From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
May 12 is the 132nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (133rd in leap years). There are 233 days remaining.
[edit] Events
- 1191 - Richard I of England marries Berengaria of Navarre.
- 1264 - The Battle of Lewes, between King Henry III of England and the rebel Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, begins.
- 1328 - Antipope Nicholas V, a claimant to the papacy, is consecrated in Rome by the Bishop of Venice.
- 1364 - Jagiellonian University, the oldest university in Poland, was founded in Kraków, Poland.
- 1551 - National University of San Marcos, the oldest university in the Americas, was founded in Lima, Peru.
- 1588 - French Wars of Religion: Henry III of France flees Paris after Henry of Guise enters the city.
- 1689 - King William's War: William III of England joins the League of Augsburg starting a war with France.
- 1780 - American Revolutionary War: Charleston, South Carolina is taken by British forces.
- 1797 - First Coalition: Napoleon I of France conquers Venice.
- 1821 - The first big battle of the Greek War of Independence against the Turks occurs in Valtetsi.
- 1862 - U.S. federal troops occupy Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
- 1863 - American Civil War: Battle of Raymond: two divisions of James B. McPherson's XVII Corps (ACW) turn the left wing of Confederate General John C. Pemberton's defensive line on Fourteen Mile Creek, opening up the interior of Mississippi to the Union Army during the Vicksburg Campaign.
- 1864 - American Civil War: Battle of Spotsylvania Court House: Thousands of Union and Confederate soldiers die in "the Bloody Angle".
- 1865 - American Civil War: Battle of Palmito Ranch: The first day of the last major land action to take place during the Civil War, resulting in a Conferderate victory.
- 1870 - The Manitoba Act was given the Royal Assent, paving the way for Manitoba to become a province of Canada on July 15.
- 1873 - Oscar II of Sweden-Norway is crowned King of Sweden.
- 1881 - In North Africa, Tunisia becomes a French protectorate.
- 1885 - North-West Rebellion: The four-day Battle of Batoche, pitting rebel Métis against the Canadian government, comes to an end with a decisive rebel defeat.
- 1890 - The first-ever official County Championship match begins. Yorkshire beat Gloucestershire by eight wickets at Bristol. George Ulyett scores the first century in the competition.
- 1926 - UK General Strike 1926: In the United Kingdom, a nine-day general strike by trade unions ends.
- 1932 - Ten weeks after his abduction, the infant son of Charles Lindbergh is found dead in Hopewell, New Jersey just a few miles from the Lindberghs' home.
- 1937 - Coronation of King George VI of Britain at Westminster Abbey.
- 1941 - Konrad Zuse presented the Z3, the world's first working programmable, fully automatic computer in Berlin.
- 1942 - World War II: Second Battle of Kharkov – In the eastern Ukraine, the Soviet Army initiates a major offensive. During the battle the Soviets will capture the city of Kharkov from the German Army, only to be encircled and destroyed.
- 1942 - 1,500 Jews are sent to gas chambers in Auschwitz.
- 1949 - Cold War: The Soviet Union lifts its Blockade of Berlin.
- 1952 - Gaj Singh crowned Maharaja of Jodhpur.
- 1955 - The last portion of the IRT Third Avenue Elevated in Manhattan closes.
- 1958 - A formal North American Aerospace Defense Command agreement is signed between the United States and Canada.
- 1962 - Douglas MacArthur delivers his famous "Duty, Honor, Country" valedictory speech at West Point.
- 1965 - The Soviet spacecraft Luna 5 crashes on the Moon.
- 1966 - Busch Memorial Stadium, home of the St. Louis Cardinals major league baseball team, opens in St. Louis, Missouri.
- 1967 - At Queen Elizabeth Hall, England, Pink Floyd stages the first-ever quadraphonic rock concert.
- 1970 - Ernie Banks becomes the ninth member of the 500 home run club with a home run at Wrigley Field in Chicago.
