A birthday on the globe
11 July on the globe: what happened in the world on this day, and who was born
For 11 July, the English Wikipedia lists 75 events and 203 births. 37 of the events stand at their places as rays of light; eight 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 July through the years
The Earth on 11 July
The picture on the globe was assembled by NASA from satellite photographs taken in July 2004: the snow, the ice and the green are those of the month.
On 11 July the Sun passes straight overhead at noon along the parallel of 22.1° north. In London, the day lasts about 16 hours 20 minutes.
Beyond 68° north the Sun no longer sets; beyond 68° 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 · Assembly Rooms, Belfast
1792
The Belfast Harp Festival, an early event in the Gaelic revival, began at the Assembly Rooms.
On the map: Assembly Rooms, Belfast.
Europe · Turin
1899
Fiat founded by Giovanni Agnelli in Turin, Italy.
On the map: Turin.
Also on the day’s list of Wikipedia in Spanish.
Europe · Prague Castle
1928
Archaeologist Ivan Borkovský discovered a medieval skeleton at Prague Castle; competing factions claimed the skeleton as Germanic or Slavic in origin.
On the map: Prague Castle.
Europe · World Chess Championship 1972
1972
The first game of the World Chess Championship 1972 between challenger Bobby Fischer and defending champion Boris Spassky starts.
On the map: the coordinates Wikidata gives for the article “World Chess Championship 1972”.
Africa · Nkana
1941
The Northern Rhodesian Labour Party holds its first congress in Nkana.
On the map: Nkana.
Latin America · Tijuana
1889
Tijuana, Mexico, is founded.
On the map: Tijuana.
Also on the day’s list of Wikipedia in Spanish.
North America · Detroit
1796
The United States takes possession of Detroit from Great Britain under terms of the Jay Treaty.
On the map: Detroit.
North America · Supreme Court of the United States
1921
Former president of the United States William Howard Taft is sworn in as 10th chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, becoming the only person ever to hold both offices.
On the map: Supreme Court of the United States.
North America · Hollywood Bowl
1922
The Hollywood Bowl opens.
On the map: Hollywood Bowl.
Oceans · North Pole
1897
Salomon August Andrée leaves Spitsbergen to attempt to reach the North Pole by balloon.
On the map: North Pole.
11 July
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 Spanish and were translated for this page.
From Wikipedia in Spanish · Vercelli
1811
In the town of Vercelli (northern Italian peninsula), the scientist Amedeo Avogadro publishes his essay on the molecular content of gases.
On the map: Vercelli.
Translated from the list on Wikipedia in Spanish.
From Wikipedia in Spanish · Roker Park
1966
In England, the 9th FIFA World Cup begins.
On the map: Roker Park.
Translated from the list on Wikipedia in Spanish.
The article on Wikipedia in Spanish: Copa Mundial de Fútbol de 1966
From Wikipedia in Spanish · Xi'an
1975
Near the city of Xi'an (China), the archaeological discovery of the Terracotta Warriors takes place.
On the map: Xi'an.
Translated from the list on Wikipedia in Spanish.
11 July
Born on 11 July#
The English Wikipedia lists 203 births for this day. The blue points are the birthplaces of 60 of these people: those written about in the most Wikipedia editions, where Wikidata gives a place of birth.
Born on 11 July
1916
Alexander Prokhorov, Australian-Russian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2002)
Place of birth: Atherton.
Born on 11 July
1934
Giorgio Armani, Italian fashion designer, founded the Armani Company (died 2025)
Place of birth: Piacenza.
Born on 11 July
1920
Yul Brynner, Russian-American actor and dancer (died 1985)
Place of birth: Vladivostok.
Born on 11 July
1990
Caroline Wozniacki, Danish tennis player
Place of birth: Odense.
Born on 11 July
1834
James McNeill Whistler, American-English painter and illustrator (died 1903)
Place of birth: Lowell.
Born in Britain and Ireland
1967
Jhumpa Lahiri, Indian American novelist and short story writer
Place of birth: London.
