October 12 leap years ) in the Gregorian calendar . There are 80 days remaining until the end of the year.
539 BC - The army of Cyrus the Great of Persia takes Babylon .
1216 - King John of England loses his crown jewels in The Wash , probably near Fosdyke , perhaps near Sutton Bridge
1492 - Christopher Columbus 's expedition makes landfall in the Caribbean , specifically in The Bahamas . The explorer believes he has reached East Asia
1582 - Because of the implementation of the Gregorian calendar this day does not exist in this year in Italy , Poland , Portugal and Spain .
1654 - The Delft Explosion devastates the city in the Netherlands , killing more than 100.
1692 - The Salem Witch Trials were ended by a letter from Massachusetts Governor William Phips .
1773 - America's first insane asylum opens for 'Persons of Insane and Disordered Minds' in Virginia
1792 - First celebration of Columbus Day in the USA held in New York
1793 - The cornerstone of Old East , the oldest state university building in the United States , is laid on the campus of the University of North Carolina
1810 - First Oktoberfest : The Bavarian royalty invites the citizens of Munich to join the celebration of the marriage of Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria to Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen.
1822 - Peter I of Brazil is proclaimed the emperor of the Brazilian Empire .
1823 - Charles Macintosh , of Scotland , sells the first raincoat .
1850 - The first women's medical college opens, in Pennsylvania .
1892 - The Pledge of Allegiance is first recited in unison by students in US public schools .
1898 - Establishment of the first town council in Mateur .
1899 - Boer republic of South Africa declares war with England .
1901 - President Theodore Roosevelt officially renames the "Executive Mansion" to the White House .
1915 - World War I : British nurse Edith Cavell is executed by a German firing squad for helping Allied soldiers escape from Belgium
1917 - The First Battle of Passchendaele , now Passendale
1918 - A massive forest fire kills 453 people in Minnesota .
1928 - An iron lung respirator is used for the first time at Children's Hospital, Boston
1933 - The United States Army Disciplinary Barracks on Alcatraz Island , is acquired by the United States Department of Justice
1941 - This and the next day, German Nazis kill 11,000 Jews in Dnipropetrovsk , Ukraine . Einsatzkommando 6 massacres most of the remaining Jews of the city, marching them to a ravine where they were killed.
1942 - World War II : Japanese ships retreat after their defeat in the Battle of Cape Esperance with the Japanese commander, Aritomo Gotō dying from wounds suffered in the battle and two Japanese destroyers sunk by Allied air attack.
1953 - "The Caine Mutiny Court Martial " opens at Plymouth Theatre , New York
1959 - At the national congress of APRA in Peru a group of leftist radicals are expelled from the party. They will later form APRA Rebelde .
1960 - Cold War : Nikita Khrushchev pounds his shoe on a desk at United Nations General Assembly meeting to protest a Philippine assertion of Soviet Union colonialist policy being conducted in Eastern Europe
1960 - Inejiro Asanuma is assassinated in Japan by Otoya Yamaguchi , a 17-year-old. The camera was rolling at that time.
1962 - Infamous Columbus Day Storm strikes the U.S. Pacific Northwest with record wind velocities; 46 dead and at least U.S. $230 million in damages
1964 - The Soviet Union launches the Voskhod 1 into Earth orbit as the first spacecraft with a multi-person crew and the first flight without space suits
1967 - Vietnam War : US Secretary of State Dean Rusk states during a news conference that proposals by the U.S. Congress for peace initiatives were futile because of North Vietnam 's opposition
1968 - Equatorial Guinea becomes independent from Spain
1970 - Vietnam War : US President Richard Nixon announces that the United States will withdraw 40,000 more troops before Christmas
1972 - En route to the Gulf of Tonkin , a racial brawl involving more than 100 sailors breaks out aboard the United States Navy aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk
1976 - The People's Republic of China announces that Hua Guofeng is the successor to the late Mao Tse-tung as chairman of Communist Party of China .
1979 - The lowest recorded non-tornadic atmospheric pressure, 87.0 kPa (870 mbar or 25.69 inHg), occurred in the Western Pacific during Typhoon Tip .
1983 - Japan 's former Prime Minister Tanaka Kakuei is found guilty of taking a $2 million bribe from Lockheed and is sentenced to 4 years in jail.
1984 - Brighton hotel bombing : Margaret Thatcher survives an IRA bomb , which shredded her bathroom barely two minutes after she had left it.
