| 991 | | Danes under Olaf Tryggvason kill Ealdorman Brihtnoth and defeat the Saxons at Maldon. |
| 1492 | | Rodrigo Borgia is elected to the papacy as Pope Alexander VI. |
| 1792 | | A revolutionary commune is formed in Paris, France. |
| 1856 | | A band of rampaging settlers in California kill four Yokut Indians. The settlers had heard unproven rumors of Yokut atrocities. |
| 1862 | | President Abraham Lincoln appoints Union General Henry Halleck to the position of general in chief of the Union Army. |
| 1904 | | German General Lothar von Trotha defeats the Hereros tribe near Waterberg, South Africa. |
| 1906 | | In France, Eugene Lauste receives the first patent for a talking film. |
| 1908 | | Britain’s King Edward VII meets with Kaiser Wilhelm II to protest the growth of the German navy. |
| 1912 | | Moroccan Sultan Mulai Hafid abdicates his throne in the face of internal dissent. |
| 1916 | | The Russia army takes Stanislau, Poland, from the Germans. |
| 1929 | | Babe Ruth hits his 500th major league home run against the Cleveland Indians. |
| 1941 | | Soviet bombers raid Berlin but cause little damage. |
| 1942 | | The German submarine U-73 attacks a Malta-bound British convoy and sinks HMS Eagle, one of the world’s first aircraft carriers. |
| 1944 | | German troops abandon Florence, Italy, as Allied troops close in on the historic city. |
| 1965 | | A small clash between the California Highway Patrol and two black youths sets off six days of rioting in the Watts area of Los Angeles. |
| 1972 | | The last U.S. ground forces withdraw from Vietnam. |
| 1975 | | US vetoes admission of North and South Vietnam to UN. |
| 1978 | | Funeral of Pope Paul VI. |
| 1984 | | Carl Lewis wins four OlympicGOLD medals, tying the record Jesse Owens set in 1936. |
| 1988 | | Al Qaeda formed at a meeting in Peshawar, Pakistan. |
| 1989 | | Voyager 2 discovers two partial rings around Neptune. |
| 1990 | | Troops from Egypt and Morocco arrive in Saudi Arabia as part of the international operation to prevent Iraq from invading. |
| 1999 | | A tornado in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah, kills one person. |
| 2003 | | Temperatures rise to 112 degrees Fahrenheit (44 degrees Celsius); over 140 people die in the heat wave. |
| 2003 | | NATO assumes command of the international peacekeeping force in Afghanistan, its first major operation outside Europe. |
Born on August 11
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| 1833 | | Robert G. Ingersoll, advocate of scientific realism and humanistic philosophy. |
| 1862 | | Carrie James Bond, songwriter who wrote "I Love You Truly" and "A Perfect Day." |
| 1861 | | James Bryan Herrick, physician who first described sickle-cell anemia. |
| 1892 | | Hugh MacDiarmid, poet and founder of the Scottish Nationalist Party. |
| 1921 | | Alex Haley, genealogist and author of Roots. |
| 1933 | | Jerry Falwell, founder of the conservative political lobbying organisation, the Moral Majority. |
| 1943 | | Kenny Gamble, songwriter, record producer; a pioneer of the "Philadelphia Sound" ("Ain’t Gonna Love Nobody," "Me and Mrs. Jones"). |
| 1946 | | Marilyn Vos Savant, author, columnist, playwright; "Highest IQ (Women)" Guinness Book of World Records, 1986-1989 (category retired in 1990). |
| 1950 | | Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple Computer. |
| 1950 | | Gennidy Nikonov, inventor of AN-94 assault rifle. |
| 1953 | | Hulk Hogan, wrestler, actor (Assault on Devil’s Island); World Wrestling Federation heavyweight champion, 1984-89.
Please Note In Your Copy. I will Take Quiz Later. |