A birthday on the globe
11 April on the globe: what happened in the world on this day, and who was born
For 11 April, the English Wikipedia lists 63 events and 226 births. 44 of the events stand at their places as rays of light; three more are dashed circles, where the sentence links only to a country or a sea. The taller the ray, the longer ago it happened. The people born that day come further down, as blue points.
A birthday, yours or someone else’s:
Turn it into a greetingScroll: the globe turns to each place
The day you were born, on the globe.
Three things from your day
Scroll: your day first, then 11 April through the years
The Earth on 11 April
The picture on the globe was assembled by NASA from satellite photographs taken in April 2004: the snow, the ice and the green are those of the month.
On 11 April the Sun passes straight overhead at noon along the parallel of 8.5° north. In London, the day lasts about 13 hours 35 minutes.
Beyond 82° north the Sun no longer sets; beyond 82° south it no longer rises.
The line between day and night is tilted on the globe exactly as on this day of the year. On the dark side you can see the lights of towns.
Britain & Ireland · Arbroath Abbey
1951
The Stone of Scone, the stone upon which Scottish monarchs were traditionally crowned, is found on the site of the altar of Arbroath Abbey. It had been taken by Scottish nationalist students from its place in Westminster Abbey.
On the map: Arbroath Abbey.
Also on the day’s list of Wikipedia in Spanish.
Britain & Ireland · Middlesbrough
1990
Customs officers in Middlesbrough, England, seize what they believe to be the barrel of a massive gun on a ship bound for Iraq.
On the map: Middlesbrough.
Europe · St. Thomas Church, Leipzig
1727
Premiere of Johann Sebastian Bach's St Matthew Passion BWV 244b at St. Thomas Church in Leipzig, Electorate of Saxony (now Germany).
On the map: St. Thomas Church, Leipzig.
Europe · Concertgebouw, Amsterdam
1888
The Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, considered one of the world's finest concert halls, was inaugurated.
On the map: Concertgebouw, Amsterdam.
Also on the day’s list of Wikipedia in Romanian.
Europe · Paris Peace Conference
1919
Paris Peace Conference: Woodrow Wilson overturns Japan's Racial Equality Proposal, stating that unanimous support was required.
On the map: the coordinates Wikidata gives for the article “Paris Peace Conference”.
Asia · Tel Aviv
1909
The city of Tel Aviv is founded.
On the map: Tel Aviv.
Also on the day’s list of Wikipedia in Spanish and Chinese.
Oceania · Australia 31–0 American Samoa
2001
The Australia national men's soccer team sets a world record for the largest victory in an international association football match, winning the game 31–0 against American Samoa at the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifiers for OFC. Australia's Archie Thompson also breaks the record for most goals scored by a player in an international match by scoring 13 goals.
On the map: the coordinates Wikidata gives for the article “Australia 31–0 American Samoa”.
Also on the day’s list of Wikipedia in Spanish and Chinese.
Latin America · Brazilian National Congress
1964
Brazilian Marshal Humberto de Alencar Castelo Branco is elected president by the National Congress.
On the map: Brazilian National Congress.
North America · Spelman College
1881
Spelman College is founded in Atlanta, Georgia, as the Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary, an institute of higher education for African-American women.
On the map: Spelman College.
11 April
What the other Wikipedias remember#
For these years the English list has nothing on this day. The events below come from the same day’s lists on Wikipedia in Chinese and were translated for this page.
From Wikipedia in Chinese · Beijing
1905
The Imperial University of Peking holds its first sports meeting.
On the map: Beijing.
Translated from the list on Wikipedia in Chinese.
From Wikipedia in Chinese · Beijing
1991
The Beijing 2000 Olympic Bid Committee is established.
On the map: Beijing.
Translated from the list on Wikipedia in Chinese.
11 April
Born on 11 April#
The English Wikipedia lists 226 births for this day. The blue points are the birthplaces of 59 of these people: those written about in the most Wikipedia editions, where Wikidata gives a place of birth.
Born on 11 April
1953
Andrew Wiles, English mathematician and academic
Place of birth: Cambridge.
Born on 11 April
1981
Alessandra Ambrosio, Brazilian model
Place of birth: Erechim.
