October 11
1779
Polish patriot and American Revolutionary War commander Casimir Pulaski was killed in the battle of Savannah.
1899
The Boer War began in South Africa.
1915
English nurse Edith Cavell was executed by the Germans.
1939
A letter from Albert Einstein was delivered to President Franklin D. Roosevelt concerning the possibility of atomic weapons.
1962
The first session of Vatican II was convened by Pope John XXIII.
1968
The first staffed Apollo mission, Apollo 7, was launched with astronauts Wally Schirra, Donn Fulton Eisele, and R. Walter Cunningham aboard.
1984
Space shuttle Challenger astronaut, Kathryn Sullivan, became the first American woman to walk in space.
Birthdays
Eleanor Roosevelt
1884–1962, American humanitarian, born in New York City.
H. J. Heinz
food manufacturer (1844)
Charles Revson
cosmetics industry executive (1906)
Joseph Alsop
political journalist (1910)
Jerome Robbins
choreographer (1918)
Elmore Leonard
writer (1925)
Steve Young
football player (1961)
Joan Cusack
comic actress (1962)
Luke Perry
actor (1966)
Michelle Wie
golfer (1989)