Title: April 12 Content: == Events == === Up to 1900 === * 238 - Gordian II loses the Battle of Carthage against Numidian forces loyal to Maximus Thrax and is killed. His father, Gordian I, commits suicide. * 240 - Shapur I is crowned as King of the Sasanian Empire. * 467 – Anthemius becomes Emperor of the West Roman Empire. * 627 - King Edwin of Northumbria is converted to Christianity by Bishop Paulinus of York. * 1204 - Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade breach the walls of Constantinople (present-day Istanbul) and enter the city, which they completely occupy the following day. * 1557 – The city of Cuenca, in Ecuador, is founded. * 1606 – The Union Flag is adopted as the flag of the two united Kingdoms of Scotland and England. * 1633 – Galileo Galilei's trial before the inquisition begins. * 1831 - Soldiers marching on the Broughton Suspension Bridge in Manchester cause it to collapse. * 1861 – The American Civil War begins when Fort Sumter, South Carolina, is attacked. * 1865 – American Civil War: Mobile, Alabama falls to the Union Army. * 1877 – The United Kingdom annexes Transvaal. === 1901 2000 === * 1917 - World War I: Canadian forces successfully complete the taking of Vimy Ridge from the Germans. * 1927 - Chiang Kai-shek orders Communist Party of China members to be executed in Shanghai, ending the First United Front. * 1928 - The Bremen, a German Junkers W33 type aircraft, takes off for the first successful transatlantic aeroplane flight from east to west. * 1934 – The strongest wind gust, outside of Antarctica or not within a tornado, is measured at Mt. Washington, New Hampshire, at 231 miles per hour (372 kilometres per hour). * 1935 - First flight of the Bristol Blenheim aircraft. * 1937 – Frank Whittle ground-tests the first jet engine to power an aircraft. * 1945 – US President Franklin Roosevelt dies. Harry S. Truman is sworn in as his successor. * 1946 - The last French troops leave Syria. * 1954 – Bill Haley and His Comets record their hit song Rock Around the Clock. * 1955 - The polio vaccine developed by Jonas Salk is declared safe and effective. * 1961 – Yuri Gagarin is the first cosmonaut in space, sent by the U.S.S.R on Vostok 1. * 1963 - Soviet nuclear- powered submarine K-33 collides with the Finnish merchant navy vessel M/S Finnclipper in the Danish straits. * 1968 - A day after the attack on student activist Rudi Dutschke, protests and riots erupt across several cities in West Germany. * 1970 - Soviet submarine K-8, carrying four nuclear torpedoes, sinks in the Bay of Biscay near France and Spain four days after a fire on board. * 1980 – Terry Fox starts his Marathon of Hope across Canada in St. John's, Newfoundland. * 1980 – In Liberia, Samuel K. Doe takes power in a coup, in which President William Tolbert is killed. * 1981 – Space Shuttle Columbia is launched. * 1992 – Disneyland Paris opens, as Euro Disneyland. * 1998 – A magnitude 5.6 earthquake hits Slovenia. === From 2001 === * 2002 - In a US- backed military coup in Venezuela, President Hugo Chávez is replaced as Head of State by Pedro Carmona. After 36 hours, Chavez is reinstated as president. * 2002 – A female suicide bomber detonates herself in Jerusalem, killing 7 people and injuring 104. * 2007 – A suicide bomber attacks the Iraqi parliament. * 2009 – Zimbabwe abandons the Zimbabwean dollar as its official currency, after a severe economic crisis in the country. * 