December 12

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December 12 is the 346th day of the year (347th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 19 days remain until the end of the year.

Events

• 627 - Battle of Nineveh: A Byzantine army under Emperor Heraclius defeated Emperor Khosrau II's Persian forces, commanded by General Rhahzadh.
• 1098 - First Crusade: Massacre of Ma'arrat al-Numan - Crusaders breach the town's walls and massacre about 20,000 inhabitants. After finding themselves with insufficient food, they resort to cannibalism.
• 1531 - Apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe to Juan Diego in Mexico City.
• 1719 - The Boston Gazette is published for the first time.
• 1781 - American Revolutionary War: Second Battle of Ushant - A Royal Navy squadron, commanded by Rear Admiral Richard Kempenfelt in HMS Victory, defeats a French fleet.
• 1787 - Pennsylvania becomes the 2nd state to ratify the United States Constitution.
• 1812 - French invasion of Russia comes to an end.
• 1862 - USS Cairo sank on the Yazoo River, becoming the first armored ship to be sunk by an electrically detonated mine.
• 1870 - Joseph H. Rainey of South Carolina becomes the first black U.S. congressman.
• 1897 - Belo Horizonte, the first planned city of Brazil, is inaugurated.
• 1901 - Guglielmo Marconi receives the first trans-Atlantic radio signal at Signal Hill in St John's, Newfoundland.
• 1911 - Delhi replaces Calcutta as the capital of India.
• 1914 - The largest one-day percentage drop in the history of Dow Jones Industrial Average, down 24.39%.
• 1915 - President of the Republic of China, Yuan Shikai announces his intention to reinstate the monarchy and proclaim himself Emperor of China.
• 1917 - In Nebraska, Father Edward J. Flanagan founds Boys Town as a farm village for wayward boys.
• 1925 - The Majlis of Iran votes to crown Reza Khan as the new Shah of Persia.
• 1936 - Xi'an Incident: The Generalissimo of the Republic of China, Chiang Kai-shek was kidnapped by Zhang Xueliang.
• 1937 - Panay incident: Japanese aircraft shell and sink US gunboat Panay on the Yangtze River in China.
• 1939 - Winter War: Battle of Tolvajärvi - Finnish forces defeat those of the Soviet Union in their first major victory of the conflict.
• 1940 - Approximately 70 people are killed in the Marples Hotel, Fitzalan Square, Sheffield as a result of a German air raid.
• 1941 - World War II: Fifty four Japanese A6M Zero fighters raid Batangas Field, Philippines. Jesus Villamor and four Filipino fighter pilots fend them off; Cesar Basa is killed.
• 1941 - World War II: USMC F4F "Wildcats" sink the first 4 major Japanese ships off Wake Island.
• 1941 - World War II: Great Britain declares war on Bulgaria. Hungary and Romania declare war on the United States. India declares war on Japan.
• 1942 - A fire in a hostel in St. John's, Newfoundland kills 100 people.
• 1946 - A fire at a New York City ice plant spreads to a nearby tenement killing 37 people.
• 1948 - Malayan Emergency: Batang Kali Massacre - 14 members of the Scots Guards stationed in Malaysia allegedly massacre 24 unarmed civilians and set fire to the village.
• 1950 - Paula Ackerman, the first woman appointed to perform rabbinical functions in the United States, leads the congregation in her first services.
• 1956 - Commencement of the Irish Republican Army's Border Campaign.
• 1963 - Kenya gains its independence from the United Kingdom.
• 1964 - Prime Minister Jomo Kenyatta became the first President of the Republic of Kenya.
• 1969 - Strategia della tensione: Piazza Fontana bombing - The offices of Banca Nazionale dell'Agricoltura in Piazza Fontana, Milan, are bombed.
• 1979 - Coup d'état of December Twelfth: South Korean Army Major General Chun Doo-hwan orders the arrest of Army Chief of Staff General Jeong Seung-hwa without authorization from President Choi Kyu-ha, alleging involvement in the assassination of ex-President Park Chung Hee.
• 1979 - Pakistan President Zia-ul-Haq conferred Nishan-e-Imtiaz on Nobel laureate Dr Abdus Salam.
• 1979 - Rhodesia changes its name to Zimbabwe.
• 1982 - Women's peace protest at Greenham Common - 30,000 women hold hands and form a human chain around the 14.5 km (9 mi) perimeter fence.
• 1984 - Maaouiya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya become the third president of Mauritania after coup d'etat against Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidalla while the later was attending a summit. Taya was ousted in March 2005 by Ely Ould Mohamed Vall in another coup.
• 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.
• 1988 - Clapham Junction rail crash killed 35 and injured 100's after two collisions of three commuter trains. One of the worst train crashes in Britain.
• 1991 - Russian Federation gains independance from the USSR.
• 1996 - Uday Hussein is seriously injured in an assassination attempt.
• 2000 - The United States Supreme Court released its decision in Bush v. Gore
• 2005 - Chenoa The Wonder Puppy is born.
• 2006 - Peugeot produce their last car at the Ryton Plant signalling the end of mass car production in Coventry, formerly a major centre of the British motor industry.

