On This Day In ...

• Aug 11 1770 – A gust of wind knocks over Samuel Hearne's surveying instrument, breaking it. Thereafter he was not able to take accurate positional measurements on his journey to the Coppermine.
• Aug 11 1888 – Fridtjof Nansen and his five companions land at Umivik Fjord on the southeast coast of Greenland and prepare to start their crossing.

• Aug 11 1594 – Register of Stratford parish church records the burial of Hamnet Shakespeare, William Shakespeare's son. The child would have been only nine years old.
• Aug 11 1879 – Birth of Frieda Lawrence, wife of novelist D. H. Lawrence, in Metz, Alsace-Lorraine, now part of France.
• Aug 11 1913 – Angus Wilson, novelist, born in Bexhill, Sussex, England.
• Aug 11 1922 – Mavis Gallant, short-story writer, born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
• Aug 11 1936 – Jonathan D. Spence, writer and historian specializing in the history of modern China, born in Surrey, England.
• Aug 11 1938 – Death of Edith Wharton, novelist, in Saint-Brice-sous-Forêt, France, at the age of 75.
• Aug 11 1941 – Isaac Asimov starts writing a short story called The Encyclopaedists, the first story in the 'Foundation' series, and later the opening chapter in the classic sci-fi novel Foundation.
• Aug 11 1956 – Death of Frieda Lawrence, wife of novelist D. H. Lawrence, in Taos, New Mexico, USA, at the age of 77.
• Aug 11 1997 – Publication of Dead Right, the 9th Inspector Banks novel by Peter Robinson.
• Aug 11 2018 – V. S. Naipaul, novelist and travel writer, died in London, England, at the age of 85.

• Aug 11 1961 – Composer and organist Rachel Laurin born in Saint-Benoît, Québec, Canada.

• Aug 11 1883 – After some worrisome volcanic activity in May, Captain H. J. G. Ferzenaar, of the Dutch army, is sent to survey and investigate Krakatoa island. He produces the last map of the island before the massive explosion later that August.
• Aug 11 1913 – Showdown between Sir Arthur Keith and Sir Arthur Smith Woodward. Both show their reconstructions of the Piltdown skull to delegates attending the International Congress of Medicine in London. Their consensus is that Keith's reconstruction, giving a larger brain capacity, is more likely correct.
• Aug 11 1930 – Anak Krakatoa, the 'son' or 'child' of Krakatoa, a new volcano within the caldera, emerges and remains above sea-level. The volcano has continued to grow in subsequent years and remains highly active.

• Aug 11 1891 – First baseball match between Edmonton and Calgary teams. The match was held in Edmonton and Calgary won by 28 runs to 22.
• Aug 11 1913 – First street cars cross the High Level Bridge, Edmonton, on a regular service.

• Aug 11 1986 – Goldweights of Ghana exhibition opens.
• Aug 11 1993 – Fort Edmonton (1830 - 1915), Alberta Legislature Grounds excavation and field school ends, led by Museum-based archaeologist Dr Heinz Pyszczyk.

This presentation has been compiled and is ©1998-2025 by
Alwynne B. Beaudoin (bluebulrush@gmail.com)
Last updated February 1, 2025