1986 - Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and Prince Philip visit the People's Republic of China
1988 - Two officers of the Victoria Police are gunned down executional style in the Walsh Street police shootings , Australia .
1991 - Askar Akayev , previously chosen President of Kyrgyzstan by republic's Supreme Soviet , is confirmed president in an uncontested poll.
1994 - NASA loses radio contact with the Magellan spacecraft as the probe descends into the thick atmosphere of Venus (the spacecraft presumably burned up in the atmosphere either October 13 or October 14 ).
1997 - Sidi Daoud massacre in Algeria ; 43 killed at a fake roadblock.
1999 - Pervez Musharraf takes power in Pakistan from Nawaz Sharif through a bloodless coup .
1999 - The Day of Six Billion : The proclaimed 6 billionth living human in the world is born.
2000 - The USS Cole is badly damaged in Aden , by two suicide bombers , killing 17 crew members and wounding at least 39
2002 - Terrorists detonate bombs in Paddy's Pub and the Sari Club in Kuta , Bali , killing 202 and wounding over 300.
2005 - The second Chinese human spaceflight Shenzhou 6 Fèi Jùnlóng and Niè Hǎishèng for five days in orbit.
2006 - A law is passed in France that makes denying the Armenian Genocide a crime.
2006 - An enormous lake effect snow storm drops about 2 feet of heavy, water-laden snow on Western New York knocking out power for up to 10 days in some cases, and destroying or damaging tens of thousands of trees. The storm caused more than 1 billion dollars worth of damage.
1008 - Emperor Go-Ichijō of Japan (d. 1036 )
1350 - Dmitry Donskoy , Grand Prince of Moscovy (d. 1389 )
1490 - Bernardo Pisano , Italian composer (d. 1548 )
1537 - King Edward VI of England (d. 1553 )
1558 - Archduke Maximilian III of Austria (d. 1618 )
1558 - Jacques Sirmond , French scholar and Jesuit (d. 1651 )
1576 - Thomas Dudley , Massachusetts colonial magistrate (d. 1653 )
1602 - William Chillingworth , English churchman (d. 1644 )
1710 - Jonathan Trumbull , Governor of Connecticut (d. 1785 )
1712 - William Shippen , American physician and Continental Congressman (d. 1801 )
1725 - Etienne Louis Geoffroy , French pharmacist and entomologist (d. 1810 )
1792 - Christian Gmelin , German chemist (d. 1860 )
1798 - Pedro I of Brazil (d. 1834 )
1801 - Friedrich Frey-Herosé , Swiss Federal Councilor (d. 1873 )
1840 - Helena Modrzejewska , Polish-born actress (d. 1909 )
1855 - Arthur Nikisch , Hungarian conductor (d. 1922 )
1860 - Elmer Sperry , American inventor (d. 1930 )
1865 - Arthur Harden , English chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1940 )
1866 - Ramsay MacDonald , Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1937 )
1872 - Ralph Vaughan Williams , English composer (d. 1958 )
1874 - Jimmy Burke , baseball player (d. 1942 )
1875 - Aleister Crowley , English occultist and author (d. 1947 )
1880 - Louis Hémon , French novelist (d. 1913 )
1887 - Paula von Preradović , Croatian -Austrian poet (d. 1951 )
1890 - Michael Collins , Irish leader (d. 1922 )
1891 - Edith Stein , Carmelite Catholic nun and martyr (d. 1942 )
1892 - Gilda dalla Rizza , Italian soprano (d. 1975 )
1894 - Elisabeth of Romania , queen of Greece (d. 1956 )
1896 - Eugenio Montale , Italian poet, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1981 )
1904 - Ding Ling , Chinese writer (d. 1986 )
1904 - Lester Dent , American writer (d. 1959 )
1906 - Joe Cronin , baseball player (d. 1984 )
1908 - Paul Engle , American writer (d. 1991 )
1908 - Ann Petry , American novelist (d. 1997 )
1910 - Robert Fitzgerald , American poet and translator (d. 1985 )
1910 - Bob Sheppard , New York Yankees announcer
1916 - Alice Childress , American actress, playwright, and novelist (d. 1994 )
1917 - Roque Máspoli , Uruguayan footballer (d. 2004 )
1919 - Gilles Beaudoin , Quebec politician (d. 2007 )
1920 - Christy Ring , Irish hurler (d. 1979 )
1924 - Doris Grau , American actress (d. 1995 )
