January 12
January 12 is the 12th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 353 days remaining (354 in leap years).
Events
- 475 - Basiliscus becomes Byzantine Emperor, with a coronation ceremony in the Hebdomon palace in Constantinople.
- 1528 - Gustav I of Sweden crowned king of Sweden.
- 1592 - Titus Andronicus first staged at the Rose Theatre.
- 1773 - The first public Colonial American museum opens in Charleston, South Carolina.
- 1777 - Mission Santa Clara de Asís is founded in what is now Santa Clara, California.
- 1838 - In order to avoid prosecution under laws banning polygamy, Joseph Smith, Jr. and his followers leave Ohio for Missouri.
- 1848 - The Palermo rising in Sicily rises against the Bourbon kingdom of the Two Sicilies
- 1866 - Royal Aeronautical Society is formed in London.
- 1872 - Yohannes IV is crowned Emperor of Ethiopia in Axum, the first imperial coronation in that city in over 200 years.
- 1875 - Kwang-su becomes emperor of China.
- 1898 - Ito Hirobumi begins his third term as Prime Minister of Japan.
- 1908 - A long-distance radio message is sent from the Eiffel Tower for the first time.
- 1915 - The Rocky Mountain National Park is formed by an act of U.S. Congress.
- 1915 - United States House of Representatives rejects proposal to give women the right to vote.
- 1926 - Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll premiere their radio program Sam 'n' Henry, a precursor to Amos 'n' Andy; possibly the first situation comedy.
- 1932 - Hattie W. Caraway becomes the first woman elected to the United States Senate.
- 1940 - World War II: Russia bombs cities in Finland.
- 1942 - President Franklin Roosevelt creates the National War Labor Board.
- 1945 - World War II: The Soviets begin a large offensive in Eastern Europe against the Nazis.
- 1964 - Rebels in Zanzibar begin a revolt known as the Zanzibar Revolution and proclaimed a republic.
- 1966 - Lyndon B. Johnson states that the United States should stay in South Vietnam until Communist aggression there is ended.
- 1966 - Batman the TV series debuts on ABC.
- 1967 - Dr. James Bedford becomes the first person to be cryonically preserved with intent of future resuscitation.
- 1969 - Led Zeppelin's debut album released.
- 1970 - Biafra capitulates, ending the Nigerian civil war.
- 1971 - All in the Family debuts on CBS.
- 1971 - Harrisburg Six: The Reverend Philip Berrigan and five others are indicted on charges of conspiring to kidnap Henry Kissinger and of plotting to blow up the heating tunnels of federal buildings in Washington, DC.
- 1976 - UN Security Council votes 11-1 to allow the Palestinian Liberation Organization to participate in a Security Council debate (without voting rights).
- 1986 - Space Shuttle program: STS-61-C mission - Space Shuttle Columbia takes-off with the first Hispanic-American astronaut, Dr. Franklin R. Chang-Diaz. It was the last successful mission before STS-51-L.
- 1991 - Persian Gulf War: An act of the U.S. Congress authorizes the use of military force to drive Iraq out of Kuwait.
- 1992 - A new constitution, providing for freedom to form political parties, is approved by referendum in Mali.
- 1995 - Malcolm X's daughter, Qubilah Shabazz, is arrested for conspiring to kill Louis Farrakhan.
- 1998 - Nineteen European nations agree to forbid human cloning.
- 2005 - Deep Impact (space mission) launches from Cape Canaveral by a Delta 2 rocket.
