Holidays
Japan Founder's Day
Celebrating Emperor Jimmu taking the throne in 660 B.C.
What Happened On
Whitney Houston Drowns In Bathtub
February 11, 2012
American singer Whitney Houston is found submerged and unconscious in her hotel bathtub. She was pronounced dead a short while later after unsuccessful attempts at CPR by paramedics. The coroner ruled Houston's death an accident and reported that her death was caused by drowning and the "effects of atherosclerotic heart disease and cocaine use."
According to Guinness World Records she is the most awarded female act of all time.
Music: I Wanna Dance With Somebody (1987) and Where Do Broken Hearts Go (1988, her 7th consecutive #1 American hit).
Cheney's Got A Gun
February 11, 2006
U.S. Vice-President Dick Cheney accidentally shoots his hunting partner while on a quail hunting trip in Texas. The victim, Harry Whittington, later apologized stating, "My family and I are deeply sorry for everything Vice President Cheney and his family have had to deal with." Cheney has yet to apologize to his victim, stating he didn't need to apologize.
Jack Paar Walks Off
February 11, 1960
The Tonight Show host Jack Paar states "I am leaving The Tonight Show. There must be a better way of making a living than this" and walks off his show. He was upset after a water closet joke, told the night before, had been censored. Referring to a toilet, even as a water closet, was taboo. He returned a month later.
The Joke: An English lady, while visiting Switzerland, was looking for a room for a more extended stay, and she asked the schoolmaster if he could recommend any to her. He took her to see several rooms, and when everything was settled, the lady returned to her home to make the final preparations to move.
When she arrived home, the thought suddenly occurred to her that she had not seen a "W.C." around the place. So she immediately wrote a note to the schoolmaster asking him if there were a "W.C." near the room.
The schoolmaster was a very poor student of English, so he asked the parish priest if he could help in the matter. Together they tried to discover the meaning of the letters "W.C.", and the only solution they could come up with for the letters was for a Wayside Chapel. The schoolmaster then wrote the following note to the English lady:
Dear Madam:
I take great pleasure in informing you that the W.C. is situated nine miles from the room that you will occupy, in the center of a beautiful grove of pine trees surrounded by lovely grounds. It is capable of holding about 229 people and it is only open on Sunday and Thursday.
As there are a great number of people who are expected during the summer months, I would suggest that you come early; although, as a rule, there is plenty of standing room. You will no doubt be glad to hear that a good number of people bring their lunch and make a day of it. While others who can afford to go by car arrive just in time.
I would especially recommend that your ladyship go on Thursday when there is a musical accompaniment. It may interest you to know that my daughter was married in the W.C. and it was there that she met her husband.
I can remember the rush there was for seats. There were ten people to a seat ordinarily occupied by one. It was wonderful to see the expression on their faces. The newest attraction is a bell donated by a wealthy resident of the district. It rings every time a person enters.
A bazaar is to be held to provide plush seats for all the people, since they feel it is a long felt need. My wife is rather delicate, so she can't attend regularly. I shall be delighted to reserve the best seat for you, if you wish, where you will be seen by everyone.
For the children, there is a special time and place so they will not disturb the elders.
Hoping to have been of service to you, I remain,
Sincerely,
The Schoolmaster.
Robots Rebelling - From theatrical version of R.U.R.
Robots Rebelling - From theatrical version of R.U.R.
First TV Science Fiction
February 11, 1938
BBC airs television's first science fiction program. A 35-minute adaptation of the play R.U.R. The 1920 science fiction play R.U.R. is famous for introducing the word "robot" into the science fiction lexicon. The play's author Karel Čapek said his brother Josef coined the word "robot" from the Czech word "robota", which means forced labor of the kind that serfs had to perform on their masters' lands.
The story begins in a factory that makes robots from synthetic organic matter. While happy to work for humans at first, a robot rebellion leads to the extinction of the human race.
R.U.R. stands for "Rossum's Universal Robots."
St Peter's Church in Vatican City
St Peter's Church in Vatican City
Vatican City
February 11, 1929
Vatican City becomes the world's smallest country, with the signing of the Lateran Treaty. This 108.7 acres of land in Rome would be ruled by the Pope.
Anna Kournikova Computer Worm
February 11, 2001
Dutch programmer, Jan de Wit, releases a computer email worm. When Windows users attempted to open a picture of the tennis star Anna Kournikova by clicking on the attachment named AnnaKournikova.jpg.vbs, it launched a viral Visual Basic Script that forwarded itself to everybody in the victim's Microsoft Outlook address book.
De Wit confessed and was sentenced to 150 hours of community service.
