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
- 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
- 1994 - Casey Kwong, Canadian person
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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)