December 11 in History

• 1936

  December 11, 1936:

  King Edward VIII of Great Britain abdicates his throne because of strong opposition towards his intention to marry Wallis Warfield Simpson, a divorcee from the United States.

• 1941

  December 11, 1941:

  Adolf Hitler declares war against the United States on behalf of Germany.

• 1946

  December 11, 1946:

  The United Nations Children’s Fund, popularly referred to as UNICEF, is established by the United Nations.

• 1964

  December 11, 1964:

  Soul singer Sam Cooke dies after he is shot in the chest thrice by Bertha Franklin, a Los Angeles motel manager who claims he threatened to kill her for interfering in his attempt to rape a woman in the motel.

• 1967

  December 11, 1967:

  The American comedy-drama film, “Guess Who's Coming to Dinner” is released.

• 1978

  December 11, 1978:

  The Lufthansa airline’s cargo building at the JFK International Airport in New York City is robbed of close to $6 million in cash and jewellery.

• 1981

  December 11, 1981:

  Boxer Muhammad Ali loses his final professional match to Trevor Berbick.

• 1998

  December 11, 1998:

  The US House of Representative’s Judiciary Committee recommends three articles of impeachment against President Bill Clinton for his sex scandal involving Monica Lewinsky.

• 2014

  December 11, 2014:

  The world’s first successful penis transplant is carried out in South Africa, led by urologist Andre van der Merwe.

• 2015

  December 11, 2015:

  The last Playboy magazine to feature a nude woman is published with actress Pamela Anderson as the model.