December 12
is the 346th day (347th in leap years) of the year in the
Gregorian calendar, with 19 days remaining.
*
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.
*
1862 -
USS Cairo sunk 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.
*
1903 - The city of
Fairfield, California is incorporated.
*
1911 -
Delhi replaces
Calcutta as the capital of
India.
*
1915 - President of the
Republic of China,
Yuan Shikai, reinstates the monarchy and proclaims 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:
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.
*
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 military officer
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.
*
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.
*
1990 -
Pakistan became the 37th country in the world to send an expedition to
Antarctica.
*
1996 -
Uday Hussein is seriously injured in an assassination attempt.
*
2000 - The
United States Supreme Court releases its decision in
Bush v. Gore*
2003 -
Paul Martin, Jr. is sworn-in as the 21st
Prime Minister of Canada.
*
1298 - Archduke
Albert II of Austria (d.
1358)
*
1418 - Archduke
Albert VI of Austria (d.
1463)
*
1574 -
Anne of Denmark, wife of
James I of England (d.
1619)
*
1610 -
Saint Vasilije (d.
1671)
*
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 -
Madeline 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 and Cherokee leader (d.
1871)
*
1821 -
Gustave Flaubert, French writer (d.
1880)
*
1845 -
Bruce Price, American architect (d.
1903)
*
1863 -
Edvard Munch, Norwegian expressionist painter (d.
1944)
*
1864 -
Paul Elmer More, American critic and essayist (d.
1937)
*
1866 -
Alfred Werner, German chemist and
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, American athlete and 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 and pianist (d.
1976)
* 1903 -
Yasujiro Ozu, Japanese film director (d.
1963)
*
1904 - Baron
Nicolas de Gunzburg, magazine editor and socialite (d.
1981)
*
1905 -
Mànes Sperber, Austro-Hungarian-born writer (d.
1984)
*
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)
*
1923 -
Bob Barker, American television game show host
*
1924 -
Ed Koch, Mayor of New York City
*
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, choreographer, tap dancer and television presenter
*
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 guitarist and singer (
The Allman Brothers)
* 1943 -
Grover Washington, Jr., American saxophonist (d.
1999)
*
1946 -
Emerson Fittipaldi, Brazilian racing driver and Formula 1 World Champion
*
1949 -
Rajnikanth (Shivaji Rao Gaekwad), Indian actor
*
1952 -
Cathy Rigby, American gymnast and actress
*
1956 -
Johan Van der Velde, Dutch cyclist
*
1957 -
Sheila E., American musician
*
1962 -
Tracy Austin, American tennis player
*
1964 -
Terry Brunk, American professional wrestler
*
1966 -
Royce Gracie, Brazilian martial artist
*
1967 -
John Randle, American football player
*
1968 -
Laurie Williams, Indian cricket player
*
1970 -
Jennifer Connelly, American actress
* 1970 -
Madchen Amick, American actress
*
1972 -
Hank Williams III, American country/punk singer/songwriter, grandson of
Hank Williams* 1972 -
Nicky Eaden, English footballer
*
1974 -
Rey Mysterio, Jr., American wrestler
* 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
*
1978 -
Monica Barladeanu, Romanian actress
* 1978 -
Evren Genis, Turkish composer
*
1979 -
Garrett Atkins, American baseball player
* 1979 -
Nate Clements, American football player
*
1981 -
Jeret Peterson, American aerial skier
* 1981 -
Yuvraj Singh, Indian cricket player
* 1981 -
Stephen Warnock, British footballer
*
1982 -
Dmitry Tursunov, Russian tennis player
*
1983 -
Katrina Elam, American singer
* 1983 -
Brad Smith, American football player
*
1989 -
Harry Eden, British actor
*
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)
*
1889 -
Robert Browning, British poet (b.
1812)
*
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)
*
1952 -
Bedřich Hrozný, Austro-Hungarian-born Czechoslovak orientalist and linguist (b.
1879)
*
1963 -
Ozu Yasujiro, 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)
*
1985 -
Anne Baxter, American actress (b.
1923)
*
1993 -
J%C3%B3zsef Antall, Hungarian politician (b.
1932)
*
1994 -
Stuart Roosa, American astronaut (b.
1933)
*
1996 -
Vance Packard, American author (b.
1914)
*
1999 -
Joseph Heller, American author (b.
1923)
*
2001 -
Jean Richard, French actor (b.
1921)
*
2002 -
Dee Brown, American author (b.
1908)
* 2002 -
Jay Wesley Neill, American convicted murderer (b.
1965)
*
2003 -
Geidar Aliev,
President of Azerbaijan* 2003 -
Joseph Anthony Ferrario, American Catholic prelate (b.
1926)
*
R.C. Saints - optional memorial of
Our Lady of Guadalupe* Also see
December 12 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)*
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)
*
BBC: On This DayDecember 11 -
December 13 -
November 12 -
January 12 --
listing of all days
