February 11

55 – On the eve of his coming of age, the mysterious death of Tiberius Claudius Caesar Britannicus, heir to the Roman empire, clears the way for Nero Claudius Caesar Germanicus to become Emperor.

1534 – Henry VIII of England is recognized as supreme head of the Church of England.

1586 – Sir Francis Drake with an English force captures and occupies the Spanish colonial port of Cartagena de Indias, on the northern coast of modern Columbia for two months until a ransom is paid.

1650 – René Descartes, French mathematician and philosopher, author of Cogito Ergo Sum ( I think, therefore I am) dies in Stockholm, Sweden.

1794 – The United States Senate opens sessions to the public.

1808 – Jesse Fell of Wilkes-Barre Pennsylvania, burns anthracite on an open grate as an experiment in heating homes with coal.

1858 – Bernadette Soubirous has her first vision of Mary in Lourdes, France.

1861 – In an attempt to stop further secession and avert possible conflict with the newly formed Confederacy, the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passes a resolution guaranteeing noninterference with slavery in any state.

1937 – The Flint Michigan Autoworkers strike ends when General Motors recognizes the United Auto Workers trade union.

1953 – President Eisenhower denies all appeals for clemency for the Soviet spies, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg who have been sentenced to death in the electric chair in New York. Documents uncovered after the fall of the Soviet Union later confirm their espionage for the Soviets.

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

1991 – Over Iraq, USAF Captains Steve Dingee and Mark McKenzie flying F-15s share a 1/2 victory apiece for them both shooting down an Iraqi Mil Mi-8 helicopter at the same time.

1997 – Space Shuttle Discovery is launched on mission STS-82 to service the Hubble Space Telescope.

2011 – The first wave of the Egyptian revolution results in the resignation of Hosni Mubarak and the transfer of power to the Supreme Military Council after 17 days of protests.

2017 – North Korea test fires the ballistic missile Pukkuksong-2 across the Sea of Japan.

2020 –  The World Health Organization officially names the coronavirus outbreak as COVID-19, with the virus being designated SARS-CoV-2.