December 12

### Up to 1900

- 627 – Battle of Nineveh: A Byzantine army under Emperor Heraclius defeated Emperor Khosrau II's Persian forces, commanded by General Rhahzadh.
- 1098 – First Crusade: Massacre of Ma'arrat al-Numan – Crusaders breach the town's walls and massacre about 20,000 of the people living in it. After finding themselves without enough food, they resort to cannibalism.
- 1531 – Vision of Our Lady of Guadalupe to Juan Diego in Mexico City.
- 1719 – The _Boston Gazette_ is published for the first time.
- 1781 – American Revolutionary War: Second Battle of Ushant – A Royal Navy squadron, commanded by Rear Admiral Richard Kempenfelt in HMS _Victory_, defeats a French fleet.
- 1787 – Pennsylvania becomes the 2nd state to make the United States Constitution official.
- 1812 – French invasion of Russia comes to an end.
- 1862 – USS _Cairo_ sank on the Yazoo River, becoming the first armored ship to be sunk by an electrically detonated mine.
- 1870 – Joseph H. Rainey of South Carolina becomes the first black U.S. congressman.
- 1897 – Belo Horizonte, the first planned city of Brazil, is made official.

### 1901 – 1950

- 1901 – Guglielmo Marconi receives the first trans-Atlantic radio signal at Signal Hill in St John's, Newfoundland.
- 1911 – Delhi replaces Calcutta as the capital of India.
- 1911 – George V of the United Kingdom and Mary of Teck are crowned Emperor and Empress of India.
- 1913 – The Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci, stolen from the Louvre two years earlier, is found in Florence, Italy.
- 1914 – The largest one–day percentage drop in the history of Dow Jones Industrial Average, down 24.39%.
- 1915 – President of the Republic of China, Yuan Shikai tells that he is going to make himself the Emperor of China.
- 1917 – In Nebraska, Father Edward J. Flanagan founds Boys Town as a farm village for wayward boys.
- 1918 – The Flag of Estonia is first raised on Pikk Hermann in Tallinn.
- 1925 – The Majlis of Iran votes to crown Reza Khan as the new Shah of Persia.
- 1936 – Xi'an Incident: The Generalissimo of the Republic of China, Chiang Kai-shek was kidnapped by Zhang Xueliang.
- 1937 – Panay incident: Japanese aircraft shell and sink US gunboat _Panay_ on the Yangtze River in China.
- 1939 – Winter War: Battle of Tolvajärvi – Finnish forces defeat those of the Soviet Union in their first major victory of the conflict.
- 1939 – The ship HMS _Duchess_ sinks after a collision with HMS _Barham_ off the coast of Scotland.
- 1940 – Approximately 70 people are killed in the Marples Hotel, Fitzalan Square, Sheffield as a result of a German air raid.
- 1941 – World War II: Fifty four Japanese A6M Zero fighters raid Batangas Field, Philippines. Jesus Villamor and four Filipino fighter pilots fend them off; Cesar Basa is killed.
- 1941 – World War II: United States Marine Corps F4F "Wildcats" sink the first 4 major Japanese ships off Wake Island.
- 1941 – World War II: Great Britain declares war on Bulgaria. Hungary and Romania declare war on the United States. India declares war on Japan.
- 1942 – A fire in a hostel in St. John's, Newfoundland kills 100 people.
- 1946 – A fire at a New York City ice plant spreads to a nearby tenement killing 37 people.
- 1948 – Malayan Emergency: Batang Kali Massacre – 14 members of the Scots Guards stationed in Malaysia allegedly massacre 24 unarmed civilians and set fire to the village.
- 1950 – Paula Ackerman, the first woman appointed to perform rabbinical functions in the United States, leads the congregation in her first services.

