February 11 is the 42nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 323 days remain until the end of the year (324 in leap years).
1794 – First session of United States Senate opens to the public.
1808 – Jesse Fell burns anthracite on an open grate as an experiment in heating homes with coal.
1858 – Bernadette Soubirous's first vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary occurs in Lourdes, France 1861 – American Civil War: The United States House of Representatives unanimously passes a resolution guaranteeing noninterference with slavery in any state.
1933 – LAPD Red Squad raid on John Reed Club art show in the U.S. results in the destruction of a dozen political artworks.
1937 – The Flint sitdown strike ends when General Motors recognizes the United Auto Workers trade union.
1946 – The New Testament of the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, the first significant challenge to the Authorized King James Version, is published.
1963 — The Beatles recorded their first album Please Please Me 1979 – The Iranian Revolution establishes an Islamic theocracy under the leadership of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
1990 – Nelson Mandela is released from Victor Verster Prison outside Cape Town, South Africa after 27 years as a political prisoner 2013 – The Vatican confirmed that Pope Benedict XVI would resign the papacy as a result of his advanced age.
2020 – COVID-19 pandemic: The World Health Organization officially names the coronavirus outbreak as COVID-19, with the virus being designated SARS-CoV-2