- 2006 - The foreign ministers of the United Kingdom, France, and Germany declare that negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program have reached a dead end and recommend that Iran be referred to the United Nations Security Council. (ABC)
- 2006 - A stampede during the Stoning the Devil ritual on the last day at the Hajj in Mina, Saudi Arabia, kills at least 362 Muslim pilgrims. (BBC)
- 2006 - Turkey releases Mehmet Ali Ağca from jail after serving 25 years for shooting Pope John Paul II. (BBC)
- 2006 - The French warship Clemenceau reaches Egypt and is barred access to the Suez Canal. Greenpeace activists board the ship. (BBC)
Births
- 1483 - Henry III of Nassau-Breda, German nobleman (d. 1538)
- 1562 - Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy (d. 1630)
- 1576 - Petrus Scriverius, Dutch writer (d. 1660)
- 1591 - Giuseppe Ribera, Spanish painter (d. 1652)
- 1597 - François Duquesnoy, French sculptor (d. 1643)
- 1628 - Charles Perrault, French folklorist (d. 1703)
- 1715 - Jacques Duphly, French composer (d. 1789)
- 1716 - Antonio de Ulloa, Spanish general (d. 1795)
- 1723 - Samuel Langdon, American President of Harvard University (d. 1797)
- 1729 - Edmund Burke, Irish statesman (d. 1797)
- 1737 - John Hancock, American statesman (d. 1793)
- 1746 - Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, Swiss pedagogue (d. 1827)
- 1751 - Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies (d. 1825)
- 1786 - Sir Robert Inglis, Bt, English politician (d. 1855)
- 1797 - Gideon Brecher, Austrian physician (d. 1873)
- 1849 - Jean Béraud, French painter (d. 1935)
- 1856 - John Singer Sargent, American artist (d. 1925)
- 1863 - Swami Vivekananda, Indian philosopher (d. 1902)
- 1873 - Spiridon Louis, Greek runner (d. 1940)
- 1876 - Jack London, American author (d. 1916)
- 1876 - Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari, Italian composer (d. 1948)
- 1877 - Frank J. Corr, American politican (d. 1934)
- 1878 - Ferenc Molnár, Hungarian writer (d. 1952)
- 1879 - Ray Harroun, American race car driver (d. 1968)
- 1882 - Milton Sills, American actor (d. 1930)
- 1884 - Texas Guinan, American actress (d. 1933)
- 1892 - Mikhail Gurevich, Russian aircraft designer (d. 1976)
- 1893 - Hermann Göring, Nazi official (d. 1946)
- 1893 - Alfred Rosenberg, Nazi official (d. 1946)
- 1896 - Rex Ingram, Irish director (d. 1950)
- 1899 - Paul Hermann Müller, Swiss chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1965)
- 1902 - Saud of Saudi Arabia (d. 1969)
- 1905 - Tex Ritter, American actor (d. 1974)
- 1905 - James Bennett Griffin, American archaeologist (d. 1997)
- 1906 - Daniil Kharms, Russian playwright (d. 1942)
- 1907 - Patsy Kelly, American actress (d. 1981)
- 1907 - Sergei Korolev, Russian rocket scientist (d. 1966)
- 1908 - Jean Delannoy, French film director
- 1908 - Clement Hurd, American illustrator (d. 1988)
- 1910 - Luise Rainer, German actress
- 1915 - Paul Jarrico, American writer (d. 1997)
- 1916 - Pieter Willem Botha, former President of South Africa (d. 2006)
- 1916 - Jay McShann, American musician
- 1917 - Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Indian spiritualist
- 1920 - James L. Farmer, Jr., American activist (d. 1999)
- 1923 - Ira Hayes, American soldier (d. 1955)
- 1925 - Scottie MacGregor, American actress
- 1926 - Ray Price, American singer
- 1928 - Ruth Brown, American singer
- 1928 - Lloyd Ruby, American race car driver
- 1930 - Tim Horton, Canadian hockey player (d. 1974)
- 1930 - Glenn Yarborough, American singer
- 1932 - Des O'Connor, British television presenter
- 1935 - Kreskin, mentalist
- 1937 - Shirley Eaton, British actress
- 1944 - Joe Frazier, American boxer
- 1944 - Vlastimil Hort, Czechoslovakian chess player
- 1946 - George Duke, American musician
- 1946 - Lady Cosgrove, Scottish judiciary figure
- 1948 - Khalid Abdul Muhammed, American Nation of Islam spokesman (d. 2001)
- 1948 - Kenny Allen, English footballer
- 1948 - William Nicholson, English writer
- 1949 - Haruki Murakami, Japanese novelist
- 1949 - Wayne Wang, Hong Kong-born film director
- 1950 - Sheila Jackson Lee, American politician
- 1950 - Bob McEwen, American politician
- 1950 - Ricky Ray Rector, American murderer (d. 1992)
- 1951 - Kirstie Alley, American actress
- 1951 - Ann Althouse, American law professor
- 1951 - Rush Limbaugh, American radio personality
- 1952 - Walter Mosley, American author
- 1954 - Howard Stern, American radio host
- 1955 - Rockne O'Bannon, writer
- 1957 - John Lasseter, American director
- 1959 - Blixa Bargeld, German singer (Einstürzende Neubauten)
