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This day in history

This day in history: 12 August

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

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Key facts

396 historical events, births and deaths are listed for 12 August.
Entries come from Wikipedia’s day pages and are ordered by page views.
2021: Six people, five victims and the perpetrator are killed in Keyham, Plymouth in the worst mass shooting in the UK since 2010.

Holidays and observances

Christian feast day: August 12 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

Christian feast day: Blessed Karl Leisner

Christian feast day: Blessed Victoria Díez Bustos de Molina

Christian feast day: Euplius

Christian feast day: Eusebius of Milan

Christian feast day: Herculanus of Brescia

Christian feast day: Jænberht

Christian feast day: Jane Frances de Chantal

Christian feast day: Muiredach (or Murtagh)

Christian feast day: Pope Innocent XI

Christian feast day: Porcarius II

Glorious Twelfth (United Kingdom)

Events

2021Six people, five victims and the perpetrator are killed in Keyham, Plymouth in the worst mass shooting in the UK since 2010.

2018Thirty-nine civilians, including a dozen children, are killed in an explosion at a weapons depot in Sarmada, Syria.

2017The Unite the Right rally occurs in Charlottesville, Virginia, leading to three deaths and injuring nearly 50 more.

2016Syrian civil war: The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) capture the city of Manbij from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

2015At least two massive explosions kill 173 people and injure nearly 800 more in Tianjin, China.

2000The Russian Navy submarine Kursk explodes and sinks in the Barents Sea during a military exercise, killing her entire 118-man crew.

1994Major League Baseball players go on strike, eventually forcing the cancellation of the 1994 World Series.

1992Canada, Mexico and the United States announce completion of negotiations for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

1990Sue, the largest and most complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton found to date, is discovered by Sue Hendrickson in South Dakota.

1985Japan Air Lines Flight 123, a Boeing 747, crashes into Osutaka ridge in Gunma Prefecture, Japan, killing 520, becoming the worst single-plane air disaster.

1984An infamous brawl takes place at the Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium between the Atlanta Braves and San Diego Padres.

1981The IBM Personal Computer is released.

1977The first free flight of the Space Shuttle Enterprise.

1977The Sri Lanka Riots, targeting the minority Sri Lankan Tamils, begin, less than a month after the United National Party came to power. Over 300 Tamils are killed.

1976Between 1,000 and 3,500 Palestinians are killed in the Tel al-Zaatar massacre, one of the bloodiest events of the Lebanese Civil War.

1969Violence erupts after the Apprentice Boys of Derry march in Derry, Northern Ireland, resulting in a three-day communal riot known as the Battle of the Bogside.

1964South Africa is banned from the Olympic Games due to the country's racist policies.

1960Echo 1A, NASA's first successful communications satellite, is launched.

1953The 7.2 Ms Ionian earthquake shakes the southern Ionian Islands with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme). Between 445 and 800 people are killed.

1953Thermonuclear bomb testing: The Soviet atomic bomb project continues with the detonation of "RDS-6s" (Joe 4) using a "layered" scheme.

1952The Night of the Murdered Poets: Thirteen prominent Jewish intellectuals are murdered in Moscow, Russia, Soviet Union.

1950Korean War: Bloody Gulch massacre: Seventy-five American POWs are massacred by the North Korean Army.

1948Between 15 and 150 unarmed members of the Khudai Khidmatgar movement are killed by Pakistani police.

1944World War II: Alençon is liberated by General Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque, becoming the first city in France to be liberated from the Nazis by French forces.

1944World War II: Nazi German troops end the week-long Wola massacre, during which at least 40,000 people are killed indiscriminately or in mass executions.

1944World War II: Waffen-SS troops massacre 560 people in Sant'Anna di Stazzema.

1914World War I: France, the United Kingdom and the British Empire declare war on Austria-Hungary.

1914World War I: The Battle of Halen a.k.a. Battle of the Silver Helmets, a clash between large Belgian and German cavalry formations at Halen, Belgium.

1898The Hawaiian flag is lowered from ʻIolani Palace in an elaborate annexation ceremony and replaced with the flag of the United States to signify the transfer of sovereignty from the Republic of Hawaii to the United States where it is formall

1883The last quagga dies at the Natura Artis Magistra, a zoo in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

1865Joseph Lister, British surgeon and scientist, performs the first antiseptic surgery.

1851Isaac Singer is granted a patent for his sewing machine.

1831French intervention forces William I of the Netherlands to abandon his attempt to suppress the Belgian Revolution.

1806Santiago de Liniers, 1st Count of Buenos Aires re-takes the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina after the first British invasion.

1793The Rhône and Loire départments are created when the former département of Rhône-et-Loire is split into two.

