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This day in history

This day in history: 12 February

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

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Key facts

361 historical events, births and deaths are listed for 12 February.
Entries come from Wikipedia’s day pages and are ordered by page views.
2026: In the first general election since the July Revolution in Bangladesh, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, led by Tarique Rahman, wins a landslide victory upon returning to power after almost 19 years. A referendum held alongside was also app

Holidays and observances

Christian feast day: Benedict of Aniane

Christian feast day: February 12 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

Christian feast day: Julian the Hospitaller

Christian feast day: Martyrs of Abitinae

Christian feast day: Meletius of Antioch

Georgia Day (Georgia (U.S. state))

Lincoln's Birthday (United States)

Red Hand Day (United Nations)

Union Day (Myanmar)

Events

2026In the first general election since the July Revolution in Bangladesh, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, led by Tarique Rahman, wins a landslide victory upon returning to power after almost 19 years. A referendum held alongside was also app

2019The country known as the Republic of Macedonia renames itself the Republic of North Macedonia in accordance with the Prespa agreement, settling a long-standing naming dispute with Greece.

2016Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill sign an Ecumenical Declaration in the first such meeting between leaders of the Catholic and Russian Orthodox Churches since their split in 1054.

2009Colgan Air Flight 3407 crashes into a house in Clarence Center, New York while on approach to Buffalo Niagara International Airport, killing all 49 on board and one on the ground.

2004The city of San Francisco begins issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples in response to a directive from Mayor Gavin Newsom.

2002An Iran Airtour Tupolev Tu-154 crashes in the mountains outside Khorramabad, Iran while descending for a landing at Khorramabad Airport, killing 119.

2002The trial of Slobodan Milošević, the former President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, begins at the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague, Netherlands. He dies four years later before i

2001NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft touches down in the "saddle" region of 433 Eros, becoming the first spacecraft to land on an asteroid.

1999United States President Bill Clinton is acquitted by the United States Senate in his impeachment trial.

1994Four thieves break into the National Gallery of Norway and steal Edvard Munch's iconic painting The Scream.

1993Two-year-old James Bulger is abducted from New Strand Shopping Centre by two ten-year-old boys, who later torture and murder him.

1992The current Constitution of Mongolia comes into effect.

1990Carmen Lawrence becomes the first female Premier in Australian history when she becomes Premier of Western Australia.

1988Cold War: The 1988 Black Sea bumping incident: The U.S. missile cruiser USS Yorktown (CG-48) is intentionally rammed by the Soviet frigate Bezzavetnyy in the Soviet territorial waters, while Yorktown claims innocent passage.

1983One hundred women protest in Lahore, Pakistan against military dictator Zia-ul-Haq's proposed Law of Evidence. The women were tear-gassed, baton-charged and thrown into lock-up. The women were successful in repealing the law.

1974Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1970, is exiled from the Soviet Union.

1968Vietnam War: The Phong Nhị and Phong Nhất massacre occurs, allegedly by South Korean troops.

1966Rabbi Morris Adler is fatally shot by a disgruntled congregant at Congregation Shaarey Zedek in Southfield, Michigan, United States.

1965Malcolm X visits Smethwick near Birmingham following the racially-charged 1964 United Kingdom general election.

1963Construction begins on the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri.

1963Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 705 crashes into the Everglades shortly after takeoff from Miami International Airport, killing all 45 people on board.

1961The Soviet Union launches Venera 1 towards Venus.

1947Christian Dior unveils a "New Look", helping Paris regain its position as the capital of the fashion world.

1947The largest observed iron meteorite until that time creates an impact crater in Sikhote-Alin, in the Soviet Union.

1946African American United States Army veteran Isaac Woodard is severely beaten by a South Carolina police officer to the point where he loses his vision in both eyes. The incident later galvanizes the civil rights movement and partially inspi

1946World War II: Operation Deadlight ends after scuttling 121 of 154 captured U-boats.

1945A devastating tornado outbreak in Mississippi and Alabama kills 45 people and injures 427 others.

1935USS Macon, one of the two largest helium-filled airships ever created, crashes into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California and sinks.

1921Bolsheviks launch a revolt in Georgia as a preliminary to the Red Army invasion of Georgia.

1919The Second Regional Congress of Peasants, Workers and Insurgents is held by the Makhnovshchina at Huliaipole.

1912The Xuantong Emperor, the last Emperor of China, abdicates.

1909New Zealand's worst maritime disaster of the 20th century happens when the SS Penguin, an inter-island ferry, sinks and explodes at the entrance to Wellington Harbour.

1909The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is founded.

