See what makes December 12 special at Famous Daily.
History, birthdays, holiday, and a quote!
What happened on December 12
- December 12, 0627 "Battle of Nineveh: A Byzantine army under Emperor Heraclius defeats Emperor Khosrau II's Persian forces, commanded by General Rhahzadh."
- December 12, 0884 "France's Carloman dies while hunting and is succeeded as king of the West Franks by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles III (the Fat), son of the late Louis the German
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- December 12, 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."
- December 12, 1531 Apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe to Juan Diego in Mexico City.
- December 12, 1777 "Rev Benjamin Russen executed at Tyburn, England for rape"
- December 12, 1812 French invasion of Russia comes to an end.
- December 12, 1859 "First train operated over the Victoria Railway Bridge, Montreal. The first passenger train crossed the structure on December 17, 1859 and it was formally opened by the Prince of Wales, later to become King Edward VII, on August 25, 1860. The original structure was a single-track iron tubular bridge. The tube, when first constructed, was entirely enclosed and there were ventilation problems. Later a slit 20"" wide was cut in the tube the full length of the bridge to permit the emission of smoke."
- December 12, 1862 Confederate torpedo (mine) sinks USS Cairo in Yazoo River.
- December 12, 1862 "USS Cairo sinks on the Yazoo River, becoming the first armored ship to be sunk by an electrically detonated mine."
- December 12, 1870 Joseph H. Rainey of South Carolina becomes the first black U.S. congressman.
- December 12, 1870 Joseph Rainey (SC) became first black sworn into House of Reps
- December 12, 1871 Jules Janssen discovers dark lines in solar corona spectrum
- December 12, 1897 "Belo Horizonte, the first planned city of Brazil, is founded."
- December 12, 1899 George F Grant of Boston patents golf tee
- December 12, 1901 "Guglielmo Marconi receives the first transatlantic radio signal at Signal Hill in St John's, Newfoundland."
- December 12, 1901 "Marconi receives first transatlantic radio signal, England to US"
- December 12, 1906 "Oscar Straus, first Jewish cabinet member, appointed Sec of Commerce"
- December 12, 1911 Delhi replaces Calcutta as the capital of India.
- December 12, 1913 "The ""Mona Lisa,"" stolen from the Louvre Museum in 1911, recovered"
- December 12, 1914 "The largest one-day percentage drop in the history of Dow Jones Industrial Average, down 24.39%."
- December 12, 1915 "President of the Republic of China, Yuan Shikai announces his intention to reinstate the monarchy and proclaim himself Emperor of China."
- December 12, 1915 The first all-metal aircraft (Junkers J.1) test flown at Dessau Germany
- December 12, 1917 French troop train derails in French Alps killing 543
- December 12, 1917 "In Nebraska, Father Edward J. Flanagan founds Boys Town as a farm village for wayward boys."
- December 12, 1917 Rev Edward Flanagan founded Boys Town outside Omaha NB
- December 12, 1925 "Arthur Heinman coins term ""motel,"" opens Motel Inn, San Luis Obispo"
- December 12, 1925 last Qajar Shah of Iran deposed; Rexa Shah Pahlavi takes over
- December 12, 1925 The Majlis of Iran votes to crown Reza Khan as the new Shah of Persia.
- December 12, 1936 "Xi'an Incident: The Generalissimo of the Republic of China, Chiang Kai-shek is kidnapped by Zhang Xueliang."
- December 12, 1937 "Japanese aircraft sink USS Panay in Yangtze River near Nanking, China."
- December 12, 1937 Panay incident: Japanese aircraft shell and sink US gunboat Panay on the Yangtze River in China.
- December 12, 1937 The first mobile TV unit (New York NY)
- December 12, 1939 Winter War: Battle of Tolvajrvi - Finnish forces defeat those of the Soviet Union in their first major victory of the conflict.
- December 12, 1940 "World War II: Approximately 70 people are killed in the Marples Hotel, Fitzalan Square, Sheffield as a result of a German air raid."
- December 12, 1941 German occupying army do a house search in Paris looking for Jews
- December 12, 1941 Naval Air Transport Service is established.
- December 12, 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."
- December 12, 1941 "World War II: USMC F4F ""Wildcats"" sink the first 4 major Japanese ships off Wake Island."
- December 12, 1942 "A fire in a hostel in St. John's, Newfoundland kills 100 people."
- December 12, 1944 Three Evacuation Squadrons (VE) were established in the Pacific from Air Sea Rescue Squadron
- December 12, 1946 A fire at a New York City ice plant spreads to a nearby tenement killing 37 people.
- December 12, 1946 "Ice plant collapses, shearing a tenement building & burying 38"
- December 12, 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.
- December 12, 1950 "Paula Ackerman, the first woman appointed to perform rabbinical functions in the United States, leads the congregation in her first services."
- December 12, 1951 "First flight of helicopter with gas-turbine engine at Windsor Locks, CT, demonstrates adaptability of this engine to helicopters."
- December 12, 1951 "The Kaman K-225 helicopter, equipped with a Boeing YB-502 turbine engine, made its first flight at Windsor Locks, Conn"
- December 12, 1953 Chuck Yeager reaches Mach 2.43 in Bell X-1A rocket plane
- December 12, 1956 Commencement of the Irish Republican Army's Border Campaign.
