Today is Thursday, Feb. 11, the 42nd day of 2016. There are 324 days left in the year.
Today’s birthdays: Fashion designer Mary Quant is 82. Actor Burt Reynolds is 80. Actress Tina Louise is 78. Bandleader Sergio Mendes is 75. Actor Philip Anglim is 64. Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush is 63. Singer Sheryl Crow is 54. Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin is 52. Actress Jennifer Aniston is 47. Singer D’Angelo is 42. Singer-actress Brandy is 37.
In 660 B.C., tradition holds that Japan was founded as Jimmu ascended the throne as the country’s first emperor.
In 1812, Massachusetts Governor Elbridge Gerry signed a redistricting law favoring his Democratic-Republican Party — giving rise to the term ‘‘gerrymandering.’’
In 1945, 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 Japan following Nazi Germany’s capitulation.
In 1990, South African black activist Nelson Mandela was freed after 27 years in captivity.
In 2006, Vice President Dick Cheney accidentally shot and wounded Harry Whittington, a friend, in a Texas hunting trip.
In 2013, Pope Benedict XVI announced his resignation during a routine morning meeting of Vatican cardinals.
In 2011, Egypt exploded with joy after pro-democracy protesters brought down President Hosni Mubarak, whose resignation ended three decades of authoritarian rule.
Last year, saying Islamic State forces were ‘‘going to lose,’’ President Obama urged Congress to authorize military action.