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308 - The Congress of Carnuntum: Attempting to keep peace within the Roman Empire, the leaders of the Tetrarchy declare Maxentius and Licinius to be Augusti, while rival contender Constantine I is declared Caesar of Britain and Gaul

1215 - The Fourth Lateran Council meets, adopting the doctrine of transubstantiation, meaning that bread and wine are transformed into the body and blood of Christ.

1500 - Treaty of Granada - Louis XII of France and Ferdinand II of Aragon agree to divide the Kingdom of Naples between them.

1620 - In what is now Provincetown Harbor near Cape Cod, the Mayflower Compact is signed on the Mayflower, establishing the basic laws for the Plymouth Colony.

1634 - Following pressure from Anglican bishop John Atherton, the Irish House of Commons passes "An Act for the Punishment for the Vice of Buggery" (anal sex).

1675 - Gottfried Leibniz demonstrated integral calculus for the first time to find the area under the graph of y = f(x) function.

1675 - Guru Gobind Singh becomes the Tenth Guru of the Sikhs.

1831 - In Jerusalem, Virginia, Nat Turner is hanged after inciting a violent slave uprising.

1833 - Former United States President John Quincy Adams is first chief executive involved in a railroad accident when the Camden & Amboy train he is riding derails due to a broken axle caused by an overheated journal box in the meadows near Hightstown, New Jersey. He is uninjured and continues his trip onto Washington, D.C. the following day.

1834 - Hans Christian Andersen's The Ugly Duckling was first published.

1839 - The Virginia Military Institute is founded in Lexington, Virginia.

1864 - American Civil War: Sherman's March to the Sea - Union General William Tecumseh Sherman begins burning Atlanta, Georgia to the ground in preparation for his march south.

1865 - Treaty of Sinchula is signed in which Bhutan ceded the areas east of the Teesta River to the British East India Company.

1880 - Australian Bushranger Ned Kelly is hanged at Melbourne Gaol.

1887 - Anarchist Haymarket Martyrs August Spies, Albert Parsons, Adolph Fischer and George Engel are executed.

1887 - Construction of the Manchester Ship Canal starts at Eastham.

1889 - Washington is admitted as the 42nd U.S. state.

1911 - Many cities in the U.S. midwest broke their record highs and lows on the same day as a strong cold front rolls through. (see The 11/11/11 cold wave).

1918 - World War I ends: Germany signs an armistice agreement with the Allies in a railroad car outside of Compiègne in France. The war officially stops at 11:00.

1918 - Józef Piłsudski comes to Warsaw and assumes supreme military power in Poland. Poland regains its independence.

1918 - Emperor Charles I of Austria abdicates.

1919 - The Centralia Massacre in Centralia, Washington results the deaths of four members of the American Legion and the lynching of a local leader of the IWW.

1921 - The Tomb of the Unknowns is dedicated by US President Warren G. Harding at Arlington National Cemetery.

1926 - U.S. Route 66 is established.

1930 - Patent number US1781541 was awarded to Albert Einstein and Leó Szilárd for their invention, the Einstein refrigerator.

1933 - Dust Bowl: In South Dakota, a very strong dust storm strips topsoil from desiccated farmlands.

1940 - World War II: Battle of Taranto - The Royal Navy launches the first aircraft carrier strike in history, on the Italian fleet at Taranto.

1940 - The German cruiser Atlantis captures top secret British mail, and sends it to Japan.

1940 - Armistice Day Blizzard: An unexpected blizzard kills 144 in U.S. Midwest.

1962 - Kuwait's National Assembly ratifies the Constitution of Kuwait.

1965 - Rhodesia (now called Zimbabwe) was declared independent by the white minority regime of Ian Smith.

1966 - NASA launches spaceship Gemini 12.

1967 - Vietnam War: In a propaganda ceremony in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, three American prisoners of war are released by the Viet Cong and turned over to "new left" antiwar activist Tom Hayden.

1968 - Vietnam War: Operation Commando Hunt initiated. The goal was to interdict men and supplies on the Ho Chi Minh Trail, through Laos into South Vietnam.

1968 - A second republic is declared in the Maldives.

1972 - Vietnam War: Vietnamization - The United States Army turns over the massive Long Binh military base to South Vietnam.

1975 - Australian constitutional crisis of 1975: Australian Governor-General Sir John Kerr dismisses the government of Gough Whitlam and commissions Malcolm Fraser as caretaker Prime Minister, and announces a general election to be held in early December.

1992 - The Church of England votes to allow women to become priests.

1999 - A six-storey apartment block collapses in Foggia, Italy, killing 62.

2000 - In Kaprun, Austria, 155 skiers and snowboarders die when a cable car catches fire in an alpine tunnel.

