August 11
1909
Arapahoe became the first American ship to use the S.O.S. distress signal.
1934
The first inmates arrived at the federal prison on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay.
1952
King Hussein of Jordan ascended the throne after his father had been declared mentally unfit.
1954
More than seven years of fighting in Indochina formerly ended with the cessation of French control.
1956
Abstract artist Jackson Pollock died in an automobile accident.
1960
Chad gained its independence from France.
1965
Following the arrest of a young black motorist, the predominately black neighborhood of Watts in Los Angeles erupted in riots that lasted six days and left 34 dead.
2003
Charles Taylor, president of Liberia, formally relinquished his office to Moses Blah and left for Nigeria.
Birthdays
Jerry Falwell
1933–2007, American fundamentalist Baptist pastor, born in Lynchburg, Virginia.
Friedrich Ludwig Jahn
father of gymnastics (1778)
Robert Ingersoll
orator (1833)
Carrie Jacobs Bond
songwriter (1862)
Louise Bogan
poet and critic (1897)
Lloyd Nolan
actor (1902)
Alex Haley
author (1921)
Steve Wozniak
entrepreneur (1950)