Born on 11 April
1825
Ferdinand Lassalle, German philosopher and jurist (died 1864)
Place of birth: Wrocław.
Born on 11 April
1991
Thiago Alcântara, Spanish footballer
Place of birth: San Pietro Vernotico.
Born on 11 April
1996
Dele Alli, English international footballer
Place of birth: Milton Keynes.
Born in Britain and Ireland
1987
Joss Stone, English singer-songwriter and actress
Place of birth: Dover.
Born in Britain and Ireland
1755
James Parkinson, English surgeon, geologist, and paleontologist (died 1824)
Place of birth: Shoreditch.
Born in Britain and Ireland
1966
Lisa Stansfield, English singer-songwriter and actress
Place of birth: Rochdale.
11 April
Number one in the charts that week
At the cinema
An animal recorded that day
The record can be seen in GBIF, which brings together wildlife records from around the world.
All your birthdays
The weather that day
Data: Met Office Hadley Centre (HadCET); NOAA (GHCN-Daily, Mauna Loa).
Above the Earth
Sources: Jonathan McDowell, GCAT (launches); GFZ Potsdam (Kp index). Days are counted in Universal Time.
Football that day
International matches played that day:
Source: the “International football results” dataset kept by Mart Jürisoo (CC0).
Also that day
The earthquake’s page at the USGS
Source: the USGS catalogue. The day is counted in Universal Time (UTC).
In those days
Make a link for someone
Type the name, pick the day and the year of birth. The link opens straight on their day, with their name in the greeting.
The link carries the name, date and place typed here; anyone who gets it can see them.
Put another birthday beside it
Your mother’s, your child’s, a friend’s: the two days appear side by side.
Below: 11 April through the years.
The whole globe of the day
Drag the globe to turn it. Touch a ray or a point to read what happened there.
Everything Wikipedia lists for 11 April
The list is the English Wikipedia’s, in its own wording, as it stood in October 2026. 16 events have no place on the map: the sentence links to no place with coordinates, only to places too wide to mark, or to several countries.
- 491
Flavius Anastasius becomes Byzantine emperor, with the name of Anastasius I.
no place on the mapWikipedia: List of Byzantine emperors - 672
Consecration of Pope Adeodatus II following the death of Pope Vitalian.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Pope Adeodatus II - 1241
Batu Khan defeats Béla IV of Hungary at the Battle of Mohi.
Europe · Battle of MohiWikipedia: Battle of Mohi - 1512
War of the League of Cambrai: Franco-Ferrarese forces led by Gaston de Foix and Alfonso I d'Este win the Battle of Ravenna against the Papal-Spanish forces.
Europe · Battle of RavennaWikipedia: Battle of Ravenna - 1544
Italian War of 1542–46: A French army defeats Habsburg forces at the Battle of Ceresole, but fails to exploit its victory.
Europe · Battle of CeresoleWikipedia: Battle of Ceresole - 1689
William III and Mary II are crowned as joint sovereigns of Great Britain on the same day that the Scottish Parliament concurs with the English decision of 12 February.
no place on the mapWikipedia: William III of England - 1713
France and Great Britain sign the Treaty of Utrecht, bringing an end to the War of the Spanish Succession (Queen Anne's War). Britain accepts Philip V as King of Spain, while Philip renounces any claim to the French throne.
Europe · UtrechtWikipedia: Peace of Utrecht - 1727
Premiere of Johann Sebastian Bach's St Matthew Passion BWV 244b at St. Thomas Church in Leipzig, Electorate of Saxony (now Germany).
Europe · St. Thomas Church, LeipzigWikipedia: Johann Sebastian Bach - 1809
Battle of the Basque Roads: Admiral Lord Gambier fails to support Captain Lord Cochrane, leading to an incomplete British victory over the French fleet.
Europe · Battle of the Basque RoadsWikipedia: Battle of the Basque Roads - 1814
The Treaty of Fontainebleau ends the War of the Sixth Coalition against Napoleon Bonaparte, and forces him to abdicate unconditionally for the first time.
Europe · Palace of FontainebleauWikipedia: Treaty of Fontainebleau - 1856
Second Battle of Rivas: Juan Santamaría burns down the hostel where William Walker's filibusters are holed up.
