What happened on December 12? There are more than 300 events that were made this day in history. Here are the important historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.

Interesting Facts & Myths About December 12

December 12 In HistoryDecember 12 is the 347th day of the year 2024. There are 19 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Thursday. This day falls under the 50th week of the year 2024.

On this day in Haugan, Montana 59842 sunrise will occur at 08:18 AM and sunset will occur at 04:53 PM (local time).

The zodiac sign of a person born on this day is Sagittarius. The modern birthstone for this month is Turquoise while the mystical birthstone is Onyx.

According to the Chinese calendar, there are 48 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year (January 29, 2025).

Birthday curiousity Is your birthday coming up in two days? Are you not curious to find out who is sharing your special day? Discover all the March 31 famous birthdays. There are fun facts about that day that you must know. (Sponsored link)

Historical Events For December 12

  • 627
    Battle of Nineveh: A Byzantine army under Emperor Heraclius defeats 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.
  • 1408
    The Order of the Dragon a monarchical chivalric order is created by Sigismund of Luxembourg, then King of Hungary.
  • 1781
    American Revolutionary War: Second Battle of Ushant – A Royal Navy squadron, commanded by Rear Admiral Richard Kempenfelt on HMS Victory, defeats a French fleet.
  • 1787
    Pennsylvania becomes the second state to ratify the United States Constitution five days after Delaware became the first.
  • 1862
    USS Cairo sinks 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 second black U.S. congressman, the first one being Hiram Revels.
  • 1897
    Belo Horizonte, the first planned city in Brazil, is founded.
  • 1901
    Guglielmo Marconi receives the first transatlantic radio signal at Signal Hill in St John’s, Newfoundland.
  • 1911
    Delhi replaces Calcutta as the capital of India.
  • 1911
    King George V of the United Kingdom and Mary of Teck are enthroned as Emperor and Empress of India.
  • 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.
  • 1918
    Flag of Estonia is raised atop the Pikk Hermann for the first time.
  • 1925
    The Majlis of Iran votes to crown Reza Khan as the new Shah of Persia.
  • 1935
    Lebensborn Project, a Nazi reproduction program, is founded by Heinrich Himmler.
  • 1936
    Xi'an Incident: The Generalissimo of the Republic of China, Chiang Kai-shek, is kidnapped by Zhang Xueliang.
  • 1937
    USS Panay incident: Japanese aircraft bomb and sink US gunboat USS Panay on the Yangtze River in China.
  • 1939
    HMS Duchess sinks after a collision with HMS Barham off the coast of Scotland with the loss of 124 men.
  • 1939
    Winter War: Battle of Tolvajärvi – Finnish forces defeat those of the Soviet Union in their first major victory of the conflict.
  • 1940
    World War II: Approximately 70 people are killed in the Marples Hotel, Fitzalan Square, Sheffield, as a result of a German air raid.
  • 1941
    Adolf Hitler announces extermination of the Jews at a meeting in the Reich Chancellery
  • 1941
    World War II: Fifty-four Japanese A6M Zero fighters raid Batangas Field, Philippines. Jesús Villamor and four Filipino fighter pilots fend them off; César Basa is killed.
  • 1941
    World War II: The United Kingdom declares war on Bulgaria. Hungary and Romania declare war on the United States. India declares war on Japan.
  • 1941
    World War II: USMC F4F “Wildcats” sink the first 4 major Japanese ships off Wake Island.
  • 1942
    A fire in a hostel in St. John’s, Newfoundland, kills 100 people.
  • 1942
    World War II: German troops begin Operation Winter Storm, an attempt to relieve encircled Axis forces during the Battle of Stalingrad.
  • 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
    Beginning of the Irish Republican Army’s “Border Campaign”.
  • 1958
    Guinea joins the United Nations.
  • 1963
    Kenya gains its independence from the United Kingdom.
  • 1964
    Prime Minister Jomo Kenyatta becomes the first President of the Republic of Kenya.
  • 1969
    Strategy of tension: Piazza Fontana bombing – The offices of Banca Nazionale dell'Agricoltura in Piazza Fontana, Milan, are bombed.
  • 1979
    A major earthquake and tsunami kill 259 people in Colombia.
  • 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
    President of Pakistan, Zia-ul-Haq, confers Nishan-e-Imtiaz on Nobel laureate Dr Abdus Salam.
  • 1979
    The unrecognised state of Zimbabwe Rhodesia returns to British control and resumes using the name Southern Rhodesia.
  • 1982
    Women’s peace protest at Greenham Common – 30,000 women hold hands and form a human chain around the 14.5 km perimeter fence.
  • 1984
    Maaouiya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya becomes the third president of Mauritania after a coup d'état against Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidalla while the latter is attending a summit.
  • 1985
    Arrow Air Flight 1285 crashes after takeoff in Gander, Newfoundland, killing 256, including 236 members of the United States Army’s 101st Airborne Division.
  • 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 the United Kingdom.
  • 1991
    Russian Federation gains independence from the USSR.
  • 2000
    The United States Supreme Court releases its decision in Bush v. Gore.

