Discover what happened on April 11 with HISTORY's summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.

April 11

Discover what happened on April 11 with HISTORY&#8217;s summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.

What Happened on April 11 | HISTORY

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1814

This Day In History: The U.S. army liberates Buchenwald concentration camp, April 11, 1945

As Europe struggled to recover from WWI, two major figures of the next war ascended. In Germany, Adolph Hitler became leader of the Nazi Party, while Benito Mussolini was elected to Italy’s parliament, soon becoming prime minister and then, dictator. In America, the Tulsa Race Massacre took hundreds of Black lives, an atrocity largely covered up for decades. Meanwhile, Black culture began flourishing in the Harlem Renaissance, and Pittsburgh’s KDKA broadcast the first live sporting event on radio: a boxing match.

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As the Vietnam War expanded into Cambodia, anti-war rallies flared at home; at Kent State University in Ohio, National Guardsmen killed four unarmed student protesters, shocking the nation. Americans held their breath as NASA scrambled to bring Apollo 13 astronauts home safely after their aborted moon mission. Some 20 million people celebrated the first Earth Day, rock icons Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix both died of drug overdoses at age 27, and the Beatles called it quits.

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World War II ended in 1945, after Germany surrendered in May and Japan capitulated in August, days after powerful new atomic bombs exploded over Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Two months later, 29 nations ratified a charter to form the United Nations. Writer George Orwell coined the term “cold war,” predicting icy relations between the U.S. and U.S.S.R., while popular songs like “Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive" and “Sentimental Journey” reflected the stateside mood as some 4 million G.I.s returned home.

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America’s Founding Fathers decided that one elected civilian—the U.S. president—would lead the executive branch of the federal government, a governmental structure that has remained in place for more than 200 years.

U.S. Presidents

The 21st century saw the dawn of the war on terrorism, as the 9/11 attacks and the Boston Marathon bombing dramatically changed society. Economic issues moved to the forefront during the Great Recession. The COVID-19 pandemic upended lives and economies around the world. Awareness of social inequality grew as the killings of Black Americans, including Trayvon Martin and George Floyd, spurred widespread protests.

21st Century

Crime has been a dark and powerful undercurrent in human society throughout history. Uncover the facts behind some of the most daring robberies, brazen scams and brutal murders ever committed.

Crime

Sports and recreation are an integral part of human history, from the ancient Olympics to the Kentucky Derby, Jackie Robinson, Negro League Baseball, the Super Bowl and more.

Sports

Videos

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History.com Editors

Art history tells the complex story of human civilization through art, literature and design. It ranges from prehistoric art of the Neolithic period through Renaissance masterpieces, Impressionism, Modernism, the Bauhaus and contemporary art.

Art, Literature and Film History

World War II was the biggest and deadliest war in history, involving more than 30 countries. Sparked by the 1939 Nazi invasion of Poland, the war dragged on for six bloody years until the Allies defeated the Axis powers of Nazi Germany, Japan and Italy in 1945. Explore the battles, leaders and atrocities from the war and its impact on geopolitics and humankind.

World War II

Space exploration, one of the greatest technological achievements in human history, includes the Apollo missions, the Space Shuttles Columbia and Challenger, and people like Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong.

Space Exploration

Though the 19th century saw the rise of populism, the labor movement and Jacksonian democracy, it also ushered in the Gilded Age, when men like Cornelius Vanderbilt and J. P. Morgan wielded vast control over politics and business.

19th Century

Explore the wars, battles, leaders, civilizations, regimes, prominent figures and major events from the continent that encompasses 2 percent of the Earth’s surface. From Stonehenge to the Great Awakening to the French Revolution to the rise and fall of Communism in Russia, see how Europe’s often tumultuous history unfolded.

European History

Africa is a large and diverse continent that extends from South Africa northward to the Mediterranean Sea. The continent makes up one-fifth of the total land surface of Earth. Widely recognized as the birthplace of humankind, Africa saw the rise of great kingdoms, faced the trans-Atlantic slave trade, colonization and Apartheid.

This Day In History: April 11

Napoleon abdicates the throne and is exiled to Elba

Also on This Day in History April | 11

First live sporting event broadcast on radio

Barack Obama and Raúl Castro meet in Panama

This Day in History Video: What Happened on April 11

Ugandan dictator Idi Amin overthrown

Apollo 13 launches to the moon

Henry Ford marries Clara Jane Bryant

Yugoslavian partisan leader Tito signs “friendship treaty” with Soviet Union

Phil Mickelson wins first major at Masters

President Carter hosts White House Easter egg roll

President McKinley asks for declaration of war against Spain

French Foreign Minister Talleyrand offers to sell Louisiana Territory to U.S.

Bob Dylan plays his first major gig in New York City

Dorothy Parker announces she is resigning as drama critic for “The New Yorker”

Cher wins Best Actress Oscar for “Moonstruck”

Lord Muncaster of Britain is kidnapped in Greece, nearly causing war

President Truman relieves General MacArthur of duties in Korea

The U.S. army liberates Buchenwald concentration camp

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