1713 – Peace of Utrecht; France cedes Maritime provinces to Britain – English, Prussian, Savoois, Portuguese & French peace treaty
1775 – The last conviction for witchcraft in Germany takes place.
It was on this date, April 11, 1775, that the sentence of death for witchcraft was handed down in Germany. Some records indicate that Anna Maria Schwiigel was the last legally convicted person in Bavaria for witchcraft and sentenced to death. Other records indicate that she died in jail of natural causes. Though the notoriety of being the last woman put to death for Witchcraft in Europe belongs to her, other sad stories exist. Some believe it was Barbara Zdunk who was convicted of witchcraft and arson after a devastating fire in 1806 that almost burnt down the entire city of Rössel. She was burned at the stake. Today, it is believed the fire was set by a group of soldiers. And then there was Anna Göldi, who worked as a maidservant and was accused of putting needles in the bread of the physician she worked for. Accused of witchcraft and under torture, admitted to entering a pact with the Devil who appeared to her as a black dog. She was sentenced to death by decapitation. Though, these events took place hundreds of years ago, on this date in 2013, two women were beheaded for sorcery in Papua New Guinea.
1865 – Abraham Lincoln urges a spirit of generous conciliation during reconstruction
1868 – The Shogunate is abolished in Japan.
1890 – Ellis Island designated as an immigration station
1906 – Albert Einstein introduces his Theory of Relativity
1941 – Germany blitzes Conventry, England
1951 – President Harry Truman fires General Douglas McArthur
1961 – Trial of Adolf Eichmann begins in Jerusalem
1961 – Bob Dylan makes his first appearance at Folk City, Greenwich Village
1976 – The Apple I is created.
1986 – Halley’s Comet makes closest approach to Earth this trip, 63 M km
2006 – Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announces that Iran has successfully enriched uranium.
2013 – Two women are beheaded for sorcery in Bougainville, Papua New Guinea
2013 – Fossilized dinosaur eggs with embryos are discovered in China
Birthdays
1866 – Carla Ford, wife of Henry Ford
1869 – Kasturba Gandhi, wife of Mohandas Gandhi (d. 1944)
1890 – Donna Rachele Mussolini, wife of Benito Mussolini (d. 1979)
1925 – Ethel Kennedy, wife of Bobby
1932 – Joel Grey, [Joe Katz], actor (Cabaret, Remo Williams, 7% Solution)
Death
1875 – Heinrich Schwabe, discoverer (11-year sunspot cycle), dies
1890 – Joseph Merrick, “The Elephant Man” (b. 1862)
1906 – James A Bailey, circus showman (Barnum & Bailey), dies at 58
1987 – Primo Levi, Italy, chemist/writer (Survival in Auschwitz), dies at 67
2007 – Kurt Vonnegut Jr, American author, dies from head trauma at 84
Edited from various sources including historyorb.com, the NYTimes.com Wikipedia and other internet searches