Historical events on March 11

MARCH 11, 2011
A massive earthquake and tsunami struck northeastern Japan and triggered a nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.
On 11 March 2011, at 14:46:24 JST, a Mw 9.0–9.1 undersea megathrust earthquake occurred in the Pacific Ocean, 72 km (45 mi) east of the
Read More

MARCH 11, 1864
The Great Sheffield Flood killed at least 240 people and damaged more than 600 homes, after a crack in the dam holding the Dale Dike Reservoir caused it to fail.
The Great Sheffield Flood was a flood that devastated parts of Sheffield, England, on 11 March 1864, when the Dale Dyke Dam
Read More

MARCH 11, 1708
Queen Anne withheld royal assent from the Scottish Militia Bill, in the most recent veto by a British monarch of a bill that had been passed by Parliament.
Anne was Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 8 March 1702, and Queen of Great Britain and Ireland following the ratification
Read More

MARCH 11, 2020
The World Health Organization (WHO) officialy declared the COVID-19 outbreak as a pandemic.
The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and
Read More

MARCH 11, 1984
The anime film Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind by Hayao Miyazaki was released.
Anime is a hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, anime refers specifically to animation produced
Read More

MARCH 11, 1978
After hijacking a bus north of Tel Aviv, Israel, members of the Palestine Liberation Organization faction Fatah engaged in a shootout with police, resulting in the deaths of 38 civilians and most of the perpetrators.
The coastal road massacre occurred on 11 March 1978, when Palestinian militants hijacked a bus on the Coastal Highway of Israel and
Read More

MARCH 11, 1888
The Great Blizzard of 1888 struck the northeastern United States, producing snowdrifts in excess of 50 ft (15 m) and confining some people to their houses for up to a week.
The Great Blizzard of 1888, also known as the Great Blizzard of '88 or the Great White Hurricane, was one of the
Read More

MARCH 11, 1851
The first performance of Verdi's Rigoletto took place at La Fenice in Venice (poster pictured).
Rigoletto is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the
Read More

MARCH 11, 1993
The U.S. Senate unanimously confirmed Janet Reno as the first female United States attorney general.
The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House
Read More

MARCH 11, 2012
U.S. Army soldier Robert Bales murdered sixteen civilians and wounded six others in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan.
The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as
Read More

MARCH 11, 1845
Māori forces, led by chiefs Te Ruki Kawiti and Hōne Heke, attacked the British settlement of Kororāreka, New Zealand, beginning the Flagstaff War.
Māori are the indigenous Polynesian people of mainland New Zealand. Māori originated with settlers from East Polynesia, who arrived in New Zealand
Read More

MARCH 11, 1851
Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi's opera Rigoletto premiered at La Fenice in Venice.
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto, a small town in
Read More

MARCH 11, 2009
A teenage gunman engaged in a shooting spree at a secondary school in Winnenden, Germany, killing 16, including himself.
The Winnenden school shooting occurred on the morning of 11 March 2009 at the Albertville-Realschule, a secondary school in Winnenden, southwestern Germany,
Read More

MARCH 11, 2020
The World Health Organization (WHO) declares the COVID-19 virus epidemic a pandemic.
The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and
Read More

MARCH 11, 1669
Mount Etna in Sicily began erupting, eventually producing the largest lava flow in the volcano's history, and damaging Catania and other towns.
Mount Etna, or simply Etna, is an active stratovolcano on the east coast of Sicily, Italy, in the Metropolitan City of Catania,
Read More

MARCH 11, 1843
During a period of activity known as the Great Eruption, Eta Carinae (pictured) briefly became the second-brightest star in the night sky.
η Carinae, formerly known as η Argus, is a stellar system containing at least two stars with a combined luminosity greater than five million
Read More

MARCH 11, 2010
During the inauguration of Chilean president Sebastián Piñera, earthquakes registering 6.9 and 7.0 .mw-parser-output .tooltip-dotted{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}Mw struck the O'Higgins Region near the city of Pichilemu, causing widespread damage.
Miguel Juan Sebastián Piñera Echenique was a Chilean businessman and politician who served as President of Chile from 2010 to 2014 and
Read More

MARCH 11, 2007
Georgian authorities accused Russia of orchestrating a helicopter attack in the Kodori Valley, in the breakaway territory of Abkhazia.
The 2007 Georgia helicopter incident refers to the accusation by Georgia that three Russian helicopters fired on the Kodori Gorge in Abkhazia
Read More