December 12
December 12 is the 346th day (347th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 19 days remaining.
Events
- 627 - Battle of Nineveh
- 1531 - Apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mexico City
- 1719 - The first U.S. newspaper (the Boston Gazette) is published
- 1781 - The British navy defeated a French fleet in the Second Battle of Ushant during the American Revolutionary War.
- 1787 - Pennsylvania becomes the second state to ratify the United States Constitution
- 1870 - Joseph H. Rainey of South Carolina becomes the first black U.S. congressman
- 1872 - A meteorite struck earth near the town of Banbury, England.
- 1897 - The city of Belo Horizonte is founded.
- 1900 - US Steel formed
- 1901 - First radio transmission across the Atlantic Ocean by Guglielmo Marconi
- 1903 - The City of Fairfield,California is incorporated.
- 1913 - Mona Lisa recovered in Florence, two years after it was stolen
- 1917 - In Nebraska, Father Edward J. Flanagan founds Boys Town as a farm village for wayward boys (in 1979 it was opened to girls as well).
- 1925 - Reza Pahlavi takes control of Iran as Shah
- 1937 - Panay incident
- 1939 - Finland defeated the Soviet Union in the Battle of Tolvajärvi, their first major victory in the Winter War.
- 1941 - United States seizes French ship Normandie.
- 1942 - A fire in a hostel in St. John's, Newfoundland kills 100 people.
- 1946 - A fire at a New York, New York ice plant spreads to a nearby tenement killing 37 people.
- 1948 - Batang Kali Massacre, Malaysia
- 1950 - Paula Ackerman, the first woman appointed to perform rabbinical functions in the United States, leads the congregation in her first services.
- 1963 - Kenya gains its independence from the United Kingdom.
- 1969 - Strage di Piazza Fontana in Italy.
- 1979 - The Coup d'état of December Twelfth of South Korea.
- 1979 - Rhodesia changes its name to Zimbabwe
- 1981 - The Chaos Computer Club was founded in Berlin.
- 1983 - Dallos is the first OAV (Original Animation Video) ever released.
- 1985 - Arrow Air Flight 1285 crashes after takeoff in Gander, Newfoundland killing 256, including 248 members of the United States Army's 101st Airborne Division
- 1996 - Uday Hussein is seriously injured in an assassination attempt.
- 2000 - The United States Supreme Court releases its decision in Bush v. Gore, deciding the presidential election of 2000.
- 2003 - Paul Martin, Jr. is sworn-in as the 21st Prime Minister of Canada
- 2004 - Portuguese football team FC Porto wins the last-held Intercontinental Cup against Colombia's Once Caldas in an 8-7 penalty shoot-out.
Births
- 1298 - Duke Albert II of Austria
- 1418 - Duke Albert VI of Austria
- 1574 - Anne of Denmark, queen of James I of England (d. 1619)
- 1745 - John Jay, United States Supreme Court justice (d. 1829)
- 1786 - William L. Marcy, American statesman (d. 1857)
- 1805 - William Lloyd Garrison, American abolitionist (d. 1879)
- 1806 - Stand Watie, American Confederate general and Cherokee leader (d. 1871)
- 1821 - Gustave Flaubert, French writer (d. 1880)
- 1863 - Edvard Munch, Norwegian painter (d. 1944)
- 1866 - Alfred Werner, German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1919)
- 1871 - Umenosuke Bessho, Japanese writer (d. 1945)
- 1876 - Alvin Kraenzlein, American athlete
- 1879 - Laura Hope Crews, actress (d. 1942)
- 1887 - Kurt Atterberg, Swedish composer
- 1892 - Liesl Karlstadt, actress (d. 1960)
- 1892 - Herman Potočnik Noordung, Slovenian rocket engineer (d. 1929)
- 1893 - Edward G. Robinson, actor (d. 1973)
- 1900 - Sammy Davis, Sr., American dancer
- 1903 - Ozu Yasujiro, film director (d. 1963)
- 1905 - Mŕnes Sperber, writer (d. 1984)
- 1914 - Patrick O'Brian, British author (d. 2000)
- 1915 - Frank Sinatra, American singer and actor (d. 1998)
- 1918 - Joe Williams, singer (d. 1999)
- 1919 - Hermann Neuberger, sports official (d. 1992)
- 1923 - Bob Barker, American television game show host
- 1924 - Ed Koch, Mayor of New York City
- 1927 - Honor Blackman, actress
- 1927 - Robert Noyce, American inventor (d. 1990)
- 1929 - John Osborne, British dramatist (d. 1994)
- 1929 - Toshiko Akiyoshi, musician
- 1932 - Bob Pettit, basketball star
- 1934 - Miguel de la Madrid, President of Mexico
- 1938 - Connie Francis, American singer
- 1940 - Sharad Pawar, Indian politician
- 1940 - Dionne Warwick, American singer
- 1943 - Dickie Betts, musician (The Allman Brothers)
- 1943 - Grover Washington Jr., musician (d. 1999)
- 1952 - Cathy Rigby, gymnast, actress
- 1957 - Sheila E., musician
- 1967 - John Randle, American football player
- 1970 - Jennifer Connelly, actress
- 1976 - Dan Hawkins, musician
- 1979 - Nate Clements, American football player
- 1981 - Yuvraj Singh, Indian cricketer
- 1983 - Katrina Elam, country music singer
Deaths
- 884 - Carloman, King of the West Franks
- 1574 - Selim II, Ottoman Emperor
- 1766 - Johann Christoph Gottsched, German writer (b. 1700)
- 1889 - Robert Browning, English poet (b. 1812)
- 1894 - Sir John Thompson, fourth Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1845)
- 1923 - Raymond Radiguet, French author (b. 1903)
- 1929 - Charles Goodnight, cattle baron (b. 1836)
- 1939 - Douglas Fairbanks, American actor (b. 1883)
- 1952 - Bedřich Hrozný, Czech orientalist and linguist
- 1963 - Ozu Yasujiro, film director
- 1968 - Tallulah Bankhead, actress (b. 1902)
- 1970 - Doris Blackburn, Australian politician (b. 1889)
- 1971 - David Sarnoff, radio and television pioneer (b. 1891)
- 1994 - Stuart Roosa, astronaut (b. 1933)
- 1996 - Vance Packard, American author on media manipulation (b. 1914)
- 1999 - Joseph Heller, American author (b. 1923)
- 2001 - Jean Richard, French actor (b. 1921)
- 2002 - Dee Brown, author
- 2003 - Geidar Aliev, President of Azerbaijan (b. 1923)
- 2003 - Keiko, killer whale in the Free Willy movies
- 2003 - Fadwa Toukan, Palestinian poet
- 2003 - Joseph Anthony Ferrario, Roman Catholic prelate
Holidays and observances
External links
December 11 - December 13 - November 12 - January 12 -- listing of all days
See also: December 12, 101st Airborne Division, 1298, 1418, 1531