Born in Britain and Ireland
1811
William Robert Grove, Welsh physicist and inventor of the first fuel cell (died 1896)
Place of birth: Swansea.
Born in Britain and Ireland
1558
Robert Greene, English author and playwright (died 1592)
Place of birth: Norwich.
11 July
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 July 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 July
The list is the English Wikipedia’s, in its own wording, as it stood in October 2026. 30 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.
- 472
Western Roman Emperor Anthemius is killed by troops of the Roman Gothic general Ricimer.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Roman emperor - 813
Byzantine emperor Michael I, under threat by conspiracies, abdicates in favor of his general Leo the Armenian, and becomes a monk (under the name Athanasius).
no place on the mapWikipedia: Michael I Rangabe - 911
Signing of the Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte between Charles the Simple and Rollo of Normandy.
Europe · Saint-Clair-sur-EpteWikipedia: Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte - 1174
Baldwin IV, 13, becomes King of Jerusalem, with Raymond III of Tripoli as regent and William of Tyre as chancellor.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Baldwin IV of Jerusalem - 1276
Election of pope Adrian V under the influence of Charles I of Anjou following the death of pope Gregory X earlier that year. Adrian V dies the following month.
Europe · July 1276 conclaveWikipedia: July 1276 conclave - 1302
Battle of the Golden Spurs (Guldensporenslag in Dutch): A coalition around the Flemish cities defeats the king of France's royal army.
Europe · Battle of the Golden SpursWikipedia: Battle of the Golden Spurs - 1346
Charles IV, Count of Luxembourg and King of Bohemia, is elected King of the Romans.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor - 1405
Ming admiral Zheng He sets sail to explore the world for the first time.
Asia · Ming dynastyWikipedia: Ming dynasty - 1410
Ottoman Interregnum: Süleyman Çelebi defeats his brother Musa Çelebi outside the Ottoman capital, Edirne.
Asia · EdirneWikipedia: Ottoman Interregnum - 1476
Giuliano della Rovere is appointed bishop of Coutances.
Europe · CoutancesWikipedia: Pope Julius II - 1576
While exploring the North Atlantic Ocean in an attempt to find the Northwest Passage, Martin Frobisher sights Greenland, mistaking it for the hypothesized (but non-existent) island of "Frisland".
North America · Northwest PassageWikipedia: Atlantic Ocean - 1616
Samuel de Champlain returns to Quebec.
North America · QuebecWikipedia: Samuel de Champlain - 1708
A coalition army of Dutch, English and German troops under the duke of Marlborough defeats a French army under the duke of Burgundy and the Marshal Vendome in the battle of Oudenarde.
Europe · Battle of OudenardeWikipedia: Battle of Oudenarde - 1735
Mathematical calculations suggest that it is on this day that dwarf planet Pluto moved inside the orbit of Neptune for the last time before 1979.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Dwarf planet - 1789
Jacques Necker is dismissed as France's Finance Minister sparking the Storming of the Bastille.
Europe · Storming of the BastilleWikipedia: Storming of the Bastille - 1792
The Belfast Harp Festival, an early event in the Gaelic revival, began at the Assembly Rooms.
Britain & Ireland · Assembly Rooms, BelfastWikipedia: Assembly Rooms, Belfast - 1796
The United States takes possession of Detroit from Great Britain under terms of the Jay Treaty.
North America · DetroitWikipedia: Jay Treaty - 1798
The United States Marine Corps is re-established; they had been disbanded after the American Revolutionary War.
no place on the mapWikipedia: United States Marine Corps - 1801
French astronomer Jean-Louis Pons makes his first comet discovery. In the next 27 years he discovers another 36 comets, more than any other person in history.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Jean-Louis Pons - 1804
A duel occurs in which the Vice President of the United States Aaron Burr mortally wounds former Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton.