2010 - A train crash near Merano, Italy, kills 9 people, after running into a landslide. * 2014 - A wildfire ravages the Chilean city of Valparaiso, killing 16 people, displacing nearly 10,000, and destroying over 2,000 homes. == Births == === Up to 1800 === * 599 BC – Mahavira, Indian founder of Jainism (d. 527 BC) * 812 – Muhammad at-Taqi, Arabian Shia Imam (d. 835) * 1116 - Richeza of Poland, Queen of Sweden (d. 1156 or after) * 1432 - Anne of Austria, Landgravine of Thuringia (d. 1462) * 1484 – Antonio da Sangallo the Younger, Italian architect (d. 1546) * 1500 – Joachim Camerarius, German classical scholar (d. 1574) * 1526 – Muretus, French humanist (d. 1585) * 1550 – Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, English politician (d. 1604) * 1577 – King Christian IV of Denmark (d. 1648) * 1710 - Caffarelli, Italian opera singer (d. 1783) * 1713 – Guillaume Thomas François Raynal, French writer (d. 1796) * 1716 - Felice Giardini, Italian composer and violinist (d. 1796) * 1722 – Pietro Nardini, Italian composer (d. 1793) * 1724 – Lyman Hall, American signer of the Declaration of Independence (d. 1790) * 1726 – Charles Burney, English music historian (d. 1814) * 1748 – Antoine Laurent de Jussieu, French botanist (d. 1836) * 1760 - Juan Manuel Olivares, Venezuelan composer (d. 1797) * 1777 – Henry Clay, American statesman and five-time Presidential candidate (d. 1852) * 1792 - John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, English statesman (d. 1840) * 1794 - Germinal Pierre Dandelin, Belgian mathematician (d. 1847). * 1796 - George N. Briggs, 19th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1861) * 1799 – Henri Druey, Swiss Federal Councilor (d. 1855) === 1801 1900 === * 1801 - Joseph Lanner, Austrian composer and conductor (d. 1843) * 1823 – Alexandr Ostrovsky, Russian dramatist (d. 1886) * 1828 - Charles Foster, Governor of Ohio and United States Secretary of the Treasury (d. 1904) * 1839 – Nikolai Przhevalsky, Russian explorer (d. 1888) * 1851 - Edward Walter Maunder, English astronomer (d. 1928) * 1852 - Ferdinand von Lindemann, German mathematician (d. 1939) * 1856 – William Martin Conway, English art critic and mountaineer (d. 1937) * 1866 - Princess Viktoria of Prussia (d. 1929) * 1869 – Henri Désiré Landru, French serial killer (d. 1922) * 1871 – Ioannis Metaxas, Greek general and dictator (d. 1941) * 1874 - William B. Bankhead, American politician (d. 1940) * 1879 - Fred H. Brown, Governor of New Hampshire (d. 1955) * 1883 - Imogen Cunningham, American photographer (d. 1976) * 1883 - Dally Messenger, Australian rugby player (d. 1959) * 1884 – Otto Fritz Meyerhof, German doctor, won the 1922 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1951) * 1884 - Tenby Davies, Welsh runner (d. 1932) * 1885 - Robert Delaunay, French artist (d. 1941) * 1887 – Harold Lockwood, American silent movie actor (d. 1918) * 1888 – Heinrich Neuhaus, Soviet pianist (d. 1964) * 1892 – Johnny Dodds, American jazz clarinetist (d. 1940) * 1893 – Robert Harron, American actor (d. 1920) * 1894 – Francisco Craveiro Lopes, President of Portugal (d. 1964) * 1898 – Lily Pons, American soprano (d. 1976) === 1901 1925 === * 1902 – Louis Beel, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (d. 1977) * 1903 – Jan Tinbergen, Dutch economist (d. 1994) * 1907 - Zawgyi, Burmese poet, author and academic (d. 1990) * 1908 - Ida Pollock, British writer (d. 