First Woman U.S. Attorney General
February 11, 1993
Janet Reno is nominated by U.S. President Bill Clinton. She was confirmed in March.
Photo Credit: South Africa The Good News
Photo Credit: South Africa The Good News
Nelson Mandela Released from Prison
February 11, 1990
The civil-rights leader Nelson Mandela is released from a South African prison after serving 27½ years. He would go on to win the Nobel Peace Prize (1993) and serve as the first president of South Africa (1994-99).
First Soviet Commercial Satellite Mission
February 11, 1990
First Soviet Commercial Satellite Mission is launched. Its purpose was to use zero-gravity to produce industrial crystals for a profit.
First Satellite Launched by Japan
February 11, 1970
With the launch of the Ōsumi satellite, Japan becomes the fourth nation after the USSR, United States, and France to release an artificial satellite into successful orbit on its own.
Birthdays
Reynolds in Gunsmoke (1962)
Reynolds in Gunsmoke (1962)
Burt Reynolds (Burton Leon Reynolds Jr.)
Born February 11, 1936 d. 2018
American actor. He was featured as a nude male centerfold in the April, 1972 issue of Cosmopolitan magazine. He was a star football halfback for Florida State University hoping to turn pro, but his career was sidelined after losing his spleen and injuring his knee in a car accident.
Reynolds was married briefly to Judy Carne (1963-65, the "Sock it to me" girl on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In) and to Loni Anderson (1988-93). Film: Deliverance (1972), The Longest Yard (1974), Smokey and the Bandit (1977), and Boogie Nights (1997). TV: Gunsmoke (1962-65, blacksmith Quint Asper) and Evening Shade (1990-94, Wood Newton).
Tina Louise (Tina Blacker)
Born February 11, 1934
American actress. Tina Louise is known for her role as movie star Ginger Grant in TV's Gilligan's Island (1964-67). In 1958, the National Art Council named her the "World's Most Beautiful Redhead."
TV: Dallas (1978-79, Julie Grey). Film: The Stepford Wives (1975, Charmaine Wimpiris). Stage: God's Little Acre (1958, Buck's wife Griselda, Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year).
America's Greatest Inventor
Thomas Alva Edison
Born February 11, 1847 d. 1931
American inventor of the microphone (1876), the first practical phonograph (1877), the first practical incandescent light (1879), and motion pictures (1891). He was one of the first to apply the principles of large-scale teamwork to the process of invention, and because of that, he is often credited with the creation of the first industrial research laboratory.
Brice Beckham
Born February 11, 1976
American actor. TV: Mr. Belvedere (Wesley).
Jennifer Aniston
Born February 11, 1969
American Emmy-winning actress who popularized the hairstyle, "The Jennifer." Her salary on Friends reached $1,000,000 per episode. TV: Friends (1994-2004, Rachel the waitress). Film: Office Space (1999, Joanna the waitress), Bruce Almighty (2003), and Along Came Polly (2004, Polly the waitress).
Sergio Mendes
Born February 11, 1941
Brazilian bossa nova musician.
Bobby "Boris" Pickett
Born February 11, 1938 d. 2007
American singer. Music: Monster Mash (1962, #1, "It was a graveyard smash!").
Manuel Noriega
Born February 11, 1934 d. 2017
Panamanian ruler (1983-89). He was the first foreign head of state to be convicted in a U.S. court. In 1992, Noriega was convicted on eight counts of drug smuggling and racketeering and sentenced to 40 years in prison.
Leslie Nielsen
Born February 11, 1926 d. 2010
Canadian-born actor. Film: Forbidden Planet (1956), Airplane! (1980), and The Naked Gun (1988, Lt. Frank Drebin).
Virginia Eshelman Johnson
Born February 11, 1925 d. 2013
American psychologist, author of Human Sexual Response (1966). She and her husband formed the Masters and Johnson sexuality research team.
Eva Gabor
Born February 11, 1919 d. 1995
Hungarian-American actress. TV: Green Acres (1965-71, Lisa Douglas). Married five times, she once stated, "Marriage is too interesting an experiment to be tried only once."
Film: The Aristocats (1970, voice of Duchess), and The Rescuers (1977, voice of Miss Bianca).
Sidney Sheldon
Born February 11, 1917 d. 2007
American Oscar-Tony-winning author, screenwriter. He is the seventh best-selling fiction writer of all time, having sold over 300 million books. Film: The Bachelor and the Bobby Soxer (1947, Oscar). TV: The Patty Duke Show (1963-66, creator) and I Dream of Jeannie (1965-70, creator).
Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Born February 11, 1909 d. 1993
American Oscar-winning screenwriter, director. Film: A Letter to Three Wives (1949, Oscar) and All About Eve (1950, Oscar). He coined the phrases "my little chickadee" for W.C. Fields and "Fasten your seat belts. It's going to be a bumpy night!" for Bette Davis.