1788The Anjala conspiracy is signed.

1765Treaty of Allahabad is signed. The Treaty marks the political and constitutional involvement and the beginning of Company rule in India.

1687Battle of Mohács: Charles of Lorraine defeats the Ottoman Empire.

1676Praying Indian John Alderman shoots and kills Metacomet, the Wampanoag war chief, ending King Philip's War.

1624Charles de La Vieuville is arrested and replaced by Cardinal Richelieu as the French king's chief advisor.

Born on this day

2001Dixie D'Amelio, American social media personality and singer

2000Tristan Charpentier, French racing driver

1999Dream, American YouTuber

1999GK Barry, social media star and presenter

1999Jule Niemeier, German tennis player

1999Matthijs de Ligt, Dutch footballer

1998Stefanos Tsitsipas, Greek tennis player

1996Arthur Melo, Brazilian footballer

1996Choi Yu-jin, South Korean singer and actress

1996Samuel Moutoussamy, Congolese footballer

1994Ian Happ, American baseball player

1993Ewa Farna, Czech singer-songwriter

1993Luna, South Korean singer, actress and presenter

1992Cara Delevingne, English model and actress

1992Jacob Loko, Australian rugby player

1992Teo Gheorghiu, Swiss pianist and actor

1991Jesinta Campbell, Australian model

1991Khris Middleton, American basketball player

1991LaKeith Stanfield, American actor and musician

1991Sam Hoare, Australian rugby league player

1990Mario Balotelli, Italian footballer

1989Hong Jeong-ho, South Korean footballer

1989Sunye, South Korean singer

1989Tom Cleverley, English footballer

1988Matt Gillett, Australian rugby league player

1988Tyson Fury, English boxer

1987Vanessa Watts, West Indian cricketer

1986Andrei Agius, Maltese footballer

1986Kyle Arrington, American football player

1985Danny Graham, English footballer

1983Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, Dutch footballer

1983Kléber Giacomance de Souza Freitas, Brazilian footballer

1983Manoa Vosawai, Italian rugby player

1982Alexandros Tzorvas, Greek footballer

1982Boban Grnčarov, Macedonian footballer

1981Djibril Cissé, French footballer

1981Tony Capaldi, Norwegian–Northern Irish footballer

1980Dominique Swain, American actress

1980Javier Chevantón, Uruguayan footballer

1980Maggie Lawson, American actress

Died on this day

2024Kim Kahana, American actor and stunt performer (born 1929)

2021Una Stubbs, English actress, TV personality, and dancer (born 1937)

2020Bill Yeoman, American college football player and coach (born 1927)

2019DJ Arafat, Ivorian DJ and singer (born 1986)

2017Bryan Murray, Canadian ice hockey coach (born 1942)

2016Juan Pedro de Miguel, Spanish handball player (born 1958)

2015Jaakko Hintikka, Finnish philosopher and academic (born 1929)

2015John Scott, English organist and conductor (born 1956)

2015Meshulim Feish Lowy, Hungarian-Canadian rabbi and author (born 1921)

2015Stephen Lewis, English actor and screenwriter (born 1926)

2014Futatsuryū Jun'ichi, Japanese sumo wrestler (born 1950)

2014Kongō Masahiro, Japanese sumo wrestler (born 1948)

2014Lauren Bacall, American model, actress, and singer (born 1924)

2013David McLetchie, Scottish lawyer and politician (born 1952)

2013Hans-Ekkehard Bob, German soldier and pilot (born 1917)

2013Pauline Maier, American historian and academic (born 1938)

2013Tereza de Arriaga, Portuguese painter (born 1915)

2013Vasiliy Mihaylovich Peskov, Russian ecologist and journalist (born 1930)

2012Alf Morris, English politician and activist (born 1928)

2012Édgar Morales Pérez, Mexican engineer and politician

2012Jerry Grant, American race car driver (born 1935)

2012Jimmy Carr, American football player and coach (born 1933)

2012Joe Kubert, Polish-American illustrator, founded The Kubert School (born 1926)

2011Robert Robinson, English journalist and author (born 1927)

2010André Kim, South Korean fashion designer (born 1935)

2010Guido de Marco, Maltese lawyer and politician, 6th President of Malta (born 1931)

2010Isaac Bonewits, American Druid, author, and activist; founded Ár nDraíocht Féin (born 1949)

2010Richie Hayward, American drummer and songwriter (born 1946)

2009Les Paul, American guitarist, songwriter, and inventor (born 1915)

2008Christie Allen, English-Australian singer (born 1954)

Quote of the day

“No man is free who is not master of himself.”

Epictetus

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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