11 December on the globe: what happened in the world on this day, and who was born

Emperor Xian of Han is forced to abdicate the throne by Cao Cao's son Cao Pi, ending the Han dynasty.

Julian enters Constantinople as sole Roman Emperor.

Assassination of the Abbasid caliph al-Mutawakkil by the Turkish guard, who raise al-Muntasir to the throne, start of the "Anarchy at Samarra".

Byzantine Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas is assassinated by his wife Theophano and her lover, the later Emperor John I Tzimiskes.

Michael V, adoptive son of Empress Zoë of Byzantium, is proclaimed emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire.

Treaty of Benavente: the heiresses of the Kingdom of León renounce their throne to King Ferdinand III of Castile

Battle of Orewin Bridge: Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, the last native Prince of Wales, is killed at Cilmeri near Builth Wells in mid-Wales.

The Nyköping Banquet (Swedish: Nyköpings gästabud) takes place as King Birger of Sweden celebrates Christmas at Nyköping Castle. Among the guests are his two brothers Duke Valdemar and Duke Eric, who later that night are imprisoned and eventually starved to death in the castle dungeon.

A surprise attack by forces under the command of Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy, and his brother-in-law, Philip III of Spain, is repelled by the citizens of Geneva. (Commemorated annually by the Fête de l'Escalade.)

The Root and Branch petition, signed by 15,000 Londoners calling for the abolition of the episcopacy, is presented to the Long Parliament.

Antonio de Vea expedition enters San Rafael Lake in western Patagonia.

Glorious Revolution: James II of England, while trying to flee to France, throws the Great Seal of the Realm into the River Thames.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, one of the oldest public universities in the United States and the only one to award degrees in the 18th century, was chartered.

French Revolution: King Louis XVI of France is put on trial for treason by the National Convention.

The U.S. Senate creates a select committee on finance and a uniform national currency, predecessor of the United States Senate Committee on Finance.

Indiana becomes the 19th U.S. state.

American Civil War: The Battle of Fredericksburg begins as the Army of the Potomac under Union General Ambrose Burnside crosses the Rappahannock River to clash with the Army of Northern Virginia led by Confederate General Robert E. Lee in Fredericksburg, Virginia.

Paraguayan War: Brazilian troops defeat the Paraguayan Army at the Battle of Avay.

The London-based football club Arsenal, then known as Dial Square, played their first match on the Isle of Dogs.

Second Boer War: In the Battle of Magersfontein the Boers commanded by general Piet Cronjé inflict a defeat on the forces of the British Empire commanded by Lord Methuen trying to relieve the Siege of Kimberley.

Guglielmo Marconi transmits the first transatlantic radio signal from Poldhu, Cornwall, England to St. John's, Newfoundland.

A workers' uprising occurs in Kyiv, Ukraine (then part of the Russian Empire), and establishes the Shuliavka Republic.

The New Zealand Parliament Buildings are almost completely destroyed by fire.

The original Parliament House in Wellington, New Zealand, was destroyed by fire.

More than two years after it was stolen from the Louvre, Leonardo da Vinci's painting Mona Lisa is recovered in Florence, Italy. The thief, Vincenzo Peruggia, is immediately arrested.

World War I: British General Edmund Allenby enters Jerusalem on foot and declares martial law.

Irish War of Independence: In retaliation for a recent IRA ambush, British forces burn and loot numerous buildings in Cork city. Many civilians report being beaten, shot at, robbed and verbally abused by British forces.

Roman Catholic papal encyclical Quas primas introduces the Feast of Christ the King.

Guangzhou Uprising: Communist Red Guards launch an uprising in Guangzhou, China, taking over most of the city and announcing the formation of a Guangzhou Soviet.

Statute of Westminster 1931: The British Parliament establishes legislative equality between the UK and the Dominions of the Commonwealth—Australia, Canada, Newfoundland, New Zealand, South Africa, and Ireland.

Bill Wilson, co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, takes his last drink and enters treatment for the final time.

