Today:
3114 BC – According to the most widely used correlation of the Maya Long Count calendar, August 11 marks the beginning date of the current great cycle of the Maya calendar.
1492 – Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia was elected pope, taking the name Pope Alexander VI. His controversial papacy became one of the most famous of the Renaissance era.
1804 – Francis II assumed the title Emperor of Austria as Francis I, establishing the Austrian Empire while he was still Holy Roman Emperor.
1858 – The Eiger, one of the most famous and challenging peaks in the Swiss Alps, was climbed successfully for the first time by Charles Barrington, Christian Almer and Peter Bohren.
1919 – Germany adopted the Weimar Constitution, formally establishing the democratic Weimar Republic following World War I.
1934 – The first federal prisoners arrived at Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay after the former military prison was converted into a maximum-security federal penitentiary.
1965 – The Watts riots began in Los Angeles following the arrest of an African American motorist. Six days of unrest resulted in 34 deaths, more than 1,000 injuries and widespread destruction.
1972 – The last U.S. ground combat unit left South Vietnam, marking another major step in the withdrawal of American forces from the Vietnam War.
1984 – President Ronald Reagan joked during a microphone test, “We begin bombing in five minutes,” referring to the Soviet Union. The remark was not intended for broadcast but was recorded and quickly became international news.
2014 – Robin Williams died at his home in California at age 63. The Academy Award-winning actor and comedian was known for films including Good Morning, Vietnam, Dead Poets Society, Mrs. Doubtfire and Good Will Hunting.