### 1951 – 2000

- 1958 – Guinea joins the UN.
- 1963 – Kenya becomes independent from the United Kingdom.
- 1964 – Prime Minister Jomo Kenyatta became the first President of the Republic of Kenya.
- 1969 – _Strategia della tensione_: Piazza Fontana bombing – The offices of Banca Nazionale dell'Agricoltura in Piazza Fontana, Milan, are bombed.
- 1970 – NASA sends the _Uhuru_ satellite into space.
- 1979 – Coup d'état of December Twelfth: South Korean military officer Chun Doo-hwan orders the arrest of Army Chief of Staff General Jeong Seung–hwa without authorization from President Choi Kyu-ha, alleging involvement in the assassination of ex–President Park Chung Hee.
- 1979 – Pakistan President Zia-ul-Haq conferred _Nishan-e-Imtiaz_ on Nobel laureate Dr Abdus Salam.
- 1979 – Rhodesia changes its name to Zimbabwe.
- 1982 – Women's peace protest at Greenham Common – 30,000 women hold hands and form a human chain around the 14.5 km (9 mi) perimeter fence.
- 1984 – Maaouiya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya become the third president of Mauritania after coup d'état against Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidalla. Taya was ousted in March 2005 by Ely Ould Mohamed Vall in another coup.
- 1985 – Arrow Air Flight 1285 crashes after takeoff in Gander, Newfoundland killing 256, including 248 members of the United States Army's 101st Airborne Division.
- 1988 – Clapham Junction rail crash killed 35 and injured 100's after two collisions of three commuter trains. One of the worst train crashes in Britain.
- 1991 – Russian Federation becomes independent from the USSR.
- 1992 – An earthquake on the island of Flores kills around 2,500 people.
- 1996 – Uday Hussein is seriously injured in an assassination attempt.
- 2000 – The United States Supreme Court released its decision in _Bush v. Gore_.
- 2000 – Ethiopia and Eritrea end a border war.

### From 2001

- 2003 – Paul Martin becomes Prime Minister of Canada.
- 2006 – Peugeot produce their last car at the Ryton Plant signalling the end of mass car production in Coventry, formerly a major centre of the British motor industry.
- 2012 – North Korea launches the Kwangmyongsong–3 Unit 2 satellite.
- 2013 – Jang Sung-taek, previously a powerful uncle of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, is executed, just days after being removed from his position.
- 2015 – Conference on the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change makes Paris Agreement on reduction of CO2 after Kyoto Protocol.
- 2016 – Bill English becomes the 39th Prime Minister of New Zealand, replacing John Key.

### Up to 1800

- 1298 – Albert II of Austria (d. 1358)
- 1418 – Albert VI of Austria
- 1574 – Anne of Denmark, wife of James I of England (d. 1619)
- 1610 – Saint Vasilije (d. 1671)
- 1612 – Nicholas Francis, Duke of Lorraine (d. 1670)
- 1659 – Francesco Galli-Bibiena, Italian architect/designer (d. 1739)
- 1685 – Lodovico Giustini, Italian composer and pianist (d. 1743)
- 1712 – Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine, Austrian military leader (d. 1780)
- 1724 – Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood, British admiral (d. 1816)
- 1731 – Erasmus Darwin, English physician and poet (d. 1802)
- 1745 – John Jay, 1st Chief Justice of the United States (d. 1829)
- 1779 – Madeleine Sophie Barat, French saint (d. 1865)
- 1783 – Ner Alexander Middleswarth, American politician (d. 1857)
- 1786 – William L. Marcy, American statesman (d. 1857)
- 1791 – Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma (d. 1847)
- 1792 – Andreas Ypsilantis, Greek–Russian prince, general and rebel (d. 1828)
- 1799 – Karl Briullov, Russian painter (d. 1852)

