On Feb. 11, 1847, inventor Thomas Alva Edison was born in Milan, Ohio.

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

In 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.)

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

In 2011, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak resigned in the wake of pro-democracy protests, ending three decades of authoritarian rule.

In 2012, singing superstar Whitney Houston, 48, was found dead in a hotel room bathtub in Beverly Hills.