On This Day in History – May 11: What Happened on May 11?

On this day in history, May 11 is defined by moments of technological ambition, geopolitical rivalry, and cultural milestones.

What happened on May 11 in history includes the founding of Minneapolis, Minnesota, the first computer to defeat a reigning world chess champion, and the Minnesota Twins’ first game in the American League.

Today in history, May 11 connects to the Sikh Empire’s fall to British annexation in 1849 and the opening of the first-ever Cannes Film Festival in 1946. Famous birthdays on May 11 include Salvador Dali, Irving Berlin, and Martha Quinn.

National days on May 11 include National Eat What You Want Day in the U.S. This day in history, May 11 fun facts reveal a date where human vs. machine rivalry reached a historic turning point.

May 11 on the Calendar

May 11 is the 131st day of the year in standard years and the 132nd day in leap years. There are 234 days remaining.

The zodiac sign is Taurus (April 20 – May 20).

In the Northern Hemisphere, May 11 falls in mid-spring, with average temperatures in the U.S. central states reaching approximately 67°F (19°C) and sunrise occurring at approximately 5:50 AM in the eastern United States.

Here’s your full May 11 summary — all in one table:

Major Historical Events on May 11

The historical record for May 11 spans military conquest, political founding, technological milestones, and cultural firsts.

The following 11 events are drawn from the 1700s through the 2000s.

1745 — French forces under Marshal Maurice de Saxe defeat a combined British, Dutch, and Austrian army at the Battle of Fontenoy in the Austrian Netherlands (present-day Belgium). The battle featured a famous standoff between advancing British Guards and French infantry, and is considered one of the most tactically studied engagements of the 18th century.

1812 — British Prime Minister Spencer Perceval is assassinated in the lobby of the House of Commons by John Bellingham, a merchant who blamed the government for failing to compensate his imprisonment in Russia. Perceval remains the only British Prime Minister to have been assassinated.

1858 — Minnesota is admitted to the Union as the 32nd U.S. state. Its largest city, Minneapolis, had been platted the same year. The state’s name derives from the Dakota Sioux words mni (water) and sota (cloudy or sky-tinted), translating roughly as “sky-tinted water.”

1894 — The Pullman Strike begins when workers at the Pullman Palace Car Company in Chicago walk off the job in protest of wage cuts and high rents in the company town of Pullman, Illinois. The strike would expand to affect 27 states and involve approximately 250,000 railroad workers before being suppressed by federal troops in July 1894.

1946 — The first Cannes Film Festival opens, having been planned for 1939 but delayed by World War II. The festival awarded its first Palme d’Or (then called Grand Prix du Festival International du Film) to René Clément’s The Battle of the Rails and Lewis Milestone’s The Strange Love of Martha Ivers.

1949 — Israel is admitted to the United Nations as its 59th member state, less than one year after declaring independence on May 14, 1948. The admission was approved by a General Assembly vote of 37 in favor, 12 against, and 9 abstentions.

1973 — A federal judge dismisses all charges against Daniel Ellsberg in the Pentagon Papers case, citing government misconduct, including wiretapping and the Watergate-linked break-in at Ellsberg’s psychiatrist’s office by operatives working for the Nixon administration.

1985 — A fire at Bradford City Football Club’s Valley Parade stadium in Bradford, England, kills 56 people and injures more than 265. The blaze started under a wooden stand and spread the entire length of the structure in under four minutes. The disaster prompted a nationwide review of stadium safety standards in British football.

1997 — IBM’s Deep Blue defeats reigning world chess champion Garry Kasparov in the sixth and final game of their rematch, winning the match 3.5–2.5. It was the first time a computer had defeated a reigning world chess champion in a standard-format match under tournament conditions. Kasparov accused IBM of cheating, a charge IBM denied.

2000 — The Meteorite Hills 00593 meteorite, recovered from Antarctica, is formally classified as the largest known Mars meteorite, weighing 13.7 pounds (6.2 kg). Mars meteorites are classified by their oxygen isotope ratios, which match measurements taken by Mars landers.

