On This Day in History - February 11th - Almanac

Today is Thursday, Feb. 11, the 42nd day of 2021 with 323 to follow.

The moon is new. Morning stars are Jupiter, Mars, Saturn and Venus. Evening stars are Mars, Neptune and Uranus.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Aquarius. They include Pope Gregory XIV in 1535; Englishman Henry Fox Talbot, a developer of photography, in 1800; abolitionist/writer Lydia Maria Child in 1802; inventor Thomas Edison in 1847; boxer Max Baer in 1909; film director Joseph L. Mankiewicz in 1909; actor Eva Gabor in 1919; King Farouk, Egypt's last monarch, in 1920; actor Leslie Nielsen in 1926; actor Tina Louise in 1934 (age 87); actor Burt Reynolds in 1936; Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega in 1938; songwriter Gerry Goffin in 1939; Brazilian musician Sergio Mendes in 1941 (age 80); Jeb Bush, former Florida governor and presidential son and brother, in 1953 (age 68); singer/songwriter Sheryl Crow in 1962 (age 59); former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin in 1964 (age 57); actor Jennifer Aniston in 1969 (age 52); actor Damian Lewis in 1971 (age 50); surfer Kelly Slater in 1972 (age 49); radio host Alex Jones in 1974 (age 47); actor Isaiah Mustafa in 1974 (age 47); singer/guitarist Mike Shinoda in 1977 (age 44); singer/actor Brandy Norwood in 1979 (age 42); actor Matthew Lawrence in 1980 (age 41); singer Kelly Rowland in 1981 (age 40); actor Natalie Dormer in 1982 (age 39); singer Aubrey O'Day in 1984 (age 37); actor Taylor Lautner in 1992 (age 29); singer Khalid, born Khalid Donnel Robinson, in 1998 (age 23).

On this date in history:

In 1858, French peasant girl Bernadette Soubirous said the Virgin Mary appeared to her at Lourdes.

In 1929, a Lateran treaty signed in Italy recognized the sovereignty of Vatican City.

In 1929, Miss Bobbi Trout, an 18-year-old "Tomboy" who took up flying to avoid dish-washing, broke three world aviation records.

In 1941, Glenn Miller's Chattanooga Choo Choo was awarded the first gold record, given for sales of 1 million copies.

In 1945, U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Josef Stalin ended a wartime conference at Yalta.

In 1965, U.S. and South Vietnamese planes made their first bombing raids on North Vietnam.

In 1970, Japan put a satellite, Ohsumi, in space, following the Soviet Union, the United States and France.

In 1990, Nelson Mandela, leader of the movement to end South African apartheid, was released after 27 years in prison.

In 1993, British Prime Minister John Major said Queen Elizabeth II would pay income tax on her personal income as well as being subject to capital and inheritance levies.

In 2006, U.S. adventurer Steve Fossett broke the solo flight record when he landed near Bournemouth, England, covering 24,997 miles after taking off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida four days earlier.

In 2009, a long, bitter political fight in Zimbabwe apparently was resolved when President Robert Mugabe swore in opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai as prime minister.

In 2011, Hosni Mubarak stepped down after nearly 30 years as president of Egypt, bowing to intense public pressure to resign after 18 days of massive, often violent protests that spawned a reported death toll of more than 800 people. Mubarak, 82, ceded power to the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces.

In 2012, Whitney Houston, an American pop singing star who sold millions of albums and starred in movies, was found dead in a Beverly Hills, Calif., hotel room. The Los Angeles coroner said the 48-year-old entertainer died of accidental drowning in her bathtub but that cocaine and heart disease also played a role.

In 2014, an Algerian Hercules C-130 military plane crashed into a mountain in eastern Algeria, killing 77 people, including civilians. There was one survivor, a soldier.

In 2016, the last four remaining armed occupiers at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon surrendered after a 41-day standoff that left one dead.

In 2018, a passenger jet carrying 71 people on board crashed after takeoff from a Moscow airport, killing all on board.

In 2020, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., narrowly won the New Hampshire Democratic primary. Joe Biden ultimately won the 2020 Democratic primary and the presidency.

A thought for the day: "Where liberty dwells, there is my country." -- American founding father Benjamin Franklin