January 11 is the 11th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 354 days remaining until the end of the year (355 in leap years).
From 1951
- 1954 – A series of avalanches in the state of Vorarlberg in Austria kills 135 people.
- 1957 – The African Convention is founded in Dakar.
- 1960 – Chad declares its independence.
- 1962 – An avalanche occurs in the Huascaran region in Peru; 4,000 deaths.
- 1962 – Cold War: While tied to its pier in Polyarny, the Soviet submarine B-37 is destroyed when fire breaks out in its torpedo compartment.
- 1963 – The Whisky A Go-Go night club in Los Angeles, the first disco in the US, is opened.
- 1964 – United States Surgeon General Luther Leonidas Terry reports smoking may be hazardous to health. First such statement from US government.
- 1972 – East Pakistan becomes Bangladesh.
- 1973 – Beginning of the Watergate burglars trial.
- 1974 – The world's first surviving set of sextuplets are born to Susan Rosenkowitz in Cape Town, South Africa.
- 1976 – In Ecuador, Guillermo Rodriguez Lara is removed from power by the military.
- 1980 – Nigel Short, 14, is the youngest chess player to be given the degree of International Master.
- 1981 – In Spain, Cantabria becomes an autonomous community.
- 1982 – A cold snap sends temperatures to record lows in dozens of cities throughout the Midwestern United States.
- 1986 – The Gateway Bridge, Brisbane in Queensland, Australia was officially opened.
- 1990 – 300,000 march in favor of Lithuanian independence.
- 1992 – Paul Simon is the first major artist to tour South Africa after the end of the cultural boycott.
- 1994 – Irish Government announces the end of a 15-year broadcasting ban on the IRA and its political arm Sinn Féin
- 1996 – Haiti becomes a member of the Berne Convention copyright treaty.
- 1996 – Ryutaro Hashimoto becomes Prime Minister of Japan.
- 1998 – Sidi-Hamed massacre in Algeria; over 100 people killed.
- 2001 – The Federal Trade Commission approved the merger of AOL and Time Warner to form AOL Time Warner.
- 2002 – The first prisoners arrive at the US detention center in Guantanamo Bay, on the island of Cuba.
- 2003 – Illinois governor George H. Ryan announces decision to grant clemency to all inmates of death row.
- 2005 – Black Tuesday bushfires swept across the southern Eyre Peninsula in South Australia.
- 2013 – President of France François Hollande authorizes military intervention in the conflict in Mali.
- 2015 – Over a million people march in Paris for freedom of speech after the attack on Charlie Hebdo magazine a few days earlier.
- 2015 – Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic is elected to become the first female President of Croatia.
- 2018 – US President Donald Trump is involved in a racism controversy over words he is said to have used to describe Haiti, El Salvador and African countries.
- 2024 – The Iranian Navy seizes control of the Marshall Islands-flagged, United States-controlled & Greek-operated civilian oil tanker St Nikolas.[1]
Up to 1900
- 347 – Theodosius I, Roman Emperor (d. 395)
- 1209 – Möngke Khan, Mongol Emperor (d. 1259)
- 1322 – Emperor Komyo of Japan (d. 1380)
- 1359 – Emperor Go-En'yu of Japan (d. 1393)
- 1395 – Michelle of Valois, Duchess of Burgundy (d. 1422)
- 1503 – Parmigianino, Italian artist (d. 1540)