North America · Burr–Hamilton duelWikipedia: Burr–Hamilton duel - 1833
Noongar Australian aboriginal warrior Yagan, wanted for the murder of white colonists in Western Australia, is killed.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Indigenous Australians - 1836
The Fly-fisher's Entomology is published by Alfred Ronalds. The book transformed the sport and went to many editions.
no place on the mapWikipedia: The Fly-fisher's Entomology - 1846
British soldier Frederick John White died after a flogging, leading to a campaign to end the practice in the British Army.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Death of Frederick John White - 1848
Waterloo railway station in London opens.
no place on the mapWikipedia: London Waterloo station - 1864
A riot broke out in Leicester, England, at the failed launching of a gas balloon.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Leicester balloon riot - 1864
American Civil War: Battle of Fort Stevens; Confederate forces attempt to invade Washington, D.C.
North America · Battle of Fort StevensWikipedia: American Civil War - 1882
The British Mediterranean Fleet begins the Bombardment of Alexandria in Egypt as part of the Anglo-Egyptian War.
Africa · Bombardment of AlexandriaWikipedia: Bombardment of Alexandria - 1889
Tijuana, Mexico, is founded.
Latin America · TijuanaWikipedia: Tijuana - 1893
A revolution led by the liberal general and politician José Santos Zelaya takes over state power in Nicaragua.
Latin America · NicaraguaWikipedia: Revolution - 1893
The first cultured pearl is obtained by Kōkichi Mikimoto.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Pearl - 1897
Salomon August Andrée leaves Spitsbergen to attempt to reach the North Pole by balloon.
Oceans · North PoleWikipedia: Salomon August Andrée - 1899
Fiat founded by Giovanni Agnelli in Turin, Italy.
Europe · TurinWikipedia: Fiat - 1906
Murder of Grace Brown by Chester Gillette in the United States, inspiration for Theodore Dreiser's An American Tragedy.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Murder of Grace Brown - 1914
Babe Ruth makes his debut in Major League Baseball.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Babe Ruth - 1914
The US Navy launches the USS Nevada (BB-36) as its first standard-type battleship.
no place on the mapWikipedia: USS Nevada - 1919
The eight-hour day and free Sunday become law for workers in the Netherlands.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Eight-hour day movement - 1920
In the East Prussian plebiscite the local populace decides to remain with Weimar Germany.
Europe · Weimar RepublicWikipedia: 1920 East Prussian plebiscite - 1921
A truce in the Irish War of Independence comes into effect.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Irish War of Independence - 1921
Former president of the United States William Howard Taft is sworn in as 10th chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, becoming the only person ever to hold both offices.
North America · Supreme Court of the United StatesWikipedia: Supreme Court of the United States - 1921
The Red Army captures Mongolia from the White Army and establishes the Mongolian People's Republic.
Asia · MongoliaWikipedia: Red Army - 1922
The Hollywood Bowl opens.
North America · Hollywood BowlWikipedia: Hollywood Bowl - 1924
Eric Liddell wins the gold medal in 400m at the 1924 Paris Olympics, after refusing to run in the heats for 100m, his favoured distance, on a Sunday.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Eric Liddell - 1928
Archaeologist Ivan Borkovský discovered a medieval skeleton at Prague Castle; competing factions claimed the skeleton as Germanic or Slavic in origin.
Europe · Prague CastleWikipedia: Ivan Borkovský - 1934
Engelbert Zaschka of Germany flies his large human-powered aircraft, the Zaschka Human-Power Aircraft, about 20 meters at Berlin Tempelhof Airport without assisted take-off.
Europe · Berlin Tempelhof AirportWikipedia: Berlin Tempelhof Airport - 1936
The Triborough Bridge in New York City is opened to traffic.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Robert F. Kennedy Bridge - 1940
World War II: Vichy France regime is formally established. Philippe Pétain becomes Chief of the French State.
Europe · Vichy FranceWikipedia: World War II - 1941
The Northern Rhodesian Labour Party holds its first congress in Nkana.
Africa · NkanaWikipedia: Northern Rhodesian Labour Party - 1943
Massacres of Poles in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army within the Reichskommissariat Ukraine (Volhynia) peak.
Europe · Massacres of Poles in Volhynia and Eastern GaliciaWikipedia: Massacres of Poles in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia - 1943
World War II: Allied invasion of Sicily: German and Italian troops launch a counter-attack on Allied forces in Sicily.