Abdication Crisis: Edward VIII's abdication as King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions beyond the Seas, and Emperor of India, becomes effective.

Second Italo-Ethiopian War: Italy leaves the League of Nations.

World War II: Germany and Italy declare war on the United States, following the Americans' declaration of war on the Empire of Japan in the wake of the attack on Pearl Harbor. The United States, in turn, declares war on them.

World War II: Poland declares war on the Empire of Japan.

World War II: The Imperial Japanese Navy suffers its first loss of surface vessels during the Battle of Wake Island.

The United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) is established.

Arab–Israeli War: The United Nations passes General Assembly Resolution 194, creating a Conciliation Commission to mediate the conflict.

French Upper Volta and French Dahomey gain self-government from France, becoming the Republic of Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso) and the Republic of Dahomey (now Benin), respectively, and joining the French Community.

French forces crack down in a violent clash with protesters in French Algeria during a visit by French president Charles de Gaulle.

Arthur Lucas, convicted of murder, is the last person to be executed in Canada.

Che Guevara speaks at the United Nations General Assembly in New York City.

Apollo 17 becomes the sixth and final Apollo mission to land on the Moon.

The Lufthansa heist is committed by a group led by Lucchese family associate Jimmy Burke. It was the largest cash robbery ever committed on American soil, at that time.

The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (also known as Superfund) is enacted by the U.S. Congress.

El Mozote massacre: Armed forces in El Salvador kill an estimated 900 civilians in an anti-guerrilla campaign during the Salvadoran Civil War.

A Soviet Air Force Il-76 aircraft crashes while participating in the Armenian earthquake relief, killing 78 people.

Demonstrations by students and workers across Albania begin, which eventually trigger the fall of communism in Albania.

Several fatal collisions in the 1990 Interstate 75 fog disaster result in a total of 12 deaths and 42 being injured

A block of the Highland Towers condominium complex collapses following a landslide caused by heavy rain and water flowing from a construction site at Ampang district in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 48 of its residents die, including one who died in hospital after being rescued alive, leaving only two survivors.

A bomb explodes on Philippine Airlines Flight 434, en route from Manila, Philippines, to Tokyo, Japan, killing one. The captain is able to land the plane safely.

First Chechen War: Russian president Boris Yeltsin orders Russian troops into Chechnya.

The Kyoto Protocol, an agreement committing countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, opens for signature.

Thai Airways Flight 261 crashes near Surat Thani Airport, killing 101. The pilot flying the Airbus A310-200 is thought to have suffered spatial disorientation.

SATA Air Açores Flight 530M crashes into Pico da Esperança on São Jorge Island in the Azores, killing 35.

China joins the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Cronulla riots: Thousands of White Australians demonstrate against ethnic violence resulting in a riot against anyone thought to be Lebanese in Cronulla, New South Wales; these are followed up by retaliatory ethnic attacks on Cronulla.

The Buncefield Oil Depot catches fire in Hemel Hempstead, England.

Felipe Calderón, the president of Mexico, launches a military-led offensive to put down the drug cartel violence in the state of Michoacán. This effort is often regarded as the first event in the Mexican drug war.

The International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust is opened in Tehran, Iran, by then-president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad; nations such as Israel and the United States express concern.

Insurgency in the Maghreb: Two car bombs explode in Algiers, Algeria, one near the Supreme Constitutional Court and the other near the offices of the United Nations.

Bernie Madoff is arrested and charged with securities fraud in a $50 billion Ponzi scheme.

Finnish game developer Rovio Entertainment releases the hit mobile game Angry Birds internationally on iOS.

At least 125 people are killed and up to 200 injured in bombings in the Alawite village of Aqrab, Syria.

New York City Subway bombing: A pipe bomb partially detonates in the New York City Subway, in the Times Square–42nd Street/Port Authority Bus Terminal. Four people are injured, including the perpetrator.

The results of the 2019 Bougainvillean independence referendum are announced. The results are overwhelmingly one-sided. Over 98% of voters vote for Bougainville's independence.

