Alexander Hamilton was born on January 11, 1757 (according to his writings and what many historians believe.) Some suggest that he was born on January 11th, two years earlier in 1755.Hamilton was present at the Battles of Princeton, Trenton, Brandywine, Germantown, Monmouth and others including Yorktown where he stormed Redoubt No. 10.After the American Revolutionary War Founding Father of the United States Alexander Hamilton championed the cause for a federal Constitution, became the first Secretary of the Treasury and established the Revenue-Marine which preceded the U.S. Coast Guard.

On January 11, 1843, Francis Scott Key passed away at the age of 63 in Baltimore, Maryland.Image of Francis Scott Key via NYPL Digital Collections, no known restrictions

Around nightfall on January 11, 1863, the Union Navy steamer USS Hatteras met the CSS Alabama off the coast of Galveston, Texas. The confrontation lasted about 20 minutes. Before the USS Hatteras sank, the CSS Alabama took surviving Union Navy crew members prisoner and brought them to JamaicaImage via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

On January 11, 1935, Amelia Earhart took off from Honolulu, Hawaii on her flight to Oakland, California.She was the first person to accomplish this solo flight.Image: Amelia after making her flight from Hawaii to California on January 12, 1935 via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

Police. Ashokan, N.Y. Patrolmen-on-Aqueduct. Arresting a violator of the ‘Speed’ law. January 11, 1915. via NYPL Digital Collections, no known restrictions

On January 11, 1759, the first life insurance company in America, the Corporation for Relief of Poor and Distressed Widows and Children of Presbyterian Ministers was established in Philadelphia.Image: Illustration of the First Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, when it stood on High Street. The church structure was taken down in 1820 via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

A photo on the historic Union Station in Charleston, South Carolina c. 191Thirty-seven years later the Union Station was destroyed by fire on January 11, 1947.Image via LOC, no known restrictions

Ezra Cornell, the co-founder of Cornell University and the founder of Western Union, was born on January 11, 1807 in the Bronx, N.Y. His son, Alonzo B. Cornell, became the 27th Governor of New York. Image via NYPL, no known restrictions

On January 11, 1908, President Theodore Roosevelt declared the Grand Canyon a national monument. The National Park status came 11 years later.Image from five years earlier in 1903 of President Theodore Roosevelt, pictured with Governor Brodie, and others, at the Grand Canyon, in Arizona via Wikimedia Commons, no known restrictions

“Members of the Congress, the Constitution makes us not rivals for power but partners for progress. We are all trustees for the American people, custodians of the American heritage. It is my task to report the State of the Union–to improve it is the task of us all.”John F. Kennedy during his Second State of The Union Address on January 11, 1962. Image: JFK delivering his State of The Union on January 11, 1962 via Wikimedia Commons, public domain in the US.

On January 11, 1964, Surgeon General of the United States, Luther Terry, released the first public report on the hazards of smoking titled: “Smoking and Health: Report of the Advisory Committee to the Surgeon General of the Public Health Service.Image of Luther Terry via Wikimedia Commons, public domain in the US.

A photo of New York Yankee Ron Blomberg who in April 1973 became the first designated hitter in MLB history. Owners in the American League voted to approve the DH on January 11, 1973.Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

On January 11, 1925, Symphony for Organ and Orchestra by American composer Aaron Copland premiered at New York’s Aeolian Hall.Image: Aaron Copland in 1970 via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

American author Alice Hegan Rice was born on January 11, 1870 in Shelbyville, Kentucky.She began one of her short stories “Cupid Goes Slumming” with:“It’s a mooted question whether love is a cause or an effect, whether Adam discovered a heart in the recesses of his anatomy before or after the appearance of Eve.”Photo via Wikimedia Commons, public domain