- 1591 – Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex, English Civil War general (d. 1646)
- 1638 – Nicolaus Steno, Danish physician, scientist and bishop (d. 1686)
- 1642 – Johann Friedrich Alberti, German composer and organist (d. 1710)
- 1671 – François-Marie, 1st duc de Broglie, French military leader (d. 1745)
- 1695 – Francis Scott, 2nd Duke of Buccleuch, Scottish nobleman (d. 1751)
- 1755 or 1757 – Alexander Hamilton, American politician (d. 1804)
- 1757 – Samuel Bentham, English mechanical engineer (d. 1831)
- 1760 – Oliver Wolcott, Jr., American politician (d. 1833)
- 1786 – Joseph Jackson Lister, English optician and physicist (d. 1869)
- 1788 – William Thomas Brande, English chemist (d. 1866)
- 1793 – Cave Johnson, American politician (d. 1866)
- 1805 – Johann Nepomuk Geiger, Austrian painter (d. 1880)
- 1807 – Ezra Cornell, American businessman and university founder (d. 1874)
- 1814 – James Paget, English surgeon and pathologist (d. 1899)
- 1814 – William Bigler, 12th Governor of Pennsylvania (d. 1880)
- 1815 – John A. Macdonald, Scottish-born first Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1891)
- 1838 – Giovanni Cagliero, Italian diplomat (d. 1926)
- 1839 – Eugenio Maria de Hostos, Puerto Rican educator and nationalist (d. 1903)
- 1842 – William James, American psychologist and philosopher (d. 1910)
- 1852 – Constantin Fehrenbach, Chancellor of Germany (d. 1926)
- 1853 – Georgios Jakobides, Greek painter (d. 1926)
- 1858 – Harry Gordon Selfridge, American retailer (d. 1947)
- 1859 – George Nathaniel Curzon, British Viceroy of India (d. 1925)
- 1862 – Joseph Nelson Rose, American botanist (d. 1928)
- 1865 – Johannes Franz Hartmann, German astronomer (d. 1936)
- 1868 – Cai Yuanpei, Chinese philosopher, academic and politician (d. 1940)
- 1870 – Alexander Stirling Calder, American sculptor (d. 1945)
- 1872 – Herbert Baddeley, British tennis player (d. 1931)
- 1872 – Wilfred Baddeley, British tennis player (d. 1929)
- 1872 – George Joseph Smith, British serial killer (d. 1915)
- 1878 – Theodoros Pangalos, Greek general (d. 1952)
- 1885 – Alice Paul, American suffragette and women's rights activist (d. 1977)
- 1890 – Harold Bride, British wireless officer on the RMS Titanic (d. 1956)
- 1895 – Laurens Hammond, American inventor (d. 1973)
- 1897 – August Heissmeyer, German SS officer (d. 1979)
- 1899 – Eva Le Gallienne, English-American actress (d. 1991)
1901–1950
- 1901 – Kwak Ki-ok, Korean pilot (d. 1988)
- 1902 – Maurice Durufle, French composer (d. 1986)
- 1903 – Alan Paton, South African writer and activist (d. 1988)
- 1906 – Albert Hofmann, Swiss chemist (d. 2008)
- 1907 – Pierre Mendès France, Prime Minister of France (d. 1982)
- 1908 – Lionel Stander, American actor (d. 1994)
- 1910 – Nikos Kavvadias, Greek poet and writer (d. 1975)
- 1911 – Nora Heysen, Australian artist (d. 2003)
- 1911 – Brunhilde Pomsel, German broadcaster (d. 2017)
- 1911 – Zenko Suzuki, Prime Minister of Japan (d. 2004)
- 1917 – John Robarts, 17th Premier of Ontario (d. 1982)
- 1918 – Gunnar Sonsteby, Norwegian Resistance activist (d. 2012)
- 1923 – Carroll Shelby, American racing driver, automobile designer and businessman (d. 2012)
- 1923 – Jerome Bixby, American writer and scriptwriter (d. 1998)