- 1975 - Mayagüez incident: The Cambodian navy seizes the American merchant ship SS Mayaguez in international waters.
- 1978 - In Zaïre, rebels occupy the city of Kolwezi, the mining center of the province of Shaba. The government of Zaïre asks the U.S., France and Belgium to restore order.
- 1982 - During a procession outside the shrine of the Virgin Mary in Fátima, Portugal, security guards overpower Juan Fernandez Krohn before he can attack Pope John Paul II with a bayonet. Krohn, an ultraconservative Spanish priest opposed to the Vatican II reforms, decided that the Pope must be killed for being an "agent of Moscow."
- 1989 - A Southern Pacific Railroad freight train derails on the very steep Cajon Pass in San Bernardino, California, killing four people.
- 1999 - David Steel becomes the first Presiding Officer (speaker) of the modern Scottish Parliament.
- 2000 - The Tate Modern art gallery opens in London.
- 2002 - Former President Jimmy Carter arrives in Cuba for a five-day visit with Fidel Castro becoming first President of the United States, in or out of office, to visit the island since Castro's 1959 revolution.
- 2003 - The Riyadh compound bombings, carried out by Al Qaeda, kill 26.
- 2005 - Kaspars Petrovs is convicted of the strangulation murder and robberies of thirteen elderly women in Riga, Latvia.
- 2006 - Justin Gatlin ties the fastest 100m sprint ever in a time of 9.77 seconds in Doha, Qatar.
[edit] Births
- 1401 - Emperor Shoko of Japan (d. 1428)
- 1496 - Gustav I of Sweden (d. 1560)
- 1590 - Cosimo II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (d. 1621)
- 1622 - Louis de Buade de Frontenac, Governor General of New France (d. 1698)
- 1626 - Louis Hennepin, Flemish missionary (d. 1705)
- 1670 - Frederick Augustus I of Poland (d. 1733)
- 1700 - Luigi Vanvitelli, Italian architect (d. 1773)
- 1725 - Louis Philip I, Duke of Orléans, (d. 1785)
- 1767 - Manuel de Godoy, Spanish statesman (d. 1851)
- 1803 - Justus von Liebig, German chemist (d. 1873)
- 1806 - Johan Vilhelm Snellman, Finnish statesman (d. 1881)
- 1812 - Edward Lear, English author and poet (d. 1888)
- 1820 - Florence Nightingale, English nurse (d. 1910)
- 1828 - Dante Gabriel Rossetti, English poet (d. 1882)
- 1829 - Pavlos Carrer, Greek composer (d. 1896)
- 1842 - Jules Massenet, French composer (d. 1912)
- 1845 - Gabriel Fauré, French composer (d. 1924)
- 1850 - Henry Cabot Lodge, U.S. statesman (d. 1924)
- 1867 - Hugh Trumble, Australian cricketer (d. 1938)
- 1874 - Clemens von Pirquet, Austrian physician (d. 1928)
- 1880 - Lincoln Ellsworth, American scientist (d. 1951)
- 1889 - Otto Frank, father of Anne Frank (d. 1980)
- 1892 - Fritz Kortner, Austrian-born director (d. 1970)
- 1895 - William Giauque, American chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1982)
- 1899 - Indra Devi, yogi (d. 2002)
- 1900 - Helene Weigel, German actress (d. 1971)
- 1907 - Katharine Hepburn, American actress (d. 2003)
- 1910 - Charles B. Fulton, American jurist (d. 1996)
- 1910 - Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin, British biochemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1994)
- 1912 - Archibald Cox, U.S. Solicitor General (d. 2004)
- 1914 - Bertus Aafjes, Dutch poet (d. 1993)