Latin America · Second Battle of RivasWikipedia: Second Battle of Rivas - 1868
Former shōgun Tokugawa Yoshinobu surrenders Edo Castle to Imperial forces, marking the end of the Tokugawa shogunate.
Asia · Edo CastleWikipedia: Edo Castle - 1871
Funeral of Prince Alexander John of Wales at St Mary Magdalene Church, Sandringham.
Britain & Ireland · St Mary Magdalene Church, SandringhamWikipedia: St Mary Magdalene Church, Sandringham - 1876
The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks is organized.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks - 1881
Spelman College is founded in Atlanta, Georgia, as the Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary, an institute of higher education for African-American women.
North America · Spelman CollegeWikipedia: Spelman College - 1885
Luton Town F.C. is founded.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Luton Town F.C. - 1888
The Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, considered one of the world's finest concert halls, was inaugurated.
Europe · Concertgebouw, AmsterdamWikipedia: Concertgebouw, Amsterdam - 1908
SMS Blücher, the last armored cruiser to be built by the Imperial German Navy, is launched.
no place on the mapWikipedia: SMS Blücher - 1909
The city of Tel Aviv is founded.
Asia · Tel AvivWikipedia: Tel Aviv - 1913
The cricket pavilion at the Nevill Ground was destroyed in an arson attack that was attributed to militant suffragettes as part of a country-wide campaign co-ordinated by the Women's Social and Political Union.
Britain & Ireland · Nevill GroundWikipedia: Nevill Ground - 1919
Paris Peace Conference: Woodrow Wilson overturns Japan's Racial Equality Proposal, stating that unanimous support was required.
Europe · Paris Peace ConferenceWikipedia: Paris Peace Conference - 1921
Emir Abdullah establishes the first centralised government in the newly created British protectorate of Transjordan.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Emir - 1930
Anglo-Indian hunter Jim Corbett shot the second of the man-eating tigers of Chowgarh.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Jim Corbett - 1935
Stresa Front: Opening of the conference between the British Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald, the Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini and the French Minister for Foreign Affairs Pierre Laval to condemn the German violations of the Treaty of Versailles.
Europe · Stresa FrontWikipedia: Stresa Front - 1945
World War II: American forces liberate the Buchenwald concentration camp.
Europe · Buchenwald concentration campWikipedia: World War II - 1951
Korean War: President Truman relieves Douglas MacArthur of the command of American forces in Korea and Japan.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Relief of Douglas MacArthur - 1951
The Stone of Scone, the stone upon which Scottish monarchs were traditionally crowned, is found on the site of the altar of Arbroath Abbey. It had been taken by Scottish nationalist students from its place in Westminster Abbey.
Britain & Ireland · Arbroath AbbeyWikipedia: Stone of Scone - 1952
Bolivian National Revolution: Rebels take over Palacio Quemado.
Latin America · Palacio QuemadoWikipedia: Bolivian National Revolution - 1952
Pan Am Flight 526A ditches near San Juan-Isla Grande Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico, after experiencing an engine failure, killing 52 people.
Latin America · Pan Am Flight 526AWikipedia: Pan Am Flight 526A - 1955
The Air India Kashmir Princess is bombed and crashes in a failed assassination attempt on Zhou Enlai by the Kuomintang.
Oceans · Kashmir PrincessWikipedia: Kashmir Princess - 1957
United Kingdom agrees to Singaporean self-rule.
Asia · SingaporeWikipedia: Singapore - 1961
The trial of Adolf Eichmann begins in Jerusalem.
Asia · JerusalemWikipedia: Adolf Eichmann - 1963
Pope John XXIII issues Pacem in terris, the first encyclical addressed to all Christians instead of only Catholics, and which described the conditions for world peace in human terms.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Pope John XXIII - 1964
Brazilian Marshal Humberto de Alencar Castelo Branco is elected president by the National Congress.
Latin America · Brazilian National CongressWikipedia: Humberto de Alencar Castelo Branco - 1965
The Palm Sunday tornado outbreak of 1965: Fifty-five tornadoes hit in six Midwestern states of the United States, killing 266 people.
