◆ On this day

August 11

4 sourced moments from August 11 in history: The Maya Long Count calendar's start date (-3114); Hedy Lamarr Patented the Idea Behind Wireless (1942); The Watts riots erupted in Los Angeles (1965), plus 1 more.

‹

›

S 8 S 9 M 10 T 11 W 12 T 13 F 14

4 things happened on August 11

newest first ↓

1999 Space · Solar System

The 1999 total solar eclipse was the 20th century's last

On 11 August 1999 the Moon's shadow ran 14,000 km from the Atlantic to the Bay of Bengal, narrowly missing London, Paris and Vienna.

Read →

1965 Society & Economy · Crime

The Watts riots erupted in Los Angeles

A routine traffic stop in a Black Los Angeles neighborhood ignited six days of unrest that left 34 people dead.

Read →

1942 Technology · Inventions

Hedy Lamarr Patented the Idea Behind Wireless

A 1940s movie star and an avant-garde composer co-invented a radio trick that quietly underpins Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS.

Read →

-3114 Religion & Beliefs · Ancient Beliefs

The Maya Long Count calendar's start date

Maya scribes counted history forward from a single mythic morning of creation in 3114 BCE.

Read →