Who Were Born On December 12?

  • 1298
    Albert II of Austria (d. 1358)
  • 1526
    Álvaro de Bazán, 1st Marquis of Santa Cruz, Spanish admiral.
  • 1574
    Anne of Denmark, queen consort 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)
  • 1791
    Archduchess Marie Louise of Austria, wife of Napoleon (d. 1847)
  • 1792
    Alexander Ypsilantis, Greek prince (d. 1828)
  • 1799
    Karl Briullov, Russian painter (d. 1852)
  • 1805
    Henry Wells, American banking executive (d. 1878)
  • 1805
    William Lloyd Garrison, American abolitionist (d. 1879)
  • 1806
    Stand Watie, American Confederate general (d. 1871)
  • 1812
    John Sandfield Macdonald, Canadian premier of Ontario (d. 1872)
  • 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)
  • 1862
    Joseph Bruce Ismay, British ocean liner executive and Titanic survivor (d. 1937)
  • 1863
    Edvard Munch, Norwegian painter (d. 1944)
  • 1864
    Paul Elmer More, American essayist (d. 1937)
  • 1866
    Alfred Werner, Swiss chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1919)
  • 1870
    Walter Benona Sharp, American oil industry executive (d. 1912)
  • 1875
    Gerd von Rundstedt, German field marshal (d. 1953)
  • 1876
    Alvin Kraenzlein, American athlete (d. 1928)
  • 1887
    Kurt Atterberg, Swedish composer (d. 1974)
  • 1892
    Milko Kos, Slovenian historian (d. 1972)
  • 1893
    Edward G. Robinson, American actor (d. 1973)
  • 1900
    Sammy Davis, Sr., American dancer (d. 1988)
  • 1902
    Koloman Sokol, Slovak painter (d. 2003)
  • 1903
    Dagmar Nordstrom, American composer (d. 1976)
  • 1903
    Yasujirō Ozu, Japanese film director (d. 1963)
  • 1904
    Nicolas de Gunzburg, French magazine editor (d. 1981)
  • 1905
    Manès Sperber, Austrian writer (d. 1984)
  • 1907
    Roy Douglas, English composer and orchestrator
  • 1908
    Gustav Ernesaks, Estonian composer and conductor (d. 1993)
  • 1909
    Hans Keilson, German-born Dutch writer and child psychologist (d. 2011)
  • 1909
    Karen Morley, American actress (d. 2003)
  • 1910
    Richard Sagrits, Estonian painter (d. 1968)
  • 1914
    Patrick O'Brian, English author (d. 2000)
  • 1915
    Frank Sinatra, American singer and actor (d. 1998)
  • 1917
    James Wall, American actor and stage manager (d. 2010)
  • 1918
    Joe Williams, American singer (d. 1999)
  • 1919
    Dan DeCarlo, American cartoonist (d. 2001)
  • 1919
    Olivia Barclay, English astrologer (d. 2001)
  • 1920
    Fred Kida, American comics artist
  • 1922
    Christian Dotremont, Belgian painter and writer (d. 1979)
  • 1923
    Bob Barker, American television game show host
  • 1923
    Bob Dorough, American jazz pianist/vocalist
  • 1923
    Ken Kavanagh, Australian racing driver
  • 1924
    Ed Koch, American politician
  • 1924
    Ray Cordeiro, Hong Kong radio personality
  • 1924
    Robert Coogan, American actor (d. 1978)
  • 1925
    Ahmad Shamlou, Iranian poet (d. 2000)
  • 1925
    Vladimir Shainsky, Russian composer
  • 1927
    Robert Noyce, American inventor (d. 1990)
  • 1928
    Chinghiz Aitmatov, Soviet-born Kyrgyz writer (d. 2008)
