Today in History: February 11, Nelson Mandela released from prison

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Today is Wednesday, Feb. 11, the 42nd day of 2026. There are 323 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Feb. 11, 1990, South African anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela was freed after 27 years in prison. (Mandela would be elected president of South Africa four years later.)

Also on this date:

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

In 1937, a six-week-old sit-down strike against General Motors ended, with the company agreeing to recognize and negotiate with the United Auto Workers union.

In 1945, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Josef Stalin signed the Yalta Agreement, in which Stalin agreed to declare war against Imperial Japan following Nazi Germany’s capitulation.

In 1975, Margaret Thatcher was elected leader of Britain’s opposition Conservative Party, a prelude to her eventual rise to prime minister in 1979.

In 1990, in one of the biggest upsets in boxing history, underdog Buster Douglas knocked out the previously undefeated heavyweight champion Mike Tyson at Japan’s Tokyo Dome.

In 2011, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak resigned after days of pro-democracy protests, ending three decades of authoritarian rule.

In 2012, on the eve of the Grammy Awards, superstar singer Whitney Houston was found dead after she drowned in a hotel room bathtub in Beverly Hills, California; she was 48. The official coroner’s report listed heart disease and cocaine as contributing factors in her death.

In 2013, during a routine morning meeting of Vatican cardinals, Pope Benedict XVI announced he would resign as pope effective Feb. 28; it was the first papal resignation in nearly 600 years.

In 2020, the World Health Organization gave the official name of COVID-19 to the disease caused by the coronavirus that had emerged in China and was unleashing a worldwide pandemic.

Today’s birthdays: Actor Tina Louise is 92. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush is 73. Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin is 64. Musician Sheryl Crow is 64. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is 62. Actor Jennifer Aniston is 57. Actor Damian Lewis is 55. Surfer Kelly Slater is 54. Singer-actor Brandy is 47. Singer Kelly Rowland is 45. Actor Natalie Dormer is 44. Actor Taylor Lautner is 34. Singer-songwriter Khalid is 28.