2013) * 1910 - Gillo Dorfles, Italian art critic, painter and philosopher (d. 2018) * 1911 - Mahmoud Younis, Egyptian engineer (d. 1976) * 1912 - Hamengkubuwono IX, 2nd Vice president of Indonesia (d. 1988) * 1912 - Hound Dog Taylor, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1975) * 1913 - Keiko Fukuda, Japanese judoka (d. 2013) * 1914 – Adriaan Blaauw, Dutch astronomer (d. 2010) * 1914 - Armen Alchian, American economist (d. 2013) * 1914 - Gretel Bergmann, German athlete (d. 2017) * 1916 - Movita Castaneda, American actress and singer (d. 2015) * 1916 - Beverly Cleary, American author (d. 2021) * 1917 - Robert Manzon, French racing driver (d. 2015) * 1917 - Vinoo Mankad, Indian cricketer (d. 1978) * 1919 - Billy Vaughn, American musician and bandleader (d. 1991) * 1922 - Simon Kapwepwe, 2nd Vice president of Zambia (d. 1980) * 1923 – Ann Miller, American actress and dancer (d. 2004) * 1923 - Eddie Turnbull, Scottish footballer (d. 2011) * 1924 – Raymond Barre, Prime Minister of France (d. 2007) * 1925 – Oliver Postgate, British animator, puppetteer and writer (d. 2008) === 1926 1950 === * 1926 - Jane Withers, American actress (d. 2021) * 1927 - Alvin Sargent, American screenwriter (d. 2019) * 1928 – Hardy Krüger, German actor * 1928 - Elspet Gray, Scottish actress (d. 2013) * 1929 – Luis Vigoreaux, Puerto Rican TV and radio personality (d. 1983) * 1930 - John Landy, Australian athlete and politician, 26th Governor of Victoria (d. 2022) * 1930 - Bryan Magee, British philosopher * 1931 - Chico Anysio, Brazilian actor, comedian, writer and composer (d. 2012) * 1932 – Tiny Tim, American musician (d. 1996) * 1932 - Jean-Pierre Marielle, French actor (d. 2019) * 1933 – Montserrat Caballé, Catalan-Spanish operatic soprano (d. 2018) * 1934 - Michael Grzimek, German moviemaker and zoologist (d. 1959) * 1936 – Charles Napier, American actor (d. 2011) * 1936 - Tony Earl, 41st Governor of Wisconsin * 1936 - Kennedy Simmonds, 1st Prime Minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis * 1937 - Dennis Banks, American teacher, activist and author (d. 2017) * 1937 - Igor Volk, Soviet-Ukrainian cosmonaut (d. 2017) * 1940 – Enayat Michael Ali, Trinidadian professional cricketer * 1940 - John Hagee, American pastor and theologian * 1940 – Herbie Hancock, American musician * 1941 – Bobby Moore, English footballer (d. 1993) * 1942 – Jacob Zuma, former President of South Africa * 1942 - Carlos Reutemann, Argentine racing driver and politician (d. 2021) * 1943 - Sumitra Mahajan, Indian politician * 1944 - Lisa Jardine, English historian, author and academic (d. 2015) * 1944 - John Kay, German- Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer * 1945 – Lee Jong-Wook, South Korean Director-General of the WHO (d. 2006) * 1946 – George Robertson, Baron Robertson of Port Ellen, former Secretary-General of NATO * 1946 – Ed O'Neill, American actor * 1947 - Martin Brasier, English palaeobiologist and astrobiologist (d. 2014) * 1947 - Alex Briley, American singer (Village People) * 1947 - Woody Johnson, American businessman and philanthropist * 1947 - Dan Lauria, American actor * 1947 – David Letterman, American comedian and TV host * 1947 – Tom Clancy, American writer (d. 2013) * 1948 – Joschka Fischer, German politician * 1948 – Marcello Lippi, Italian football manager * 1948 – Jeremy Beadle, British television presenter (d. 2008) * 1948 - Lois Reeves, American singer * 1949 - Scott