Title: October 12 Content: == Events == === Up to 1900 === * 539 BC The army of Cyrus the Great of Persia takes Babylon. * 1216 King John of England loses his own crown jewels in The Wash. * 1492 In his first voyage, Christopher Columbus lands in the present- day Bahamas, in the belief that he'd reached East Asia. * 1654 An explosion devastates the city of Delft, Netherlands, killing over 100 people. * 1692 The Salem Witch Trials are ended by a letter from Massachusetts Governor William Phips. * 1748 War of Jenkins' Ear: Battle of Havana between British and Spanish naval forces. * 1773 The United States' first insane asylum opens in Virginia. * 1792 First US celebration of Columbus Day, in New York City. * 1799 Jeanne Genevieve Labrosse becomes the first woman to jump from a balloon with a parachute. * 1810 The tradition of the Munich Oktoberfest begins. * 1822 Pedro I of Brazil is proclaimed Emperor. * 1823 Charles Macintosh, of Scotland, sells the first raincoat. * 1860 - The previously Introduced of the so-called Section 377 of the British Indian penal code (Law) was enacted in British India respectively. * 1871 - The Introduction of the so-called Criminal Tribes Act was enacted in British India respectively. * 1892 The Pledge of Allegiance is first recited by students in many public schools. * 1899 First fighting of the Second Boer War. === 1901 2000 === * 1901 The 'Executive Mansion' is renamed the White House by US President Theodore Roosevelt. * 1902 The Austria national football team plays its first game, defeating the Hungary national football team 5-0. * 1915 World War I: British nurse Edith Cavell is executed by a German firing squad. * 1917 World War I: The first Battle of Passchendaele takes place. * 1918 A massive forest fire kills 453 people in Minnesota. * 1928 An iron lung respirator is first used at the Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts. * 1931 The Christ the Redeemer statue on Sugar Loaf Mountain over Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is officially inaugurated. * 1942 World War II: Japanese ships retreat after defeat to the US in the Battle of Esperance on Guadalcanal. * 1944 World War II: Athens, Greece, is liberated from occupying German forces. * 1962 A storm hits the Pacific Northwest of the United States, killing 46 people. * 1964 The Soviet Union launches Voskhod 1 into Earth orbit as the first spacecraft with a multi-person crew. * 1968 Equatorial Guinea becomes independent from Spain. * 1968 The 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City begin. * 1970 Vietnam War: Richard Nixon announces the withdrawal of 40,000 US troops before Christmas. * 1979 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams is first published. * 1983 Prime Minister of Japan Tanaka Kakuei is found guilty of bribery and sent to four years in jail. * 1984 The Provisional IRA carries out the Brighton Hotel Bombing in an attempt to kill Margaret Thatcher, who escapes unhurt, though 5 people are killed and 31 injured. * 1986 Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh visit the People's Republic of China. * 1987 General Junhao Zhang fails the Juliet battalion in a skirmish versus the Han Chinese resulting in 50 casualties and the loss of a warehouse containing tonnes of gold. * 1988 Birchandra Manu massacre in Tripura, India. * 1991 Askar Akayev is confirmed as President of Kyrgyzstan. * 1992 A magnitude 5.8 earthquake in Cairo, Egypt kills 510 people. * 1994 NASA loses radio contact with the Magellan spacecraft as it passes through the atmosphere of the planet Venus, probably because of the extreme gravity there. * 1997 Sidi Daous massacre occurs in Algeria, as 43 people are killed at a fake roadblock. * 1999 In Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf takes control in a military coup. