Today November 12th in history click read more below to view detail events, deaths, births, Holidays and observances, and video clips in hisotry. Please comments, last database updated: Jan 17th, 2009
Events
764 – Tibetan troops occupy Chang an, the capital of the Chinese Tang Dynasty, for fifteen days.
1028 – Future Byzantine empress Zoe marries Romanus Argyrus according to the wishes of the dying Constantine VIII.
1439 – Plymouth, England, becomes the first town incorporated by the English Parliament.
1555 – The English Parliament re-establishes Catholicism.
1793 – Jean Sylvain Bailly, the first Mayor of Paris, is guillotined.
1847 – Sir James Young Simpson, a British physician, is the first to use chloroform as an anaesthetic.
1892 – William Pudge Heffelfinger becomes the first professional American football player on record, participating in his first paid game for the Allegheny Athletic Association.
1893 – The treaty of the Durand Line is signed between present day Pakistan and Afghanistan – the Durand Line has gained international recognition as an international border between the two nations.
1905 – (November 12 and November 13) Norway holds a referendum in favor of monarchy over republic.
1912 – The frozen bodies of Robert Scott and his men are found on the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica.
1918 – Austria becomes a republic.
1920 – Italy and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes sign the Treaty of Rapallo.
1922 – The Sigma Gamma Rho sorority is founded on the campus of Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana.
1927 – Leon Trotsky is expelled from the Soviet Communist Party, leaving Joseph Stalin in undisputed control of the Soviet Union.
1933 – Hugh Gray takes the first known photos of the Loch Ness Monster.
1936 – In California, the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge opens to traffic.
1938 – Hermann Göring proposes plans to make Madagascar the Jewish homeland, an idea that actually was first considered by 19th century journalist Theodor Herzl.
1941 – World War II: Temperatures around Moscow drop to -12 ° C and the Soviet Union launches ski troops for the first time against the freezing German forces near the city.
1941 – World War II: The Soviet cruiser Chervona Ukraina is destroyed during the Battle of Sevastopol.
1942 – World War II: The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal between Japanese and American forces begins near Guadalcanal, which would last for three days.
1944 – World War II: The Royal Air Force launches 29 Avro Lancaster bombers in one of the most successful precision bombing attacks of war and sinks the German battleship Tirpitz, with 12,000 lb Tallboy bombs off Tromsø, Norway.
1948 – In Tokyo, an international war crimes tribunal sentences seven Japanese military and government officials to death, including General Hideki Tojo, for their roles in World War II.
1958 – A team of rock climbers led by Warren Harding completes the first ascent of The Nose on El Capitan in Yosemite Valley.
1969 – Vietnam War: My Lai Massacre – Independent investigative journalist Seymour Hersh breaks the My Lai story.
1970 – The Oregon Highway Division attempts to destroy a rotting beached Sperm whale with explosives, leading to the now infamous exploding whale incident.
1971 – Vietnam War: As part of Vietnamization, US President Richard M. Nixon sets February 1, 1972 as the deadline for the removal of another 45,000 American troops from Vietnam.
1978 – As Bishop of Rome Pope John Paul II takes possession of his Cathedral Church, the Basilica of St. John Lateran.
1979 – Iran hostage crisis: In response to the hostage situation in Tehran, US President Jimmy Carter orders a halt to all petroleum imports into the United States from Iran.
1980 – The NASA space probe Voyager I makes its closest approach to Saturn and takes the first images of its rings.
1981 – Space Shuttle program: Mission STS-2, utilizing the Space Shuttle Columbia, marks the first time a manned spacecraft is launched into space twice.
1982 – In the Soviet Union, Yuri Andropov becomes the general secretary of the Soviet Communist Party s Central Committee, succeeding Leonid I. Brezhnev.
1982 – Lech Walesa, a Solidarity leader, is released from a Polish prison after eleven months.