Europe · Nazi GermanyWikipedia: Allied invasion of Sicily - 1947
The Exodus 1947 heads to Palestine from France.
no place on the mapWikipedia: SS Exodus - 1950
Pakistan joins the International Monetary Fund and the International Bank.
Asia · PakistanWikipedia: Pakistan - 1957
Prince Karim Husseini Aga Khan IV inherits the office of Imamat as the 49th Imam of Shia Imami Ismai'li worldwide, after the death of Sir Sultan Mahommed Shah Aga Khan III.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Aga Khan IV - 1960
Congo Crisis: The State of Katanga breaks away from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Congo Crisis - 1960
France legislates for the independence of Dahomey (later Benin), Upper Volta (later Burkina Faso) and Niger.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Republic of Dahomey - 1960
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is first published, in the United States.
no place on the mapWikipedia: To Kill a Mockingbird - 1962
First transatlantic satellite television transmission.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Satellite television - 1962
Project Apollo: At a press conference, NASA announces lunar orbit rendezvous as the means to land astronauts on the Moon, and return them to Earth.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Apollo program - 1971
The nationalization of all large copper mines in Chile is completed.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Chilean nationalization of copper - 1972
The first game of the World Chess Championship 1972 between challenger Bobby Fischer and defending champion Boris Spassky starts.
Europe · World Chess Championship 1972Wikipedia: World Chess Championship 1972 - 1973
Varig Flight 820 crashes near Paris on approach to Orly Airport, killing 123 of the 134 on board. In response, the FAA bans smoking in airplane lavatories.
Europe · Varig Flight 820Wikipedia: Varig Flight 820 - 1977
Martin Luther King Jr., assassinated in 1968, is posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
North America · Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.Wikipedia: Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. - 1978
Los Alfaques disaster: A truck carrying liquid gas crashes and explodes at a coastal campsite in Tarragona, Spain, killing 216 tourists.
Europe · Los Alfaques disasterWikipedia: Los Alfaques disaster - 1979
America's first space station, Skylab, is destroyed as it re-enters the Earth's atmosphere over the Indian Ocean.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Skylab - 1982
Italy defeats West Germany 3–1 to win the FIFA World Cup.
Europe · BernabéuWikipedia: 1982 FIFA World Cup final - 1983
A TAME airline Boeing 737-200 crashes near Cuenca, Ecuador, killing all 119 passengers and crew on board.
Latin America · TAME Flight 173Wikipedia: TAME Flight 173 - 1990
Oka Crisis: First Nations land dispute in Quebec begins.
North America · Oka CrisisWikipedia: Oka Crisis - 1991
Nigeria Airways Flight 2120 crashes in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, killing all 261 passengers and crew on board.
Asia · Nigeria Airways Flight 2120Wikipedia: Nigeria Airways Flight 2120 - 1995
Yugoslav Wars: Srebrenica massacre begins, lasting until 22 July.
Europe · Srebrenica massacreWikipedia: Srebrenica massacre - 2006
Mumbai train bombings: 209 people are killed in a series of bomb attacks in Mumbai, India.
Asia · MumbaiWikipedia: 2006 Mumbai train bombings - 2007
The Siege of Lal Masjid in Islamabad, Pakistan, ends after the Pakistan Army storms the mosque which had been occupied by Islamist militants.
Asia · Siege of Lal MasjidWikipedia: Siege of Lal Masjid - 2010
In Johannesburg, Spain defeat the Netherlands 1–0 after extra time to win their first FIFA World Cup title.
Africa · 2010 FIFA World Cup finalWikipedia: 2010 FIFA World Cup final - 2010
The Islamist militia group Al-Shabaab carries out multiple suicide bombings in Kampala, Uganda, killing 74 people and injuring 85 others.
Africa · 2010 Kampala bombingsWikipedia: 2010 Kampala bombings - 2011
Ninety-eight containers of explosives self-detonate killing 13 people in Zygi, Cyprus.
Asia · Evangelos Florakis Naval Base explosionWikipedia: Evangelos Florakis Naval Base explosion - 2015
Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán escapes from the maximum security Altiplano prison in Mexico, his second escape.
