July 11 birthdays & history

Famous people born on July 11

• 1767John Quincy Adams, American lawyer and politician, 6th President of the United States
• 1916Alexander Prokhorov, Australian-Russian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1934Giorgio Armani, Italian fashion designer, founded the Armani Company
• 1920Yul Brynner, Russian-American actor and dancer
• 1990Caroline Wozniacki, Danish tennis player
• 1967Jhumpa Lahiri, Indian American novelist and short story writer
• 1834James McNeill Whistler, American-English painter and illustrator
• 1888Carl Schmitt, German philosopher and jurist
• 1561Luis de Góngora, Spanish cleric and poet
• 1657Frederick I of Prussia, Ruler of Brandenburg–Prussia from 1688 to 1713

What happened on July 11

• 1792The Belfast Harp Festival, an early event in the Gaelic revival, began at the Assembly Rooms.
• 1801French astronomer Jean-Louis Pons co-discovered the first of his 37 comets, more than any other person in history.
• 1836The Fly-fisher's Entomology is published by Alfred Ronalds. The book transformed the sport and went to many editions.
• 1848Waterloo Bridge Station, which later became Britain's busiest railway station by passenger usage, was opened by the London and South Western Railway.
• 1889Tijuana, Mexico, is founded.
• 1893A revolution led by the liberal general and politician José Santos Zelaya takes over state power in Nicaragua.
• 1897Salomon August Andrée leaves Spitsbergen to attempt to reach the North Pole by balloon.
• 1899Fiat founded by Giovanni Agnelli in Turin, Italy.
• 1914Babe Ruth makes his debut in Major League Baseball.
• 1919The eight-hour day and free Sunday become law for workers in the Netherlands.
• 1920In the East Prussian plebiscite the local populace decides to remain with Weimar Germany.
• 1928Archaeologist Ivan Borkovský discovered a medieval skeleton at Prague Castle; competing factions claimed the skeleton as Germanic or Slavic in origin.

Also observed on July 11

• China National Maritime Day (China)
• Day of the Bandoneón (Argentina)
• Day of the Flemish Community (Flemish Community of Belgium)
• Eleventh Night (Northern Ireland)
• Gospel Day (Kiribati)
• National Day of Commemoration, held on the nearest Sunday to this date (Ireland)