Warning: Zend OPcache API is restricted by "restrict_api" configuration directive in /srv/users/serverpilot/apps/historylookup/public/wp-content/plugins/tubepress/vendor/tedivm/stash/src/Stash/Driver/FileSystem.php on line 253
Today December 12th 2009 this day in history Read more below to view events, deaths, births, Holidays observances and video clips. Last database updated: Jan 17th, 2009
Events
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 – Order of the Dragon: The Order of the Dragon was first created on December 12, 1408 by Emperor Sigismund, then King of Hungary, and his wife Queen Barbara of Celje following the battle for possession of Bosnia.
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 second state to ratify the United States Constitution five days after Delaware became the first.
1812 – The French invasion of Russia comes to an end.
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 first black U.S. congressman.
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.
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 is kidnapped by Zhang Xueliang.
1937 – Panay incident: Japanese aircraft bomb 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.
1939 – HMS Duchess (H64) sinks after a collision with HMS Barham off the coast of Scotland with the loss of 124 men
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 – 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: UK declares war on Bulgaria. Hungary and Romania declare war on the United States. India declares war on Japan.
1941 – Adolf Hitler announces extermination of the Jews at a meeting in the Reich Chancellery
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 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 – 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 – 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 kilometres (9.0 mi) perimeter fence.
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.
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 – 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
2005 – Gebran Tueni, Lebanese journalist and politician, is assassinated.
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.
2007 – Francois Hajj, the Lebanese army s chief of operations, is assassinated.
Births
1298 – Albert II of Austria (d. 1358)
1418 – Albert VI of Austria (d. 1463)
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, second wife of Napoleon (d. 1847)
1799 – Karl Briullov, Russian painter (d. 1852)
1805 – William Lloyd Garrison, American abolitionist (d. 1879)
1805 – Henry Wells, Founder of American Express (d. 1878)
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, Swiss chemist, Nobel 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 Potocnik aka Hermann Noordung, Slovenian rocket engineer (d. 1929)
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 – Yasujiro Ozu, Japanese film director (d. 1963)
1904 – Nicolas de Gunzburg, magazine editor and socialite (d. 1981)
1905 – Manès Sperber, Austrian-born writer (d. 1984)
1907 – Roy Douglas, English composer and orchestrator
1908 – Gustav Ernesaks, Estonian composer and conductor. (d. 1993)
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)
1918 – Joe Williams, American singer (d. 1999)
1919 – Olivia Barclay, English 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 – Bob Dorough, American jazz pianist/vocalist
1923 – Ken Kavanagh, Australian racing driver
1924 – Ed Koch, Mayor of New York City
1925 – Vladimir Shainsky, Soviet and Russian composer
1925 – Ahmad Shamlou, Iranian poet (d. 2000)
1927 – Robert Noyce, American inventor (d. 1990)
1928 – Chinghiz Aitmatov, Soviet-born Kyrgyz writer
1929 – Toshiko Akiyoshi, Japanese musician
1929 – John Osborne, English dramatist (d. 1994)
1930 – Bill Beutel, American journalist (d. 2006)
1931 – Lionel Blair, English actor and choreographer
1932 – Bob Pettit, American basketball player
1934 – Miguel de la Madrid, President of Mexico
1937 – Buford Pusser, American sheriff (d. 1974)
1938 – Connie Francis, American singer
1940 – Sharad Pawar, Indian politician
1940 – Dionne Warwick, American singer
1942 – Peter Sarstedt, British musician
1943 – Dickey Betts, American musician (The Allman Brothers Band)
1943 – Grover Washington, Jr., American saxophonist (d. 1999)
1944 – Kenneth Cranham, Scottish actor
1944 – Jean Doré, Canadian politician, mayor of Montreal
1945 – Tony Williams, American jazz drummer (d. 1997)
1946 – Emerson Fittipaldi, Brazilian race car driver and two-time F1 world champion
1946 – Paula Wagner, American film executive
1948 – Tom Wilkinson, English actor
1949 – Bill Nighy, English actor
1950 – Rajnikanth, Indian actor
1950 – Billy Smith, Canadian ice hockey player
1950 – Tom Vilsack, American politician
1952 – Herb Dhaliwal, Canadian politician
1952 – Cathy Rigby, American gymnast and actress
1953 – Bruce Kulick, American guitarist (ex-Kiss, Grand Funk Railroad)
1953 – Dave Meniketti, American guitarist/singer (Y&T, Meniketti)
1954 – Liz Claman, American television anchor
1955 – Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, Greek businesswoman