North America · Midwestern United StatesWikipedia: 1965 Palm Sunday tornado outbreak - 1968
A failed assassination attempt on Rudi Dutschke, leader of the German student movement, leaves Dutschke suffering from brain damage.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Rudi Dutschke - 1968
US President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1968, prohibiting discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of housing.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Lyndon B. Johnson - 1970
Apollo Program: Apollo 13 is launched.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Apollo program - 1973
On the Art of the Cinema, a treatise on film propaganda in support of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea written by the future North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, was published.
no place on the mapWikipedia: On the Art of the Cinema - 1976
The Apple I is created.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Apple I - 1977
London Transport's Silver Jubilee AEC Routemaster buses are launched.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II - 1979
Ugandan dictator Idi Amin is deposed.
Africa · KampalaWikipedia: Fall of Kampala - 1981
A massive riot in Brixton, south London, results in almost 300 police injuries and 65 serious civilian injuries.
Britain & Ireland · 1981 Brixton riotWikipedia: 1981 Brixton riot - 1982
American-Israeli reservist Alan Harry Goodman carries out a mass shooting at the Dome of the Rock, killing two Palestinians and injuring at least seven others.
Asia · Dome of the RockWikipedia: 1982 Dome of the Rock shooting - 1986
FBI Miami Shootout: A gun battle in broad daylight in Dade County, Florida, between two bank/armored car robbers and pursuing FBI agents. During the firefight, FBI agents Jerry L. Dove and Benjamin P. Grogan are killed, while five other agents are wounded. As a result, the popular .40 S&W cartridge was developed.
North America · 1986 FBI Miami shootoutWikipedia: 1986 FBI Miami shootout - 1987
The London Agreement is secretly signed between Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister Shimon Peres and King Hussein of Jordan.
Asia · IsraelWikipedia: Israel - 1990
Customs officers in Middlesbrough, England, seize what they believe to be the barrel of a massive gun on a ship bound for Iraq.
Britain & Ireland · MiddlesbroughWikipedia: Middlesbrough - 1993
Four hundred fifty prisoners riot at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville, Ohio, and would continue to do so for ten days, citing grievances related to prison conditions, as well as the forced vaccination of Nation of Islam prisoners (for tuberculosis) against their religious beliefs.
North America · Southern Ohio Correctional FacilityWikipedia: Prison riot - 1993
Guillem Agulló, pro-Catalan independence and anti-fascist Valencian young activist, is assassinated by a group of Spanish nationalists and neo-nazis in Montanejos.
Europe · Assassination of Guillem AgullóWikipedia: Assassination of Guillem Agulló - 1996
While attempting to set a record as the youngest person to pilot an airplane across the United States, the aircraft flown by seven-year-old Jessica Dubroff crashed in Cheyenne, Wyoming, killing her and two others.
North America · Cheyenne, WyomingWikipedia: Jessica Dubroff - 2001
The Australia national men's soccer team sets a world record for the largest victory in an international association football match, winning the game 31–0 against American Samoa at the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifiers for OFC. Australia's Archie Thompson also breaks the record for most goals scored by a player in an international match by scoring 13 goals.
Oceania · Australia 31–0 American SamoaWikipedia: Australia 31–0 American Samoa - 2001
The detained crew of a United States EP-3E aircraft that landed in Hainan, China, after a collision with a J-8 fighter, is released.
Asia · Hainan Island incidentWikipedia: Hainan Island incident - 2002
Over two hundred thousand people march in Caracas towards the presidential palace to demand the resignation of President Hugo Chávez. Nineteen protesters are killed.
Latin America · CaracasWikipedia: 2002 Venezuelan coup attempt - 2002
The Ghriba synagogue bombing by al-Qaeda kills 21 in Tunisia.
Africa · Ghriba synagogue bombingWikipedia: Ghriba synagogue bombing - 2006
Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announces Iran's claim to have successfully enriched uranium.
Asia · IranWikipedia: President of Iran - 2007
Algiers bombings: Two bombings in Algiers kill 33 people and wound a further 222 others.
Africa · 2007 Algiers Government Palace bombingsWikipedia: 2007 Algiers Government Palace bombings - 2008
Kata Air Transport Flight 007 crashes while attempting an emergency landing at Chișinău International Airport, killing eight.
