On This Day: February 11 By The Associated Press 1945 President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Josef Stalin wrapped up a conference at Yalta in the Crimea by signing a series of agreements [The Yalta Accord] on the governance of post-World War II Europe. [Thus giving away to Stalin half of Europe and the start of what is referred to as the cold war. - MKH] 1937 A sit-down strike against General Motors ended with the company agreeing to recognize the United Automobile Workers Union. 1847 Inventor Thomas Alva Edison was born in Milan, Ohio. 1858 A French girl, Bernadette Soubirous, claimed to have seen a vision of the Virgin Mary near Lourdes. 1929 Italy recognized the independence and sovereignty of Vatican City. 1963 American author and poet Sylvia Plath was found dead in London, a suicide; she was 30. 1975 Margaret Thatcher became the first woman to head a major party in Britain when she was elected leader of opposition Conservative Party. 1979 Followers of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini seized power in Iran, nine days after the religious leader returned to his home country following 15 years of exile. 1990 South African black activist Nelson Mandela was freed after 27 years in captivity. 2008 The Defense Department charged Khalid Sheikh Mohammed with murder and war crimes in connection with the Sept. 11 attacks. 2009 Democrat John Dingell of Michigan became the longest-serving member of the U.S. House of Representatives with more than 53 years of service. 2009 President Robert Mugabe swore in longtime rival Morgan Tsvangirai as Zimbabwes prime minister. 2012 Singer Whitney Houston was found dead in a hotel room in Beverly Hills, Calif., at age 48. (Her death was later ruled an accidental drowning, with heart disease and cocaine use as contributing factors.)
Posted on: Tue, 11 Feb 2014 19:46:58 +0000