Historical timeline for January 11

COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei: Municipal health officials in Wuhan announce the first recorded death from COVID-19.

One French soldier and 17 militants are killed in a failed attempt to free a French hostage in Bulo Marer, Somalia.

Illinois Governor George Ryan commutes the death sentences of 167 prisoners on Illinois's death row based on the Jon Burge scandal.

Over 100 people are killed in the Sidi-Hamed massacre in Algeria.

Space Shuttle program: STS-72 launches from the Kennedy Space Center marking the start of the 74th Space Shuttle mission and the 10th flight of Endeavour.

51 people are killed in a plane crash in María La Baja, Colombia.

The Irish Government announces the end of a 15-year broadcasting ban on the IRA and its political arm Sinn Féin.

The Gateway Bridge, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia is officially opened.

United Airlines Flight 2885 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, killing three.

The first episode of Finnish children's TV show Pikku Kakkonen ("Little Number Two") is aired on Yle TV2.

Major League Baseball owners vote in approval of the American League adopting the designated hitter position.

East Pakistan renames itself Bangladesh.

The Tbilisi Metro is opened.

Surgeon General of the United States Dr. Luther Terry, M.D., publishes the landmark report Smoking and Health: Report of the Advisory Committee to the Surgeon General of the Public Health Service saying that smoking may be hazardous to health, sparking national and worldwide anti-smoking efforts.

An avalanche on Huascarán in Peru causes around 4,000 deaths.

Cold War: While tied to its pier in Polyarny, the Soviet submarine B-37 is destroyed when fire breaks out in its torpedo compartment.

Throgs Neck Bridge over the East River, linking New York City's boroughs of The Bronx and Queens, opens to road traffic.

36 people are killed when Lufthansa Flight 502 crashes on approach to Rio de Janeiro/Galeão International Airport in Brazil.

The African Convention is founded in Dakar, Senegal.

The first "networked" television broadcasts took place as KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania goes on the air connecting the east coast and mid-west programming.