December 11

Events

• 969: John I Tzimisces ascends to the Byzantine throne.
• 1282: Andronicus II becomes Byzantine emperor after the death of his father, Michael VIII Palaeologus.
• 1971: It is announced that broadcast television will cover as of 1972 the entire Greek periphery.
• 1990: The "Hour of the Prime Minister" is established in Parliament. Constantine Mitsotakis answers to Charilaos Florakis on the subject of German World War II reparations
• 2009: Unknown individuals steal the corpse of Tassos Papadopoulos from Deftera Cemetery, Cyprus.

Sports

• 1968: Greece defeat then-powerhouse Portugal 4-2 in a qualifier of the 1970 World Cup. In utter frustration, Eusebio - considered the best player in Europe - spits at Greek right winger Stathis Haitas.
• 2007: Olympiacos reaches the UEFA Champions League last 16 for the first time in nine seasons after an inspirational display from Ieroklis Stoltidis helped the Greek champions to a stunning 3-0 victory over Group C rivals Werder Bremen in Athens (Stoltidis 12, 74, Kovačević 70).

Births

• 1922: Grigoris Bithikotsis, popular singer, songwriter
• 1948: Stamatis Spanoudakis, music composer
• 1949: Dimitris Kokolakis, basketball player.
• 1949: Eleni Gerasimidou, actress.
• 1950: Christina Onassis, daughter of Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis

Deaths

• 711: Justinian II, Byzantine emperor
• 1282: Michael VIII Palaeologus, Byzantine emperor
• 1834: Kyra-Vasiliki, wife of Ali Pasha
• 2014: Georgios Petsos, politician