June 11

1125 – Forces of the Crusader States commanded by King Baldwin II of Jerusalem defeat Aq-Sunqur al-Bursuqi’s army of Seljuk Turks and take the city of Azaz in what is now northwestern Syria

1775 – The American Revolutionary War’s first naval engagement off Machias, Maine, results in the capture of British armed sloop HMS Margaretta by the Machias Militia aboard the private ships Unity and Falmouth Packet.

1776 – The Continental Congress appoints Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston to the Committee of Five to draft a declaration of independence.

1788 – Russian explorer Gerasim Izmailov reaches the North American land of Alyeska.

1805 – A fire consumes large portions of Detroit town in the Michigan Territory.

1919 – Sir Barton with jockey Johnny Loftus aboard, wins the Belmont Stakes, becoming the first horse to win the U.S. Triple Crown.

1935 – Inventor Edwin Armstrong gives the first public demonstration of FM radio broadcasting in the U.S. at Alpine, New Jersey.

1944 – BB-63, USS Missouri, the last battleship built by the U.S. Navy and future site of the signing of the Japanese Instrument of Surrender, is commissioned onto active duty.

1955 – At the 24 Hours of Le Mans race, 83 spectators are killed and at least 100 injured after an Austin Healey and a Mercedes Benz collide; the deadliest ever accident in motorsports.

1962 – Frank Morris, John Anglin and Clarence Anglin escape from the federal prison on Alcatraz Island. Most surmises are they drowned in San Francisco Bay, but no bodies are ever found.

1963 – Governor of Alabama George Wallace stands at the door of Foster Auditorium at the University of Alabama in an attempt to block two black students, Vivian Malone and James Hood, from attending that school. Later in the day, accompanied by federalized National Guard troops, they are able to register.

1970 – After being appointed on May 15, Anna Mae Hays and Elizabeth P. Hoisington are officially promoted to the rank of U.S. Army Brigadier General Officers, becoming the first women to attain the rank..

1971 – The U.S. Government officers forcibly remove the last holdouts to the Native American Occupation of Alcatraz, ending 19 months of occupation.

1979 – John Wayne dies of complications of stomach cancer at the UCLA Medical Center.

2001 – Timothy McVeigh is executed in the Federal Penitentiary in Terre-Haute, Indiana for his role in the Oklahoma City bombing.

2008 – The Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope is launched into orbit from Cape Canaveral.