Latin America · Federal Social Readaptation Center No. 1Wikipedia: El Chapo - 2021
Virgin Galactic launches its founder, Richard Branson, into space, the first company ever to do so.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Virgin Galactic
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 Spanish and were translated for this page.
- 1811
In the town of Vercelli (northern Italian peninsula), the scientist Amedeo Avogadro publishes his essay on the molecular content of gases.
- 1966
In England, the 9th FIFA World Cup begins.
Britain & Ireland · Roker ParkTranslated from the list on Wikipedia in SpanishWikipedia: Copa Mundial de Fútbol de 1966 - 1975
Near the city of Xi'an (China), the archaeological discovery of the Terracotta Warriors takes place.
Who was born on 11 July
In order of how many Wikipedia editions have an article about each. The first 60 of 203 are shown.
- 1767
John Quincy Adams, American lawyer and politician, 6th President of the United States (died 1848)
BraintreeWikipedia: John Quincy Adams - 1916
Alexander Prokhorov, Australian-Russian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2002)
AthertonWikipedia: Alexander Prokhorov - 1934
Giorgio Armani, Italian fashion designer, founded the Armani Company (died 2025)
PiacenzaWikipedia: Giorgio Armani - 1274
Robert the Bruce, Scottish king (died 1329)
Turnberry CastleWikipedia: Robert the Bruce - 1920
Yul Brynner, Russian-American actor and dancer (died 1985)
VladivostokWikipedia: Yul Brynner - 1990
Caroline Wozniacki, Danish tennis player
- 1834
James McNeill Whistler, American-English painter and illustrator (died 1903)
- 1967
Jhumpa Lahiri, Indian American novelist and short story writer
LondonWikipedia: Jhumpa Lahiri - 1888
Carl Schmitt, German philosopher and jurist (died 1985)
PlettenbergWikipedia: Carl Schmitt - 1561
Luis de Góngora, Spanish cleric and poet (died 1627)
CórdobaWikipedia: Luis de Góngora - 1657
Frederick I of Prussia (died 1713)
KönigsbergWikipedia: Frederick I of Prussia - 1916
Gough Whitlam, Australian lawyer, and politician, 21st Prime Minister of Australia (died 2014)
MelbourneWikipedia: Gough Whitlam - 1943
Howard Gardner, American psychologist and academic
ScrantonWikipedia: Howard Gardner - 1986
Yoann Gourcuff, French footballer
LorientWikipedia: Yoann Gourcuff - 1892
Thomas Mitchell, American actor, singer, and screenwriter (died 1962)
ElizabethWikipedia: Thomas Mitchell - 1930
Harold Bloom, American literary critic (died 2019)
New York CityWikipedia: Harold Bloom - 1958
Hugo Sánchez, Mexican footballer, coach, and manager
Mexico CityWikipedia: Hugo Sánchez - 1959
Suzanne Vega, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
Santa MonicaWikipedia: Suzanne Vega - 1956
Amitav Ghosh, Indian-American author and academic
KolkataWikipedia: Amitav Ghosh - 1899
E. B. White, American essayist and journalist (died 1985)
Mount VernonWikipedia: E. B. White - 1992
Mohamed Elneny, Egyptian footballer
El Mahalla El KubraWikipedia: Mohamed Elneny - 2002
Amad Diallo, Ivorian footballer
AbidjanWikipedia: Amad Diallo - 1662
Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria (died 1726)
- 1986
Raúl García, Spanish footballer
Zizur Mayor/Zizur NagusiaWikipedia: Raúl García - 1952
Stephen Lang, American actor and playwright
QueensWikipedia: Stephen Lang - 1956
Sela Ward, American actress
MeridianWikipedia: Sela Ward - 1996
Alessia Cara, Canadian singer-songwriter
MississaugaWikipedia: Alessia Cara - 1903
Rudolf Abel, English-Russian colonel and Soviet spy (died 1971)
Newcastle upon TyneWikipedia: Rudolf Abel - 1723