1921 American Polo Team - Hitchcock second from left
1921 American Polo Team - Hitchcock second from left
Tommy Hitchcock, Jr.
Born February 11, 1900 d. 1944
American polo player, the greatest in the history of the sport. He received a 10-goal rating (the highest possible) for 18 of the 19 seasons he played (1922-40). He was instrumental in developing the P-51 Mustang for World War II, which he died in during a test flight crash.
F. Scott Fitzgerald's character Tom Buchanan in The Great Gatsby is based on Hitchcock.
Jimmy Ryan (James Edward Ryan)
Born February 11, 1863 d. 1923
American baseball player. He was the first major league baseball player to punch a sports writer (George Bechel, 1892). Ryan is the only major league player to pitch and hit for the cycle (one batter hitting a single, a double, a triple, and a home run) in the same game (1888).
Last Surviving Union Soldier
Albert Woolson
Born February 11, 1850 d. 1956
American Civil War soldier. He was last surviving member of the Union Army. He served as a drummer (1864-65); however, his company never saw action. His father had been killed in the Civil War prior to his enlisting.
Lydia Maria Francis Child
Born February 11, 1802 d. 1880
American abolitionist. She published the National Anti-Slavery Standard (1840-44).
Gregory XIV (Niccolò Sfondrato)
Born February 11, 1535 d. 1591
religious leader, 229th Pope (1590-91).
Deaths
Whitney Houston
Died February 11, 2012 b. 1963
American singer. According to Guinness World Records she is the most awarded female act of all time. She was found unresponsive in her hotel bathtub and died shortly thereafter. The coroner ruled the death was caused by drowning and the "effects of atherosclerotic heart disease and cocaine use". Music: I Wanna Dance With Somebody (1987) and Where Do Broken Hearts Go (1988, her 7th consecutive #1 American hit).
Author of Jaws
Peter Bradford Benchley
Died February 11, 2006 b. 1940
American author, journalist. Writings: Jaws (1974). In the 1975 film version of Jaws, Benchley made a cameo appearance as a news reporter on the beach. Reduced beach attendance in 1975 was attributed to this movie.
I Think, Therefore I Am
Rene Descartes
Died February 11, 1650 b. 1596
French scientist, philosopher, "Father of Modern Philosophy." He is remembered for his famous proposition "I think, therefore I am" (Latin: Cogito, ergo sum).
Vic Damone (Vito Farinola)
Died February 11, 2018 b. 1928
American singer. Music: You're Breaking My Heart (1949, #1) and On The Street Where You Live (1956 from My Fair Lady).
Roger Vadim (Roger Vadim Plemiannikov)
Died February 11, 2000 b. 1928
French director. Film: And God Created Woman (1956, which featured his young bride, Brigitte Bardot, in the nude) and Barbarella (1968).
William Conrad
Died February 11, 1994 b. 1920
American actor. Radio: Gunsmoke (Matt Dillon). TV: The Fugitive (narrator), The Bullwinkle Show (narrator), Cannon (title role), and Jake and the Fatman (the Fatman).
Sorrell Booke as Boss Hogg
Sorrell Booke as Boss Hogg
Sorrell Booke
Died February 11, 1994 b. 1930
American actor. TV: Dukes of Hazzard (1979-85, Jefferson Davis "Boss" Hogg).
Frank Patrick Herbert
Died February 11, 1986 b. 1920
American science-fiction author. Writings: Dune (1965).
Lee J. Cobb
Died February 11, 1976 b. 1911
American actor. TV: The Virginian (Judge Garth). He is famous for his portrayal of Willy Loman in stage and TV productions of Death of a Salesman.
Sergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein
Died February 11, 1948 b. 1898
Russian film director. One of the greatest directors of his time, he developed the montage style of editing.
Sir Charles Parsons
Died February 11, 1931 b. 1854
British engineer. Parsons invented the modern steam turbine (1884), making turbines practical. In 1897, he built a turbine-powered ship capable 34½ knots.
Jean Bernard Léon Foucault
Died February 11, 1868 b. 1819
French physicist. One of the first to measure the speed of light (1850), demonstrated the rotation of the Earth with a pendulum (1851), and invented the gyroscope (1852).
Saint Paschal I
Died February 11, 824 b. ????
Italian religious leader, 98th Pope (817-824). In 823, Paschal crowned and anointed Lothair I as King of Italy, which set the precedent for the pope's right to crown kings.
Saint Gregory II
Died February 11, 731 b. ????
Italian religious leader, 89th Pope (715-731).