On July 11, 1979, Skylab, the United States' first space station, fell to Earth after six years in orbit, scattering tons of debris across the Australian desert. File Photo courtesy of NASA | License Photo

Patrick Hannon Sr. holds a baseball signed by Baseball Hall of Fame member Babe Ruth on opening day of the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame Bar and Grill in Maryland Heights, Mo., on March 30, 2012. On July 11, 1914, Ruth makes his debut in Major League Baseball. File Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI | License Photo

The photo exhibit "Srebrenica, remembrance for the future," is on display in the Russell Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C. on June 16, 2005. On July 11 1995, Bosnian Serbs claim the town of Srebrenica, Bosnia-Herzegovina, starting a genocide that would result in the deaths of more than 8,000 Muslim men and boys. UPI File Photo | License Photo

U.S. President George W. Bush awards the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Harper Lee, author of "To Kill a Mockingbird," in the East Room of the White House in Washington on November 5, 2007. The book was published on July 11, 1960. File Photo by Roger L. Wollenberg/UPI | License Photo

Newly commissioned 2nd lieutenants celebrate as the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds fly over the U.S. Air Force Academy class of 2016 graduation ceremony at Falcon Stadium in Colorado Springs, Colo., on June 2, 2016. In 1955, the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado was dedicated, with 300 cadets in its first class. File Photo by Mike Kaplan/U.S. Air Force/UPI | License Photo

July 11 (UPI) -- On this date in history:

In 1804, U.S. Vice President Aaron Burr killed longtime political foe Alexander Hamilton, the first treasury secretary, in a duel at Weehawken, N.J.

In 1847, songwriter Stephen Foster's first major hit, "Oh! Susanna," was performed for the first time, in a Pittsburgh saloon. It soon became a standard for minstrel shows.

In 1859, Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities was published.

In 1914, legendary hitter Babe Ruth makes his debut in Major League Baseball. The Great Bambino would go on to become one of the greatest baseball players of all time and was included in the inaugural class of the Baseball Hall of Fame.

In 1952, U.S. Army Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower was nominated as the Republican presidential candidate, with Richard Nixon as his running mate. They were elected that November.

In 1955, the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado was dedicated, with 300 cadets in its first class.

In 1960, Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird was published.

In 1979, Skylab, the United States' first space station, fell to Earth after six years in orbit, scattering tons of debris across the Australian desert.

In 1995, the United States resumed diplomatic relations with Vietnam.

In 1995, Bosnian Serbs claim the town of Srebrenica, Bosnia-Herzegovina, starting a genocide that would result in the deaths of more than 7,000 Muslim men and boys.

In 2006, more than 200 people were killed and another 700 injured in coordinated rush-hour terrorist attacks on the transit system in Mumbai.

In 2011, an overloaded Russian cruise ship with a malfunctioning engine capsized in the Volga River during a thunderstorm and quickly sank, killing 122 people. There were 79 survivors.

In 2015, Drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman escaped from a maximum-security Mexican prison on through a 5,000-foot tunnel. It was his second escape from prison, and he would {link:later be caught: "https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2016/01/08/Joaquin-El-Chapo-Guzman-nabbed-in-Mexico-six-months-after-prison-break/8441452277841/" target="_blank"} in January 2016.

In 2019, Japan's asteroid-circling probe executed a {link:second touchdown: "https://www.upi.com/Science_News/2019/07/11/Japans-Hayabusa-2-completes-second-asteroid-touchdown-collects-another-sample/4761562848303/" target="_blank"} on Ryugu.

Hayabusa-2's camera captured a photograph of the spacecraft just four seconds after it touched-down briefly on the surface of the asteroid Ryugu. File Photo by JAXA

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On This Day: Skylab falls to earth - UPI News