Europe · Kata Air Transport Flight 007Wikipedia: Kata Air Transport Flight 007 - 2011
An explosion in the Minsk Metro, Belarus, kills 15 people and injures 204 others.
Europe · 2011 Minsk Metro bombingWikipedia: 2011 Minsk Metro bombing - 2012
A pair of great earthquakes occur in the Wharton Basin west of Sumatra in Indonesia. The maximum Mercalli intensity of this strike-slip doublet earthquake is VII (Very strong). Ten are killed, twelve are injured, and a non-destructive tsunami is observed on the island of Nias.
Oceans · 2012 Indian Ocean earthquakesWikipedia: 2012 Indian Ocean earthquakes - 2017
The tour bus of the German football team Borussia Dortmund is attacked with roadside bombs in Dortmund, Germany. Three bombs exploded as the bus ferried the team to the Westfalenstadion for the first leg of their quarter-final against Monaco.
Europe · Borussia Dortmund team bus bombingWikipedia: Borussia Dortmund team bus bombing - 2018
An Ilyushin Il-76 owned and operated by the Algerian Air Force crashes near Boufarik, Algeria, killing 257.
Africa · 2018 Algerian Air Force Ilyushin Il-76 crashWikipedia: 2018 Algerian Air Force Ilyushin Il-76 crash - 2021
Twenty-year-old Daunte Wright is shot and killed in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, by officer Kimberly Potter, sparking protests in the city, when the officer mistakes her pistol for her taser.
North America · Killing of Daunte WrightWikipedia: Killing of Daunte Wright - 2023
During the Pazigyi massacre, an airstrike conducted by the Myanmar Air Force kills at least 100 villagers in Pazigyi, Sagaing Region.
Asia · Pazigyi massacreWikipedia: Pazigyi massacre
What the other Wikipedias remember
For these years the English list has nothing on this day. The events below come from the same day’s lists on Wikipedia in Chinese and were translated for this page.
- 1905
The Imperial University of Peking holds its first sports meeting.
- 1991
The Beijing 2000 Olympic Bid Committee is established.
Who was born on 11 April
In order of how many Wikipedia editions have an article about each. The first 60 of 226 are shown.
- 145
Septimius Severus, Roman emperor (probable; died 211)
Leptis MagnaWikipedia: Septimius Severus - 1770
George Canning, Irish-English lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (died 1827)
- 1953
Andrew Wiles, English mathematician and academic
CambridgeWikipedia: Andrew Wiles - 1981
Alessandra Ambrosio, Brazilian model
- 1825
Ferdinand Lassalle, German philosopher and jurist (died 1864)
- 1991
Thiago Alcântara, Spanish footballer
San Pietro VernoticoWikipedia: Thiago Alcântara - 1996
Dele Alli, English international footballer
Milton KeynesWikipedia: Dele Alli - 1953
Guy Verhofstadt, Belgian politician, 47th Prime Minister of Belgium
DendermondeWikipedia: Guy Verhofstadt - 1930
Anton LaVey, American occultist, founded the Church of Satan (died 1997)
ChicagoWikipedia: Anton LaVey - 1960
Jeremy Clarkson, English journalist and television presenter
- 1357
John I of Portugal (died 1433)
- 1980
Keiji Tamada, Japanese footballer
UrayasuWikipedia: Keiji Tamada - 1950
Bill Irwin, American actor and clown
Santa MonicaWikipedia: Bill Irwin - 1900
Sándor Márai, Hungarian journalist and author (died 1989)
KošiceWikipedia: Sándor Márai - 1893
Dean Acheson, American lawyer and politician, 51st United States Secretary of State (died 1971)
MiddletownWikipedia: Dean Acheson - 1920
Emilio Colombo, Italian lawyer and politician, 40th Prime Minister of Italy (died 2013)
PotenzaWikipedia: Emilio Colombo - 1987
Joss Stone, English singer-songwriter and actress
- 1905
Attila József, Hungarian poet and educator (died 1937)
BudapestWikipedia: Attila József - 1348
Andronikos IV Palaiologos, Byzantine Emperor (died 1385)
ConstantinopleWikipedia: Andronikos IV Palaiologos - 1984
Nikola Karabatić, French handball player
- 1862
Charles Evans Hughes, American lawyer and politician, 44th United States Secretary of State (died 1948)
Glens FallsWikipedia: Charles Evans Hughes - 1932
Joel Grey, American actor, singer, and dancer
ClevelandWikipedia: Joel Grey - 1755
James Parkinson, English surgeon, geologist, and paleontologist (died 1824)
