1. In 1903, the first ever legal execution by electrocution took place in Alabama on August 11. William Luther, a former sharecropper, was convicted of murdering his boss and was executed via the newly developed method of electrocution.
2. On August 11, 1953, Birmingham's own "Bullet" Bob Hayes was born. Hayes was a track and field sprinter who went on to win two Olympic gold medals in the 1960s and set multiple world records. He was also a standout football player and was inducted into both the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the Olympic Hall of Fame.
3. In 1965, federal marshals were sent to Selma, Alabama to protect civil rights marchers attempting to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge. The marchers were attacked by state troopers on the bridge on March 7, 1965, but on August 11 of that year, a federal court ruled that the march could proceed and that law enforcement could not interfere with the right to peaceful protest.
4. On August 11, 1995, employees of the Alabama Department of Public Safety discovered a pipe bomb outside the building. The bomb was quickly defused by a bomb squad, and while no one was injured, the incident sparked an investigation into the hate group, the Christian Identity movement, which was believed to be behind the bombing attempt.
5. In 2014, the city of Birmingham celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act with a special event on August 11. The event included a commemoration of the pivotal role that Birmingham played in the civil rights movement, with speeches by civil rights leaders and musical performances.