### 1801 – 1900

- 1801 – King John I of Saxony (d. 1873)
- 1805 – William Lloyd Garrison, American abolitionist (d. 1879)
- 1806 – Stand Watie, American Confederate general (d. 1871)
- 1812 – John Sandfield Macdonald, 1st Premier of Ontario (d. 1872)
- 1814 – Don Juan Prim, 1st Marquis of Castillejos, Prime Minister of Spain (d. 1870)
- 1821 – Gustave Flaubert, French writer (d. 1880)
- 1843 – William P. Dillingham, Governor of Vermont (d. 1923)
- 1845 – Bruce Price, American architect (d. 1903)
- 1845 – Fanny Churberg, Finnish painter (d. 1892)
- 1849 – William Kissam Vanderbilt, member of the Vanderbilt family (d. 1920)
- 1850 – Martin Frederick Ansel, Governor of South Carolina (d. 1945)
- 1862 – J. Bruce Ismay, British entrepreneur (d. 1937)
- 1863 – Edvard Munch, Norwegian painter (d. 1944)
- 1864 – Paul Elmer More, American essayist (d. 1937)
- 1866 – Alfred Werner, Swiss Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1919)
- 1870 – Walter Benona Sharp, American oil baron (d. 1912)
- 1875 – Gerd von Rundstedt, German field marshal (d. 1953)
- 1876 – Alvin Kraenzlein, Olympic gold medalist (d. 1928)
- 1879 – Laura Hope Crews, American actress (d. 1942)
- 1881 – Harry Warner, Polish–American studio executive (d. 1958)
- 1887 – Kurt Atterberg, Swedish composer (d. 1974)
- 1892 – Herman Potočnik Noordung, Croatia, Pula – rocket engineer (d. 1972)
- 1893 – Edward G. Robinson, American actor (d. 1973)
- 1900 – Sammy Davis, Sr., American dancer (d. 1988)

### 1901 – 1925

- 1903 – Dagmar Nordstrom, American composer (d. 1976)
- 1903 – Yasujiro Ozu, Japanese movie director (d. 1963)
- 1904 – Nicolas de Gunzburg, magazine editor and socialite (d. 1981)
- 1905 – Mànes Sperber, Austro–Hungarian–born writer (d. 1984)
- 1907 – Roy Douglas, British composer and orchestrator
- 1909 – Karen Morley, American actress (d. 2003)
- 1911 – Boun Oum, Prime Minister of Laos (d. 1980)
- 1912 – Thorbjorn Egner, Norwegian writer (d. 1990)
- 1912 – Boun Oum, Lao nobleman and politician (d. 1980)
- 1912 – Henry Armstrong, American boxer (d. 1988)
- 1913 – George Whitman, American bookstore owner (d. 2011)
- 1914 – Patrick O'Brian (Richard Patrick Russ), British writer (d. 2000)
- 1915 – Frank Sinatra, American singer and actor (d. 1998)
- 1918 – Joe Williams, American singer (d. 1999)
- 1918 – Igor Ansoff, Russian–American economist and mathematician (d. 2002)
- 1919 – José Villalonga, Spanish football manager (d. 1973)
- 1919 – Paavo Aaltonen, Finnish sportsman (d. 1962)
- 1919 – Olivia Barclay, British astrologer (d. 2001)
- 1919 – Dan DeCarlo, American cartoonist (d. 2001)
- 1920 – Fred Kida, American comic artist (d. 2014)
- 1923 – Bob Barker, American television game show host
- 1924 – Ed Koch, 105th Mayor of New York City (d. 2013)
- 1925 – Vladimir Shainsky, Soviet and Russian composer (d. 2017)