2011 — Osama bin Laden’s death is formally confirmed by DNA analysis on May 11, three days after the U.S. Navy SEAL raid on his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, on May 2, 2011. His body was buried at sea on the USS Carl Vinson.

Holidays on May 11, 2026

May 11, 2026, is a Monday that includes several national public holidays (many of which are observed “in lieu” of the previous weekend), significant technological anniversaries, and a variety of unique cultural observances.

National and Public Holidays

International and Awareness Days

Fun and Cultural Observances

Religious and Other Observances

May 11, 2026, serves as a significant “observed” holiday for many regions due to the preceding weekend’s celebrations.

It is also a major day for the tech industry in India and a day for personal health and indulgence with National Women’s Check-up Day and Eat What You Want Day.

What’s Happening on May 11, 2026?

National Eat What You Want Day (U.S.): May 11 is observed informally across food media and social platforms as a day when dietary restrictions are set aside. Food delivery platforms and restaurant chains typically run promotional offers tied to the observance.

Eurovision Song Contest (possible date, 2026): Depending on host country scheduling, Eurovision’s grand final is typically held in the second or third week of May. In 2026, the event is expected to draw approximately 160 million television viewers across Europe and participating non-European nations, including Australia and Israel.

Ongoing MLB season: Major League Baseball’s 162-game regular season is in progress. Teams in all six divisions are entering mid-season form, with standings, injury reports, and trade speculation dominating sports media coverage.

Technology sector earnings: Major technology companies, including Microsoft, Alphabet, and Meta, typically release quarterly earnings reports during the first two weeks of May, generating significant market movement and media analysis.

Famous Birthdays on May 11

Salvador Dalí (1904–1989, Spanish) — Surrealist painter whose most iconic work, The Persistence of Memory (1931), depicting melting clocks in a dreamlike landscape, is housed at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Dalí’s public persona, theatrical mustache, and collaborations with Luis Buñuel and Alfred Hitchcock made him one of the most recognized artists of the 20th century.

Irving Berlin (1888–1989, Russian-American) — Songwriter who composed over 1,500 songs, including “God Bless America,” “White Christmas,” and “There’s No Business Like Show Business.” He wrote “White Christmas” for the 1942 film Holiday Inn, and it became the best-selling physical single in history with estimated sales exceeding 50 million copies.

Phil Silvers (1911–1985, American) — Comedian and actor best known for The Phil Silvers Show (1955–1959), in which he played Sergeant Bilko. He won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for Top Banana (1952) and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1972).

Martha Quinn (born 1959, American) — One of the original five VJs at MTV, which launched on August 1, 1981. Quinn’s on-air presence during MTV’s foundational years made her a defining figure in the cable music video era of the early 1980s.

Richard Feynman (1918–1988, American) — Theoretical physicist and Nobel Prize laureate (1965) who made foundational contributions to quantum electrodynamics (QED). He was also a member of the presidential commission that investigated the 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, famously demonstrating the failure of O-ring seals in cold temperatures during a live press conference.

Frances Perkins (1880–1965, American) — The first woman to serve in a U.S. presidential cabinet, appointed Secretary of Labor by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933. She served for 12 years — the longest tenure of any U.S. Secretary of Labor — and was the principal architect of the Social Security Act of 1935.

Natasha Richardson (1963–2009, British) — Actress who won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for Cabaret (1998) on Broadway. She died at age 45 following a traumatic brain injury sustained in a skiing accident in Quebec. She was the daughter of actress Vanessa Redgrave and director Tony Richardson.

Notable Deaths on May 11

Spencer Perceval (1762–1812, British) — Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and the only British PM to be assassinated in office. He was shot at point-blank range in the lobby of the House of Commons on May 11, 1812, by John Bellingham. A barrister by training, Perceval had served as PM since 1809.

