What happened today
1981
Famous birthdays
1926
Get history's greatest tales
Subscribe to our HistoryNet Now! newsletter for a blast from the past each week in your inbox.
more events on December 11
-
2008
Bernard “Bernie” Madoff arrested and charged with securities fraud in what was called a $50-billion Ponzi scheme.
-
2006
President of Mexico Felipe Calderon launches a military-led offensive against drug cartel violence in the state of Michoacan.
-
2005
Cronulla riots begin in Cronulla, a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
-
2001
People’s Republic of China joins the World Trade Organization.
-
1997
The Kyoto Protocol international treaty intended to reduce emissions of greenhouse gasses, opens for signature.
-
1981
Hamish Blake, Australian comedian, actor, author; won Gold Logie Award for “Most Popular Personality on Television”; half of award-winning comedy duo Hamish and Andy (Andy Lee).
-
Military forces in El Salvador kill over 800 civilians in what is known as the El Mozote massacre during the Salvadoran Civil War.
-
1978
Massive demonstrations take place in Tehran against the shah.
-
1972
Challenger, the lunar lander for Apollo 17, touches down on the moon’s surface, the last time that men visit the moon.
-
1967
The Concorde, a joint British-French venture and the world’s first supersonic airliner, is unveiled in Toulouse, France.
-
1964
Frank Sinatra, Jr., is returned home to his parents after being kidnapped for the ransom amount of $240,000.
-
1955
Israel raids Syrian positions on the Sea of Galilee.
-
1951
Joe DiMaggio announces his retirement from baseball.
-
1950
Christina Onassis, businesswoman; inherited and operated the Onassis shipping businessh.
-
1945
A Boeing B-29 Superfortress shatters all records by crossing the United States in five hours and 27 minutes.