### 1926 – 1950

- 1927 – Honor Blackman, British actress
- 1927 – Robert Noyce, American inventor (d. 1990)
- 1928 – Chinghiz Aitmatov, Soviet–born Kyrgyz writer (d. 2008)
- 1928 – Lionel Blair, British actor and choreographer
- 1928 – Helen Frankenthaler, American painter (d. 2011)
- 1929 – John Osborne, British dramatist and screenwriter (d. 1994)
- 1929 – Toshiko Akiyoshi, Japanese musician
- 1930 – Bill Beutel, American journalist
- 1930 – Gwyneth Dunwoody, British politician (d. 2008)
- 1930 – Silvio Santos, Brazilian television host
- 1932 – Bob Pettit, American basketball player
- 1933 – Manu Dibango, Cameroonian musician and songwriter
- 1934 – Miguel de la Madrid, President of Mexico (d. 2012)
- 1936 – Denise Coffey, English actress and dancer
- 1936 – Iolanda Balas, Romanian high jumper (d. 2016)
- 1937 – Michael Jeffery, former Governor-General of Australia (2003–2008)
- 1938 – Connie Francis, American singer
- 1940 – Sharad Pawar, Indian politician
- 1940 – Dionne Warwick, American singer
- 1941 – Tim Hauser, American singer (d. 2014)
- 1943 – Dickey Betts, American musician (The Allman Brothers)
- 1943 – Grover Washington, Jr., American saxophonist (d. 1999)
- 1944 – Kenneth Cranham, Scottish actor
- 1944 – Jean Doré, Quebec politician, Mayor of Montreal (d. 2015)
- 1945 – Portia Simpson-Miller, former Prime Minister of Jamaica
- 1945 – Luciano Castellini, Italian footballer
- 1946 – Emerson Fittipaldi, Brazilian racing driver, two–time Formula 1 World Champion
- 1946 – Paula Wagner, American movie executive
- 1948 – Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, President of Portugal
- 1948 – Tom Wilkinson, English actor
- 1949 – Rajnikanth, Indian actor
- 1949 – Bill Nighy, English actor
- 1949 – Marc Ravalomanana, former President of Madagascar
- 1949 – Chris Baillieu, English rower
- 1949 – Gopinath Munde, Indian politician (d. 2014)
- 1950 – Billy Smith, National Hockey League goaltender

### 1951 – 1975

- 1951 – Anatoly Alyabyev, Russian biathlete
- 1951 – Rehman Malik, Pakistani politician
- 1952 – Harbance Singh (Herb) Dhaliwal, Canadian politician
- 1952 – Peter Haber, Swedish actor
- 1952 – Cathy Rigby, American gymnast
- 1952 – Manuel Rosales, Venezuelan politician
- 1953 – Bruce Kulick, American guitarist (Kiss)
- 1954 – Liz Claman, American television anchor
- 1955 – Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, Greek businesswoman, President of the organizing committee for the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens
- 1956 – Johan van der Velde, Dutch cyclist
- 1957 – Sheila E., American musician
- 1957 – Robert Lepage, Quebec playwright
- 1959 – Jasper Conran, British fashion designer
- 1960 – Volker Beck, German politician
- 1962 – Tracy Austin, American tennis player
- 1962 – Mike Golic, former NFL football player
- 1963 – Juan Carlos Varela, President of Panama
- 1964 – Sabu, American professional wrestler
- 1964 – Reeta Chakrabarti, English journalist
- 1965 – Will Carling, English rugby player
- 1966 – Maurizio Gaudino, German footballer
- 1966 – Royce Gracie, Brazilian martial artist
- 1966 – Ian Paisley, Jr., Northern Irish politician
- 1966 – Selen, Italian actress and television presenter
- 1967 – Walter Kogler, Austrian footballer
- 1967 – John Randle, American football player
- 1968 – Laurie Williams, Indian cricketer
- 1968 – Kate Humble, British television presenter
- 1969 – Wilfred Kirochi, Kenyan middle–distance runner
- 1969 – Sophie Kinsella, British author
- 1970 – Jennifer Connelly, American actress
- 1970 – Madchen Amick, American actress
- 1970 – Regina Hall, American actress
- 1970 – Wilson Kipketer, Kenyan–Danish athlete
- 1972 – Hank Williams III, grandson of Hank Williams
- 1972 – Nicky Eaden, English footballer
- 1972 – Kevin Parent, Quebec singer and songwriter
- 1972 – Yeoryios Theodoridis, Greek sprinter
- 1972 – Brandon Teena, American hate crime victim (d. 1993)
- 1973 – William Hutton, American engineer
- 1973 – Walter Otta, Argentine footballer
- 1973 – Dagur Kari, Icelandic moviemaker
- 1974 – Nolberto Solano, Peruvian footballer
- 1975 – Mayim Bialik, American actress
- 1975 – Craig Moore, Australian footballer

