History for February 11

History for February 11 - On-This-Day.com:
Lydia Child 1802, Thomas Alva Edison 1847 - Inventor and businessman. His inventions included the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and a long-lasting, practical electric light bulb, Leslie Nielson 1926 - Actor



Burt Reynolds 1936 - Actor ("Smokey and the Bandit"), Jeb Bush 1953 - Governor of Florida, brother of U.S. President George W. Bush, Sarah Palin 1964 - Governor of Alaska
   

1808 - Judge Jesse Fell experimented by burning anthracite coal to keep his house warm. He successfully showed how clean the coal burned and how cheaply it could be used as a heating fuel.


1812 - The term "gerrymandering" had its beginning when the governor of Massachusetts, Elbridge Gerry, signed a redistricting law that favored his party.


1858 - A French girl, Bernadette Soubirous, claimed to have seen a vision of the Virgin Mary near Lourdes.


1945 - During World War II, the Yalta Agreement was signed by U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Josef Stalin. (Today in World War II History)


1975 - Margaret Thatcher became the first woman to head a major party in Britain when she was elected leader of the Conservative Party.


1979 - Nine days after the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returned to Iran (after 15 years in exile) power was seized by his followers.

1990 - Nelson Mandela was freed after 27 years in captivity.


2006 - In Texas, U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney accidentally shot and wounded a companion during a quail hunt.