Important Events From This day in History – 11th February

Today in History

• 1990 Nelson Mandela is freed after 27 years as a political prisoner

  The release of the anti-apartheid activist marked a watershed moment in South Africa’s transition from apartheid to democracy.

• 1979 Ayatollah Khomeini seizes power in Iran

  A few days after Khomeini’s triumphant return from exile in France, the Iranian army withdraws, paving the way for establishing an Islamic theocracy.

• 1975 Margaret Thatcher becomes the first female leader of the British Conservative Party

  Thatcher won the general elections in 1979 and became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

• 1938 The BBC broadcasts Karel Čapek’s “R.U.R.”, the world’s first science fiction TV program

  The Czech play, whose abbreviated title stands for “Rossum’s Universal Robots,” was the first to use the term “robot” in English.

• 1858 Bernadette Soubirous sees a vision of the Virgin Mary near Lourdes

  The small town in southern France grew to become one of the most important Christian pilgrimage sites.