- 1914 - Howard K. Smith, American journalist (d. 2002)
- 1917 - Frank Clair, Canadian football coach (d. 2005)
- 1918 - Julius Rosenberg, American spy (d. 1953)
- 1921 - Joseph Beuys, German artist (d. 1986)
- 1921 - Farley Mowat, Canadian writer and naturalist
- 1924 - Tony Hancock, English comedian (d. 1968)
- 1924 - Alexander Esenin-Volpin, Russian mathematician
- 1925 - Yogi Berra, American baseball player
- 1928 - Burt Bacharach, American composer
- 1930 - Jesús Franco, Spanish film director
- 1933 - Andrey Voznesensky, Russian poet
- 1935 - Felipe Alou, Dominican baseball player and manager
- 1936 - Frank Stella, American painter
- 1936 - Tom Snyder, American television personality
- 1937 - George Carlin, American comedian
- 1937 - Beryl Burton, English cyclist (d. 1996)
- 1938 - Millie Perkins, American film actress
- 1939 - Ron Ziegler, White House Press Secretary (d. 2003)
- 1942 - Ian Dury, English musician (d. 2000)
- 1945 - Alan Ball, English footballer
- 1947 - Michael Ignatieff, Canadian politician
- 1948 - Steve Winwood, English musician
- 1950 - Bruce Boxleitner, American actor
- 1950 - Billy Squier, American singer
- 1950 - Gabriel Byrne, Irish actor
- 1955 - Kix Brooks, American musician
- 1956 - Bernie Federko, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1957 - Bruce Buffer, American Mixed Martial Arts Announcer
- 1958 - Eric Singer, American drummer
- 1959 - Ving Rhames, American actor
- 1961 - Bruce McCulloch, Canadian actor
- 1961 - Lar Park Lincoln, American actress
- 1961 - Billy Duffy, British rock guitarist
- 1962 - Emilio Estevez, American actor
- 1963 - Vanessa A. Williams, American actress
- 1963 - Deborah Kara Unger, Canadian actress
- 1963 - Jerry Trimble, American actor
- 1963 - Stefano Modena, Italian racing driver
- 1963 - Panagiotis Fasoulas, Greek basketball player, Mayor of Piraeus
- 1964 - Brett Gurewitz, American record producer
- 1966 - Stephen Baldwin, American actor
- 1966 - Bebel Gilberto, Brazilian singer
- 1967 - Paul D'Amour, American bass guitarist (ex-Tool)
- 1968 - Tony Hawk, American skateboarder
- 1968 - Mark Clark, American baseball player
- 1968 - Catherine Tate, English comedienne
- 1969 - Kim Fields, American actress
- 1970 - Mike Weir, Canadian golfer
- 1970 - Jim Furyk, American golfer
- 1970 - Samantha Mathis, American actress
- 1973 - Kendra Kassebaum, American stage actress
- 1973 - Travis Lutter, Mixed Martial Arts Fighter
- 1975 - Jonah Lomu, New Zealand rugby union footballer
- 1977 - Graeme Dott, Scottish snooker player
- 1977 - Doug Basham, American professional wrestler
- 1977 - Rebecca Herbst, American actress
- 1978 - Hossein Reza Zadeh, Iranian weightlifter
- 1978 - Jason Biggs, American actor
- 1979 - Erdinç Saçan, Turkish-Dutch politician
- 1981 - Kentaro Sato, Japanese composer
- 1983 - Charilaos Pappas, Greek footballer
- 1984 - Cheryl Burke, Filipino-American ballroom dancer
- 1986 - Emily VanCamp, Canadian actress
- 1988 - Marcelo, Brazilian footballer
- 1991 - Bradford N. Smith, American actor
- 1992 - Malcolm David Kelley, American actor
- 1995 - Sullivan and Sawyer Sweeten, American actors
[edit] Deaths
- 1003 - Pope Silvester II
- 1012 - Pope Sergius IV
- 1382 - Queen Joan I of Naples (b. 1327)
