What Happened on June 11?

June 11 is National Corn on the Cob Day — a summer favorite — on the same date King George V renamed Britain's royal family Windsor, Henry VIII married Catherine of Aragon, and Buddhist monk Thich Quang Duc protested in Saigon.

• 1509 — Henry VIII marries Catherine of Aragon

  Eighteen-year-old King Henry VIII wed Catherine of Aragon on June 11, 1509, beginning a marriage that would later split England from the Catholic Church. Read the full story →

• 1776 — Continental Congress appoints a committee to draft the Declaration of Independence

  On June 11, 1776, the Continental Congress named Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and others to write a declaration breaking from Britain. Read the full story →

• 1917 — King George V renames the British royal family the House of Windsor

  Facing anti-German sentiment during World War I, King George V issued a proclamation on June 11, 1917, replacing the German-sounding name Saxe-Coburg-Gotha with Windsor. Read the full story →

• 1963 — Buddhist monk Thich Quang Duc protests religious persecution in Saigon

  On June 11, 1963, Buddhist monk Thich Quang Duc burned himself to death at a Saigon intersection to protest South Vietnam's discrimination against Buddhists. Read the full story →

• 2001 — Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh is executed

  Timothy McVeigh was put to death by lethal injection on June 11, 2001, for the 1995 bombing that killed 168 people in Oklahoma City. Read the full story →

Famous birthdays

Jacques Cousteau (1910–1997) · Jeannette Rankin (1880–1973) · Shia LaBeouf (1986) · Peter Dinklage (1969)

Days & observances

National Corn on the Cob Day · National German Chocolate Cake Day · National Making Life Beautiful Day · Kamehameha Day (Hawaii)