On This Day, Feb. 11: Bernadette says she sees Virgin Mary at Lourdes

Feb. 11 (UPI) — On this date in history:

In 1858, French peasant girl Bernadette Soubirous said the Virgin Mary appeared to her at Lourdes. In December 1933, the pope proclaimed Bernadette a saint.

In 1929, a Lateran treaty signed in Italy recognized the sovereignty of Vatican City.

In 1929, Miss Bobbi Trout, an 18-year-old “Tomboy” who took up flying to avoid dish-washing, broke three world aviation records.

In 1941, Glenn Miller’s Chattanooga Choo Choo was awarded the first gold record, given for sales of 1 million copies.

In 1945, U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Josef Stalin ended a wartime conference at Yalta.

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In 1965, U.S. and South Vietnamese planes made their first bombing raids on North Vietnam.

In 1970, Japan put a satellite, Ohsumi, in space, following the Soviet Union, the United States and France.

In 1990, Nelson Mandela, leader of the movement to end South African apartheid, was released after 27 years in prison.

In 1993, British Prime Minister John Major said Queen Elizabeth II would pay income tax on her personal income as well as being subject to capital and inheritance levies.

In 2006, U.S. adventurer Steve Fossett broke the solo flight record when he landed near Bournemouth, England, covering 24,997 miles after taking off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida four days earlier.

In 2009, a long, bitter political fight in Zimbabwe apparently was resolved when President Robert Mugabe swore in opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai as prime minister.

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In 2011, Hosni Mubarak stepped down after nearly 30 years as president of Egypt, bowing to intense public pressure to resign after 18 days of massive, often violent protests that spawned a reported death toll of more than 800 people. Mubarak, 82, ceded power to the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces.

In 2012, Whitney Houston, an American pop singing star who sold millions of albums and starred in movies, was found dead in a Beverly Hills, Calif., hotel room. The Los Angeles coroner said the 48-year-old entertainer died of accidental drowning in her bathtub but that cocaine and heart disease also played a role.

In 2014, an Algerian Hercules C-130 military plane crashed into a mountain in eastern Algeria, killing 77 people, including civilians. There was one survivor, a soldier.

In 2016, the last four remaining armed occupiers at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon surrendered after a 41-day standoff that left one dead.

In 2018, a passenger jet carrying 71 people on board crashed after takeoff from a Moscow airport, killing all on board.

In 2021, President Joe Biden officially ended a national emergency declaration at the United States’ southern border that allowed former President Donald Trump two years ago to divert federal funds to build his border wall.

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