Jean-François Marmontel, French historian and author (died 1799)
Bort-les-OrguesWikipedia: Jean-François Marmontel - 1826
Alexander Afanasyev, Russian ethnographer and author (died 1871)
BogucharWikipedia: Alexander Afanasyev - 1970
Justin Chambers, American actor
SpringfieldWikipedia: Justin Chambers - 1972
Michael Rosenbaum, American actor
OceansideWikipedia: Michael Rosenbaum - 1974
André Ooijer, Dutch footballer and coach
AmsterdamWikipedia: André Ooijer - 1846
Léon Bloy, French author and poet (died 1917)
PérigueuxWikipedia: Léon Bloy - 1959
Richie Sambora, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
Perth AmboyWikipedia: Richie Sambora - 1975
Rubén Baraja, Spanish footballer and manager
ValladolidWikipedia: Rubén Baraja - 1994
Lucas Ocampos, Argentine footballer
QuilmesWikipedia: Lucas Ocampos - 1974
Lil' Kim, American rapper and producer
Bedford–StuyvesantWikipedia: Lil' Kim - 1902
Samuel Goudsmit, Dutch-American physicist (formulated concept of electron spin) (died 1978)
The HagueWikipedia: Samuel Goudsmit - 1923
Richard Pipes, Polish-American historian and academic (died 2018)
CieszynWikipedia: Richard Pipes - 1988
Étienne Capoue, French footballer
- 1927
Theodore Maiman, American-Canadian physicist and engineer (died 2007)
Los AngelesWikipedia: Theodore Maiman - 1931
Tab Hunter, American actor and singer (died 2018)
ManhattanWikipedia: Tab Hunter - 1920
Zecharia Sitchin, Russian-American author (died 2010)
- 1966
Kentaro Miura, Japanese author and illustrator (died 2021)
- 1985
Orestis Karnezis, Greek footballer
- 1990
Mona Barthel, German tennis player
Bad SegebergWikipedia: Mona Barthel - 1811
William Robert Grove, Welsh physicist and inventor of the first fuel cell (died 1896)
- 154
Bardaisan, Syrian astrologer, scholar, and philosopher (died 222)
EdessaWikipedia: Bardaisan - 1836
Antônio Carlos Gomes, Brazilian composer (died 1896)
CampinasWikipedia: Antônio Carlos Gomes - 1866
Princess Irene of Hesse and by Rhine (died 1953)
Neues PalaisWikipedia: Princess Irene of Hesse and by Rhine - 1990
Connor Paolo, American actor
New York CityWikipedia: Connor Paolo - 1832
Charilaos Trikoupis, Greek lawyer and politician, 55th Prime Minister of Greece (died 1896)
- 1953
Leon Spinks, American boxer (died 2021)
St. LouisWikipedia: Leon Spinks - 1558
Robert Greene, English author and playwright (died 1592)
NorwichWikipedia: Robert Greene - 1929
David Kelly, Irish actor (died 2012)
DublinWikipedia: David Kelly - 1943
Tom Holland, American actor, director, and screenwriter
PoughkeepsieWikipedia: Tom Holland - 1957
Peter Murphy, English singer-songwriter
NorthamptonWikipedia: Peter Murphy - 1994
Nina Nesbitt, Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist
EdinburghWikipedia: Nina Nesbitt - 1925
Nicolai Gedda, Swedish operatic tenor (died 2017)
StockholmWikipedia: Nicolai Gedda
What is celebrated on 11 July
- Christian Feast Day: Benedict of Nursia
- Christian Feast Day: Drostan
- Christian Feast Day: Kjeld
- Christian Feast Day: Marciana of Toledo
- Christian Feast Day: Olga of Kiev
- Christian Feast Day: Pope Pius I
- Christian Feast Day: Thomas Sprott
- Christian Feast Day: July 11 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- China National Maritime Day (China)
- Day of the Bandoneón (Argentina)
- Day of the Flemish Community (Flemish Community of Belgium)
- Eleventh Night (Northern Ireland)
- Gospel Day (Kiribati)
- National Day of Commemoration, held on the nearest Sunday to this date (Ireland)
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.