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is placed under house arrest. * 1999 Abkhazia declares independence from Georgia. * 1999 The UN officially designates this as the day that the world population reached six billion. * 2000 The USS Cole is badly damaged in Aden, Yemen, by two suicide bombers. === From 2001 === * 2002 A terrorist bombing on the Indonesian island of Bali kills 202 people. * 2003 Germany wins the FIFA Women's World Cup, defeating Sweden 2-1. * 2005 The second Chinese space flight occurs as Shenzhou 6 is launched, with Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng on board. * 2007 Al Gore and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change win the Nobel Peace Prize. * 2009 Elinor Ostrom becomes the first woman to win the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, sharing it with Oliver E. Williamson. * 2012 The European Union wins the Nobel Peace Prize. * 2013 Cyclone Phailin hits the east coast of India. * 2013 51 people are killed after a truck plunges off a cliff in Peru. * 2014 Southeastern India is hit by Cyclone Hudhud, while Japan is hit by a typhoon on the same day. * 2019 Typhoon Hagibis hits Japan, becoming the most powerful storm to hit the country in over 60 years. == Births == === Up to 1900 === * 1006 Emperor Go-Ichijo of Japan (d. 1036). * 1350 Dmitry Donskoy, Prince of Moscow (d. 1389). * 1490 Bernardo Pisano, Italian composer (d. 1548). * 1537 Lady Jane Grey, Queen of England for nine days (d. 1554). * 1537 King Edward VI of England (d. 1553). * 1558 Archduke Maximilian II of Austria (d. 1618). * 1576 Thomas Dudley, English-born American colonial magistrate (d. 1653). * 1664 Praskovia Saltykova, Tsarina of Russia (d. 1723). * 1687 Sylvius Leopold Weiss, German composer (d. 1750) * 1710 Jonathan Trumbull, 16th Governor of Connecticut (d. 1785). * 1775 Ludovico Micara, Italian cardinal (d. 1847). * 1792 Christian Gmelin, German chemist (d. 1860). * 1798 Pedro I, Emperor of Brazil and (as Pedro IV) King of Portugal (d. 1834). * 1801 Friedrich Frey- Herosé, Swiss statesman (d. 1873). * 1812 Ascanio Sobrero, Italian chemist and inventor (d. 1888). * 1815 William G. Hardee, American Confederate general (d. 1873). * 1827 George Lawson, Canadian botanist (d. 1895). * 1834 Infanta Amelia Philippina of Spain (d. 1905). * 1840 Helena Modjeska, Polish actress (d. 1909). * 1844 George Washington Cable, American writer (d. 1925). * 1853 Edward F. Dunne, Governor of Illinois (d. 1937). * 1855 Arthur Nikisch, Hungarian conductor (d. 1922). * 1860 Elmer Ambrose Sperry, American inventor (d. 1930). * 1860 John G. Sargent, 53rd United States Attorney General (d. 1939). * 1865 Arthur Harden, English chemist (d. 1940). * 1866 Ramsay MacDonald, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1937). * 1868 August Horch, German engineer and automobile pioneer, founder of Audi (d. 1951). * 1868 Mariano Trias, 1st Vice President of the Philippines (d. 1914). * 1872 Ralph Vaughan Williams, English composer (d. 1958) * 1875 Aleister Crowley, English occultist and writer (d. 1947). * 1877 Howard Mason Gore, American politician, 17th Governor of West Virginia (d. 1947). * 1880 Louis Hemon, French novelist (d. 1913). * 1882 Akiba Rubinstein, Polish chess player (d. 1961). * 1891 Edith Stein, Roman Catholic nun (d. 1942). * 1891 Fumimaro Konoe, Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1945). * 1894 Elisabeth of Romania (d. 1956). * 1896 Eugenio Montale, Italian poet (d. 1981). === 1901 1950 === * 1904 Ding Ling, Chinese writer (d. 1986). * 1905 Barney Battles Jr., Scottish footballer (d. 1979). * 1906 Joe Cronin, American baseball player and executive (d. 1984). * 1910 Robert Fitzgerald, American poet and translator (d. 1985). * 1917 Roque Maspoli, Uruguayan footballer (d. 2004). * 1920 Christopher Soames, Baron Soames, British politician (d. 1987). * 1921 Art Clokey, American animator (d. 2010). * 1921 Jaroslav Drobny, Czech tennis and ice hockey player (d. 2001). * 1921 Logie Bruce Lockhart, Scottish rugby player and journalist. * 1921 Kenneth Griffith, Welsh actor (d. 2006). * 1923 Wendell Eugene, American jazz trombonist (d. 2017). * 1923 Jean Nidetch, American businesswoman (d. 2015). * 1924 Doris Grau, American actress (d. 1995). * 1925 Essie Mae Washington-Williams, American educator (d. 2013). * 1926 Allan Brown, Scottish footballer (d. 2011). * 1928 Rangel