ShoreditchWikipedia: James Parkinson - 1869
Gustav Vigeland, Norwegian sculptor, designed the Nobel Peace Prize medal (died 1943)
- 1961
Vincent Gallo, American actor, director, producer, and musician
BuffaloWikipedia: Vincent Gallo - 2000
Milly Alcock, Australian actress
SydneyWikipedia: Milly Alcock - 1968
Sergei Lukyanenko, Kazakh-Russian journalist and author
KaratauWikipedia: Sergei Lukyanenko - 1991
Cédric Bakambu, Congolese footballer
Vitry-sur-SeineWikipedia: Cédric Bakambu - 1749
Adélaïde Labille-Guiard, French miniaturist and portrait painter (died 1803)
- 1910
António de Spínola, Portuguese general and politician, 14th President of Portugal (died 1996)
EstremozWikipedia: António de Spínola - 2001
Manuel Ugarte, Uruguayan footballer
MontevideoWikipedia: Manuel Ugarte - 1973
Jennifer Esposito, American actress and writer
BrooklynWikipedia: Jennifer Esposito - 1916
Alberto Ginastera, Argentinian pianist and composer (died 1983)
Buenos AiresWikipedia: Alberto Ginastera - 1971
Oliver Riedel, German bass player
SchwerinWikipedia: Oliver Riedel - 1985
Pablo Hernández Domínguez, Spanish footballer
Castellón de la PlanaWikipedia: Pablo Hernández - 1928
Ethel Kennedy, American philanthropist (died 2024)
ChicagoWikipedia: Ethel Kennedy - 1862
William Wallace Campbell, American astronomer and academic (died 1938)
Hancock CountyWikipedia: William Wallace Campbell - 1908
Masaru Ibuka, Japanese businessman, co-founded Sony (died 1997)
Nikkō-shiWikipedia: Masaru Ibuka - 1942
Anatoly Berezovoy, Russian colonel, pilot, and astronaut (died 2014)
- 1370
Frederick I, Elector of Saxony (died 1428)
- 1794
Edward Everett, English-American educator and politician, 15th Governor of Massachusetts (died 1865)
DorchesterWikipedia: Edward Everett - 1949
Dorothy Allison, American writer (died 2024)
GreenvilleWikipedia: Dorothy Allison - 1949
Bernd Eichinger, German director and producer (died 2011)
Neuburg an der DonauWikipedia: Bernd Eichinger - 1966
Lisa Stansfield, English singer-songwriter and actress
RochdaleWikipedia: Lisa Stansfield - 1969
Dustin Rhodes, American wrestler
AustinWikipedia: Dustin Rhodes - 1974
Àlex Corretja, Spanish tennis player and coach
BarcelonaWikipedia: Àlex Corretja - 1872
Aleksandër Stavre Drenova, Albanian poet, rilindas and author of national anthem of Albania (died 1947)
- 1876
Ivane Javakhishvili, Georgian historian and academic (died 1940)
- 1993
Florin Andone, Romanian footballer
JoldeștiWikipedia: Florin Andone - 2000
Loïc Badé, French footballer
SèvresWikipedia: Loïc Badé - 1798
Macedonio Melloni, Italian physicist and academic (died 1854)
- 1940
Władysław Komar, Polish shot putter and actor (died 1998)
- 1944
John Milius, American director, producer, and screenwriter
St. LouisWikipedia: John Milius - 1947
Peter Riegert, American actor, screenwriter and film director
New York CityWikipedia: Peter Riegert - 1644
Marie Jeanne Baptiste of Savoy-Nemours, Duchess of Savoy (died 1724)
- 1871
Gyula Kellner, Hungarian runner (died 1940)
- 1879
Bernhard Schmidt, Estonian-German astronomer and optician (died 1935)
NaissaarWikipedia: Bernhard Schmidt - 1990
Thulani Serero, South African footballer
- 1827
Jyotirao Phule, Indian scholar, philosopher, and activist (died 1890)
- 1939
Louise Lasser, American actress
New York CityWikipedia: Louise Lasser
What is celebrated on 11 April
- Christian feast day: Antipas of Pergamum (Greek Orthodox Church)
- Christian feast day: Barsanuphius
- Christian feast day: Elena Guerra
- Christian feast day: Gemma Galgani
- Christian feast day: Blessed George Gervase
- Christian feast day: Godeberta
- Christian feast day: Guthlac of Crowland
- Christian feast day: George Selwyn (Anglicanism)
- Christian feast day: Stanislaus of Szczepanów
- Christian feast day: April 11 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Juan Santamaría Day, anniversary of his death in the Second Battle of Rivas. (Costa Rica)
- International Louie Louie Day
- World Parkinson's Day
A greeting link for someone
Type a name and, if you like, the year of birth. The link opens with a greeting, and beside each event it says how old the person turned that day, or how many years before their birth it happened.