The Food and Drug Administration issues an Emergency Use Authorization on the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, the first COVID-19 vaccine to be approved by the agency.

Urfan Sharif and Beinash Batool were found guilty of the murder of Sara Sharif, and were sentenced to life imprisonment.

Naguib Mahfouz, Egyptian author, playwright, and screenwriter, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2006)

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Russian novelist, historian, and short story writer, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2008)

Hector Berlioz, French composer, conductor, and critic (died 1869)

Robert Koch, German microbiologist and physician, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1910)

Max Born, German physicist and mathematician, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1970)

John Kerry, American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician, 68th United States Secretary of State

Viswanathan Anand, Indian chess player

Alfred de Musset, French dramatist, poet, and novelist (died 1857)

Pranab Mukherjee, Indian journalist and politician, 13th President of India (died 2020)

Pope Leo X (died 1521)

Emmanuelle Charpentier, French researcher in microbiology, genetics and biochemistry, and Nobel laureate

Jean Marais, French actor and director (died 1998)

Georgi Plekhanov, Russian philosopher, theorist, and author (died 1918)

Hailee Steinfeld, American actress, singer and songwriter

Macky Sall, Senegalese engineer and politician, fourth President of Senegal

Annie Jump Cannon, American astronomer and academic (died 1941)

David Brewster, Scottish physicist, mathematician, and astronomer (died 1868)

Leighton Baines, English footballer

Rita Moreno, Puerto Rican actress, singer, and dancer

Carlos Gardel, French-Argentinian singer-songwriter and actor (died 1935)

Jean-Louis Trintignant, French actor, director, and screenwriter (died 2022)

Carlo Ponti, Italian-Swiss film producer (died 2007)

Javier Saviola, Argentine footballer

Dilip Kumar, Indian actor, director, and screenwriter (died 2021)

Paul Greengard, American neuroscientist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2019)

Rey Mysterio, American wrestler

Manoel de Oliveira, Portuguese actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (died 2015)

Teri Garr, American actress and comedian (died 2024)

Mo'Nique, American comedian, actress, and producer

Colleen Hoover, American author

Fiorello H. La Guardia, American lawyer and politician, 99th Mayor of New York City (died 1947)

Ronald Dworkin, American philosopher and scholar (died 2013)

Brenda Lee, American singer-songwriter

Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko, Russian director, producer, and playwright (died 1943)

Jermaine Jackson, American singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer

Qian Xuesen, Chinese aerodynamicist and academic (died 2009)

Big Mama Thornton, American singer-songwriter (died 1984)

Alexa Demie, American actress and singer

Amon Göth, Austrian Nazi war criminal (died 1946)

Enrico Macias, Algerian-French singer-songwriter and guitarist

Fabrizio Ravanelli, Italian footballer and manager

Betsy Blair, American actress and dancer (died 2009)

Ben Browder, American actor

Sami Al-Jaber, Saudi Arabian footballer and manager

George Mason, American lawyer and politician (died 1792)

Christian Dietrich Grabbe, German poet and playwright (died 1836)

Nikki Sixx, American bass player, songwriter, and producer

Maila Nurmi, Finnish-American actress, producer, and screenwriter (died 2008)

Shareef Abdur-Rahim, American basketball player, coach, and manager

Yalitza Aparicio, Mexican actress

Pérez Prado, Cuban-Mexican singer-songwriter, pianist, and bandleader (died 1989)

Chus Lampreave, Spanish actress (died 2016)

McCoy Tyner, American jazz musician (died 2020)

Chris Hughton, English-born Irish footballer and manager

Francesco Algarotti, Italian poet, philosopher, and critic (died 1764)

Subramania Bharati, Indian journalist and poet (died 1921)

Stig Inge Bjørnebye, Norwegian footballer and manager

Karla Souza, Mexican actress

Kellie Harrington, Irish boxer

Carl Friedrich Zelter, German composer, conductor, and educator (died 1832)