- 1923 – Ernst Nolte, German historian and philosopher (d. 2016)
- 1924 – Don Cherry, American singer and golfer (d. 2018)
- 1924 – Roger Guillemin, French Nobel Prize laureate
- 1924 – Slim Harpo, American musician (d. 1970)
- 1926 – Lev Dyomin, Soviet cosmonaut (d. 1998)
- 1926 – Grant Tinker, American television executive (d. 2016)
- 1928 – Mitchell Ryan, American actor
- 1929 – Rafael Eitan, Israeli general and politician (d. 2004)
- 1930 – Ron Mulock, Australian politician (d. 2014)
- 1930 – Rod Taylor, Australian actor (d. 2015)
- 1932 – Alfonso Arau, Mexican movie director
- 1934 – Charles Antony Richard Hoare, British computer scientist
- 1934 – Jean Chrétien, 20th Prime Minister of Canada
- 1936 – Eva Hesse, German sculptor (d. 1970)
- 1938 – Arthur Scargill, British politician and activist
- 1938 – Frankie Randall, American singer-songwriter, actor and dancer (d. 2014)
- 1938 – Gavin Millar, Scottish movie director
- 1940 – Andres Tarand, Estonian geographer and politician, 10th Prime Minister of Estonia
- 1941 – Gerson, Brazilian footballer
- 1942 – Clarence Clemons, American musician (d. 2011)
- 1942 – Bud Acton, American basketball player
- 1943 – Eduardo Mendoza, Spanish writer
- 1944 – Mohammed Abed Elhai, Sudanese writer and academic (d. 1989)
- 1944 – Shibu Soren, Indian politician
- 1945 – Christine Kaufmann, Austrian-German actress (d. 2017)
- 1946 – Naomi Judd, American singer
- 1946 – Tony Kaye, British pianist and organist
- 1946 – John Piper, American theologian
- 1948 – Wajima Hiroshi, Japanese sumo wrestler
- 1948 – Terry Williams, Welsh rock drummer (Dire Straits)
- 1949 – Daryl Braithwaite, Australian rock music singer
- 1949 – Bogdan Borusewicz, Polish historian and politician
- 1949 – Paco Ignacio Taibo II, Mexican writer
- 1949 – Chris Ford, American basketball player
- 1949 – David Rotem, Israeli politician (d. 2015)
- 1949 – Mohammad Reza Rahimi, 2nd Vice President of Iran
1951–1975
- 1951 – Philip Tartaglia, Scottish Roman Catholic Archbishop of Glasgow
- 1952 – Bille Brown, Australian actor and playwright (d. 2013)
- 1952 – Ben Crenshaw, American golfer
- 1952 – Lee Ritenour, American guitarist, composer and producer
- 1952 – Diana Gabaldon, American writer
- 1953 – John Sessions, Scottish actor
- 1954 – Vicky Peña, Spanish actress
- 1954 – Kailash Satyarthi, Indian children's rights activist, joint-winner of the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize
- 1954 – Barbara Prammer, Austrian politician (d. 2014)
- 1956 – Israel Yinon, Israeli conductor (d. 2015)
- 1957 – Claude Criquielion, Belgian cyclist (d. 2015)
- 1957 – Darryl Dawkins, American basketball player (d. 2015)
- 1957 – Bryan Robson, English footballer
- 1958 – Vicki Peterson, American musician
- 1961 – Jasper Fforde, British writer
- 1961 – Karl Habsburg-Lothringen, Austro-Hungarian nobleman, son of Otto von Habsburg
- 1961 – Eva O, American musician and singer-songwriter
- 1962 – Kim Coles, American actress
- 1962 – Chris Bryant, British politician
- 1963 – Jason Connery, British actor
- 1964 – Yolanda Hadid, Dutch-American television personality and model
- 1965 – Edyta Bartosiewicz, Polish singer, songwriter and composer
- 1968 – Tom Dumont, American musician
- 1969 – Manny Acta, Dominican baseball player
- 1970 – Manfredi Beninati, Italian painter and sculptor
