History of 11 July
1914 – Babe Ruth debuted in the major leagues with the Boston Red Sox.
1918 – Enrico Caruso recorded “Over There” written by George M. Cohan.
1934 – The first appointments to the newly created Federal Communications Commission were made.
1934 – U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt became the first American chief executive to travel through the Panama Canal while in office.
1955 – The U.S. Air Force Academy was dedicated in Colorado at Lowry Air Base.
1960 – In Honolulu, HI, the first tournament held outside the continental U.S., sanctioned by the U.S. Golf Association, began.
1962 – The first transatlantic TV transmission was sent through the Telstar I satellite.
1972 – U.S. forces broke the 95-day siege at An Loc in Vietnam.
1977 – The Medal of Freedom was awarded posthumously to Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in a White House ceremony.
1979 – The abandoned U.S. space station Skylab returned to Earth. It burned up in the atmosphere and showered debris over the Indian Ocean and Australia.
1985 – Dr. H. Harlan Stone announced that he had used zippers for stitches on 28 patients. The zippers were used when he thought he may have to re-operate.
1985 – Nolan Ryan (Houston Astros) became the first major league pitcher to earn 4,000 strikeouts in a career. (Texas)
1987 – Bo Jackson signed a contract to play football for the L.A. Raiders for 5 years. He was also continued to play baseball for the Kansas City Royals. (California)
1995 – Full diplomatic relations were established between the United States and Vietnam.
1998 – U.S. Air Force Lt. Michael Blassie, a casualty of the Vietnam War, was laid to rest near his Missouri home. He had been positively identified from his remains that had been enshrined in the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington, VA.
1999 – A U.S. Air Force jet flew over the Antarctic and dropped off emergency medical supplies for Dr. Jerri Nelson after she had discovered a lump in her breast. Nelso was at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Research Center.
2000 – The video “Jaws,” the Anniversary Collector’s Edition, was released.
2000 – Liam Neeson broke his pelvis after hitting a deer with his Harley Davidson motorcycle.
2008 – Apple released the iPhone 3G.
2010 – Kampala attacks: At least 74 people are killed in twin suicide bombings at two locations in Kampala, Uganda
2011 – Evangelos Florakis Naval Base explosion: Ninety-eight containers of explosives self-detonate killing 13 people in Zygi, Cyprus.
Celebrating Birthday Today
- 1981 – Andre Johnson, American football player
- 1982 – Chris Cooley, American football player
- 1983 – Engin Baytar, German-Turkish footballer
- 1983 – Peter Cincotti, American singer-songwriter and pianist
- 1983 – Marie Serneholt, Swedish singer and dancer
- 1984 – Yorman Bazardo, Venezuelan baseball player
- 1984 – Tanith Belbin, Canadian-American ice dancer
- 1984 – Jacoby Jones, American football player
- 1984 – Joe Pavelski, American ice hockey player
- 1984 – Morné Steyn, South African rugby player
- 1985 – Robert Adamson, American actor, director, and producer
- 1985 – Orestis Karnezis, Greek footballer
- 1986 – Raúl García, Spanish footballer
- 1986 – Yoann Gourcuff, French footballer
- 1986 – Ryan Jarvis, English footballer
- 1987 – Shigeaki Kato, Japanese singer
- 1988 – Étienne Capoue, French footballer
- 1988 – Natalie La Rose, Dutch singer, songwriter and dancer
- 1989 – Tobias Sana, Swedish footballer
- 1989 – Travis Waddell, Australian rugby league player
- 1990 – Mona Barthel, German tennis player
- 1990 – Connor Paolo, American actor
- 1990 – Adam Jezierski, Polish-Spanish actor and singer
- 1990 – Patrick Peterson, American football player
- 1990 – Caroline Wozniacki, Danish tennis player
- 1993 – Rebecca Bross, American gymnast
- 1993 – Heini Salonen, Finnish tennis player
- 1994 – Bartłomiej Kalinkowski, Polish footballer
- 1994 – Anthony Milford, Australian rugby league player
- 1994 – Nina Nesbitt, Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1994 – Lucas Ocampos, Argentinian footballer
- 1995 – Joey Bosa, American football player
- 1995 – Tyler Medeiros, Canadian singer-songwriter and dancer
- 1996 – Alessia Cara, Canadian singer-songwriter