Today in History - December 11th

1719 - On this day in history, the first sighting of the Aurora Borealis was recorded in New England.
1816 - Indiana was admitted to the Union as the 19th American state.
1872 - Today in history, Pinckney Benton Stewart Pinchback became America's first black governor.
1894 - The world's first motor show opened in Paris.
1936 - On this day in history, Britain's King Edward VIII abdicated in order to marry American Wallis Warfield Simpson.
1946 - The United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) was established by the U.N. General Assembly.
1980 - Today in history, Jimmy Carter signed legislation creating $1.6 billion environmental "superfund" that would be used to pay for cleaning up chemical spills and toxic waste dumps.
1987 - Charlie Chaplin's trademark cane and bowler hat were sold at Christie's for £82,500.
1997 - On this day in history, more than 150 countries agreed at a global warming conference in Kyoto, Japan, to control the Earth's "greenhouse gases." The US was not one of them.

1998 - Majority Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee pushed through three articles of impeachment against President Clinton.
2001 - Today in history, Attorney General Ashcroft announced the first federal indictment directly related to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Zacharias Moussaoui was charged with six conspiracy charges.

SCIENCE, INVENTIONS, PATENT - Today in History, December 11th

1769 - Edward Beran of London patented venetian blinds.
1844 - On this day in history, Dr. Horace Wells became the first person to have a tooth extracted after receiving an anesthetic. Nitrous Oxide, or laughing gas, was the anesthetic.
1882 - Boston's Bijou Theater open its doors to a performance. It was the first American playhouse lit exclusively by electricity.
1967 - On this day in history, the prototype of the Concorde was shown for the first time in Toulouse, France.

1951 - Joe DiMaggio (New York Yankees) announced his retirement baseball. DiMaggio only played for the Yankees during his 13-year career.
1981 - Today in history, Muhammad Ali fought his last fight, which he lost.

1803 - Composer Louis-Hector Berlioz was born.
1957 - On this day in history, Jerry Lee Lewis secretly married his 13-year-old third cousin Myra Gale Brown.
1960 - Aretha Franklyn made her New York debut at the Village Vanguard.
1970 - Today in history, Ringo Starr's movie "The Magic Christian" premiered in London.
1971 - James Brown's 32nd album, "Revolution of the Mind," was released.
1972 - On this day in history, James Brown was arrested after a show and charged with "disorderly conduct" after being accused of trying to incite a riot. The charges were dropped.
1976 - KISS guitarist Ace Frehley was almost electrocuted during a concert. He had touched a short-circuited light. He was carried from the stage but returned 10 minutes later.
1997 - Today in history, Jagged Internetworks, Mick Jagger's Internet Company, debuted with an exclusive live webcast.
1997 - Jewel, Sinead O'Connor and Emmylou Harris performed the Beatles' "In My Life" together at the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize concert in Oslo.