  • 1928
    Helen Frankenthaler, American artist (d. 2011)
  • 1929
    John Osborne, English dramatist (d. 1994)
  • 1929
    Toshiko Akiyoshi, Japanese musician
  • 1930
    Bill Beutel, American journalist (d. 2006)
  • 1930
    Silvio Santos, Brazilian TV show host
  • 1931
    Lionel Blair, English actor and choreographer
  • 1932
    Bob Pettit, American basketball player
  • 1934
    Miguel de la Madrid, Mexican politician
  • 1937
    Buford Pusser, American law enforcement official (d. 1974)
  • 1938
    Connie Francis, American singer
  • 1940
    Dionne Warwick, American singer
  • 1940
    Frances Willard, American magician
  • 1940
    Sharad Pawar, Indian politician
  • 1942
    Peter Sarstedt, British musician
  • 1943
    Dickey Betts, American musician (The Allman Brothers Band)
  • 1943
    Grover Washington, Jr., American saxophonist (d. 1999)
  • 1943
    Vassilis Alexakis, Greek-French writer
  • 1944
    Jean Doré, Canadian politician
  • 1944
    Kenneth Cranham, Scottish actor
  • 1944
    Rob Tyner, American Singer, Songwriter and activist (The MC5) (d. 1991)
  • 1944
    Zoe Laskari, Greek actress
  • 1945
    Tony Williams, American jazz drummer (d. 1997)
  • 1946
    Emerson Fittipaldi, Brazilian race car driver
  • 1946
    Paula Wagner, American film executive
  • 1947
    Wings Hauser, American actor
  • 1949
    Bill Nighy, English actor
  • 1950
    Billy Smith, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1950
    Pedro Ferriz de Con, Mexican radio and TV news anchor
  • 1950
    Rajinikanth, Indian actor
  • 1952
    Brenton Broadstock, Australian composer and academic
  • 1952
    Cathy Rigby, American gymnast and actress
  • 1952
    Herb Dhaliwal, Canadian politician
  • 1952
    Sarah Douglas, English actress
  • 1953
    Bruce Kulick, American guitarist (Kiss, Grand Funk Railroad)
  • 1953
    Dave Meniketti, American guitarist
  • 1953
    Rafael Septien, Mexican placekicker and convicted sex offender
  • 1955
    Eddy Schepers, Belgian cyclist
  • 1955
    Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, Greek businesswoman
  • 1956
    Johan van der Velde, Dutch cyclist
  • 1957
    Robert Lepage, French Canadian playwright
  • 1957
    Sheila E., American musician
  • 1957
    Susan Powter, Australian author and motivational speaker
  • 1958
    Dag Ingebrigtsen, Norwegian musician
  • 1958
    Lucie Guay, Canadian canoer
  • 1958
    Monica Attard, Australian journalist
  • 1958
    Sheree J. Wilson, American actress
  • 1962
    Mike Golic, American football player
  • 1962
    Tracy Austin, American tennis player
  • 1963
    Ai Orikasa, Japanese voice actress and singer
  • 1963
    Liz Claman, American television anchor
  • 1964
    Haywood Jeffries, American football player
  • 1964
    Sabu, American professional wrestler
  • 1965
    Will Carling, English rugby union footballer
  • 1966
    Último Dragón, Japanese professional wrestler
  • 1966
    Kouichi Nagano, Japanese voice actor
  • 1966
    Royce Gracie, Brazilian martial artist
  • 1967
    Deke Sharon, American musician