Ranjit Singh (1780–1839, Sikh) — Founder and ruler of the Sikh Empire, which at its height extended across the Punjab, Kashmir, and parts of present-day Pakistan and Afghanistan. After his death on May 11, 1839, the empire fragmented and was annexed by the British East India Company by 1849.

Jacob Roggeveen (1659–1729, Dutch) — Explorer who became the first European to encounter Easter Island, reaching it on Easter Sunday in 1722. He named the island Paasch-Eyland (Easter Island in Dutch). He died on May 11, 1729, in Middelburg, Netherlands.

Paul Baran (1926–2011, Polish-American) — Computer scientist who developed the concept of packet switching in the early 1960s at RAND Corporation, a foundational technology enabling the internet. His work on distributed communications networks was designed to survive a nuclear attack.

Mack Sennett (1880–1960, Canadian-American) — Film director and producer who pioneered slapstick comedy in early Hollywood, founded Keystone Studios in 1912, and launched the careers of Charlie Chaplin, Fatty Arbuckle, and Harold Lloyd. He received an honorary Academy Award in 1938.

National Days & Holidays on May 11

National Eat What You Want Day (U.S.): This informal observance encourages people to disregard dietary restrictions for one day. Created by Thomas and Ruth Roy of Wellcat Holidays, the day has no official governmental recognition but generates significant engagement on social media food communities.

National Twilight Zone Day (U.S.): May 11 is observed by fans of Rod Serling’s television anthology series The Twilight Zone, which ran on CBS from 1959 to 1964. The series produced 156 episodes and is widely regarded as one of the most influential programs in American television history.

Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive Day (U.S.): The National Association of Letter Carriers organizes its annual food drive on the second Saturday of May. In 2025, the drive collected approximately 80 million pounds of food, making it the largest single-day food drive in the United States.

International Observances on May 11

World Migratory Bird Day (second Saturday of May) continues in 2026 on Saturday, May 9, though awareness events and birdwatching programs associated with the campaign extend through the month. The UNEP-coordinated initiative focuses on habitat corridors, light pollution reduction, and window collision prevention.

National Technology Day (India): May 11 marks the anniversary of India’s Pokhran-II nuclear tests conducted on May 11, 1998, when India detonated five nuclear devices in the Rajasthan desert under Operation Shakti. The Indian government designated May 11 as National Technology Day to recognize scientific and technological achievements. The tests prompted U.S. and international sanctions against India.

Fun & Weird Facts About May 11

Deep Blue’s victory over Kasparov was nearly cancelled. Ahead of Game 6 on May 11, 1997, Kasparov resigned after just 19 moves — a decision many chess analysts considered premature, as some believed winning lines still existed. Kasparov later said the position was “hopeless.” IBM dismantled Deep Blue after the match, citing retirement — a move critics saw as avoiding a rematch.

Spencer Perceval’s assassination had almost no political consequences. Despite the shock of a sitting Prime Minister being shot in Parliament, John Bellingham’s trial lasted just one day, and he was hanged eight days later. His stated motivation — financial grievance against the government — left the political establishment largely unmoved, and the incident did not trigger any meaningful security reforms in Parliament for decades.

Irving Berlin couldn’t read or write music. He composed entirely by ear, playing only in the key of F-sharp minor on a specially designed transposing piano. All of his songs, including “White Christmas,” were transcribed by musical secretaries. Despite this, he received an honorary degree from Bucknell University and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977.

Minnesota became a state before it had a proper capital building. When Minnesota was admitted to the Union on May 11, 1858, the first State Capitol was a converted railway building in St. Paul. The current Minnesota State Capitol, designed by Cass Gilbert, was completed in 1905.

The 1985 Bradford City fire spread across a 77-meter stand in under four minutes. Investigation by the Popplewell Inquiry found that the fire likely began from a lit match or cigarette falling through a gap in the wooden floor into accumulated rubbish beneath the stand. The stand, built in 1908, had no sprinkler system and no fire-retardant treatment.

FAQ – May 11 in History