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

November 11

Discover what happened on November 11 with HISTORY&#8217;s summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.

What Happened on November 11 | HISTORY

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World War I ended in 1918, when Germany signed an armistice agreement with the victorious Allies. The war had cost the lives of more than 9 million combatants plus millions of civilians. Meanwhile, an even more deadly threat emerged: the influenza pandemic, which would take another 50 million lives worldwide. Bolshevik revolutionaries executed the Romanov family, ending 300 years of Russian imperial rule. On the U.S. homefront, Congress enacted daylight savings time, only to repeal it the following year.

1918

As Europe struggled to recover from WWI, two major figures of the next war ascended. In Germany, Adolph Hitler became leader of the Nazi Party, while Benito Mussolini was elected to Italy’s parliament, soon becoming prime minister and then, dictator. In America, the Tulsa Race Massacre took hundreds of Black lives, an atrocity largely covered up for decades. Meanwhile, Black culture began flourishing in the Harlem Renaissance, and Pittsburgh’s KDKA broadcast the first live sporting event on radio: a boxing match.

1921

1831

1988

1973

1864

1978

1778

In 1942, the U.S. Navy defeated the Japanese Navy in the Battle of Midway, a turning point of the war in the Pacific, while in Germany, Nazi officials met to plan the “Final Solution” and Anne Frank’s family went into hiding. As FDR ordered Japanese Americans into wartime incarceration camps, false reports of a Japanese attack set California skies ablaze with anti-aircraft fire in the “Battle of Los Angeles.” Americans supported the war effort with scrap drives and victory gardens.

1942

America’s Founding Fathers decided that one elected civilian—the U.S. president—would lead the executive branch of the federal government, a governmental structure that has remained in place for more than 200 years.

U.S. Presidents

World War I pitted Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire against Great Britain, the United States, France, Russia, Italy and Japan. New military technology resulted in unprecedented carnage. By the time the war was over and the Allied Powers claimed victory, more than 16 million people—soldiers and civilians alike—were dead.

World War I

Slavery was widely practiced throughout the ancient world, and in the American colonies in the 17th and 18th centuries, which helped propel the United States into the Civil War.

Slavery

Crime has been a dark and powerful undercurrent in human society throughout history. Uncover the facts behind some of the most daring robberies, brazen scams and brutal murders ever committed.

Crime

The Civil War was America's bloodiest and most divisive conflict, pitting the Union Army against the Confederate States of America. The war resulted in the deaths of more than 620,000 people, with millions more injured and the South left in ruins.

Civil War

Sports and recreation are an integral part of human history, from the ancient Olympics to the Kentucky Derby, Jackie Robinson, Negro League Baseball, the Super Bowl and more.

Sports

The Revolutionary War waged by the American colonies against Britain influenced political ideas and revolutions around the globe, as a small fledgling nation won its freedom from the greatest military force of its time.

American Revolution

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History.com Editors

Art history tells the complex story of human civilization through art, literature and design. It ranges from prehistoric art of the Neolithic period through Renaissance masterpieces, Impressionism, Modernism, the Bauhaus and contemporary art.

Art, Literature and Film History

World War II was the biggest and deadliest war in history, involving more than 30 countries. Sparked by the 1939 Nazi invasion of Poland, the war dragged on for six bloody years until the Allies defeated the Axis powers of Nazi Germany, Japan and Italy in 1945. Explore the battles, leaders and atrocities from the war and its impact on geopolitics and humankind.

This Day In History: November 11

Armistice Day: World War I ends

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Dedication of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Nat Turner executed in Virginia

Police make a grisly discovery in Dorothea Puente’s lawn

Soviet Union refuses to play Chile in World Cup Soccer

The destruction of Atlanta begins

‘The Dukes of Hazzard’ makes TV history with a car jump

Poor leadership leads to Cherry Valley Massacre

Germans take Vichy France

Draft age is lowered to 18

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