1955 – Eddy Schepers, Belgian cyclist
1956 – Johan van der Velde, Dutch cyclist
1957 – Sheila E., American musician
1957 – Robert Lepage, French Canadian playwright
1957 – Susan Powter, Australian author and motivational speaker
1958 – Sheree J. Wilson, American actress
1962 – Tracy Austin, American tennis player
1962 – Mike Golic, American football player
1963 – Ai Orikasa, Japanese voice actress and singer
1964 – Sabu, American professional wrestler
1964 – Haywood Jeffries, American football player
1965 – Will Carling, English rugby union footballer
1966 – Royce Gracie, Brazilian martial artist
1966 – Kouichi Nagano, Japanese voice actor
1966 – Último Dragón, Japanese professional wrestler
1967 – Yuzo Koshiro, Japanese composer
1967 – Takenobu Mitsuyoshi, Japanese composer
1967 – John Randle, American football player
1968 – Kate Humble, English television presenter
1968 – Rory Kennedy, American documentarian
1968 – Laurie Williams, Jamaican West Indies cricketer (d. 2002)
1969 – Carrie Westcott, American model and actress
1970 – Mädchen Amick, American actress
1970 – Jennifer Connelly, American actress
1970 – Regina Hall, American actress
1972 – Nicky Eaden, English footballer
1972 – Wilson Kipketer, Danish middle-distance runner
1972 – Kevin Parent, French Canadian singer and songwriter
1972 – Brandon Teena, American hate crime victim (d. 1993)
1972 – Yeoryios Theodoridis, Greek sprinter
1972 – Hank Williams III, American musician, grandson of Hank Williams
1973 – William Hutton, American engineer
1973 – Walter Otta, Argentine footballer
1974 – Nolberto Solano, Peruvian footballer
1975 – Mayim Bialik, American actress
1975 – Wesley Charles, Vincentian footballer
1975 – Craig Moore, Australian footballer
1976 – Dan Hawkins, English guitarist (The Darkness)
1976 – Lloyd Owusu, English/Ghanaian football player
1977 – Nicole, Erica and Jaclyn Dahm, American triplet models
1977 – Bridget Hall, American supermodel
1977 – Orlando Hudson, American baseball player
1977 – Colin White, Canadian ice hockey player
1978 – Monica Barladeanu, Romanian actress
1978 – Louis (artist), Korean singer (Jung Hwa Ban Jum)
1978 – Jennifer Rovero, Playboy Playmate
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 – Ronnie Brown, American football player
1981 – Shane Costa, American baseball player
1981 – Pedro Ríos, Spanish footballer
1981 – Jeret Peterson, American aerial skier
1981 – Yuvraj Singh, Indian cricketer
1981 – Stephen Warnock, English footballer
1982 – Dmitry Tursunov, Russian tennis player
1983 – Katrina Elam, American singer
1984 – Daniel Merrett, Australian Rules Football
1984 – Daniel Agger, Danish footballer
1986 – Perparim Hetemaj, Finnish footballer
1986 – Thomas Wansey, English actor
1990 – Victor Moses, an English footballer of Nigerian descent
1991 – Daniel Magder, Canadian actor
1996 – Karen Miyama, Japanese actress
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)
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 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 – Cesar Basa, Philippine Air Force and World War II hero (b. 1915)
1951 – Mildred Bailey, American jazz singer (b. 1907)
1952 – Bedrich Hrozný, Czech 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 – Jack Cassidy, American actor (b. 1927)
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)
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 – 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 – Paul Cadmus, American artist (b. 1904)
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 – Brad Dexter, American actor (b. 1917)
2002 – Jay Wesley Neill, American convicted murderer (b. 1965)
2003 – Heyd?r ?liyev, President of Azerbaijan (b. 1923)
2003 – Joseph Anthony Ferrario, American Catholic prelate (b. 1926)
2003 – Keiko, orca, star of Free Willy (b. 1977)
2005 – Gebran Tueni, Lebanese politician (b. 1957)
2005 – Annette Vadim, Danish actress (b. 1936)
2005 – Robert F. Newmyer, American film producer (b. 1946)
2006 – Paul Arizin, American basketball player (b. 1928)
2006 – Peter Boyle, American actor (b. 1935)
2006 – Kenny Davern, American jazz clarinetist (b. 1935)
2006 – Raymond P. Shafer, 38th Governor of Pennsylvania (b. 1917)
2006 – Al Shugart, pioneering American computer engineer and co-founder of Seagate Technology (b. 1930)
2007 – Ike Turner, American singer, former husband of Tina Turner (b. 1931)
2007 – Francois Hajj, Lebanese Army s chief of operations (b. 1953)
2008 – Avery Dulles, Roman Catholic Cardinal, heologian (b. 1918)
2008 – Van Johnson, American actor (b. 1916)
2008 – Tassos Papadopoulos, Cypriot former president (b. 1934)
Holidays and observances
Bahá í Faith – Feast of Masá il (Questions) – First day of the 15th month of the Bahá í calendar
Mexico, Roman Catholic Saints- Virgin of Guadalupe Day
Kenya – Jamhuri Day: Independence Day (from Britain, 1963)
Turkmenistan – Neutrality Day
YouTube responded with an error: The request cannot be completed because you have exceeded your <a href="/youtube/v3/getting-started#quota">quota</a>.