11th of August

This is the 223rd day of the year, with almost 142 days remaining until the end of the year.

3114 BC - The Mesoamerican Long Count calendar, used by several pre-Columbian civilzations, notably the Mayans, begins.

355 AD - Claudius Silvanus, accused of treason, proclaims himself Roman Emperor against Constantius II.

1667 - Anna Maria Luisa de Medici, Florentine patroness of the arts, the last scion of the House of Medici is born.

1804 - Francis II assumes the title of first Emperor of Austria.

1898 - American troops enter the city of Mayaguez, Puerto Rico during the Spanish-American War.

1919 - The constitution of the Weimar Republic is adopted.

1929 - Babe Ruth becomes the first baseball player to hit 500 home runs in his career with a home run at League Park in Cleveland, Ohio.

1934 - The first civilian prisoners arrive at the Federal prison on Alcatraz Island.

1942 - Actress Hedy Lamarr and composer George Antheil receive a patent for a frequency hopping, spread spectrum communication system that later became the basis for modern technologies in wireless telephones and Wi-Fi.

1972 - The last United States ground combat unit departs South Vietnam.

2003 - NATO takes over command of the peacekeeping force in Afghanistan, marking its first major operation outside Europe in it 54-year history.