2004 - New Zealand Tomb of the Unknown Warrior dedicated at the National War Memorial, Wellington

2004 - Yasser Arafat is confirmed dead by the Palestine Liberation Organization, of unidentified causes. Mahmoud Abbas is elected chairman of the PLO minutes later.

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1050 - Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1106)

1154 - King Sancho I of Portugal (d. 1212)

1155 - King Alfonso VIII of Castile (d. 1214)

1220 - Alphonse of Toulouse, son of Louis VIII of France (d. 1271)

1493 - Paracelsus, doctor (d. 1541)

1493 - Bernardo Tasso, Italian poet (d. 1569)

1599 - Prince Octavio Piccolomini, Duke of Amalfi, Austrian field marshal (d. 1656)

1633 - George Savile, 1st Marquess of Halifax, British statesman (d. 1695)

1668 - Johann Albert Fabricius, German classical scholar and bibliographer (d. 1736)

1743 - Carl Peter Thunberg, Swedish naturalist (d. 1828)

1744 - Abigail Adams, First Lady of the United States (d. 1818)

1748 - King Charles IV of Spain (d. 1819)

1764 - Barbara Juliana, Baroness von Krüdener, Russian writer (d. 1824)

1791 - Josef Munzinger, Swiss Federal Councillor (d. 1855)

1792 - Mary Anne Evans, English wife of Benjamin Disraeli (d. 1872)

1821 - Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Russian novelist (d. 1881)

1828 - Sri Deep Narayan Mahaprabhuji, Hindu saint (d. 1963)

1836 - Thomas Bailey Aldrich, American poet and novelist (d. 1907)

1852 - Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf, Austro-Hungarian field marshal (d. 1925)

1858 - Marie Bashkirtseff, Russian painter (d. 1884)

1863 - Paul Signac, French painter (d. 1935)

1864 - Alfred Hermann Fried, Austrian pacifist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1921)

1869 - King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy (d. 1947)

1882 - King Gustav VI Adolf of Sweden (d. 1973)

1883 - Ernest Ansermet, Swiss conductor (d. 1969)

1885 - George Smith Patton, Jr., American general (d. 1945)

1887 - Roland Young, American actor (d. 1953)

1891 - Rabbit Maranville, baseball player (d. 1954)

1898 - Rene Clair, French film director (d. 1981)

1899 - Pat O'Brien, American film actor (d. 1983)

1900 - Halina Konopacka, Polish athlete (d. 1989)

1901 - F. Van Wyck Mason, American author (d. 1978)

1903 - Sam Spiegel, Austrian-born film producer (d. 1985)

1904 - Alger Hiss, American government official and spy (d. 1994)

1904 - J. H. C. Whitehead, British mathematician (d. 1960)

1909 - Robert Ryan, American actor (d. 1973)

1912 - Thomas C. Mann, American diplomat (d. 1999)

1914 - Howard Fast, American author (d. 2003)

1914 - Henry Wade, American lawyer (d. 2001)

1915 - William Proxmire, U.S. Senator (d. 2005)

1918 - Stubby Kaye, American comic actor (d. 1997)

1919 - Kalle Päätalo, Finnish novelist (d. 2000)

1920 - Roy Jenkins, British politician (d. 2003)

1921 - Terrell Bell, American politician

1922 - Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., American novelist

1925 - June Whitfield, British comedienne

1925 - Jonathan Winters, American comedian and actor

1926 - Harry Lumley, National Hockey League goaltender (d. 1998)

1928 - Carlos Fuentes, Mexican writer

1929 - Hans Magnus Enzensberger, German writer

1929 - LaVern Baker, American singer (d. 1997)

1937 - Stephen Lewis, Canadian politician and diplomat

1938 - Ants Antson, Estonian speed skater

1938 - Haruhiro Yamashita, Japanese gymnast

1939 - Denise Alexander, American actress

1940 - Barbara Boxer, U.S. Senator

1943 - Doug Frost, Australian swimming coach

1944 - Jesse Colin Young, American musician (The Youngbloods)

1945 - Daniel Ortega, President of Nicaragua

1945 - Chris Dreja, British guitarist and bassist (The Yardbirds)

1945 - Vince Martell, American guitarist (Vanilla Fudge)

1950 - Mircea Dinescu, Romanian poet

1950 - Jim Peterik, American musician and songwriter (Survivor)

1951 - Kim Peek, American megasavant

1951 - Marc Summers, American game show host

1953 - Marshall Crenshaw, American musician

1959 - Lee Haney, American bodybuilder

1960 - Peter Parros, American actor

1960 - Stanley Tucci, American actor and film director

1961 - Corinne Hermès, French singer

1962 - Demi Moore, American actress

1962 - James Morrison, Australian musician

1964 - Judith Edelman, American musician

1964 - Calista Flockhart, American actress

1966 - Alison Doody, Irish actress

1967 - Gil de Ferran, Brazilian race car driver

1968 - David L Cook, American singer and comedian

1969 - Carson Kressley, American television personality

1970 - Lee Battersby, Australian author

1973 - Jason White, American musician (Green Day)