Births

• 1298 - Albert II of Austria (d. 1358)
• 1418 - Albert VI of Austria (d. 1463)
• 1574 - Anne of Denmark, wife of James I of England (d. 1619)
• 1610 - Saint Vasilije (d. 1671)
• 1659 - Francesco Galli-Bibiena, Italian architect/designer (d. 1739)
• 1712 - Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine, Austrian military leader (d. 1780)
• 1724 - Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood, British admiral (d. 1816)
• 1745 - John Jay, 1st Chief Justice of the United States (d. 1829)
• 1779 - Madeleine Sophie Barat, French saint (d. 1865)
• 1783 - Ner Alexander Middleswarth, American politician (d. 1865)
• 1786 - William L. Marcy, American statesman (d. 1857)
• 1799 - Karl Briullov, Russian painter (d. 1852)
• 1805 - William Lloyd Garrison, American abolitionist (d. 1879)
• 1806 - Stand Watie, American Confederate general (d. 1871)
• 1821 - Gustave Flaubert, French writer (d. 1880)
• 1845 - Bruce Price, American architect (d. 1903)
• 1849 - William Kissam Vanderbilt, member of the Vanderbilt family (d. 1920)
• 1863 - Edvard Munch, Norwegian painter (d. 1944)
• 1864 - Paul Elmer More, American essayist (d. 1937)
• 1866 - Alfred Werner, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1919)
• 1870 - Walter Benona Sharp, American oil baron (d. 1912)
• 1875 - Gerd von Rundstedt, German field marshal (d. 1953)
• 1876 - Alvin Kraenzlein, Olympic gold medalist (d. 1928)
• 1887 - Kurt Atterberg, Swedish composer (d. 1974)
• 1892 - Herman Potočnik Noordung, Austro-Hungarian-born rocket engineer (d. 1929)
• 1893 - Edward G. Robinson, American actor (d. 1973)
• 1900 - Sammy Davis, Sr., American dancer (d. 1988)
• 1903 - Dagmar Nordstrom, American composer (d. 1976)
• 1903 - Yasujiro Ozu, Japanese film director (d. 1963)
• 1904 - Nicolas de Gunzburg, magazine editor and socialite (d. 1981)
• 1905 - Mànes Sperber, Austro-Hungarian-born writer (d. 1984)
• 1907 - Roy Douglas, British composer and orchestrator
• 1909 - Karen Morley, American actress (d. 2003)
• 1914 - Patrick O'Brian (Richard Patrick Russ), British author (d. 2000)
• 1915 - Frank Sinatra, American singer and actor (d. 1998)
• 1918 - Joe Williams, American singer (d. 1999)
• 1919 - Olivia Barclay, British astrologer (d. 2001)
• 1919 - Dan DeCarlo, American cartoonist (d. 2001)
• 1920 - Fred Kida, American comics artist
• 1923 - Bob Barker, American television game show host
• 1923 - Ken Kavanagh, Australian racing driver
• 1924 - Ed Koch, Mayor of New York City
• 1925 - Vladimir Shainsky, Soviet and Russian composer
• 1927 - Honor Blackman, British actress
• 1927 - Robert Noyce, American inventor (d. 1990)
• 1928 - Chinghiz Aitmatov, Soviet-born Kyrgyz writer
• 1929 - John Osborne, British dramatist (d. 1994)
• 1929 - Toshiko Akiyoshi, Japanese musician
• 1930 - Bill Beutel, American Journalist (d. 2006)
• 1931 - Lionel Blair, British actor and choreographer
• 1932 - Bob Pettit, American basketball player
• 1934 - Miguel de la Madrid, President of Mexico
• 1938 - Connie Francis, American singer
• 1940 - Sharad Pawar, Indian politician
• 1940 - Dionne Warwick, American singer
