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
- 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 anti-Mormon persecution, Joseph Smith, Jr. and his followers leave Ohio for Missouri.
- 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 and later proclaim 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.
- 1969 - Super Bowl III: New York Jets upset the Baltimore Colts, 16-7.
- 1969 - Hard rock band Led Zeppelin release their eponymous first album.
- 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 Columbia takes-off with the first Hispanic-American astronaut, Dr. Franklin R. Chang-Diaz.
- 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.
Births
- 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 and governor of Louisiana (d. 1795)
- 1723 - Samuel Langdon, American President of Harvard University (d. 1797)
- 1729 - Edmund Burke, Irish statesman and philosopher (d. 1797)
- 1737 - John Hancock, American statesman (d. 1793)
- 1746 - Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, Swiss pedagogue (d. 1827)
- 1751 - King Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies (d. 1825)
- 1786 - Sir Robert Inglis, Bt, English politician (d. 1855)
- 1849 - Jean Béraud, French painter (d. 1935)
- 1856 - John Singer Sargent, American artist (d. 1925)
- 1863 - Swami Vivekananda, Indian guru (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, Mayor of Chicago (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 and actor (d. 1950)
- 1899 - Paul Hermann Müller, Swiss chemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1965)
- 1902 - King Saud of Saudi Arabia (d. 1969)
- 1905 - Tex Ritter, American actor and singer (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 children's book illustrator (d. 1988)
- 1910 - Luise Rainer, German actress
- 1912 - James Bennett Griffin, American archaeologist (d. 1997)
- 1915 - Paul Jarrico, American writer (d. 1997)
- 1916 - Pieter Willem Botha, President of South Africa
- 1916 - Jay McShann, American musician
- 1920 - James L. Farmer, Jr., American civil rights activist (d. 1999)
- 1923 - Ira Hayes, American soldier
- 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 and entrepreneur (d. 1974)
- 1930 - Glenn Yarborough, American singer and songwriter
- 1932 - Des O'Connor, British television presenter
- 1935 - Kreskin, mentalist
- 1937 - Shirley Eaton, British actress
- 1944 - Hans Henning Atrott, German philosopher, critic of Christianity
- 1944 - Joe Frazier, American boxer
- 1944 - Vlastimil Hort, Czechoslovakian chess player
- 1946 - George Duke, American musician
- 1948 - Khalid Abdul Muhammed, American Nation of Islam spokesman (d. 2001)
- 1949 - Wayne Wang, Hong Kong-born film director
- 1950 - Sheila Jackson Lee, American politician
- 1951 - Kirstie Alley, American actress
- 1951 - Rush Limbaugh, American radio personality
- 1952 - Walter Mosley, American author
- 1954 - Howard Stern, American radio host
- 1955 - Rockne O'Bannon, writer and television producer
- 1957 - John Lasseter, American director, writer, and animator
- 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
- 1966 - Rob Zombie, American musician, artist, and writer
- 1966 - Olivier Martinez, French actor
- 1970 - Zack de la Rocha, American musician (Rage Against the Machine)
- 1970 - Raekwon, American rapper
- 1972 - Espen Knutsen, Norwegian hockey player
- 1974 - Melanie Chisholm, British singer
- 1974 - Tor Arne Hetland, Norwegian cross-country skiier
- 1982 - Dontrelle Willis, American baseball player
- 1990 - Sergey Karjakin, Ukrainian Chess Player
Deaths
- 1321 - Maria of Brabant, queen 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)
- 1705 - Luca Giordano, Italian artist (b. 1634)
- 1732 - John Horsley, British archaeologist
- 1735 - John Eccles, English composer (b. 1668)
- 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)
- 1943 - Jan Campert, Dutch journalist and writer (b. 1902)
- 1944 - Lance C. Wade, American pilot (b. 1915)
- 1960 - Nevil Shute, English writer (b. 1899)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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, 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)
- 2005 - Amrish Puri, Indian actor (b. 1932)
- 2005 - Edmund S. Valtman, Estonian-born cartoonist (b. 1914)
Holidays and observances
Fiction
- In 2001: A Space Odyssey, the fictional computer HAL becomes operational on January 12. In the movie by Stanley Kubrick HAL was "born" in 1992, while in the book by Arthur C. Clarke the same event occurs in 1997.
- In the television series The X-Files, the third season episode Syzygy, has two girls, Terri & Magi, both born on January 12, 1979. Strange astrological properties with 3+ celestial bodies in alignment gives them great power which they use to kill off several of their high school classmates on their birthday in 1996.
- In the USA's Monk (TV series), the 4th season episode of MR. MONK AND MRS. MONK (#T-2351) indicates that Monk spilt something on January 12, 1999 during an earthquake. He stated "Earthquakes count, I don't make the rules."
External links
January 11 - January 13 - December 12 - February 12 — listing of all days