October 12
is the 285th day of the year in the
Gregorian calendar (286th in
leap years). There are 80 days remaining.
*
539 BC - The army of
Cyrus the Great of
Persia takes
Babylon.
*
1216 -
King John lost his crown jewels in
The Wash, probably near
Fosdyke, perhaps near
Sutton Bridge*
1492 -
Christopher Columbus's expedition makes landfall in the
Caribbean. The explorer believes he has reached
East Asia*
1582 - Due to the implementation of the
Gregorian calendar this day does not exist in this year in
Italy,
Poland,
Portugal and
Spain.
*
1609 - "
Three Blind Mice" published by
London teenage songwriter
Thomas Ravenscroft*
1654 - The
Delft Explosion devastates the city in the
Netherlands, killing more than 100.
*
1681 - A
London woman is publicly flogged for the crime of "involving herself in politics"
*
1709 - After a democratic voting, La Villa de San Francisco de Cuéllar was founded, which with time turned into San Felipe del Real Chihuahua and now it is known as the city of
Chihuahua.
*
1773 - America's first
insane asylum opens for 'Persons of Insane and Disordered Minds' in
Virginia*
1775 - The
United States Navy is formed.
*
1792 - First celebration of
Columbus Day in the
USA held in
New York*
1793 - The cornerstone of
Old East, the oldest state university building in the
United States, is laid on the campus of the
University of North Carolina*
1810 - First
Oktoberfest: The
Bavarian royalty invites the citizens of
Munich to join the celebration of the marriage of
Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria to Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen.
*
1823 -
Charles Macintosh, of
Scotland, sells the first
raincoat.
*
1850 - The first women's
medical college opens, in
Pennsylvania.
*
1859 - Self-described "Emperor of the United States"
Joshua A. Norton issues a decree dissolving the
U.S. Congress *
1892 - The
Pledge of Allegiance is first recited in unison by students in US
public schools.
*
1899 -
Boer republic of
South Africa declares war with
England.
*
1901 -
President Theodore Roosevelt officially renames the "Executive Mansion" to the
White House.
*
1915 -
World War I:
British nurse
Edith Cavell is executed by a
German firing squad for helping
Allied soldiers escape from
Belgium*
1928 - An
iron lung respirator is used for the first time at Children's Hospital,
Boston*
1933 - The
United States Army Disciplinary Barracks on
Alcatraz Island, is acquired by the
United States Department of Justice*
1938 - Filming starts on
The Wizard of Oz*
1942 - The
USS Duncan is sunk by Japanese naval gunfire at the
Battle of Cape Esperance*
1953 - "
The Caine Mutiny Court Martial" opens at
Plymouth Theatre,
New York*
1958 -
Atlanta synagogue bombing*
1959 - At the national congress of
APRA in
Peru a group of leftist radicals are expelled from the party. They will later form
APRA Rebelde.