The name and the year go only into the link you send.
All 366 days
How the globe is made
Where the events come from
Each edition of this page uses the day’s list from Wikipedia in its own language: Romanian, English, Spanish, Chinese. The lists are written by volunteers and differ from one edition to the next; the text of each event is Wikipedia’s, with a link to the article. A row that appears twice in a list is shown once. The lists have not been checked event by event: they are Wikipedia’s, mistakes included.
For events before 1582, and for countries that moved to the Gregorian calendar later (Britain in 1752, Russia in 1918), the same day may be counted Old Style in one list and New Style in another.
The chapter “What the other Wikipedias remember” adds up to five events a day from the lists of the other three editions, only for years in which the English list has nothing on that day. They were translated for this page, passed the same filters as the tour, and are not counted among the events of the English list.
How an event gets onto the map
The place comes from Wikidata. If the sentence links to the article about the event itself (a battle, an opening, an earthquake), dated to the same year, the ray stands on its coordinates or on those of its location. Otherwise it stands on the first place the sentence links to: a town, a building, a mountain, an island. This second step can be wrong: sometimes the sentence only mentions the place. That is why the page says, under each event, which place the ray stands on.
When the sentence links to a single state or province, or to a single sea, lake or desert larger than 5,000 km², the globe shows a dashed circle, not a ray. The circle has the area Wikidata gives, with its radius kept between 1.2° and 16°, or a radius of 4.5° when Wikidata gives no area; it says only that the sentence links to that place. Organisations, ships, spacecraft, museum objects, rivers, mountain ranges, languages and continents are never used as places. When a sentence names several states and no exact place, the event stays in the list only.
What the height means
The height of a ray shows how many years have passed, on a logarithmic scale: 10 years, 100 years and 1,000 years are equal steps apart; anything older than about 2,600 years has the tallest ray. The colour runs from pale yellow for recent years to violet for antiquity.
Where the tour stops
In each region the tour stops at up to three events (five in Britain and Ireland), chosen mainly by three things: whether Wikipedia’s editors put the event in the “On this day” box of their main page (the English, Spanish and Chinese editions), how many Wikipedia editions have an article about it, and how many of the four lists include it. Events whose sentence or article is about a war, an attack, a crime or a disaster are left out of the tour; they stay in the whole list, in Wikipedia’s wording. The filter is a list of words and a list of Wikidata types, so it can miss some.
The tour of births names the people with articles in the most editions and leaves aside those whom the list or Wikidata describes as rulers, politicians, commanders, leaders of movements or criminals; they stay in the list.
The Earth and the Sun
The daytime images are NASA’s Blue Marble Next Generation mosaics, one for each month of 2004; the night side is Black Marble 2016. The tilt of the line between day and night is computed for the day; the hour is chosen so that the place being read is in daylight. The latitude where the Sun stands overhead is the average of the four years of the leap cycle; in a given year it can differ by up to 0.4°.
The day you were born
The number ones come from the weekly lists on Wikipedia: Billboard for the United States (from 1940; the Hot 100 from August 1958), the UK Singles Chart (from November 1952), Los 40 Principales for Spain (from July 1966) and, for Romania, the Romanian Top 100 and Airplay 100 (2001–2021, with missing weeks). The page shows the chart of the week in which the day of birth falls, with its date; Billboard and the UK chart are dated at the end of their week. For Romania before 2001 and for China these sources have no weekly chart.