### From 1976

- 1976 – Dan Hawkins, British guitarist (The Darkness)
- 1977 – Orlando Hudson, American baseball player
- 1977 – Bridget Hall, American supermodel
- 1977 – Colin White, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1977 – Dean Macey, British athlete
- 1978 – Monica Barladeanu, Romanian actress
- 1978 – Nicole, Erica and Jaclyn Dahm, American triplet _Playboy_ models
- 1978 – Evren Genis, Turkish composer
- 1979 – Garrett Atkins, American baseball player
- 1979 – Nate Clements, American football player
- 1979 – Sharin Foo, Danish singer and bassist
- 1980 – Dorin Goian, Romanian footballer
- 1981 – Jeret Peterson, American aerial skier (d. 2011)
- 1981 – Ronnie Brown, American football player
- 1981 – Yuvraj Singh, Indian cricket player
- 1981 – Stephen Warnock, British footballer
- 1981 – Pedro Ríos, Spanish footballer
- 1982 – Dmitry Tursunov, Russian tennis player
- 1983 – Katrina Elam, American singer
- 1983 – Brad Smith, American football player
- 1984 – Daniel Agger, Danish footballer
- 1986 – Thomas Wansey, English television actor
- 1986 – Perparim Hetemaj, Finnish footballer
- 1987 – Kate Todd, Canadian actress
- 1988 – Ham Eun-jung, South Korean singer and actress
- 1989 – Harry Eden, British actor
- 1990 – Tommy Lane, British football player
- 1990 – Victor Moses, Nigerian–British footballer
- 1991 – Daniel Magder, Canadian actor
- 1994 – Otto Warmbier, American student (d. 2017)

### Up to 1900

- 884 – Carloman, King of the West Franks
- 894 – Guy III of Spoleto, King of Italy and Holy Roman Emperor
- 1212 – Geoffrey, Archbishop of York
- 1569 – Metropolitan Philip of Moscow (b. 1507)
- 1574 – Selim II, Ottoman Sultan (b. 1524)
- 1586 – Stefan Batory, King of Poland (b. 1533)
- 1685 – John Pell, English mathematician (b. 1610)
- 1751 – Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke, English statesman and philosopher (b. 1678)
- 1754 – Wu Jingzi, Chinese writer (b. 1701)
- 1766 – Johann Christoph Gottsched, German writer (b. 1700)
- 1789 – John Ponsonby, Irish politician (b. 1713)
- 1790 – Mikhail Shcherbatov, Russian philosopher and writer (b. 1733)
- 1843 – King William I of the Netherlands (b. 1772)
- 1858 – Jacques Viger, antiquarian and archeologist, first Mayor of Montreal (b. 1787)
- 1889 – Robert Browning, British poet (b. 1812)
- 1889 – Viktor Bunyakovsky, Russian mathematician (b. 1804)
- 1894 – Sir John Thompson, fourth Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1845)

### 1901 – 2000

- 1912 – Luitpold, Prince Regent of Bavaria (b. 1821)
- 1913 – Emperor Menelek II of Ethiopia (b. 1844)
- 1923 – Raymond Radiguet, French writer (b. 1903)
- 1926 – Jean Richepin, French poet (b. 1849)
- 1929 – Charles Goodnight, American cattle baron (b. 1836)
- 1934 – Thorleif Haug, Norwegian skier (b. 1894)
- 1939 – Douglas Fairbanks, American actor (b. 1883)
- 1941 – Cesar Basa, Philippine Air Force and World War II hero (b. 1915)
- 1950 – Peter Fraser, Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1884)
- 1952 – Bedřich Hrozný, Austro–Hungarian–born Czechoslovak orientalist and linguist (b. 1879)
- 1963 – Yasujiro Ozu, Japanese movie director (b. 1903)
- 1963 – Theodor Heuss, first President of the Federal Republic of Germany (b. 1884)
- 1968 – Tallulah Bankhead, American actress (b. 1902)
- 1970 – Doris Blackburn, Australian politician (b. 1889)
- 1971 – David Sarnoff, Russian–born American General Manager of RCA (b. 1891)
- 1976 – Jack Cassidy, American actor (b. 1921)
- 1976 – Vinko Zganec, Croatian ethnomusicologist (b. 1890)
- 1977 – Lady Spencer Churchill, wife of Winston Churchill (b. 1885)
- 1980 – Jean Lesage, French–Canadian politician, Premier of Quebec (b. 1912)
- 1985 – Anne Baxter, American actress (b. 1923)
- 1985 – Ian Stewart, Scottish musician (b. 1938)
- 1992 – Suzanne Lilar, Belgian esssayist, novelist and playwright (b. 1901)
- 1993 – József Antall, Hungarian politician (b. 1932)
- 1994 – Stuart Roosa, American astronaut (b. 1933)
- 1996 – Vance Packard, American writer (b. 1914)
- 1997 – Yevgeniy Landis, Russian mathematician (b. 1921)
- 1998 – Lawton Chiles, U.S. Senator from Florida and Governor of Florida (b. 1930)
- 1999 – Joseph Heller, American writer (b. 1923)
- 2000 – George Montgomery, American actor