Turow, American writer * 1950 – Joyce Banda, former President of Malawi * 1950 – David Cassidy, American singer and actor (d. 2017) * 1950 – Maia Danziger, American actress * 1950 - Flavio Briatore, Italian businessman * 1950 - Larry Kemp, Film editor === 1951 1975 === * 1954 - John Faulkner, Australian politician * 1954 – Jon Krakauer, American writer and mountaineer * 1955 – Viktor Arnar Ingólfsson, Icelandic writer * 1956 – Andy Garcia, American actor * 1956 – Herbert Grönemeyer, German singer and actor * 1956 – Walter Salles, Brazilian movie director * 1957 – Vince Gill, American Country singer * 1957 - Adam Parfrey, American novelist, editor and publisher (d. 2018) * 1958 - Ginka Zagorcheva, Bulgarian hurdler * 1958 - J. Alexander, American television personality * 1959 - Jackson Carlaw, Scottish politician * 1960 - Dennis Bateman, American voice actor * 1961 – Lisa Gerrard, Australian musician * 1965 - Kim Bodnia, Danish actor * 1967 - Mellow Man Ace, American rapper * 1968 – Adam Graves, Canadian ice hockey player * 1968 - Alicia Coppola, American actress * 1970 – Nick Hexum, singer and guitarist * 1971 – Nicholas Brendon, actor * 1971 – Shannen Doherty, American actress * 1973 – Christian Panucci, Italian footballer * 1974 – Sylvinho, Brazilian footballer * 1974 - Marley Shelton, American actress === From 1976 === * 1976 - Olga Kotlyarova, Russian runner * 1977 – Giovanny Espinoza, Ecuadorean footballer * 1978 – Guy Berryman, British musician (Coldplay) * 1979 – Claire Danes, American actress * 1979 – Mateja Kezman, Serbian footballer * 1979 - Jennifer Morrison, American actress * 1980 – Brian McFadden, Irish singer (Westlife) * 1981 - Nicolas Burdisso, Argentine footballer * 1981 - Grant Holt, English footballer * 1982 - Gary Caldwell, Scottish footballer * 1982 – Riley Smith, model and actor * 1983 - Jelena Dokic, Serbian-Australian tennis player * 1985 - James Alexandrou, British actor * 1985 - Olga Seryabkina, Russian singer-songwriter * 1986 - Lorena, Spanish singer * 1986 - Marcel Granollers, Spanish tennis player * 1987 - Brooklyn Decker, American model and actress * 1987 – Brendon Urie, American singer of Panic! at the Disco * 1988 - Ricardo Gabriel Alvarez, Argentine footballer * 1989 - Miguel Angel Ponce, Mexican footballer * 1989 - Travis Tatum Mill, American singer * 1990 - Francesca Halsall, British swimmer * 1994 – Saoirse Ronan, Irish actress * 1994 - Airi Suzuki, Japanese actress and singer * 1996 - Elizaveta Kulichkova, Russian tennis player * 1997 - Katelyn Dhashi, American gymnast * 2000 – Suzanna von Nathusius, Polish actress == Deaths == === Up to 1900 === * 45 BC – Gnaeus Pompeius, Roman general * 65 – Seneca the Younger, Roman philosopher, statesman and dramatist * 238 – Gordian I, Roman Emperor * 238 – Gordian II, Roman heir * 352 - Pope Julius I * 434 - Archbishop Maximianus of Constantinople * 1125 - Vladislaus I of Bohemia (b. 1065) * 1550 - Claude, Duke of Guise (b. 1496) * 1555 – Juana of Castile, wife of Philip I of Castile (b. 1479) * 1675 - Richard Bennett, British Governor of Virginia (b. 1609) * 1684 - Nicola Amati, Italian instrument maker (b. 1596) * 1782 – Metastasio, Italian poet and librettist (b. 1698) * 1788 - Carlo Antonio Campioni, French composer (b. 1719) * 1817 – Charles Messier, French astronomer (b. 1730) * 1872 - Nikolaos Mantzaros, Greek composer (b. 1795) * 1878 - William H. Tweed, American politician (b. 1823) * 