1894Café Terminus bombing by Émile Henry during the Ère des attentats (1892–1894). This is considered one of the first acts of modern terrorism.

1889Antonín Dvořák's Jakobín is premiered at the National Theater in Prague.

1832Ecuador annexes the Galápagos Islands.

1825The Creek cede the last of their lands in Georgia to the United States government by the Treaty of Indian Springs, and migrate west.

1818Bernardo O'Higgins formally approves the Chilean Declaration of Independence near Concepción, Chile.

1817An Argentine/Chilean patriotic army, after crossing the Andes, defeats Spanish troops at the Battle of Chacabuco.

1771Gustav III becomes the King of Sweden.

Born on this day

2001Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Georgian footballer

2000Kim Ji-min, South Korean actress

1994Arman Hall, American sprinter

1994Kemal Bilmez, Belgian politician

1994Paxton Lynch, American football player

1993Bud Dupree, American football player

1993Jennifer Stone, American actress

1993Rafinha, Brazilian footballer

1992Magda Linette, Polish tennis player

1991Kane Richardson, Australian cricketer

1991Patrick Herrmann, German footballer

1990Katherine Barrell, Canadian actress, director, writer, and producer

1990Robert Griffin III, American football player

1989Josh Harrellson, American basketball player

1988DeMarco Murray, American football player

1988Josh Phegley, American baseball player

1988Mike Posner, American singer-songwriter and producer

1988Nicolás Otamendi, Argentine footballer

1987Gabriela Mărginean, Romanian basketball player

1987Jérémy Chardy, French tennis player

1986Todd Frazier, American baseball player

1985Konstantin Pushkaryov, Kazakhstani ice hockey player

1984Andrei Sidorenkov, Estonian footballer

1984Brad Keselowski, American race car driver

1984Peter Vanderkaay, American swimmer

1983Carlton Brewster, American football player and coach

1982Anthony Tuitavake, New Zealand rugby player

1982Jonas Hiller, Swiss ice hockey player

1982Louis Tsatoumas, Greek long jumper

1981Wade McKinnon, Australian rugby league player

1980Christina Ricci, American actress and producer

1980Gucci Mane, American rapper

1980Juan Carlos Ferrero, Spanish tennis player

1980Sarah Lancaster, American actress

1979Jesse Spencer, Australian actor and violinist

1978Paul Anderson, English actor

1977Jimmy Conrad, American soccer player and manager

1976Christian Cullen, New Zealand rugby player

1975Scot Pollard, American basketball player and actor

1974Naseem Hamed, English boxer

Died on this day

2022Ivan Reitman, Slovak-Canadian actor, director, and producer (born 1946)

2020Christie Blatchford, Canadian newspaper columnist, journalist and broadcaster (born 1951)

2020Geert Hofstede, Dutch social psychologist (born 1928)

2019Gordon Banks, English footballer (born 1937)

2019Lyndon LaRouche, American political activist (born 1922)

2019Pedro Morales, Puerto Rican professional wrestler and commentator (born 1942)

2018Bill Crider, American author (born 1941)

2017Al Jarreau, American singer (born 1940)

2017Anna Marguerite McCann, first female American underwater archaeologist (born 1933)

2016Dominique D'Onofrio, Italian-Belgian footballer and coach (born 1953)

2016Yannis Kalaitzis, Greek cartoonist (born 1945)

2016Yan Su, Chinese general and composer (born 1930)

2015Gary Owens, American radio host and voice actor (born 1934)

2015Movita Castaneda, American actress and singer (born 1916)

2015Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, Malaysian cleric and politician, 12th Menteri Besar of Kelantan (born 1931)

2015Steve Strange, Welsh singer (born 1959)

2014John Pickstone, English historian and author (born 1944)

2014Sid Caesar, American actor and comedian (born 1922)

2013Hennadiy Udovenko, Ukrainian politician and diplomat, 2nd Minister of Foreign Affairs for Ukraine (born 1931)

2013Reginald Turnill, English journalist and author (born 1915)

2013Sattam bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Saudi Arabian prince (born 1941)

2012David Kelly, Irish actor (born 1929)

2012Denis Flannery, Australian rugby player and coach (born 1928)

2012John Severin, American illustrator (born 1921)

2012Zina Bethune, American actress, dancer, and choreographer (born 1945)

2011Betty Garrett, American actress, singer, and dancer (born 1919)

2011Kenneth Mars, American actor and comedian (born 1935)

2011Peter Alexander, Austrian singer and actor (born 1926)

2010Nodar Kumaritashvili, Georgian luger (born 1988)

2009Alison Des Forges, American historian and activist (born 1942)

Quote of the day

“Only the educated are free.”

Epictetus

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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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