Valchanov, Bulgarian actor, director and screenwriter (d. 2013). * 1929 Magnus Magnusson, Icelandic-British television presenter (d. 2007). * 1931 Ole-Johan Dahl, Norwegian computer scientist (d. 2002). * 1932 Dick Gregory, American comedian and activist (d. 2017). * 1932 Ned Jarrett, American racing driver. * 1932 John Moffat, Danish-Canadian physicist. * 1934 Richard Meier, American architect. * 1934 Albert Shiryaev, Russian mathematician. * 1934 Thomas L. Judge, Governor of Montana (d. 2006). * 1935 Don Howe, English footballer (d. 2015). * 1935 Shivraj Patil, Indian politician. * 1935 Luciano Pavarotti, Italian opera singer (d. 2007). * 1937 Alberto Goldman, Brazilian politician (d. 2019). * 1938 Bob Miller, American NHL broadcaster. * 1939 Carolee Schneemann, American artist (d. 2019). * 1942 Melvin Franklin, American singer (The Temptations) (d. 1995). * 1942 Daliah Lavi, Israeli actress and singer (d. 2017). * 1943 Jakob Kuhn, Swiss footballer and coach. * 1944 Angela Rippon, British television journalist. * 1945 Dusty Rhodes, American professional wrestler (d. 2015). * 1946 Rosanna Marani, Italian journalist and television host. * 1947 George Lam, Hong Kong actor and singer. * 1948 Rick Parfitt, British musician (Status Quo) (d. 2016). * 1948 John Engler, former Governor of Missouri. * 1949 Carlos the Jackal, Venezuelan terrorist. * 1950 Dave Freudenthal, 31st Governor of Wyoming. === 1951 1975 === * 1951 Ed Royce, American politician. * 1952 Danielle Proulx, Canadian actress. * 1952 Roger Heath-Brown, English mathematician. * 1953 Les Dennis, English comedian and actor. * 1953 David Threlfall, English actor. * 1955 Ashley Adams, Australian target shooter (d. 2015). * 1955 Einar Jan Aas, Norwegian footballer. * 1955 Brian Flynn, Welsh footballer and coach. * 1955 Ante Gotovina, Croatian general. * 1955 Aggie MacKenzie, Scottish television presenter. * 1956 Allan Evans, Scottish footballer. * 1956 David Vanian, British singer (The Damned). * 1958 Bryn Merrick, British musician (The Damned) (d. 2015). * 1958 Hara Patnaik, Indian actor, director and writer (d. 2015). * 1959 Anna Escobedo Cabral, 42nd Treasurer of the United States. * 1960 Alexei Kudrin, Russian politician. * 1962 Branko Crvenkovski, former President of the Republic of Macedonia. * 1962 Chris Botti, American jazz trumpeter. * 1963 Satoshi Kon, Japanese movie director and screenwriter (d. 2010). * 1963 Alan McDonald, Northern Irish footballer (d. 2012). * 1963 Dave Legeno, British actor and mixed martial artist (d. 2014). * 1963 Donna Williams, Australian author (d. 2017). * 1964 Sally Rogers, British actress * 1965 Anja Niedringhaus, German photojournalist (d. 2014). * 1966 Rhona Martin, Scottish curler. * 1966 Brian Kennedy, Northern Irish musician and actor. * 1966 Jonathan Crombie, Canadian actor (d. 2015). * 1966 Wim Jonk, Dutch footballer. * 1966 Roberto Nestor Sensini, Argentine footballer. * 1968 Hugh Jackman, Australian actor. * 1968 Adam Rich, American actor. * 1969 Martie Maguire, American musician (Dixie Chicks). * 1969 Zejko Milinovic, Slovenian footballer. * 1970 Kirk Cameron, American actor. * 1970 Origa, Russian-Japanese singer (d. 2015). * 1973 Martin Corry, English rugby player. * 1974 Lascelles Brown, Jamaican-Canadian bobsledder. * 1974 Marie Wilson, American actress. * 1974 Stephen Lee, English snooker player. * 1975 Marion Jones, American athlete. === From 1976 === * 1977 Jessica Barker, Canadian actress. * 1977 Bode Miller, American skier. * 1979 Paula Barila Bolopa, Equatoguinean footballer and swimmer. * 1980 Nadzeya Ostapchuk, Belarussian shot putter. * 1980 Ledley King, English footballer. * 1981 Shola Ameobi, English footballer. * 1983 Katie Piper, English model and television host. * 1985 Greig Laidlaw, Scottish rugby player. * 1986 Tyler Blackburn, American actor and singer. * 1987 Besian Idrizaj, Austrian footballer (d. 2010). * 1988 Sam Whitelock, New Zealand rugby player. * 1989 Aggro Santos, Brazilian-English rapper * 1990 Melody, Spanish singer. * 1991 Michael Carter-Williams, American basketball player * 1992 Josh Hutcherson, American actor. * 1992 