Browse Historical Events by Day: What Happened on December 11th?

The Glorious Revolution in England sees William of Orange and Mary II take the throne from James II.

Indiana is admitted into the United States Union becoming the 19th State.

The abdication of King Edward VIII formally approved. Edward VIII had abdicated after failing to win acceptance for his desire to marry American divorcée Wallis Warfield Simpson. He became the only British sovereign to voluntarily resign the crown.

Adolf Hitler declares that Germany is at war with the United States following the Japanese attacks on the U.S., British, and Dutch positions in the Pacific and in East Asia. In a major shake-up of the military high command, Adolf Hitler assumes the position of commander in chief of the German army. Nine days later, on December 19, Adolf Hitler assumed the position of commander in chief of the German army.

French forces capture the Algerian city of Oran, effectively ending the Algerian War of Independence.

Adolf Eichmann, a Nazi war criminal living in Argentina is found guilty and sentenced to die, after a trial in Israel. Eichmann was abducted by an Israeli command unit from Argentina, where he was living and was taken to Israel to be tried. More

The South African Rivonia Trial concludes with the sentencing of Nelson Mandela and other anti-apartheid activists to life in prison.

The Lufthansa cargo terminal at JFK Airport is taken over by six masked armed men in the pre-dawn hours. Arriving employees are held at gunpoint and within one hour the robbers left with nearly $6M in U.S Dollars and jewelry, the largest cash robbery on US soil at the time. The robbery became to be known as the Lufthansa heist.

China joins the World Trade Organization (WTO) after 15 years of negotiations.