1974 - Leonardo DiCaprio, American actor

1974 - Wajahatullah Wasti, Pakistani cricketer

1976 - Mike Leon Grosch, German singer

1977 - Ben Hollioake, English cricketer (d. 2002)

1977 - Maniche, Portuguese footballer

1979 - Courtenay Semel, American reality TV star

1980 - Willie Parker, American football player

1981 - Natalie Glebova, Russian-Canadian beauty queen

1981 - Guillaume, Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg

1982 - Brittny Gastineau, American socialite

1983 - Philipp Lahm, German footballer

1983 - Kristal Marshall, American professional wrestler

1985 - Kalan Porter, Canadian singer

1989 - Reina Tanaka, Japanese singer (Morning Musume, Aa!, Elegies)

1995 - Noah Gray-Cabey, American actor

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397 - Martin of Tours, French saint

405 - Arsacius, intruding archbishop of Constantinople

537 - Pope Silverius, saint

1028 - Constantine VIII of the Byzantine Empire (b. 960)

1623 - Philippe de Mornay, French writer (b. 1549)

1638 - Cornelis Corneliszoon van Haarlem, Dutch painter (b. 1562)

1686 - Louis II de Bourbon, Prince de Condé, French general (b. 1621)

1686 - Otto von Guericke, German scientist, inventor, and politician (b. 1602)

1812 - Platon Levshin, Metropoitan of Moscow (b. 1737)

1831 - Nat Turner, American slave rebel (b. 1800)

1855 - Søren Kierkegaard, Danish philosopher (b. 1813)

1862 - James Madison Porter, American politician (b. 1793)

1880 - Ned Kelly, Australian bushranger (hanged)

1880 - Lucretia Mott, American feminist and abolitionist (b. 1793)

1884 - Alfred Brehm German zoologist (b. 1827)

1887 - Haymarket defendants:

- George Engel (b. 1836)

- Adolph Fischer (b. 1858)

- Albert Parsons (b. 1848)

- August Spies (b. 1855)

1917 - Liliuokalani of Hawaii, Queen of Hawaii (b. 1838)

1918 - George Lawrence Price, Canadian soldier, last person to be killed in W.W.I.

1931 - Shibusawa Eiichi, Japanese industrialist (b. 1840)

1938 - Typhoid Mary, carrier of the typhoid disease (b. 1869)

1939 - Jan Opletal, czech student, victim of nazi violence in Prague

1945 - Jerome Kern, American composer (b. 1885)

1972 - Berry Oakley, Bass Player and founder, Allman Brothers Band (b. 1948)

1973 - David "Stringbean" Akeman, American banjo player (b. 1915)

1973 - Artturi Ilmari Virtanen, Finnish chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1895)

1974 - Alfonso Leng, Chilean composer (b. 1894)

1976 - Alexander Calder, American artist (b. 1898)

1977 - Greta Keller, Vienna-born cabaret singer and actress (b. 1903)

1979 - Dimitri Tiomkin, Ukrainian-born composer (b. 1894)

1988 - William Ifor Jones, Welsh Conductor & Organist (b. 1900)

1993 - Erskine Hawkins, American trumpet player and big band leader (b. 1914)

1997 - Rodney Milburn, American athlete (b. 1950)

1999 - Mary Kay Bergman, American voice actress (b. 1961)

1999 - Jacobo Timmerman, Argentine writer and journalist (b. 1923)

2004 - Yasser Arafat, Palestinian leader, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1929)

2004 - Richard Dembo, French director and screenwriter (b. 1948)

2005 - Lord Lichfield, British photographer

2005 - Peter Drucker, American management theorist (b. 1909)

2005 - Moustapha Akkad, Syrian-American film producer and director. (b. 1930)

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Corduroy Appreciation Day (11|11 is the date which most closely resembles corduroy)

R.C. Saints - Martin of Tours

Opening of carnival season in Germany ("Karneval"/"Fasching" on 11-11, at 11:11), the Netherlands, and other countries

Also see November 11 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

Angola - Independence Day (1975)

Colombia - Independence of Cartagena, from the Spanish Army in (1918)

Poland - Independence Day (1918)

South Korea - Pepero Day

United States - Veterans Day (Formerly "Armistice Day")

Armistice Day in France and Belgium: end of World War I (1918)

Lacplesis' Day (1919) in Latvia: the official date for commemoration of Latvian soldiers, who had died for the country's freedom.

Remembrance Day in the Commonwealth of Nations, including United Kingdom, Australia and Canada.