Today in history: July 11
In 1859, Big Ben, the great bell inside the famous London clock tower, chimed for the first time.
1804: Alexander Hamilton
On July 11, 1804, Vice President Aaron Burr mortally wounded former Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton during a pistol duel in Weehawken, New Jersey. (Hamilton died the next day.)
1859: Big Ben
In 1859, Big Ben, the great bell inside the famous London clock tower, chimed for the first time.
1914: Babe Ruth
In 1914, Babe Ruth made his Major League baseball debut, pitching the Boston Red Sox to a 4-3 victory over Cleveland.
1972: Bobby Fischer
In 1972, the World Chess Championship opened as grandmasters Bobby Fischer of the United States and defending champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union began play in Reykjavik, Iceland. (Fischer won after 21 games.)
1989: Laurence Olivier
In 1989, actor and director Laurence Olivier died in Steyning, West Sussex, England, at age 82.
1995: Srebrenica
In 1995, the U.N.-designated “safe haven” of Srebrenica (sreh-breh-NEET’-sah) in Bosnia-Herzegovina fell to Bosnian Serb forces, who then carried out the killings of more than 8,000 Muslim men and boys.
2012: Mitt Romney
Ten years ago: Unflinching before a skeptical NAACP crowd in Houston, Republican Mitt Romney declared he’d do more for African-Americans than Barack Obama, the nation’s first black president.
2013: George Zimmerman
In 2013, in a potential setback for George Zimmerman, the jury at the neighborhood watch captain's second-degree murder trial in Sanford, Florida, was given the option of convicting him on the lesser charge of manslaughter in the shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. (Zimmerman ended up being acquitted of all charges.)
2018: Papa John's
In 2018, John Schnatter, the founder of Papa John's, resigned as chairman of the board of the pizza chain, and apologized for using a racial slur during a conference call in May.
2021: Richard Branson
One year ago: Billionaire Richard Branson hurtled into space aboard his own winged rocket ship over the New Mexico desert, beating out his rival Jeff Bezos and bringing astro-tourism a step closer to reality.
Here are today's top stories, celebrity birthdays and a look back at this day in history. Get caught up.
Here are today's top stories, celebrity birthdays and a look back at this day in history. Get caught up.