• 1943 - Dickey Betts, American musician (The Allman Brothers)
• 1943 - Grover Washington, Jr., American saxophonist (d. 1999)
• 1944 - Kenneth Cranham, Scottish born actor
• 1944 - Jean Doré, Quebec politician, mayor of Montreal
• 1946 - Emerson Fittipaldi, Brazilian 2 time Formula 1 World Champion
• 1946 - Paula Wagner, American film executive
• 1948 - Tom Wilkinson, English actor
• 1949 - Rajnikanth, Indian actor
• 1949 - Bill Nighy, English actor
• 1950 - Billy Smith, National Hockey League goaltender
• 1952 - Harbance Singh (Herb) Dhaliwal, Canadian politician
• 1952 - Cathy Rigby, American gymnast
• 1953 - Bruce Kulick, American guitarist (Kiss)
• 1954 - Liz Claman, American television anchor
• 1955 - Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, Greek business woman, president of the organizing committee for the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens
• 1956 - Johan van der Velde, Dutch cyclist
• 1957 - Sheila E., American musician
• 1957 - Robert Lepage, Quebec playwright
• 1962 - Tracy Austin, American tennis player
• 1962 - Mike Golic, former NFL football player
• 1964 - Sabu, American professional wrestler
• 1966 - Royce Gracie, Brazilian martial artist
• 1967 - John Randle, American football player
• 1968 - Rory Kennedy, American documentarian
• 1968 - Laurie Williams, Indian cricket player
• 1970 - Jennifer Connelly, American actress
• 1970 - Madchen Amick, American actress
• 1970 - Regina Hall, American actress
• 1972 - Hank Williams III, grandson of Hank Williams
• 1972 - Nicky Eaden, English footballer
• 1972 - Kevin Parent, Quebec singer and songwriter
• 1972 - Yeoryios Theodoridis, Greek sprinter
• 1972 - Brandon Teena, American hate crime victim
• 1973 - William Hutton, American engineer
• 1973 - Walter Otta, Argentine footballer
• 1974 - Nolberto Solano, Peruvian footballer
• 1975 - Mayim Bialik, American actress
• 1975 - Craig Moore, Australian footballer
• 1976 - Dan Hawkins, British guitarist (The Darkness)
• 1977 - Orlando Hudson, American baseball player
• 1977 - Bridget Hall, American supermodel
• 1977 - Colin White, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1978 - Monica Barladeanu, Romanian actress
• 1978 - Nicole, Erica and Jaclyn Dahm, American triplet Playboy models
• 1978 - Evren Genis, Turkish composer
• 1979 - Garrett Atkins, American baseball player
• 1979 - Nate Clements, American football player
• 1979 - Sharin Foo, Danish singer and bassist
• 1981 - Jeret Peterson, American aerial skier
• 1981 - Ronnie Brown, American football player
• 1981 - Yuvraj Singh, Indian cricket player
• 1981 - Stephen Warnock, British footballer
• 1981 - Pedro Ríos, Spanish footballer
• 1982 - Dmitry Tursunov, Russian tennis player
• 1983 - Katrina Elam, American singer
• 1984 - Daniel Agger, Danish footballer
• 1986 - Thomas Wansey, English television actor
• 1986 - Perparim Hetemaj, Finnish footballer
• 1987 - Kate Todd, Canadian actress
• 1989 - Harry Eden, British actor
• 1990 - Tommy Lane, British football player
• 1991 - Daniel Magder, Canadian actor
• 2005 - Chenoa The Wonder Puppy is born.

