Following are some of the major events to have occurred on February 11:
1919 – Friedrich Ebert was elected first president of the German republic. He helped set up the Weimar constitution that tried to unite Germany after World War One.
1929 – The Lateran Treaty was signed establishing an independent Vatican state in Rome.
1945 – The Yalta Conference ended. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, Soviet leader Josef Stalin and U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt agreed on the founding of the United Nations and plans to defeat Germany in World War Two.
1975 – President Richard Ratsimandrava of the Malagasy Republic, now Madagascar, was assassinated after only six days in office.
1990 – Nelson Mandela was released from prison after serving 27 years.
1990 – Boxer James “Buster” Douglas knocks out legendary Mike Tyson.
1992 – Diana, Princess of Wales, is famously pictured sitting alone in front of Taj Mahal.
2006 – Millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett broke the record for long-distance flight without refuelling, flying 26,389 miles (42,450 km) in his specially designed GlobalFlyer plane. The previous record of 26,366 miles (42,431 km) was set by Americans Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager in 1986.
2008 – East Timor President Jose Ramos-Horta was shot and critically wounded at his home in Dili in an assassination attempt by rebel soldiers.
2008 – A 600-year-old gate, called Namdaemun, in central Seoul listed as South Korea’s number one national treasure and the country’s landmark symbol was destroyed by an arsonist.
2010 – British fashion designer Alexander McQueen died.