*
1960 -
Cold War:
Nikita Khrushchev pounds his shoe on a desk at
United Nations General Assembly meeting to protest a Philippine assertion of
Soviet Union colonialist policy being conducted in
Eastern Europe*
1962 - Infamous
Columbus Day Storm strikes the U.S. Pacific Northwest with record wind velocities; 46 dead and at least U.S. $230 million in damages
*
1964 - The
Soviet Union launches the
Voskhod 1 into Earth
orbit as the first spacecraft with a multi-person crew and the first flight without
space suits
*
1967 -
Vietnam War: US Secretary of State
Dean Rusk states during a news conference that proposals by the
U.S. Congress for peace initiatives were futile because of
North Vietnam's opposition
*
1968 -
Equatorial Guinea becomes independent from
Spain*
1970 -
Vietnam War: US President
Richard Nixon announces that the
United States will withdraw 40,000 more troops before
Christmas*
1972 - En route to her station in the
Gulf of Tonkin, a
racial brawl involving more than 100 sailors breaks out aboard the
United States Navy aircraft carrier
USS Kitty Hawk*
1976 - The
People's Republic of China announces that
Hua Guofeng is the successor to the late
Mao Tse-tung as chairman of
Communist Party of China*
1979 - The lowest recorded non-tornadic atmospheric pressure, 87.0 kPa (870 mbar or 25.69 inHg), occurred in the Western Pacific during
Typhoon Tip*
1983 -
Japan's ex Prime Minister
Tanaka Kakuei is found guilty of taking a $2 million bribe from
Lockheed and is sentenced to 4 years in jail
*
1984 -
Brighton hotel bombing:
Margaret Thatcher survives an
IRA bomb, which shredded her bathroom barely two minutes after she had left it
*
1988 - two officers of the
Victoria Police are gunned down executional style in the
Walsh Street police shootings,
Australia*
1991 -
Askar Akayev, previously chosen
President of Kyrgyzstan by republic's
Supreme Soviet, is confirmed president in an uncontested poll
*
1994 -
NASA loses
radio contact with the
Magellan spacecraft as the probe descends into the thick atmosphere of
Venus (the spacecraft presumably burned up in the atmosphere either
October 13 or
October 14)
*
1997 -
Sidi Daoud massacre in
Algeria; 43 killed at a fake roadblock
*
1998 -
U.S. Congress passes
Digital Millennium Copyright Act*
1999 -
Pervez Musharraf takes power in
Pakistan from
Nawaz Sharif through a bloodless
coup.
* 1999 -
The Day of 6 Billion: The 6 billionth human in the world is born.
*
2000 - In
Aden, Yemen, the
USS Cole is badly damaged by two
suicide bombers, killing 17 crew members and wounding at least 39
*
2001 -
War on Terrorism: Prompted by a request by US President
George W. Bush, an episode of
America's Most Wanted aired featuring 22 most wanted
terrorists*
2002 -
Bali bombing: In
Bali,
terrorists detonate bombs in two nightclubs in
Kuta, killing 202 and wounding over 300
*
2003 -
Belarus mental hospital fire: Thirty patients die in a
mental hospital fire in
Randilovshchina,
Belarus*
2003 -
Michael Schumacher wins his 6th
Formula 1 World Championship, surpassing
Juan Manuel Fangio's record set in the mid-1950's.
*
2005 - The second
Chinese human spaceflight Shenzhou 6 launched carrying
Fèi Jùnlóng and
Niè Hǎishèng for five days in orbit.
*
1008 -
Emperor Go-Ichijō of Japan (d.
1036)
*
1350 -
Dmitry Donskoy, Grand Prince of Moscovy (d.
1389)
*
1490 -
Bernardo Pisano, Italian composer (d.
1548)
*
1537 - King
Edward VI of England (d.
1553)
* 1537 -
Jane Grey, Queen of England (d.
1554)
*
1558 - Archduke
Maximilian III of Austria (d.
1618)
*
1576 -
Thomas Dudley, Massachusetts colonial magistrate (d.
1653)
*
1602 -
William Chillingworth, English churchman (d.
1644)
*
1710 -
Jonathan Trumbull, Governor of the Colony and the state of Connecticut (d.
1785)
*
1712 -
William Shippen, American physician and Contental Congressman (d.
1801)
*
1725 -
Etienne Louis Geoffroy, French pharmacist and entomologist (d.
1810)
*
1798 - Emperor
Pedro I of Brazil (d.
1834)
*
1801 -
Friedrich Frey-Herosé, Swiss Federal Councilor (d.
1873)
*
1840 -
Helena Modrzejewska, Polish-born actress (d.
1909)
*
1855 -
Arthur Nikisch, Hungarian conductor (d.
1922)
*
1860 -
Elmer Sperry, American inventor (d.
1930)
*
1865 -
Arthur Harden, English chemist,
Nobel Prize laureate (d.
1940)
*
1866 -
Ramsay MacDonald,
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d.
1937)
*
1872 -
Ralph Vaughan Williams, English composer (d.
