Pope Benedict XVI announces resignation – Chicago Tribune

Today is Sunday, February 11, the 42nd day of 2024. There are 324 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On February 11, 2013, with a few words in Latin, Pope Benedict XVI did what no pope has done in more than half a millennium: he announced his resignation. The bombshell came during a routine morning meeting of Vatican cardinals. (The 85-year-old priest was succeeded by Pope Francis.)

On this date:

According to tradition, Japan was founded in 660 BC when Jimmu ascended the throne as the country’s first emperor.

In 1847, American inventor Thomas Alva Edison was born in Milan, Ohio.

A six-week sit-down strike against General Motors in 1937 ended when the company agreed to recognize the United Automobile Workers Union.

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In 1963, American writer and poet Sylvia Plath was found dead by suicide in her London flat; She was 30 years old.

In 1975, Margaret Thatcher was elected leader of Britain’s opposition Conservative Party.

In 1979, followers of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini seized power in Iran.

In 1990, South African black activist Nelson Mandela was released after 27 years of captivity.

In 2006, Vice President Dick Cheney accidentally shot and injured his friend Harry Whittington during a weekend quail hunting trip in Texas.

In 2008, the Pentagon charged Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and five other detainees with murder and war crimes in connection with the September 11 attacks.

In 2011, Egypt erupted in jubilation after pro-democracy protesters ousted President Hosni Mubarak, whose resignation ended three decades of authoritarian rule.

In 2012, singing superstar Whitney Houston was found dead in a hotel room bathtub in Beverly Hills, California, at the age of 48, on the eve of the Grammy Awards.

In 2018, a Russian passenger plane crashed into a snowy field six minutes after taking off from Moscow, killing all 65 passengers and six crew members.

In 2020, the World Health Organization officially named the disease caused by the coronavirus that emerged in Wuhan, China, COVID-19.

In 2021, in the Senate impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump, Democrats alleged that Trump incited an attack on the US Capitol, endangered his own vice president, and expressed solidarity with rioters who sought to overturn the 2020 election on his behalf .

While the number of deaths in the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that hit the Turkish-Syrian border region five days ago in 2023 exceeded 28,000, rescue teams rescued more people, including entire families, from collapsed buildings, despite the diminishing hopes. (It would eventually rise to over 50,000.)

Today’s birthdays: Gospel singer Jimmy Carter 92. Actor Tina Louise 90. Bandleader Sergio Mendes 83. Actor Philip Anglim 72. Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush 71. Actor Catherine Hickland 68. Rock musician David Uosikkinen (The Hooters) 68, Actor Carey Lowell is 63, Singer Sheryl Crow is 62, Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin is 60, Actor Jennifer Aniston is 55, Actor Damian Lewis is 53, Actor Marisa Petroro is 52, Singer D’Angelo is 50 years old. Actor Brice Beckham is 48, Rock vocalist Mike Shinoda (Linkin Park) is 47, Singer-actor Brandy is 45, Country musician Jon Jones (The Eli Young Band) is 44, Actor Matthew Lawrence is 44, R&B singer Kelly Rowland is 43. Actor Natalie Dormer is 42, Singer Aubrey O’Day is 40, Actor Q’orianka Kilcher is 34, Actor Taylor Lautner is 32 years old.