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This day in history

This day in history: 12 January

Events, births and deaths on this date, ordered by how many people look them up.

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Key facts

400 historical events, births and deaths are listed for 12 January.
Entries come from Wikipedia’s day pages and are ordered by page views.
2020: Taal Volcano in the Philippines erupts and kills 39 people.

Holidays and observances

Christian feast day: Aelred of Rievaulx

Christian feast day: Benedict Biscop

Christian feast day: Bernard of Corleone

Christian feast day: January 12 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

Christian feast day: Marguerite Bourgeoys

Christian feast day: Tatiana

Memorial Day (Turkmenistan)

National Youth Day (India)

Prosecutor General's Day (Russia)

Yennayer (Algeria)

Zanzibar Revolution Day (Tanzania)

Events

2020Taal Volcano in the Philippines erupts and kills 39 people.

2016Ten people are killed and 15 wounded in a bombing near the Blue Mosque in Istanbul.

2015Government raids kill 143 Boko Haram fighters in Kolofata, Cameroon.

2012Violent protests occur in Bucharest, Romania, as two-day-old demonstrations continue against President Traian Băsescu's economic austerity measures. Clashes are reported in numerous Romanian cities between protesters and law enforcement off

2010An earthquake in Haiti occurs, killing between 220,000 and 300,000 people and destroying much of the capital Port-au-Prince.

2007Comet C/2006 P1 (McNaught), one of the brightest comets ever observed is at its zenith visible during the day.

2006A stampede during the Stoning of the Devil ritual on the last day at the Hajj in Mina, Saudi Arabia, kills at least 362 Muslim pilgrims.

2005Deep Impact launches from Cape Canaveral on a Delta II rocket.

2004The world's largest ocean liner, RMS Queen Mary 2, makes its maiden voyage.

2001Downtown Disney opens to the public as part of the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California.

1998Nineteen European nations agree to forbid human cloning.

1997Space Shuttle program: Atlantis launches from the Kennedy Space Center on mission STS-81 to the Russian space station Mir, carrying astronaut Jerry M. Linenger for a four-month stay on board the station, replacing astronaut John E. Blaha.

1991Persian Gulf War: An act of the U.S. Congress authorizes the use of American military force to drive Iraq out of Kuwait.

1990A seven-day pogrom breaks out against the Armenian civilian population of Baku, Azerbaijan, during which Armenians were beaten, tortured, murdered, and expelled from the city.

1986Space Shuttle program: Congressman and future NASA Administrator Bill Nelson lifts off from Kennedy Space Center aboard Columbia on mission STS-61-C as a payload specialist.

1976The United Nations Security Council votes 11–1 to allow the Palestine Liberation Organization to participate in a Security Council debate (without voting rights).

1971The Harrisburg Seven: Rev. Philip Berrigan and five other activists are indicted on charges of conspiring to kidnap Henry Kissinger and of plotting to blow up the heating tunnels of federal buildings in Washington, D.C.

1970Biafra capitulates, ending the Nigerian Civil War.

1969The New York Jets of the American Football League defeat the Baltimore Colts of the National Football League to win Super Bowl III in what is considered to be one of the greatest upsets in sports history.

1967Dr. James Bedford becomes the first person to be cryonically preserved with intent of future resuscitation.

1966Lyndon B. Johnson states that the United States should stay in South Vietnam until Communist aggression there is ended.

1964Rebels in Zanzibar begin a revolt known as the Zanzibar Revolution and proclaim a republic.

1962Vietnam War: Operation Chopper, the first American combat mission and first American helicopter assault in the war, takes place.

1955A Martin 2-0-2 and Douglas DC-3 collide over Boone County, Kentucky, killing 15 people.

1945World War II: The Red Army begins the Vistula–Oder Offensive.

1942World War II: United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt creates the National War Labor Board.

1933Casas Viejas incident: 22 peasants killed by the Security and Assault Corps in Casas Viejas, Spain.

1932Hattie Caraway becomes the first woman elected to the United States Senate.

1918The Minnie Pit Disaster coal mining accident occurs in Halmer End, Staffordshire, in which 155 men and boys die.

1916Oswald Boelcke and Max Immelmann become the first German aviators to earn the Pour le Mérite, receive the German Empire's highest military award, for achieving eight aerial victories each over Allied aircraft.

1915The United States House of Representatives rejects a proposed constitutional amendment to require states to give women the right to vote.

1911The University of the Philippines College of Law is established.

1895The National Trust is founded in the United Kingdom.

1872Yohannes IV is crowned Emperor of Ethiopia in Axum, the first imperial coronation in that city in over 200 years.

1866The Royal Aeronautical Society is formed in London.

1848The Palermo rising takes place in Sicily against the Bourbon Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.