The films are those that reached cinemas in the United States up to ten days before or three days after that day (some of them in a few cinemas at first), from the English Wikipedia’s yearly lists (from 1968), in order of how many editions have an article about them. The events “in those days” are the ones on the neighbouring days’ lists that carry the year of birth, passed through the same filter as the tour.
The day of birth, year included
The Moon, the star sign and the constellation are worked out by the page itself, for noon Universal Time on the day. The lit part of the Moon is rounded and can differ by a few per cent from that at the hour of birth. The sign follows the usual zodiac of twelve equal parts starting at the March equinox; the constellation is the one the Sun actually stood in front of, by the borders set by the International Astronomical Union, and within a day of a border the page does not name it. When the Sun changes sign while it is that day anywhere on Earth, the page gives the moment of crossing, rounded to ten minutes and accurate to within about a quarter of an hour, and the clock time in a few cities, with the time zone and summer time of that year.
The year in the Chinese calendar is the one your device’s own calendar gives for the date, checked against the Hong Kong Observatory’s tables. “All your birthdays” uses the same sources as the rest of the chapter for the same day in every year since the birth: the temperature, well-known launches that took place on that very day, matches of the teams the edition follows, snow deeper than 10 cm and strong geomagnetic storms. The three things at the top and the four on the picture are chosen in a fixed order (the song, the animal, a full Moon, a well-known launch before an ordinary earthquake); on the picture you can change them.
When the link carries a year of birth, the page adds a few things about that exact day. The weather is the Met Office’s Central England temperature record and the readings from New York’s Central Park; the “usual high” is the average of the daily highs of 1961–1990 for that date, with two days either side. The carbon dioxide figure is the monthly mean at the Mauna Loa observatory, where measurements begin in March 1958.
The earthquake is the one with the largest magnitude in the USGS catalogue for that day, counted in Universal Time. Before the 1960s the catalogue has gaps even above magnitude 5.5, so in the older years many days have no earthquake. The page gives only the magnitude and the place: the country the epicentre falls in or, when the epicentre is at sea within 300 km of a coast, the nearest country; farther out, only the ocean.
The launches are those that reached orbit or left for the Moon and the planets, from Jonathan McDowell’s GCAT catalogue. If nothing left that day, the page shows the nearest launch within three days before or after, and says how many days away it was. The geomagnetic storm appears only when the Kp index reached at least 5 in one of the day’s eight three-hour intervals.
The animal comes from GBIF: an observation made by a person (the animal seen or heard, or its tracks), dated to that exact day, with coordinates and a CC0 or CC BY licence. Only a few hundred well-known species are searched (mammals, birds, turtles, butterflies); of those noted that day, mammals and species with articles in many Wikipedia editions come first; birds noted almost every day, and species used recently, wait their turn. Observations dated 1 January are left out, because records without a day are often filed there. An observation shows that the animal was recorded there, not how many animals there were.
The matches are those between national teams. Only matches of England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, Canada and Australia are shown, along with those at the big final tournaments. The picture to send is drawn in the page from the day’s globe and the facts above, and stays on your device until you send it.
Sources
- Events, births and holidays: the day’s page on Wikipedia, text under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Coordinates, places of birth and the number of editions: Wikidata (CC0).
- The Earth by day: NASA Blue Marble Next Generation. The Earth by night: NASA Black Marble 2016.
- Borders and regions: Natural Earth.
- World population and births per year: UN World Population Prospects 2024.
- Charts and films: Wikipedia’s lists for Billboard, the UK Singles Chart, Los 40 Principales, Romanian Top 100, Airplay 100 and American films by year (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Weather: Met Office Hadley Centre, HadCET (Open Government Licence) and NOAA GHCN-Daily, New York Central Park. Carbon dioxide: NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory, Mauna Loa.
- Earthquakes: the USGS catalogue. Launches: Jonathan McDowell, GCAT (CC BY). Kp index: GFZ Potsdam (CC BY 4.0). Matches: International football results, Mart Jürisoo (CC0).
- Animal observations: GBIF, with a link to each record; species names come from Wikidata.