Deaths

• 884 - Carloman, King of the West Franks
• 1212 - Geoffrey, Archbishop of York
• 1569 - Metropolitan Philip of Moscow (b. 1507)
• 1574 - Selim II, Ottoman Sultan (b. 1524)
• 1586 - Stefan Batory, King of Poland (b. 1533)
• 1685 - John Pell, English mathematician (b. 1610)
• 1751 - Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke, English statesman and philosopher (b. 1678)
• 1754 - Wu Jingzi, Chinese writer (b. 1701)
• 1766 - Johann Christoph Gottsched, German writer (b. 1700)
• 1789 - John Ponsonby, Irish politician (b. 1713)
• 1790 - Mikhail Shcherbatov, Russian philosopher and writer (b. 1733)
• 1843 - King William I of the Netherlands, (b. 1772)
• 1858 - Jacques Viger, antiquarian and archeologist, first mayor of Montreal (b. 1787)
• 1889 - Robert Browning, British poet (b. 1812)
• 1889 - Viktor Bunyakovsky, Russian mathematician (b. 1804)
• 1894 - Sir John Thompson, fourth Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1845)
• 1913 - Emperor Menelek II of Ethiopia (b. 1844)
• 1923 - Raymond Radiguet, French author (b. 1903)
• 1926 - Jean Richepin, French poet (b. 1849)
• 1929 - Charles Goodnight, American cattle baron (b. 1836)
• 1939 - Douglas Fairbanks, American actor (b. 1883)
• 1941 - Cesar Basa, Philippine Air Force and World War II hero (b. 1915)
• 1952 - Bedřich Hrozný, Austro-Hungarian-born Czechoslovak orientalist and linguist (b. 1879)
• 1963 - Yasujiro Ozu, Japanese film director (b. 1903)
• 1968 - Tallulah Bankhead, American actress (b. 1902)
• 1970 - Doris Blackburn, Australian politician (b. 1889)
• 1971 - David Sarnoff, Russian-born American General Manager of RCA (b. 1891)
• 1976 - Vinko Zganec, Croatian ethnomusicologist (b. 1890)
• 1977 - Lady Spencer Churchill, wife of Winston Churchill (b. 1885)
• 1980 - Jean Lesage, politician, premier of Quebec (b. 1912)
• 1985 - Anne Baxter, American actress (b. 1923)
• 1985 - Ian Stewart, Scottish musician (b. 1938)
• 1992 - Suzanne Lilar, Belgian esssayist, novelist and playwright (b. 1901)
• 1993 - József Antall, Hungarian politician (b. 1932)
• 1994 - Stuart Roosa, American astronaut (b. 1933)
• 1996 - Vance Packard, American author (b. 1914)
• 1997 - Yevgeniy Landis, Russian mathematician (b. 1921)
• 1998 - Lawton Chiles, U.S. Senator from Florida and Governor of Florida (b. 1930)
• 1999 - Joseph Heller, American author (b. 1923)
• 2000 - George Montgomery, American actor (b. 1916)
• 2001 - Jean Richard, French actor (b. 1921)
• 2002 - Dee Brown, American author (b. 1908)
• 2002 - Jay Wesley Neill, American convicted murderer (b. 1965)
• 2002 - Brad Dexter, American actor (b. 1917)
• 2003 - Heydar Aliyev, President of Azerbaijan
• 2003 - Joseph Anthony Ferrario, American Catholic prelate (b. 1926)
• 2005 - Gebran Tueni, Lebanese politician (b. 1957)
• 2005 - Annette Vadim, Danish actress (b. 1936)
• 2006 - Paul Arizin, American basketball player (b. 1928)
• 2006 - Peter Boyle, American actor (b. 1935)
• 2006 - Al Shugart, pioneering American computer engineer and co-founder of Seagate Technology (b. 1930)
• 2006 - Raymond P. Shafer, 38th Governor of Pennsylvania (b. 1917)
• 2006 - Shane Halligan - Student (b.1990)

Holidays and observances

• R.C. Saints - optional memorial of Our Lady of Guadalupe
• Bahá'í Faith - Feast of Masá'il (Questions) - First day of the 15th month of the Bahá'í Calendar
• Kenya - Jamhuri Day: Independence Day (from Britain, 1963)

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada

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