- December 12, 1957 US announces manufacture of Borazon (harder than diamond)
- December 12, 1959 UN Committee on Peaceful Use of Outer Space is established
- December 12, 1961 Ham radio satellite Oscar 1 launched with military Discoverer 36
- December 12, 1963 Frank Sinatra Jr returned after being kidnapped
- December 12, 1963 Kenya gains independence from Britain (National Day)
- December 12, 1963 Kenya gains its independence from the United Kingdom.
- December 12, 1963 Number one hit on UK music charts - The Beatles - I Want To Hold Your Hand
- December 12, 1964 Prime Minister Jomo Kenyatta becomes the first President of the Republic of Kenya.
- December 12, 1964 "Shooting starts for Star Trek pilot, ""The Cage"" (Menagerie)"
- December 12, 1965 "Gale Sayers of Chicago Bears scores 6 TDs, ties NFL record"
- December 12, 1967 US launches Pioneer 8 into solar orbit
- December 12, 1968 "Rolling Stones film TV show ""Rock 'n Roll Circus""-never aired"
- December 12, 1969 "Strategia della tensione: Piazza Fontana bombing - The offices of Banca Nazionale dell'Agricoltura in Piazza Fontana, Milan, are bombed."
- December 12, 1970 Small Astronomy Satellite Explorer 42 launched to study X-rays
- December 12, 1972 "Captain Eugene A. Cernan, USN, commander of Apollo 17, walks on the Moon. Commander Ronald E. Evans, USN, was the Command Module Pilot. The mission lasted 12 days, 13 hours and 52 minutes. Recovery by HC-1 helicopters from USS Ticonderoga (CVS-14)."
- December 12, 1975 Gas stove explodes & starts fire killing 138 (Mecca Saudi Arabia)
- December 12, 1975 Sara Jane Moore pled guilty to trying to kill President Gerald Ford
- December 12, 1976 QB Joe Namath last game as a New York Jet
- December 12, 1979 "Coup d'tat 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."
- December 12, 1979 Gold hits record $462.50 an ounce
- December 12, 1979 Rhodesia becomes the independent nation of Zimbabwe
- December 12, 1979 Rhodesia changes its name to Zimbabwe.
- December 12, 1980 US's copyright law amended to include computer programs
- December 12, 1981 Number one hit on UK music charts - Human League - Don't You Want Me
- December 12, 1981 Wayne Gretsky scores quickest 50th goal (game 39)
- December 12, 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."
- December 12, 1983 A truck bomb explodes at the US Embassy in Kuwait
- December 12, 1984 Maaouiya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya becomes the third president of Mauritania after a coup d'etat against Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidalla while the latter was attending a summit. Taya was ousted in March 2005 by Ely Ould Mohamed Vall in another coup.
- December 12, 1985 248 US soldiers & 8 crew members die in Arrow Air charter crash in Newfoundland
- December 12, 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."
- December 12, 1986 Microlite aircraft circles world non-stop
- December 12, 1988 NYC Subway system adds new stations (the Z line)
- December 12, 1988 Sandra Miller of Queens sues Mike Tyson for sexual harassment
- December 12, 1988 The Clapham Junction rail crash kills thirty-five and injures hundreds after two collisions of three commuter trains - one of the worst train crashes in Britain.
- December 12, 1989 First revenue train runs through the CP Rail 9.1 mile Mount MacDonald Tunnel. This is the longest rail tunnel in the Americas.
- December 12, 1990 "US ambassador to Kuwait, Nathaniel Howell leaves Kuwait"
- December 12, 1991 Actor Richard Gere marries super model Cindy Crawford
- December 12, 1991 Orion Pictures filed Chapter 11 for bankruptcy protection
- December 12, 1991 Russian Federation gains independence from the USSR.
- December 12, 1993 Ultra-Nationalists make strong gains in Russian elections dec13
- December 12, 2006 "Peugeot produces its last car at the Ryton Plant signalling the end of mass car production in Coventry, formerly a major centre of the British motor industry."
- December 12, 2009 "Annise Parker is elected Mayor of Houston, which becomes the largest United States city with an openly gay person elected mayor."
- December 12, 2009 "Golfer Tiger Woods announces he is taking an indefinite break from the sport after a scandal over his infidelity in order to focus on ""being a better husband, father, and person""."
- December 12, 2009 Police in Denmark detain 900 people after thousands gather in Copenhagen to demand more action on climate change and global warming by leaders at the United Nations Climate Change Conference.
- December 12, 2009 "Police in Thailand seize a plane carrying weapons from North Korea to an unknown destination, detaining 5 crew."
- December 12, 2009 "President of the Philippines Gloria Arroyo lifts martial law in Maguindanao in the south of the country, where 57 people were killed in political violence there last month."
- December 12, 2009 The Georgian breakaway region of Abhkazia holds its first presidential elections.
- December 12, 2009 The leaders of Cuba and Venezuela sign over US$3.2 billion worth of trade and cooperation agreements.
- December 12, 2009 "The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency has cancelled the contract of its private security firm with Xe Services LLC, previously known as Blackwater, for its services related to Drone operations in Afghanistan and Pakistan. ("
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