On this day...

1569 First recorded lottery in England, at St Paul's Cathedral
1672 Isaac Newton is elected a member of Royal Society
1693 Mt. Etna erupts, Sicily
1759 First American life insurance company incorporated, Philadelphia
1785 Continental Congress convenes in NYC
1787 Titania & Oberon, moons of Uranus, discovered by William Herschel
1803 Monroe & Livingston sail for Paris to buy New Orleans; they buy all of Louisiana
1805 Michigan Territory organized
1839 Earthquake at Martinique destroys half of Port Royal-700 die
1861 Alabama becomes 4th state to secede
1861 Mexico City captured by Juarez (Lib) in War of the Reform
1863 Naval engagement near Galveston between CSS Alabama & USS Hatteras
1863 Union forces capture Arkansas Post, or Ft. Hindman, Arkansas
1873 First livestock market newspaper published, Drover's Journal, Chicago
1892 Hawaiian Historical Society founded
1897 M. H. Cannon becomes first woman state senator in US (Utah)
1913 First sedan-type car (Hudson) goes on display at 13th Auto Show (New York NY)
1919 3 year old German communist party (Spartacus) crushed
1923 French & Belgian troops occupy Ruhr to collect reparations
1938 Frances Moulton elected first woman president of a US national bank
1942 Japan conquers Kuala Lumpur, Malaya
1943 US & Britain relinquish extraterritorial rights in China
1946 Bert Bell becomes 2nd NFL commissioner, moves Chicago HQ to Philadelphia
1946 People's Republic of Albania established
1953 J. Edgar Hoover declines 6-figure offer to become the President of the International Boxing Club
1960 Chad declares independence from France
1960 Lamar Clark sets pro boxing record of 44 consecutive knockouts
1964 First government report saying smoking may be hazardous to one's health
1966 "Daktari" African adventure series premiers on CBS TV
1966 550 die in landslides in mountains behind Rio de Janeiro after rain
1970 Super Bowl IV-Kansas City Chiefs-23, Minnesota Vikings-7
1973 American League adopts designated hitter rule
1973 Trial of the Watergate burglars begins in Washington DC
1976 Dorothy Hamill wins her 3rd consecutive national figure skating championship
1980 Debut of the Pretenders
1983 Billy Martin named Yankee manager for 3rd time
1984 Denver Nuggets 163, San Antonio Spurs 155-highest-scoring NBA game
1984 Supreme Court reinstated $10M award to Karen Silkwood's family
1988 USSR announces it will participate in the Seoul Summer Olympics
1989 140 nations agree to ban chemical weapons
1990 Bobby Knight becomes basketball's Big 10 winningest coach (229)
1991 Congress empowers Bush to order attack on Iraq

Birthdays which occurred on January 11:

1503 Francesco Parmigianino, Italian artist (Madonna with the Long Neck)
1757 Alexander Hamilton, West Indies, first US Sec of treasury ($10 bill face)
1807 Ezra Cornell, founder (Western Union Telegraph, Cornell University)
1815 Sir John A. MacDonald, (C) first PM of Canada (1867-73)
1885 Alice Paul, ERA advocate/founder (National Woman's Party)
1887 Aldo Leopold, founder (Wilderness Society)
1896 Paddy Driscoll, NFL QB/coach (Chicago Cardinals, Bears)
1903 Alan Paton, South Africa, writer (Cry, the Beloved Country)
1906 Albert Hofmann, Switzerland, chemist (discovered LSD)
1908 Lionel Stander, New York NY, actor (Max-Hart to Hart, Unfaithfully Yours)
1912 Donald Barry, Houston TX, actor (Mr. Gallo-Mr. Novak)
1912 Thomas "Schoolboy" Rowe, Waco Texas, pitcher (Detroit Tigers)
1928 David L. Wolper, producer (Devil's Brigade)
1928 Mitchell Ryan, Cincinnati OH, actor (Chase, Executive Suite)
1931 Ed Hall, Roxbury MA, actor (Dr Bicker-Medical Center)
1933 Goldie Hill, Karnes County TX, country singer (Grand Ole Opry)
1936 Linda Lawson, Ann Arbor MI, actress (Don't Call Me Charlie)
1939 Anne Heggtveigt, Canada, slalom (Olympic-gold-1960)
1942 Clarence Clemmons, saxophonist (Bruce Springsteen's E St. Band)
1945 Christine Kaufmann, Austria, actress (Town Without Pity, Red Lips)
1946 Naomi Judd, country singer (The Judds)
1948 Madeline Manning, 800m runner (Olympic-gold-1968)
1949 Dennis Greene, rocker (Sha Na Na-Shannon)
1949 Tom Netherton, Munich Germany, singer (Lawrence Welk Show)
1952 Ben Crenshaw, Austin TX, PGA golfer
1952 Lee Ritenour, jazz musician
1957 Darryl Dawkins, NBA center (Philadelphia 76ers, NJ Nets)
1965 Loredana Romito, Benevento Italy, actress (Fatal Temptation)
1965 Olivia Barash, Miami FL, actress (Laura-Out of the Blue)
1967 Jeff Bankett, Pittsburgh PA, actor (Tyler-One Life to Live)
1968 Sharon Brown, New York NY, actress (Chantal-Generations)
1974 Rosenkowitz sextuplets, Cape Town (First known to survive infancy)

Deaths which occurred on January 11th:

1843 Francis Scott Key, composer (Star Spangled Banner), dies at 63
1893 Benjamin F. Butler, US general/Presidential candidate (anti-monopoly), dies at 74
1928 Thomas Hardy, novelist, dies at his home near Dorchester at 87
1979 Jack Soo, actor (Nick Yemana-Barney Miller), dies at 63
1984 Jack La Rue, TV narrator (Lights Out), dies at 84
1988 Gregory (Pappy) Boyington, ace WW II pilot, dies at 75 of cancer
1988 Isidor Isaac Rabi, physicist (Nobel Prize-1944), dies at 89