  • 1967
    John Randle, American football player
  • 1967
    Takenobu Mitsuyoshi, Japanese composer
  • 1967
    Yuzo Koshiro, Japanese composer
  • 1968
    Kate Humble, English television presenter
  • 1968
    Laurie Williams, Jamaican cricketer (d. 2002)
  • 1968
    Rory Kennedy, American documentarian
  • 1969
    Carrie Westcott, American model and actress
  • 1970
    Jennifer Connelly, American actress
  • 1970
    Mädchen Amick, American actress
  • 1970
    Regina Hall, American actress
  • 1972
    Brandon Teena, American murder victim (d. 1993)
  • 1972
    Georgios Theodoridis, Greek sprinter
  • 1972
    Hank Williams III, American musician
  • 1972
    Kevin Parent, French Canadian singer and songwriter
  • 1972
    Nicky Eaden, English footballer
  • 1972
    Wilson Kipketer, Danish middle-distance runner
  • 1973
    Gary Breen, Republic of Ireland footballer
  • 1973
    Walter Otta, Argentine footballer
  • 1974
    Nolberto Solano, Peruvian footballer
  • 1975
    Craig Moore, Australian footballer
  • 1975
    Mayim Bialik, American actress
  • 1975
    Wesley Charles, Vincentian footballer
  • 1976
    Dan Hawkins, English guitarist (The Darkness)
  • 1976
    Lloyd Owusu, Ghanaian footballer
  • 1977
    Bridget Hall, American supermodel
  • 1977
    Colin White, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1977
    Nicole, Erica and Jaclyn Dahm, American triplet models
  • 1977
    Orlando Hudson, American baseball player
  • 1978
    Jennifer Rovero, American model
  • 1978
    Monica Barladeanu, Romanian actress
  • 1979
    Garrett Atkins, American baseball player
  • 1979
    John Salmons, American basketball player
  • 1979
    Nate Clements, American football player
  • 1979
    Sharin Foo, Danish singer and bassist
  • 1980
    Gus G, Greek musician
  • 1980
    Nicolae Dorin Goian, Romanian footballer
  • 1981
    Jeret Peterson, American aerial skier
  • 1981
    Pedro Ríos Maestre, Spanish footballer
  • 1981
    Ronnie Brown, American football player
  • 1981
    Shane Costa, American baseball player
  • 1981
    Stephen Warnock, English footballer
  • 1981
    Yuvraj Singh, Indian cricketer
  • 1982
    Ai Kato, Japanese actress
  • 1982
    Dmitry Tursunov, Russian tennis player
  • 1983
    Katrina Elam, American singer
  • 1984
    Daniel Agger, Danish footballer
  • 1984
    Daniel Merrett, Australian football player
  • 1984
    Sohail Tanvir,Pakistani cricketer
  • 1985
    Chris Jennings, American football player
  • 1985
    David Veikune, American football player
  • 1985
    Giannis Zaradoukas, Greek footballer
  • 1985
    Pat Calathes, Greek-American basketball player
  • 1986
    Lee Qri, Korean singer and actress
  • 1986
    Mitsuhiro Hidaka, Japanese singer (AAA (band))
  • 1986
    Perparim Hetemaj, Finnish footballer
  • 1986
    T. J. Ward, American football player
  • 1986
    Thomas Wansey, English actor
  • 1988
    Ham Eun-jeong, Korean singer and actress
  • 1990
    Seungri, Korean singer
  • 1990
    Victor Moses, Nigerian-born British footballer
  • 1991
    Daniel Magder, Canadian actor