- 1959 - Per Gessle, Swedish songwriter
- 1960 - Oliver Platt, Canadian actor
- 1960 - Dominique Wilkins, American basketball player
- 1964 - Jeff Bezos, American entrepreneur
- 1965 - Rob Zombie, American musician
- 1966 - Olivier Martinez, French actor
- 1967 - Vendela Kirsebom, Swedish supermodel
- 1968 - Heather Mills McCartney, British activist
- 1969 - Robert Prosinečki, Croatian footballer
- 1970 - Zack de la Rocha, American musician (Rage Against the Machine)
- 1970 - Raekwon, American rapper
- 1972 - Priyanka Gandhi, daughter of Rajiv Gandhi
- 1972 - Espen Knutsen, Norwegian hockey player
- 1972 - Jason Sklar, American comedian
- 1972 - Randy Sklar, American comedian
- 1974 - Melanie Chisholm, British singer
- 1974 - Tor Arne Hetland, Norwegian cross-country skiier
- 1977 - Dominic Etli, American footballer
- 1978 - Kris Roe, American musician (The Ataris)
- 1978 - Kim Sa Rang, Korean actress
- 1978 - Luis Ayala, Baseball pitcher
- 1979 - Marián Hossa, Slovak ice hockey player
- 1979 - Grzegorz Rasiak, Polish footballer
- 1980 - Amerie, American singer and songwriter
- 1980 - Bobby Crosby, American baseball player
- 1982 - Dontrelle Willis, American baseball player
- 1982 - Sherzod Abdurahmonov, Uzbekistanian boxer
- 1984 - Scott Olsen, American baseball player
- 1987 - Will Rothhaar, American Actor
- 1988 - Chris Casement, Irish footballer
- 1989 - Zeeshan Aslam, Pakistani Prince
- 1990 - Sergey Karjakin, Ukrainian chess player
Deaths
- 1321 - Maria of Brabant, wife of Philip III of France (b. 1256)
- 1519 - Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1459)
- 1583 - Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, Duke of Alva, Governor of the Spanish Netherlands (b. 1508)
- 1665 - Pierre de Fermat, French mathematician and lawyer (b. 1601)
- 1674 - Giacomo Carissimi, Italian composer (b. 1605)
- 1700 - Marguerite Bourgeoys, Saint (b.1620)
- 1705 - Luca Giordano, Italian artist (b. 1634)
- 1732 - John Horsley, British archaeologist
- 1735 - John Eccles, English composer (b. 1668)
- 1759 - Anne, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange, (b. 1709)
- 1777 - Hugh Mercer, American Revolutionary War officer (mortally wounded in battle)
- 1781 - Richard Challoner, English Catholic prelate (b. 1691)
- 1817 - Juan Andres, Spanish Jesuit (b. 1740)
- 1834 - William Wyndham Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1759)
- 1909 - Hermann Minkowski, German mathematician (b. 1864)
- 1940 - Edward Smith, English soldier (b. 1899)
- 1943 - Jan Campert, Dutch journalist and writer (b. 1902)
- 1944 - Lance C. Wade, American pilot (b. 1915)
- 1956 - Norman Kerry, American actor (b. 1894)
- 1960 - Nevil Shute, English writer (b. 1899)
- 1962 - Ariadna Tyrkova-Williams, Russian writer and feminist (b. 1869)
- 1965 - Lorraine Hansberry, American writer (b. 1936)
- 1976 - Agatha Christie, English writer (b. 1890)
- 1983 - Nikolai Podgorny, President of the USSR (b. 1903)
- 1991 - Keye Luke, Chinese-born actor (b. 1904)
- 1996 - Joachim Nitsche, German mathematician (b. 1926)
- 1997 - Charles B. Huggins, Canadian-born cancer researcher, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1901)
- 1999 - Betty Lou Gerson, American voice actress (b. 1914)
- 1999 - Doug Wickenheiser, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1961)
- 2000 - Marc Davis, American animator (b. 1913)
- 2000 - Bobby Phills, American basketball player (b. 1969)
- 2001 - Affirmed, American racehorse (b. 1975)
- 2001 - William Hewlett, American engineer and businessman (b. 1913)
- 2002 - Stanley Unwin, South African comedian (b. 1911)
- 2002 - Cyrus Vance, 57th U.S. Secretary of State (b. 1917)
- 2003 - Kinji Fukasaku, Japanese director (b. 1930)
- 2003 - Leopoldo Galtieri, dictator of Argentina (b. 1926)
- 2003 - Maurice Gibb, British singer, songwriter, and musician (Bee Gees) (b. 1949)
- 2003 - Brandon Vedas, Internet drug abuser. (b. 1981)
- 2004 - Olga Aleksandrovna Ladyzhenskaya, Russian mathematician (b. 1921)
- 2005 - Amrish Puri, Indian actor (b. 1932)
- 2005 - Edmund S. Valtman, Estonian-born cartoonist (b. 1914)
Holidays and observances
Fiction
Television
- The X Files episode 3x13 (Syzygy) - A rare planetary alignment causes strange behavior in the residents of a small town but particularly in two teenage girls who were born at the exact same moment on that particular date. The girls birthdays were on January 12, 1979 and the timestamp on the episode was January 12, 1996.
External links
January 11 - January 13 - December 12 - February 12 — listing of all days
Categories
January