This Day In History : January 11

1996 United States

Space Shuttle STS 72 (Endeavour 10) launched

The STS-72 mission, aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour, launched on January 11, 1996 at 4:41 AM EST from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This mission aimed to capture and return to Earth a Japanese microgravity research spacecraft known as the Space Flyer Unit (SFU).

Also on This Day in History January 11

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

Births on This Day, January 11
  • 1895 Laurens Hammond

    American engineer who invented the Hammond organ

  • 1906 Albert Hofmann

    Swiss chemist who first synthesized and ingested LSD

  • 1849 Oskar Lassar

    German dermatologist (electrophysical therapy)

  • 1889 Calvin Bridges

    American geneticist

  • 1815 John A. Macdonald

    Canadian politician (1st Prime Minister of Canada 1867-73, 1878-91)

Deaths on This Day, January 11
  • 2008 Sir Edmund Hillary

    New Zealand mountaineer, who was the first to climb Mt Everest in 1953

  • 1988 Isidor Isaac Rabi

    Austrian-American physicist who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1944 for his discovery of nuclear magnetic resonance

  • 1874 Gail Borden

    American manufacturer and inventor of condensed milk

  • 1882 Theodor Schwann

    German physician, physiologist, co-originator of cell theory(Schwann cells, pepsin, metabolism)

  • 1988 Florence Knapp

    American who was one-time oldest person in the world

1787

William Herschel Discovers First Two Moons of Uranus

On January 11, 1787, German astronomer William Herschel discovered the first two moons of Uranus, Titania and Oberon. This discovery came six years after he had initially identified Uranus as a new planet in the solar system. Herschel's findings significantly expanded our understanding of the celestial bodies orbiting Uranus.
1922

First Use of Insulin to Treat Diabetes in a Human Patient

On January 11, 1922, insulin was used for the first time to treat diabetes in a human patient. Dr. Frederick Banting and his team administered the groundbreaking treatment to Leonard Thompson, a 14-year-old boy suffering from severe diabetes, at Toronto General Hospital in Canada. This milestone marked a significant advancement in medical history and provided a lifesaving treatment for millions of people with diabetes.
1964

U.S. Surgeon General Announces Landmark Study on Smoking Health Effects

On January 11, 1964, U.S. Surgeon General Luther Terry announced the results of a comprehensive study on the health effects of smoking. Ordered by President Kennedy in 1962, the report provided conclusive evidence linking smoking to lung cancer and other serious diseases, leading to significant public health measures and anti-smoking campaigns.
1954

First UK TV Weather Broadcast

The first televised weather forecast in the United Kingdom was broadcast on January 11, 1954, by the BBC. The pioneering broadcast marked the beginning of regular weather updates on television, providing viewers with essential meteorological information directly in their homes.
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