1925 - Denis Lazure , Quebec politician
1929 - Robert Coles , American psychologist and author
1929 - Magnús Magnússon , Icelandic-born television presenter (d. 2007 )
1932 - Dick Gregory , American comedian and activist
1932 - Ned Jarrett , American race car driver
1933 - Guido Molinari , Canadian painter (d. 2004 )
1934 - Richard Meier , American architect
1934 - Albert Shiryaev , Russian mathematician
1935 - Luciano Pavarotti , Italian tenor (d. 2007 )
1935 - Sam Moore , American R&B singer (Sam & Dave )
1935 - Don Howe , English football player and manager
1937 - Paul Hawkins , Australian racing driver (d. 1969 )
1937 - Robert Mangold , American artist
1938 - Bob Miller , American NHL broadcaster
1942 - Melvin Franklin , American singer (The Temptations ) (d. 1995 )
1944 - Angela Rippon , British television personality
1945 - Aurore Clément , French actress
1945 - Dusty Rhodes , professional wrestler
1947 - Chris Wallace , American journalist
1947 - George Lam , Hong Kong singer
1948 - Rick Parfitt , British musician (Status Quo )
1950 - Susan Anton , American actress
1950 - Dave Freudenthal , American politician
1950 - Kaga Takeshi , Japanese actor
1951 - Sally Ride , first American woman in space
1951 - Ed Royce , American politician
1952 - Danielle Proulx , Quebec actress
1953 - Les Dennis , British comedian/TV presenter
1953 - Serge Lepeltier , French politician
1955 - Ante Gotovina , Croatian general
1955 - Jane Siberry , Canadian musician
1957 - Kristen Bjorn , British film director
1959 - Anna Escobedo Cabral , 42nd Treasurer of the United States
1962 - Carlos Bernard , American actor
1962 - Chris Botti , American jazz musician
1962 - Branko Crvenkovski , Macedonian President
1962 - Deborah Foreman , American actress
1963 - Lane Frost , American professional bull rider, (d. 1989 )
1963 - Satoshi Kon , Japanese anime director
1963 - Alan McDonald , Northern Irish footballer
1963 - Luis Polonia , Dominican baseball player
1965 - Jean-Jacques Daigneault , National Hockey League defenseman
1966 - Jonathan Crombie , Canadian actor
1966 - Wim Jonk , Dutch football player
1966 - Brian Kennedy , Northern Irish musician and author
1968 - Bill Auberlen , American race car driver
1968 - Hugh Jackman , Australian actor and singer
1968 - Adam Rich , American actor
1969 - Martie Maguire , American musician (Dixie Chicks )
1969 - Dwayne Roloson , Canadian NHL hockey player
1969 - Jose Valentin , American baseball player
1970 - Kirk Cameron , American actor
1970 - Tanyon Sturtze , baseball player
1970 - Charlie Ward , American football and basketball player
1971 - Ahn Jae Wook , South Korean actor, composer and singer
1971 - Tony Fiore , American baseball player
1972 - Irina Pantaeva , Russian supermodel and actress
1972 - Juan Manuel Silva , Argentine racing driver
1972 - Tom Van Mol , Belgian football player
1973 - Lesli Brea , Dominican baseball player
1973 - Rodney Mack , professional wrestler
1974 - Stephen Lee , English snooker player
1974 - Marie Wilson , Canadian actress
1975 - Marion Jones , American athlete
1976 - Sarah Lane , American television personality
1977 - Jessica Barker , Canadian actress
1977 - Young Jeezy , African-American rapper
1977 - Bode Miller , American alpine ski-racer
1977 - Javier Toyo , Venezuelan footballer
1978 - Baden Cooke , Australian cyclist
1979 - Jordan Pundik , American singer (New Found Glory )
1981 - Shola Ameobi , English footballer
1981 - Tom Guiry , American actor
1981 - Brian Kerr , Scottish international footballer
1981 - Sneha , Indian actress
1982 - Molly Bennett , Irish singer
1983 - Alex Brosque , Australian footballer
1983 - William Sledd , Internet Celebrity; Fashionist
1985 - Mike Green , Canadian ice hockey player
1986 - Marcus T. Paulk , American actor
1986 - Sergio Peter , German footballer
1992 - Taylor Horn , American singer and actress
1992 - Josh Hutcherson , American actor
1997 - Prince Boris of Bulgaria
632 - Edwin of Deira , King of Northumbria and Bretwalda
