April 11 in History

April 11 in Pop Culture History

April 11th is…
Barbershop Quartet Day
Cheese Fondue Day
Eight-Track Day
Library Worker’s Day
Louie Louie Day
Parkinson’s Disease Day
National Pet Day
Ranch Water Day
National Submarine Day (also March 17)

1876 – The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks was organized in New York City.

1876 – The steno-type was patented (#175,892) by John C. Zachos of New York City

1909 – The city of Tel Aviv was founded.

1919 – The International Labor Organization(IOL) was founded.

1945 – The American Third Army liberated the Buchenwald concentration camp near Weimar, Germany.

1954 – The Most Boring Day ever? According to a computer program tracking news, today was the most boring day in history. The most noteworthy events of that day included a general election in Belgium and the birth of a Turkish academic.

1957 – The Ryan X-13 Vertijet became the first jet to take off and land vertically at Edwards Air Force Base, California.

1963 – Pope John XXIII issues Pacem in Terris (Peace on Earth) – the first encyclical addressed to all instead of to Catholics alone.

1964 (Tornado) Bhabanipur, Bangladesh

1970 – #1 Hit April 11, 1970 – April 24, 1970: The Beatles – Let It Be

1970 – Apollo 13 was successfully launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, carrying astronauts James A. Lovell, John L. Swigert, and Fred W. Haise. The difficult trip back home was the topic of the film Apollo 13.

1976 – The Apple Computer 1 (Apple I) was created. They were initially all hand-built by Steve Wozniak.

1981 – #1 Hit April 11, 1981 – May 1, 1981: Daryl Hall and John Oates – Kiss on My List

1981 – Van Halen’s lead guitarist Eddie Van Halen married One Day at a Time actress Valerie Bertinelli

1988 – Cher (Cherilyn Sarkisian) won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in 1987’s Moonstruck.

1989 – The Philadelphia Flyers’ Ron Hextall becomes the first goaltender in NHL history to score a goal in the playoffs.

1997 – Anaconda and Grosse Point Blank were released in theaters.

1999 – Miss Saigon (Broadway Musical) Opened on April 11, 1991, and closed on January 28, 2001

2001 – Joe DirtKingdom Come, and Josie and the Pussycats debuted in theaters.

2006 – Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced that Iran had successfully enriched uranium.

2009 – #1 Hit April 11, 2009 – April 17, 2009: Lady Gaga – Poker Face

2013 – Matilda the Musical (Broadway Musical) Opened on April 11, 2013, and closed on January 1, 2017

2014 – Rio 2Draft Day, and Oculus were released in theaters.