### From 2001

- 2001 – Jean Richard, French actor (b. 1921)
- 2002 – Dee Brown, American writer (b. 1908)
- 2002 – Jay Wesley Neill, American convicted murderer (b. 1965)
- 2002 – Brad Dexter, American actor (b. 1917)
- 2003 – Heydar Aliyev, President of Azerbaijan (b. 1923)
- 2003 – Joseph Anthony Ferrario, American Catholic prelate (b. 1926)
- 2005 – Gebran Tueni, Lebanese politician (b. 1957)
- 2005 – Annette Vadim, Danish actress (b. 1956)
- 2006 – Paul Arizin, American basketball player (b. 1928)
- 2006 – Peter Boyle, American actor (b. 1956)
- 2006 – Al Shugart, pioneering American computer engineer and co–founder of Seagate Technology (b. 1930)
- 2006 – Raymond P. Shafer, 38th Governor of Pennsylvania (b. 1917)
- 2007 – Ike Turner, American musician (b. 1931)
- 2008 – Tassos Papadopoulos, President of Cyprus (b. 1934)
- 2010 – Tom Walkinshaw, British racing team owner (b. 1946)
- 2011 – Malina Olinescu, Romanian singer (b. 1974)
- 2012 – Nityanand Swami, Indian politician (b. 1927)
- 2013 – Abdul Quader Molla, Bangladeshi politician (b. 1948) (executed)
- 2013 – Jang Sung-taek, North Korean politician (b. 1946) (executed)
- 2013 – Audrey Totter, American actress (b. 1917)
- 2014 – Norman Bridwell, American writer, cartoonist and philanthropist (b. 1928)
- 2014 – Ivor Grattan-Guinness, English historian of mathematics (b. 1941)
- 2014 – John Persen, Norwegian footballer (b. 1941)
- 2014 – John Baxter, Scottish footballer (b. 1936)
- 2015 – Evelyn S. Lieberman, American public affairs professor (b. 1944)
- 2015 – Steve Gohouri, Ivorian footballer (b. 1981)
- 2016 – E. R. Braithwaite, Guyanese novelist and diplomat (b. 1912)
- 2017 – Pat DiNizio, American singer and musician (b. 1955)
- 2017 – Alessandro Kokocinski, Italian–Argentine artist and sculptor (b. 1948)
- 2017 – Ed Lee, American politician, Mayor of San Francisco (b. 1952)
- 2017 – Aharon Yehuda Leib Shteinman, Israeli rabbi (b. 1913)
- 2017 – Zarley Zalapski, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1968)
- 2020 – Charley Pride, American country singer (b. 1934)

## Holidays and observances

- R.C. Saints – optional memorial of Our Lady of Guadalupe
- Bahá'í Faith – Feast of Masá'il (Questions) – First day of the 15th month of the Bahá'í Calendar
- Kenya – _Jamhuri Day_: Independence Day (from Britain, 1963)
- Russia – Constitution Day
- Japan – Kanji Day
- Turkmenistan – Neutrality Day

## Other websites

- BBC: On This Day
- _The New York Times_: On This Day
- On This Day in Canada