Who Died On December 12?

  • 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)
  • 1817
    Emperor Tekle Giyorgis I of Ethiopia, (b. about 1751)
  • 1843
    King William I of the Netherlands, (b. 1772)
  • 1858
    Jacques Viger, antiquarian and archeologist, first mayor of Montreal (b. 1787)
  • 1889
    Robert Browning, English poet (b. 1812)
  • 1889
    Viktor Bunyakovsky, Russian mathematician (b. 1804)
  • 1894
    Sir John Sparrow David 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)
  • 1934
    Thorleif Haug, Norwegian Nordic skier (b. 1894)
  • 1939
    Douglas Fairbanks, American actor (b. 1883)
  • 1941
    César Basa, Philippine Air Force and World War II hero (b. 1915)
  • 1951
    Mildred Bailey, American jazz singer (b. 1907)
  • 1952
    Bedřich Hrozný, Czech orientalist and linguist (b. 1879)
  • 1958
    Albert Walsh, Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland (b. 1900)
  • 1963
    Yasujirō 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)
  • 1971
    Yechezkel Kutscher, Israeli philologist and Hebrew linguist (b. 1909)
  • 1976
    Jack Cassidy, American actor (b. 1927)
  • 1976
    Vinko Žganec, Croatian ethnomusicologist (b. 1890)
  • 1977
    Baroness Spencer-Churchill, wife of Winston Churchill (b. 1885)
  • 1978
    Fay Compton, English actress (b. 1894)
  • 1980
    Jean Lesage, Canadian politician (b. 1912)
  • 1983
    Amza Pellea, Romanian actor (b. 1931)
  • 1985
    Anne Baxter, American actress (b. 1923)
  • 1985
    Ian Stewart, Scottish musician (b. 1938)
  • 1987
    Enrique Jorrín, Cuban musician and composer (b. 1926)
  • 1988
    Anthony “Tony Pro” Provenzano, American Mafia figure (b. 1917)
  • 1992
    Suzanne Lilar, Belgian essayist, novelist and playwright (b. 1901)
  • 1993
    József Antall, Hungarian politician (b. 1932)
  • 1994
    Donna J. Stone, American poet (b. 1933)
  • 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)
  • 1998
    Marco Denevi, Argentine writer (b. 1922)
  • 1998
    Mo Udall, American politician (b. 1922)
  • 1999
    Joseph Heller, American author (b. 1923)
  • 1999
    Paul Cadmus, American artist (b. 1904)
  • 2000
    George Montgomery, American actor (b. 1916)
  • 2000
    Ndabaningi Sithole, Zimbabwean Nationalist politician (b. 1920)
  • 2001
    Ardito Desio, Italian explorer, geologist and leader of the 1954 K2 expedition (b. 1897)
  • 2001
    Jean Richard, French actor (b. 1921)
  • 2002
    Brad Dexter, American actor (b. 1917)
  • 2002
    Dee Brown, American author (b. 1908)
  • 2002
    Jay Wesley Neill, American convicted murderer (b. 1965)
  • 2003
    Heydar Aliyev, President of Azerbaijan (b. 1923)
  • 2003
    Joseph Anthony Ferrario, American Catholic prelate (b. 1926)
  • 2005
    Annette Vadim, Danish actress (b. 1936)
  • 2005
    Gebran Tueni, Lebanese politician (b. 1957)
  • 2005
    Robert Newmyer, American film producer (b. 1956)
  • 2006
    Al Shugart, pioneering American computer engineer and co-founder of Seagate Technology (b. 1930)
  • 2006
    Kenny Davern, American jazz clarinetist (b. 1935)
  • 2006
    Paul Arizin, American basketball player (b. 1928)
  • 2006
    Peter Boyle, American actor (b. 1935)
  • 2006
    Raymond P. Shafer, 38th Governor of Pennsylvania (b. 1917)
  • 2007
    Francois Hajj, Lebanese Army’s chief of operations (b. 1953)
  • 2007
    Ike Turner, American musician (b. 1931)
  • 2008
    Avery Dulles, Roman Catholic Cardinal, theologian (b. 1918)
  • 2008
    Tassos Papadopoulos, President of Cyprus (b. 1934)
  • 2008
    Van Johnson, American actor (b. 1916)
  • 2010
    Peter Pagel, German footballer (b. 1956)
  • 2010
    Tom Walkinshaw, former racing driver and Formula One team owner (b. 1946)

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