638 - Pope Honorius I
642 - Pope John IV
1095 - Margrave Leopold II of Austria (b. 1050 )
1176 - William d'Aubigny , English politician
1320 - Michael IX Palaeologus , co-ruling Eastern Roman Emperor
1491 - Fritz Herlen , German artist
1492 - Piero della Francesca , Italian painter
1565 - Jean Ribault , French explorer and colonizer (b. 1520 )
1576 - Maximilian II (b. 1527 )
1590 - Kano Eitoku , Japanese painter (b. 1543 )
1600 - Luis Molina , Spanish Jesuit (b. 1535 )
1632 - Kutsuki Mototsuna , Japanese samurai commander (b. 1549 )
1646 - François de Bassompierre , Marshal of France (b. 1579 )
1678 - Edmund Berry Godfrey , English magistrate (b. 1621 )
1679 - William Gurnall , English writer (b. 1617 )
1685 - Christoph Ignaz Abele , Austrian jurist (b. 1628 )
1730 - King Frederick IV of Denmark (b. 1671 )
1758 - Richard Molesworth , British field marshal (b. 1680 )
1845 - Elizabeth Fry , British social reformer and philanthropist (b. 1780 )
1870 - Robert E. Lee , American Confederate general (b. 1807 )
1875 - Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux , French sculptor and painter (b. 1827 )
1896 - Christian Emil Krag-Juel-Vind-Frijs , Danish nobleman and politician (b. 1817 )
1898 - Calvin Fairbank , American abolitionist minister (b. 1816 )
1915 - Edith Cavell , English nurse (b. 1865 )
1924 - Anatole France , French author, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1844 )
1940 - Tom Mix , American actor (b. 1880 )
1946 - Joseph Stilwell , U.S. general (b. 1883 )
1954 - George Welch , American pilot (b. 1918 )
1956 - Don Lorenzo Perosi , Italian composer (b. 1872 )
1958 - Gordon Griffith , American actor, director, and producer (b. 1907 )
1960 - Inejiro Asanuma , Japanese politician (b. 1898 )
1965 - Paul Hermann Müller , Swiss chemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1899 )
1967 - Ram Manohar Lohia , Indian Socialist politician leader
1969 - Sonja Henie , Norwegian figure skater (b. 1912 )
1970 - Mustafa Zaidi , Pakistani poet (b. 1930 )
1971 - Dean Acheson , U.S. Secretary of State (b. 1893 )
1971 - Gene Vincent , pioneering American rock'n'roll musician (b. 1935 )
1978 - Nancy Spungen , girlfriend of Sex Pistol Sid Vicious (b. 1958 )
1983 - The Grand Wizard of Wrestling , Wrestling manager
1984 - Sir Anthony Berry , British politician (bombing victim) (b. 1925 )
1985 - Johnny Olson , American game show announcer (b. 1910 )
1985 - Ricky Wilson , American musician; member of The B-52's (b. 1953 )
1987 - Alf Landon , Governor of Kansas (b. 1887 )
1988 - Ruth Manning-Sanders , author of children's books (b. 1895 )
1989 - Carmen Cavallaro , American popular pianist (b. 1913 )
1989 - Jay Ward , American animator (Rocky and Bullwinkle , etc.) (b. 1920 )
1991 - Arkady Strugatsky , Russian novelist (b. 1925 )
1993 - Leon Ames , American actor (b. 1902 )
1993 - Tofik Bakhramov , Russian footballer (b. 1926 )
1994 - Gérald Godin , Québécois poet and politician (b. 1938 )
1996 - Roger Lapébie , French cyclist (b. 1911 )
1996 - René Lacoste , French tennis player (b. 1904 )
1997 - John Denver , American singer (b. 1943 )
1998 - Matthew Shepard , American murder victim (b. 1976 )
1998 - Mario Beaulieu , French Canadian politician (b. 1930 )
1999 - Wilt Chamberlain , American basketball player (b. 1936 )
2001 - Quintin Hogg , British politician (b. 1907 )
2002 - Ray Conniff , American bandleader and musician (b. 1916 )
2002 - Audrey Mestre , French diver (b. 1974 )
2003 - Jim Cairns , Australian politician (b. 1914 )
2003 - Joan Kroc , American philanthropist (b. 1928 )
2003 - Willie Shoemaker , American jockey (b. 1931 )
2005 - C. Delores Tucker , American politician and civil rights activist (b. 1927 )
2006 - Gillo Pontecorvo , Italian film director (b. 1919 )
2007 - Kisho Kurokawa , Japanese architect (b. 1934 )
Holidays and observances October 12 is the feast day of the following Roman Catholic Saints :
External links
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