- 1970 – Chris Jent, American basketball player and coach
- 1970 – Malcolm D. Lee, American actor, director and screenwriter
- 1970 – Mustafa Sandal, Turkish pop singer, producer, dancer and actor
- 1971 – Tom Ward, British actor
- 1971 – Mary J. Blige, American singer
- 1972 – Amanda Peet, American actress
- 1972 – Konstantin Khabensky, Russian entertainer and actor
- 1973 – Rockmond Dunbar, American actor
- 1973 – Rahul Dravid, Indian cricketer
- 1974 – Jens Nowotny, German footballer
- 1975 – Matteo Renzi, Italian politician, former Mayor of Florence and Prime Minister of Italy from 2014 to 2016
- 1975 – Timbuktu, Swedish rapper
From 1976
- 1977 – Jerome Kerviel, French bank employee
- 1978 – Emile Heskey, English footballer
- 1980 – Geovanni, Brazilian footballer
- 1980 – Gökdeniz Karadeniz, Turkish footballer
- 1981 – Jamelia, English singer
- 1981 – Tom Meighan, English singer (Kasabian)
- 1981 – Jaime Valdés, Chilean footballer
- 1982 – Ashley Taylor Dawson, English actor
- 1983 – Adrian Sutil, German racing driver
- 1984 – Vagner Love, Brazilian footballer
- 1985 – Kazuki Nakajima, Japanese racing driver
- 1986 – Rachel Riley, English television host
- 1987 – Jamie Vardy, English footballer
- 1988 – LunchMoney Lewis, American hip hop singer
- 1988 – Junjun, Chinese singer
- 1991 – Hyolyn, South Korean actress
- 1992 – Lee Seung-hoon, South Korean rapper, choreographer and songwriter
- 1996 – Leroy Sané, German footballer
- 1997 – Cody Simpson, Australian singer
- 1998 – Louisa Johnson, English singer
Up to 1900
- 705 – Pope John VI
- 782 – Emperor Konin of Japan (b. 709)
- 812 – Staurakios, Byzantine Emperor
- 844 – Michael I Rhangabes, Byzantine Emperor
- 1055 – Constantine IX Monomachos, Byzantine Emperor (b. 1000)
- 1083 – Otto Nordheim, Duke of Bavaria (b. 1020)
- 1494 – Domenico Ghirlandaio, Italian artist (b. 1449)
- 1495 – Pedro Gonzalez de Mendoza, Spanish cardinal and statesman (b. 1428)
- 1547 – Pietro Bembo, Italian cardinal, scholar and theorist (b. 1470)
- 1696 – Charles Albanel, French priest, missionary and scholar (b. 1616)
- 1713 – Pierre Jurieu, French Protestant leader (b. 1637)
- 1753 – Hans Sloane, Ulster-Scottish physician and collector (b. 1660)
- 1762 – Louis-François Roubiliac, French sculptor (b. 1695)
- 1763 – Caspar Abel, German theologian, historian and poet (b. 1676)
- 1798 – Erekle II, King of Kartli and Kakheti in present-day Georgia (b. 1720)
- 1801 – Domenico Cimarosa, Italian composer (b. 1749)
- 1812 – Henry Scott, 3rd Duke of Buccleuch, Scottish nobleman (b. 1746)
- 1843 – Francis Scott Key, American lawyer and lyricist (b. 1779)
- 1867 – Stuart Donaldson, colonial governor of New South Wales (b. 1812)
- 1882 – Theodor Schwann, German physiologist (b. 1810)
1901–2000
- 1901 – Vasily Kalinnikov, Russian composer (b. 1866)
- 1914 – Carl Jacobsen, Danish brewer (b. 1842)
- 1923 – King Constantine I of Greece (b. 1868)
- 1928 – Thomas Hardy, English writer (b. 1840)
- 1941 – Emanuel Lasker, German chess player (b. 1868)
- 1944 – Galeazzo Ciano, Italian politician (b. 1903)
- 1947 – Eva Tanguay, Canadian-born singer and entertainer (b. 1879)
- 1953 – Noe Zhordania, Georgian politician (b. 1868)
- 1958 – Edna Purviance, Canadian-born singer and entertainer (b. 1895)