- 1399 - Demetrius I Starshiy (killed in battle) (b. 1327)
- 1465 - Thomas Palaeologus, Despot of the Despotate of Morea
- 1634 - George Chapman, English writer
- 1641 - Thomas Wentworth, Earl of Strafford, English statesman (b. 1593)
- 1684 - Edme Mariotte, French physicist and priest
- 1699 - Lucas Achtschellinck, Flemish painter (b. 1626)
- 1700 - John Dryden, English writer (b. 1631)
- 1708 - Adolf Friedrich II of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (b. 1658)
- 1748 - Thomas Lowndes, English astronomer (b. 1692)
- 1759 - Lambert-Sigisbert Adam, French sculptor (b. 1700)
- 1784 - Abraham Trembley, Swiss naturalist (b. 1710)
- 1792 - Charles Simon Favart, French dramatist (b. 1710)
- 1796 - Johann Peter Uz, German poet (b. 1720)
- 1801 - Nicholas Repnin, Russian statesman (b. 1734)
- 1845 - János Bacsanyi, Hungarian poet (b. 1763)
- 1856 - Jacques Philippe Marie Binet, French mathematician (b. 1786)
- 1859 - Sergei Aksakov, Russian writer (b. 1791)
- 1860 - Charles Barry, English architect (b. 1795)
- 1864 - J. E. B. Stuart, American soldier from Virginia and a Confederate Army general (b. 1833)
- 1867 - Friedrich William Eduard Gerhard, German archaeologist (b. 1795)
- 1871 - Anselme Payen, French physicist (b. 1795)
- 1876 - Georgi Benkovski, Bulgarian revolutionary, brutally killed by the Turks (b. 1843)
- 1884 - Bedřich Smetana, Czech composer (b. 1824)
- 1889 - John Cadbury, English chocolate entrepreneur (b. 1801)
- 1907 - Joris-Karl Huysmans, French author (b. 1848)
- 1925 - Amy Lowell, American poet (b. 1874)
- 1931 - Eugène Ysaÿe, Belgian violinist (b. 1858)
- 1935 - Józef Piłsudski, Polish statesman (b. 1867)
- 1944 - Max Brand, American author (b. 1892)
- 1944 - Q, English writer (b. 1863)
- 1956 - Louis Calhern, American actor (b. 1895)
- 1957 - Erich von Stroheim, film director and actor (b. 1885)
- 1963 - Bobby Kerr, Canadian runner (b. 1882)
- 1967 - John Masefield, British writer (b. 1878)
- 1970 - Nelly Sachs, German writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1891)
- 1971 - Heinie Manush, American baseball player (b. 1901)
- 1973 - Art Pollard, American racecar driver.
- 1985 - Jean Dubuffet, French painter (b. 1901)
- 1986 - Elisabeth Bergner, Austrian actress (b. 1897)
- 1990 - Chen Kenmin, Japanese chef (b. 1912)
- 1992 - Robert Reed, American actor (b. 1932)
- 1992 - Nikos Gatsos, Greek poet and lyricist (b. 1911)
- 1994 - Erik Erikson, German psychoanalyst (b. 1902)
- 1994 - John Smith, British politician (b. 1938)
- 1995 - Mia Martini, Italian singer (b. 1947)
- 1999 - Abd-al-Aziz ibn Abd-Allah ibn Baaz, Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia 1993-1999 (b. 1910)
- 1999 - Saul Steinberg, Romanian-American cartoonist (b. 1914)
- 2000 - Adam Petty, American race car driver (b. 1980)
- 2001 - Perry Como, American singer (b. 1912)
- 2002 - Erich Kulas, ECW Wrestler (Mass Transit)
- 2003 - Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan, French UN High Commissioner for Refugees (b. 1933)
- 2005 - Martin Lings, English Islamic scholar (b. 1909)
- 2005 - Monica Zetterlund, Swedish actress and singer (b. 1937)
- 2006 - Gillespie V. Montgomery, former U.S. representative from Mississippi (b. 1920)
[edit] Holidays and observances
[edit] External links