1808John Rennie's scheme to defend St Mary's Church, Reculver, founded in 669, from coastal erosion is abandoned in favour of demolition, despite the church being an exemplar of Anglo-Saxon architecture and sculpture.

1808The organizational meeting leading to the creation of the Wernerian Natural History Society, a former Scottish learned society, is held in Edinburgh.

1792Federalist Thomas Pinckney appointed first U.S. minister to Britain.

1616The city of Belém, Brazil is founded on the Amazon River delta by Portuguese captain Francisco Caldeira Castelo Branco.

Born on this day

2012Artem Kotenko, Ukrainian singer

2005Yuika, Japanese singer-songwriter

2002Eva Lys, German tennis player

2001Sam LaPorta, American football player

2000Sven Botman, Dutch footballer

1999Tyler Roberts, Welsh footballer

1999Xavier Tillman, American basketball player

1998Juan Foyth, Argentinian footballer

1997Darius Slayton, American football player

1996Ella Henderson, English singer and songwriter

1995Allisha Gray, American basketball player

1995Mike McGlinchey, American football player

1994Emre Can, German footballer

1993D.O., South Korean singer

1993Jamel Artis, American basketball player

1993Simone Pecorini, Italian footballer

1993Zayn Malik, English singer

1992Ishak Belfodil, Algerian footballer

1992Samuele Longo, Italian footballer

1991Alex Wood, American baseball player

1991Matt Srama, Australian rugby league player

1991Pixie Lott, English singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress

1991Raquel Rodriguez, American wrestler

1989Axel Witsel, Belgian footballer

1989Thiemo-Jérôme Kialka, German footballer

1988Claude Giroux, Canadian ice hockey player

1988Hyun-soo Kim, South Korean baseball player

1987Iván Nova, Dominican baseball player

1987Naya Rivera, American actress and singer (died 2020)

1987Salvatore Sirigu, Italian footballer

1986Dani Osvaldo, Italian-Argentinian footballer

1986Kehoma Brenner, German rugby player

1986Miguel Ángel Nieto, Spanish footballer

1985Artem Milevskyi, Ukrainian footballer

1985Borja Valero, Spanish footballer

1985Cynthia Addai-Robinson, English-American actress

1985Issa Rae, American actress, writer, director, producer and web series creator

1984Jonathan Zydko, French footballer

1982Chris Ray, American baseball player

1982Dean Whitehead, English footballer

Died on this day

2026Rick Garcia (activist), American LGBTQ rights activist (born 1956)

2025Claude Jarman Jr., American actor and producer (born 1934)

2025Leslie Charleson, American actress (born 1945)

2023Lisa Marie Presley, American singer-songwriter (born 1968)

2023Sharad Yadav, Indian politician, 30th Minister of Civil Aviation, 29th Labour Minister (born 1947)

2022Ronnie Spector, American singer (born 1943)

2020Sir Roger Scruton, English philosopher and writer (born 1944)

2018Keith Jackson, American sports commentator and journalist (born 1928)

2017Graham Taylor, English football player and manager (born 1944)

2017William Peter Blatty, American writer and filmmaker (born 1928)

2015Carl Long, American baseball player (born 1935)

2015Elena Obraztsova, Russian soprano and actress (born 1939)

2015Inge Vermeulen, Brazilian-Dutch field hockey player (born 1985)

2015Robert Gover, American journalist and author (born 1929)

2015Trevor Colbourn, American historian and academic (born 1927)

2014Alexandra Bastedo, English actress (born 1946)

2014Connie Binsfeld, American educator and politician, 58th Lieutenant Governor of Michigan (born 1924)

2014George Dement, American soldier, businessman, and politician (born 1922)

2013Eugene Patterson, American journalist and activist (born 1923)

2013Flor María Chalbaud, First Lady of Venezuela (born 1921)

2013Precious Bryant, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1942)

2012Bill Janklow, American lawyer and politician, 27th Governor of South Dakota (born 1939)

2012Bjørn G. Andersen, Norwegian geologist and academic (born 1924)

2012Charles H. Price II, American businessman and diplomat, United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom (born 1931)

2012Glenda Dickerson, American director, choreographer, and educator (born 1945)

2012Jim Stanley, American football player and coach (born 1935)

2010Daniel Bensaïd, French philosopher and author (born 1946)

2010Hasib Sabbagh, Palestinian businessman and philanthropist, co-founded Consolidated Contractors Company (born 1920)

2009Claude Berri, French actor, director, and screenwriter (born 1934)

2008Max Beck, American intersex advocate (born 1966)

Quote of the day

“He who knows that enough is enough will always have enough.”

Lao Tzu

Questions people ask

Where do the entries come from?

From Wikipedia’s on-this-day pages for this language, updated once a day and ordered by how often each article is read.

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