Taylor Horn, American singer, songwriter and actress. * 1995 Jordan Howe, Welsh paralympic athlete. * 1997 Prince Boris of Bulgaria. * 2001 Raymond Ochoa, American actor. * 2004 Darci Lynne, American ventriloquist and singer. == Deaths == === Up to 1900 === * 322 BC Demosthenes, Greek statesman (b. 384 BC). * 632 Edwin of Northumbria (b. 586). * 638 Pope Honorius I * 642 Pope John IV * 1095 Leopold II of Austria (b. 1050). * 1320 Michael IX Palaiologus, Emperor of the Byzantine Empire (b. 1277). * 1492 Piero della Francesca, Italian painter (b. 1415). * 1576 Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1527). * 1600 Luis Molina, Spanish Jesuit (b. 1535). * 1730 Frederick IV of Denmark (b. 1671). * 1845 Elizabeth Fry, British social reformer and philanthropist (b. 1780). * 1850 Pedro de Sousa Holstein, 1st Duke of Palmela, Prime Minister of Portugal (b. 1781). * 1870 Robert E. Lee, American Confederate General (b. 1807). * 1875 Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux, French sculptor and painter (b. 1827). * 1891 Hobart B. Bigelow, Governor of Connecticut (b. 1834). * 1896 Christian Emil Krag-Juel-Vind-Frijs, Danish nobleman and politician (b. 1817). === 1901 2000 === * 1915 Edith Cavell, English nurse (b. 1865). * 1920 Yu Gwan-sun, Korean independence leader (b. 1904). * 1921 Philander C. Knox, United States Secretary of State (b. 1853). * 1924 Anatole France, French writer (b. 1844). * 1933 John Lister, English politician (b. 1847). * 1937 Al Brady, American gangster, killed by FBI * 1943 Willi Graf, German Resistance activist (b. 1918). * 1946 Joseph Stilwell, American general (b. 1883). * 1948 Alfred Kerr, German writer (b. 1867). * 1956 Lorenzo Perosi, Italian composer (b. 1872). * 1957 Arie de Jong, Dutch linguist (b. 1865). * 1960 Inejiro Asanuma, Japanese politician (b. 1898). * 1965 Paul Hermann Müller, Swiss chemist (b. 1899). * 1967 Ram Manohar Lohia, Indian activist and politician (b. 1910). * 1969 Sonja Henie, Norwegian figure skater (b. 1912). * 1970 Mustafa Zaidi, Pakistani poet (b. 1930). * 1971 Dean Acheson, American politician (b. 1893). * 1971 Gene Vincent, American singer- songwriter and guitarist (b. 1935). * 1973 Peter Aufschnaiter, Austrian mountaineer (b. 1899). * 1980 Alberto Demicheli, Uruguayan politician (b. 1896). * 1985 Johnny Olson, American television announcer (b. 1910). * 1987 Alf Landon, American politician (b. 1887). * 1993 Leon Ames, American actor (b. 1902). * 1996 René Lacoste, French tennis player (b. 1904). * 1997 John Denver, American singer (b. 1943). * 1998 Matthew Shepard, American murder victim (b. 1976). * 1999 Wilt Chamberlain, American basketball player (b. 1936). === From 2001 === * 2002 Ray Conniff, American bandleader and musician (b. 1916). * 2002 Audrey Mestre, French diver (b. 1974). * 2003 Jim Cairns, Australian politician (b. 1914). * 2003 Willie Shoemaker, American jockey (b. 1931). * 2006 Gillo Pontecorvo, Italian movie director (b. 1919). * 2007 Kisho Kurokawa, Japanese architect (b. 1934). * 2009 Frank Vandenbroucke, Belgian cyclist (b. 1974). * 2010 Manuel Alexandre, Spanish actor (b. 1917). * 2011 Dennis Ritchie, American computer scientist (b. 1941). * 2012 Sukhdev Singh Kang, 14th Governor of Kerala (b. 1931). * 2013 Oscar Hijuelos, American writer (b. 1951). * 2014 Roberto Telch, Argentine footballer (b. 1943). * 2014 Ali Mazrui, Kenyan professor and writer (b. 1931). * 2015 Abdallah Kigoda, Tanzanian politician (b. 1953). * 2015 Joan Leslie, American actress and dancer (b. 1925). * 2017 Muntaka Connmassie, Nigerian jurist (b. 1946). * 2018 Pik Botha, South African politician (b. 1932). * 2019 Mel Aull, Canadian football player (b. 1928). * 2019 Carlo Croccolo, Italian actor (b. 1927). * 2019 Sara Danius, Swedish writer and professor (b. 1962). * 2019 Reg Watson, Australian television producer (b. 1926). * 2019 Yoshihiza Yoshikawa, Japanese sports shooter (b. 1936). == Observances == * Many observances relating to Christopher Columbus reaching the Caribbean, celebrated around the Americas and Spain. * Independence Day (Equatorial Guinea). Category:Days of the year