Today in history: June 11, more than 80 dead at Le Mans race | News

Today in history

Today is Tuesday, June 11th, the 163rd day of the year 2024. There are 203 days left in the year.

Today’s highlight of the story:

On June 11, 1955, one of the worst disasters in motorsport occurred at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France: over 80 people died when two cars collided and crashed into the spectators.

On this date:

In 1509, the English King Henry VIII married his first wife, Catherine of Aragon.

In 1770, Captain James Cook, commander of the British ship Endeavour, “discovered” the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Australia by stumbling upon it.

In 1776, the Continental Congress formed a committee to draft a Declaration of Independence calling for independence from Great Britain.

In 1919, Sir Barton won the Belmont Stakes, becoming the first winner of horse racing’s Triple Crown.

In 1938, Johnny Vander Meer threw the first of two consecutive no-hitters, leading the Cincinnati Reds to a 3-0 victory over the Boston Bees. (Four days later, Vander Meer refused to allow a single hit to the Brooklyn Dodgers, who lost 6-0.)

In 1962, three inmates from Alcatraz managed to escape into San Francisco Bay. They left the island on a makeshift raft. They were never found again and were never heard from again.

In 1985, Karen Ann Quinlan, the comatose patient whose case led to a historic court ruling on the right to euthanasia, died at the age of 31 in Morris Plains, New Jersey.

In 1987, Margaret Thatcher became the first British prime minister in 160 years to win a third consecutive term in office, while her Conservative Party maintained a slim majority in Parliament.

In 1993, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that people who commit hate crimes could be sentenced to additional punishment.

In 2001, 33-year-old Timothy McVeigh was executed by injection at the federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, for the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing that killed 168 people.

In 2009, after cases of swine flu were reported in over 70 countries, the World Health Organization declared the first global influenza pandemic in 41 years.

In 2018, the Supreme Court ruled that states could target people who had not voted for an extended period of time to clean up their voter rolls.

In 2020, Louisville, Kentucky, banned the use of no-knock search warrants and named the new ordinance after Breonna Taylor, who was shot and killed by police officers who entered her home.

Birthdays today: Former U.S. Rep. Charles B. Rangel, DN.Y., is 94. Jackie Stewart, member of the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, is 85. Singer Joey Dee is 84. Actor Roscoe Orman is 80. Actress Adrienne Barbeau is 79. Rock musician Frank Beard (ZZ Top) is 75. Animal rights activist Ingrid Newkirk is 75. Singer Graham Russell (Air Supply) is 74. Rock singer Donnie Van Zant is 72. Actor Peter Bergman is 71. Joe Montana, member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, is 68. Actor Hugh Laurie is 65. Television personality and former U.S. Senate candidate Mehmet Oz, M.D., is 64. Singer Gioia (JOY’-ah) Bruno (Expose) is 61. Rock musician Dan Lavery (Tonic) is 58. Country singer-songwriter Bruce Robison is 58. Actor Clare Carey is 57. Actor Peter Dinklage is 55. Actor Lenny Jacobson is 50. Actor Joshua Jackson is 46. Americana musician Gabe Witcher (Punch Brothers) is 46. US Olympic and WNBA basketball star Diana Taurasi is 42. Actor Shia LaBeouf (SHY’-uh luh-BUF’) is 38.

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