March 11 is the 70th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 295 days remain until the end of the year.
We have some interesting facts & historic events all about March 11th, including areas in religion, crime, health and more.
Keep reading for more interesting facts about March 11th in history!
Table of Contents
Global Celebrations
- World Plumbing Day.
- National Oatmeal Nuts Waffles Day
- National Middle Name Pride Day
- National Day of Unplugging
Historic Events
What Happened On This Day – March 11
2011: The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster strikes Japan
The nuclear meltdowns occurred after a 9.0 magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami. It was the worst nuclear accident since the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.
2004: 191 people die as several bombs explode on Madrid commuter trains
The bombings were conducted by an Islamist terrorist cell and came 3 days before Spain’s general elections.
1990: Lithuania becomes the first Soviet republic to declare its independence
The Baltic country’s secession marked an important step in the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
1990: Patricio Aylwin becomes Chile’s first democratically elected president since the end of Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship
Pinochet had been in power since a CIA-backed coup d’état in 1973. Under his command, thousands of political opponents were interned, tortured, and killed.
1851: Giuseppe Verdi’s opera, Rigoletto, receives its premiere
Rigoletto is one of the most popular operas of all time. The piece was premiered at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice, Italy.
2020: COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by the head of the World Health Organization in 2020!
1944: A curious Italian woman inspects the kilt of a Scottish soldier near the Coliseum after the liberation of Rome, in 1944

1936: The rarely seen back of the Hoover Dam before it filled with water in 1936

1933: The last living thylacine in captivity yawns at the Hobart Zoo, Tasmania, 1933

1918: Moscow becomes capital of revolutionary Russia in 1918!
1918: Indian soldiers In Mesopotamia, 1918, during World War I
As other soldiers run for the cover of slit trenches, an Indian Lewis gun team engage an enemy aircraft. [Colorized]

1702: 1st English daily newspaper ‘Daily Courant’ was published in 1702!
Famous Birthdays
Births On This Day, March 11
1978: Didier Drogba, Ivorian footballer
1952: Douglas Adams, English/American author, playwright
1950: Bobby McFerrin, American singer-songwriter, producer, conductor
1931: Rupert Murdoch, Australian/American businessman, founded News Corporation
1916: Harold Wilson, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Anthony Davis was born.
Terrence Howard was born.
Bobby McFerrin was born.
Heartbreaking Deaths
Deaths On This Day, March 11
2006: Slobodan Milošević, Serbian politician, 3rd President of Serbia, Montenegro
1971: Philo Farnsworth, American inventor, invented the Fusor
1955: Alexander Fleming, Scottish scientist, Nobel Prize laureate
1898: William Rosecrans, American general, diplomat
1874: Charles Sumner, American politician
Alexander Fleming died.
Ole kirk Christen died.
Whitney Young died.