1898 - Elzéar- Alexandre Taschereau, Canadian cardinal (b. 1820) === 1901 2000 === * 1912 – Clara Barton, American nurse (b. 1821) * 1933 - Adelbert Ames, American general and politician (b. 1835) * 1938 - Feodor Chaliapin, Russian opera singer (b. 1873) * 1945 – Franklin Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States (b. 1882) * 1968 – Heinrich Nordhoff, German automobile engineer (b. 1899) * 1971 – Igor Tamm, Russian physicist (b. 1895) * 1975 - Josephine Baker, American dancer, singer and actress (b. 1906) * 1980 – William Tolbert, President of Liberia (b. 1913) * 1981 – Joe Louis, American boxer (b. 1914) * 1981 - Prince Yasuhiko Asaka, of Japan (b. 1887) * 1988 - Alan Paton, South African author (b. 1903) * 1989 - Abbie Hoffman, American activist (b. 1936) * 1989 – Sugar Ray Robinson, American boxer (b. 1921) * 1997 - George Wald, American neurologist (b. 1906) * 1999 – Boxcar Willie, American musician (b. 1931) * 1999 - Marion Pruett, American spree killer (b. 1949) === From 2001 === * 2001 - Harvey Ball, American illustrator (b. 1921) * 2006 – Rajkumar, Indian movie actor and singer (b. 1929) * 2008 – Patrick Hillery, President of Ireland (b. 1923) * 2008 - Jerry Zucker, Israeli-American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1949) * 2009 - Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, American academic scholar (b. 1950) * 2009 – Marilyn Chambers, American pornographic actress (b. 1952) * 2010 – Werner Schroeter, German movie director (b. 1945) * 2014 - Brita Koivunen, Finnish singer (b. 1931) * 2014 - Fred Ho, American musician, composer, playwright, writer and activist (b. 1957) * 2014 - Hal Smith, American baseball player (b. 1931) * 2015 - André Mba Obame, Gabonese politician (b. 1957) * 2015 - Patrice Dominguez, French tennis player (b. 1950) * 2015 - Alfred Eick, German U-boat commander (b. 1916) * 2016 - Hector A. Cafferata, Jr., American soldier (b. 1929) * 2016 - Paul Carey, American radio broadcaster (b. 1928) * 2016 - Gianroberto Casaleggio, Italian entrepreneur (b. 1954) * 2016 - Pedro de Felipe, Spanish footballer (b. 1944) * 2016 - David Gest, American television personality (b. 1953) * 2016 - Anne Jackson, American actress (b. 1925) * 2016 - Balls Mahoney, American professional wrestler (b. 1972) * 2016 - Arnold Wesker, English playwright (b. 1932) * 2017 - Akhilesh Das, Indian politician, Mayor of Lucknow (b. 1961) * 2017 - Michael Ballhaus, German cinematographer (b. 1935) * 2017 - Charlie Murphy, American comedian (b. 1959) * 2017 - Sheila Abdus-Salaam, American judge (b. 1952) * 2017 - Tom Coyne, American music engineer (b. 1954) * 2017 - Wayne Hardin, American football player (b. 1926) * 2017 - Toby Smith, British keyboardist (b. 1970) * 2018 - Brij Bhushan Kabra, Indian musician (b. 1937) * 2018 - John Melcher, American politician (b. 1924) * 2018 - Sergio Pitol, Mexican novelist and politician (b. 1933) * 2018 - Deborah Coleman, American blues singer-songwriter (b. 1956) * 2018 - Bob Pickens, American wrestler and football player (b. 1943) * 2019 - Ivor Broadis, English footballer (b. 1922) * 2019 - Dina, Portuguese singer (b. 1956) * 2019 - Forrest Gregg, American football player (b. 1933) * 2019 - Tommy Smith, English footballer (b. 1945) * 2019 - Georgia Engel, American actress (b. 1948) == Observances == * Cosmonauts' Day (Russia), celebrating Yuri Gagarin's space flight in 1961 Category:Days of the year