1958)
*
1874 -
Jimmy Burke, Baseball player (d.
1942)
*
1875 -
Aleister Crowley, English occultist and author (d.
1947)
*
1887 -
Paula von Preradović ,
Croatian-
Austrian poet (d.
1951)
*
1896 -
Eugenio Montale, Italian poet,
Nobel Prize laureate (d.
1981)
*
1904 -
Ding Ling, Chinese writer (d.
1986)
*
1906 -
Joe Cronin, baseball player (d.
1984)
*
1908 -
Ann Petry, American novelist (d.
1997)
*
1917 -
Roque Máspoli, Uruguayan footballer
*
1924 -
Doris Grau, American actress (d.
1995)
*
1932 -
Dick Gregory, American comedian and activist
*
1934 -
Richard Meier, Americian architect
*
1935 -
Luciano Pavarotti, Italian tenor
*
1944 -
Angela Rippon, British television personality
*
1947 -
Chris Wallace, American journalist
*
1950 -
Susan Anton, American actress
* 1950 -
Kaga Takeshi, Japanese actor
*
1951 -
Ed Royce, American politician
*
1953 -
Serge Lepeltier, French politician
* 1953 -
Les Dennis, British comedian and television presenter
*
1955 -
Ante Gotovina, Croatian general
* 1955 -
Jane Siberry, Canadian musician
*
1957 -
Kristen Bjorn, British film director
*
1962 -
Deborah Foreman, American actress
* 1962 -
Carlos Bernard, American actor
*
1963 -
Satoshi Kon, Japanese anime director
* 1963 -
Alan McDonald, Northern Irish footballer
*
1966 -
Brian Kennedy, Northern Irish musician and author
*
1968 -
Hugh Jackman, Australian actor and singer
* 1968 -
Adam Rich, American actor
*
1969 -
Martie Maguire, American musician (
Dixie Chicks)
*
1970 -
Kirk Cameron, American actor
* 1970 -
Tanyon Sturtze, baseball player
* 1970 -
Rodney Begnaud, professional wrestler
* 1970 -
Charlie Ward, American football and basketball player
*
1972 -
Irina Pantaeva, Russian supermodel and actress
*
1973 -
Rodney Mack, Professional wrestler
*
1974 -
Stephen Lee, English snooker player
*
1975 -
Marion Jones, American athlete
*
1976 -
Sarah Lane, American television personality
*
1977 -
Young Jeezy, African-American rapper
* 1977 -
Bode Miller, American alpine ski-racer
*
1979 -
Jordan Pundik, American singer (
New Found Glory)
*
1978 -
Baden Cooke, Australian cyclist
*
1981 -
Shola Ameobi, English footballer
*
1982 -
Molly Bennett, Irish singer
*
1984 -
Matthew Dewey, Australian composer
*
632 -
Edwin of Deira, King of Northumbria and Bretwalda
*
638 -
Pope Honorius I*
642 -
Pope John IV*
1095 - Margrave
Leopold II of Austria (b.
1050)
*
1176 -
William d'Aubigny, 1st Earl of Arundel, English politician
*
1320 -
Michael IX Palaeologus, co-ruling
Eastern Roman Emperor*
1491 -
Fritz Herlen, German artist
*
1492 -
Piero della Francesca, Italian painter
*
1565 -
Jean Ribault, French explorer and colonizer (b.
1520)
*
1576 -
Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor (b.
1527)
*
1590 -
Kano Eitoku, Japanese painter (b.
1543)
*
1600 -
Luis Molina, Spanish Jesuit (b.
1535)
*
1632 -
Kutsuki Mototsuna, Japanese samurai commander (b.
1549)
*
1646 -
François de Bassompierre, Marshal of France (b.
1579)
*
1678 -
Edmund Berry Godfrey, English magistrate (b.
1621)
*
1679 -
William Gurnall, English writer (b.
1617)
*
1685 -
Christoph Ignaz Abele, Austrian jurist (b.
