Today in History: June 11, University of Alabama desegregated

Today is Thursday, June 11, the 162nd day of 2026. There are 203 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On June 11, 1963, the University of Alabama was desegregated as Vivian Malone and James Hood became the first two Black students allowed to enroll in classes; Alabama segregationist and Gov. George Wallace initially blocked the doorway to the auditorium where course registration was taking place, delivering a speech before deferring to National Guard orders to move.

Also on this date:

In 1509, England's King Henry VIII married his first wife, Catherine of Aragon.

In 1776, the Second Continental Congress appointed the Committee of Five (composed of John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Robert Livingston and Roger Sherman) to draft a declaration of independence from Great Britain, to be completed in the subsequent 17 days.

In 1955, in motor racing's worst disaster, more than 80 people were killed during the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France when two cars collided and crashed into spectators.

In 1962, Frank Morris, Clarence Anglin and John Anglin, prisoners at Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary in San Francisco Bay, staged an escape, leaving the island on a makeshift raft. They were never found or heard from again.

In 1963, Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thích Quảng Đức lit himself on fire on a Saigon street as a protest against the Vietnamese government's persecution of Buddhists.

In 1987, Margaret Thatcher became the first British prime minister in over 160 years to win a third consecutive term of office as her Conservative Party held onto a reduced majority in Parliament.

In 2001, Timothy McVeigh, 33, was executed by lethal injection at the federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, for the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing that killed 168 people.

In 2009, with H1N1 swine flu reported in more than 70 nations, the World Health Organization declared the first global flu pandemic in 41 years.

In 2024, Hunter Biden was convicted of three felonies for purchasing a gun in 2018 when, prosecutors said, he lied on a federal form by claiming he was not illegally using or addicted to drugs. President Joe Biden in December pardoned his son for the gun and separate tax-related convictions.

Today's Birthdays: Drummer Bernard Purdie is 87. International Motorsports Hall of Famer Jackie Stewart is 87. Actor Roscoe Orman is 82. Actor Adrienne Barbeau is 81. Rock musician Frank Beard (ZZ Top) is 77. Singer Graham Russell (Air Supply) is 76. Football Hall of Famer Joe Montana is 70. Actor Hugh Laurie is 67. TV personality and current Medicare Administrator Mehmet Oz is 66. Actor Peter Dinklage is 57. Actor Joshua Jackson is 48. U.S. Olympic and WNBA basketball star Diana Taurasi is 44. Actor Shia LaBeouf is 40. Basketball Hall of Famer Maya Moore is 37. Actor Saxon Sharbino is 27.