the Prime Minister, as it came on the same day that the government relaunched its £450m ‘Troubled Families Programme’.
2014: American actress and activist Ruby Dee, who was known for her pioneering work in African American theatre and film and for her outspoken civil rights activism, died at age 91.
.
BIRTHS ON THIS DAY: June 11
Joe Montana, 68 years
Joseph Clifford Montana Jr. is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League for 16 seasons, primarily with the San Francisco 49ers. Nicknamed “Joe Cool” and “the Comeback Kid”, Montana is widely regarded as one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time.
Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi, 61 years
Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi is a Nigerian-British feminist activist, policy advocate, social change philanthropy practitioner, and writer was born on 11 June 1963. She was the first lady of Ekiti State, Nigeria, as the wife of Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi from 2010 to 2014 and from 2018 to 2022. She has worked in several organisations and institutions dedicated to women’s rights and women’s advancement, and in 2001 was co-founder of the African Women’s Development Fund. Among the more than 6,000 women across Africa trained by the fund, most went on to occupy senior executive positions in their countries as Ministers, Members of Parliaments, university administrators, and civil society leaders.
Kindly like, comment, follow, and share.