- 1965 – Wally Pipp, American baseball player (b. 1893)
- 1966 – Alberto Giacometti, Swiss sculptor (b. 1901)
- 1966 – Hannes Kolehmainen, Finnish runner (b. 1889)
- 1966 – Lal Bahadur Shastri, Prime Minister of India (b. 1904)
- 1968 – Moshe Zvi Segal, Israeli linguist and scholar (b. 1876)
- 1972 – Padraic Colum, Irish poet, novelist, dramatist and biographer (b. 1881)
- 1975 – Max Lorenz, German tenor (b. 1901)
- 1980 – Barbara Pym, English novelist (b. 1913)
- 1985 – William McKell, Premier of New South Wales and Governor-General of Australia (b. 1891)
- 1985 – Edward Buzzell, American actor, director and screenwriter (b. 1895)
- 1988 – Isidor Isaac Rabi, American physicist (b. 1898)
- 1991 – Carl David Anderson, American physicist (b. 1905)
- 1994 – Helmut Poppendick, German physician (b. 1902)
- 1996 – Roger Crozier, Canadian-American ice hockey player, coach and manager (b. 1942)
- 1998 – Klaus Tennstedt, German conductor (b. 1926)
From 2001
- 2003 – Mickey Finn, English drummer (T.Rex) (b. 1947)
- 2008 – Edmund Hillary, New Zealand mountaineer and explorer (b. 1919)
- 2009 – Pio Laghi, Italian cardinal (b. 1922)
- 2010 – Eric Rohmer, French movie director (b. 1920)
- 2010 – Miep Gies, Dutch humanitarian, helper of Anne Frank (b. 1909)
- 2013 – Mariangela Melato, Italian actress (b. 1941)
- 2013 – Aaron Swartz, American computer programmer, writer and internet activist (b. 1986)
- 2013 – Nguyen Khanh, South Vietnamese politician (b. 1927)
- 2014 – Vugar Gashimov, Azerbaijani chess player (b. 1986)
- 2014 – Ariel Sharon, Israeli general and politician, former Prime Minister of Israel (b. 1928)
- 2014 – Keiko Awaji, Japanese actress (b. 1933)
- 2014 – Arnoldo Foà, Italian actor (b. 1916)
- 2014 – Muhammad Habibur Rahman, Bangladeshi jurist and politician (b. 1929)
- 2015 – Anita Ekberg, Swedish actress (b. 1931)
- 2015 – Chic Littlewood, New Zealand television personality (b. 1930)
- 2015 – Brian Clemens, British screenwriter (b. 1931)
- 2015 – Jeno Buzansky, Hungarian footballer (b. 1925)
- 2016 – Berge Furre, Norwegian historian, theologian and politician (b. 1937)
- 2016 – Brian Johnson, Australian rugby league player (b. 1956)
- 2016 – Gunnel Vallquist, Swedish writer and translator (b. 1918)
- 2016 – Monte Irvin, American baseball player (b. 1919)
- 2016 – David Margulies, American actor (b. 1937)
- 2016 – William Del Monte, American centenarian (b. 1906)
- 2017 – Tommy Allsup, American musician (b. 1931)
- 2017 – Tony Booth, English artist (b. 1933)
- 2017 – Adenan Satem, Malaysian politician, 5th Chief Minister of Sarawak (b. 1944)
- 2017 – Saeeduzzaman Siddiqui, Pakistani politician, Governor of Sindh (b. 1938)
- 2017 – François Van der Elst, Belgian footballer (b. 1954)
- 2017 – Brian Fletcher, English jockey (b. 1947)
- 2017 – Nikolay Neprimerov, Russian physicist (b. 1921)
- 2017 – Newman Hoar, New Zealand cricketer (b. 1920)
- 2018 – Doug Barnard, Jr., American politician (b. 1922)
- 2018 – Stephane Gauger, Vietnamese-American film director (b. 1969)
- 2018 – Edgar Ray Killen, American convicted murderer (b. 1925)
- 2018 – Takis Loukanidis, Greek footballer (b. 1937)
- 2019 – Michael Atiyah, British-Lebanese mathematician (b. 1929)
- 2019 – Steffan Lewis, Welsh politician (b. 1984)
- 2019 – Dimitris Sioufas, Greek politician (b. 1944)