1628)
*
1730 - King
Frederick IV of Denmark (b.
1671)
*
1758 -
Richard Molesworth, 3rd Viscount Molesworth, British field marshal (b.
1680)
*
1845 -
Elizabeth Fry, British social reformer and philanthropist (b.
1780)
*
1870 -
Robert E. Lee, American Confederate general (b.
1807)
*
1898 -
Calvin Fairbank, American abolitionist minister (b.
1816)
*
1915 -
Edith Cavell, English nurse (b.
1865)
*
1924 -
Anatole France, French author,
Nobel Prize laureate (b.
1844)
*
1940 -
Tom Mix, American actor (b.
1880)
*
1946 -
Joseph Stilwell, U.S. general (b.
1883)
*
1954 -
George Welch, American pilot (b.
1918)
*
1956 -
Don Lorenzo Perosi, Italian composer (b.
1872)
*
1958 -
Gordon Griffith, American actor, director, and producer (b.
1907)
*
1965 -
Paul Hermann Müller, Swiss chemist, recipient of the
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b.
1899)
*
1969 -
Sonja Henie, Norwegian figure skater (b.
1912)
*
1971 -
Dean Acheson,
U.S. Secretary of State (b.
1893)
* 1971 -
Gene Vincent, Pioneering American rock'n'roll musician (b.
1935)
*
1978 -
Nancy Spungen, Girlfriend of Sex Pistol
Sid Vicious b.
1958)
*
1983 -
The Grand Wizard of Wrestling, Wrestling manager
*
1984 -
Sir Anthony Berry, British politician (bombing victim) (b.
1925)
*
1985 -
Johnny Olson, American game show announcer (b.
1910)
* 1985 -
Ricky Wilson, American musician; member of
The B-52's*
1987 -
Alf Landon, Governor of Kansas (b.
1887)
*
1993 -
Leon Ames, American actor (b.
1902)
* 1993 -
Tofik Bakhramov, Russian footballer (b.
1926)
*
1996 -
Roger Lapébie, French cyclist (b.
1911)
*
1997 -
John Denver, American singer (b.
1943)
*
1998 -
Matthew Shepard, American murder victim (b.
1976)
*
1999 -
Wilt Chamberlain, American basketball player (b.
1936)
*
2001 -
Quintin Hogg, Baron Hailsham of St Marylebone, British politician (b.
1907)
*
2002 -
Ray Conniff, American bandleader and musician (b.
1916)
* 2002 -
Audrey Mestre, French diver (b.
1974)
*
2003 -
Jim Cairns, Australian politician (b.
1914)
* 2003 -
Joan Kroc, American philanthropist (b.
1928)
* 2003 -
Willie Shoemaker, American jockey (b.
1931)
*
2005 -
C. Delores Tucker, American politician and civil rights activist (b.
1927)
October 12th is the
feast day of the following
Roman Catholic Saints:
*
St. Wilfrid * St. Edwin
* St. Amicus
* St. Salvinus
* St. Seraphinus
* Bl. Camillus Constanzi
* St. Domnina
* St. Edistius
* St. Fiace
* St. Felix and Cyprian
*
St. Heribert * St. Maximilian of Lorch
* St. Monas
* St. Pantalus
*
Roman festivals -
Fortuna Redux, last day of the
Ludi Augustales*
RC Saints - Our Lady of the Pillar (Zaragoza, Spain); Saint
Wilfrid* Also see
October 12 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)*
Equatorial Guinea -
Independence Day (from Spain,
1968)
*
Malawi -
Mother's Day*
Spain -
Hispanic Day,
National Day*
Columbus Day (traditionally) -
United States.
* El
Dia de la Raza -
Latin America.
*
French Republican Calendar -
Chanvre (Hemp) Day, twenty-first day in the
Month of Vendémiaire*
BBC: On This Day*
Brainy History: October 12thOctober 11 -
October 13 -
September 12 -
November 12 --
listing of all days