1990 – Crown Prince Akihito is formally installed as Emperor Akihito of Japan, becoming the 125th Japanese monarch.
1990 – Tim Berners-Lee publishes a formal proposal for the World Wide Web.
1991 – Dili Massacre, Indonesian forces open fire on a crowd of student protesters in Dili, East Timor.
1993 – Decree of President of Kazakhstan About introducing national currency of Republic of Kazakhstan is issued.
1996 – A Saudi Arabian Airlines Boeing 747 and a Kazakh Ilyushin Il-76 cargo plane collide in mid-air near New Delhi, killing 349.
1997 – Ramzi Yousef is found guilty of masterminding the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.
1998 – Vice President of the United States Al Gore signs the Kyoto Protocol.
1998 – Daimler-Benz completes a merger with Chrysler to form Daimler-Chrysler.
1999 – The Düzce earthquake strikes Turkey with a magnitude of 7.2 on the Richter scale.
2001 – In New York City, American Airlines Flight 587, an Airbus A300 en route to the Dominican Republic, crashes minutes after takeoff from John F. Kennedy International Airport, killing all 260 on board and five on the ground.
2001 – 2001 Attack on Afghanistan: Taliban forces abandon Kabul, Afghanistan, ahead of advancing Afghan Northern Alliance troops.
2003 – Iraq war: In Nasiriya, Iraq, at least 23 people, among them the first Italian casualties of the 2003 Iraq war are killed in a suicide bomb attack on an Italian police base.
2003 – With 501 km/h (311 mph) Shanghai Transrapid sets up a new world record for commercial railway systems.
2006 – The region South Ossetia holds a referendum on independence from Georgia.
Births
1493 – Bartolomeo Bandinelli, Italian sculptor (d. 1560)
1528 – Qi Jiguang, Chinese general (d. 1588)
1547 – Claude of Valois, French princess (d. 1575)
1606 – Jeanne Mance, French Canadian settler (d. 1673)
1615 – Richard Baxter, English clergyman (d. 1691)
1651 – Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, Mexican mystic and author (d. 1695)
1729 – Louis Antoine de Bougainville, French explorer (d. 1811)
1755 – Gerhard von Scharnhorst, Prussian general (d. 1813)
1795 – Thaddeus William Harris, American naturalist (d. 1856)
1815 – Elizabeth Cady Stanton, American women s rights activist (d. 1902)
1817 – Bahá u lláh, Prophet Founder of the Bahá í Faith (d. 1892)
1833 – Alexander Borodin, Russian composer and chemist (d. 1887)
1840 – Auguste Rodin, French sculptor (d. 1917)
1842 – John Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh, English physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1919)
1848 – Eduard Müller, member of the Swiss Federal Council (d. 1919)
1850 – Mikhail Chigorin, Russian chess player (d. 1908)
1866 – Sun Yat-sen, 1st President of the Republic of China (d. 1925)
1881 – Olev Siinmaa, Estonian architect (d. 1948)
1881 – Maximilian von Weichs, German field marshal (d. 1954)
1886 – Günther Dyhrenfurth, German born geologist, geographer and Himalayan explorer (d. 1975)
1886 – Ben Travers, British playwright (d. 1980)
1889 – DeWitt Wallace, American magazine publisher (d. 1981)
1890 – Lily Kronberger, Hungarian figure skater (d. 1974)
1896 – Salim Ali, Indian ornithologist (d. 1987)
1898 – Leon Štukelj, Slovene gymnast (d. 1999)
1903 – Jack Oakie, American actor (d. 1978)
1908 – Harry Blackmun, U.S. Supreme Court Justice (d. 1999)
1908 – Amon Göth, commandant of Nazi concentration camp (d. 1946)
1910 – Dudley Nourse, South African cricketer (d. 1981)
1911 – Buck Clayton, American jazz trumpet player (d. 1991)
1915 – Roland Barthes, French critic and writer (d. 1980)
1916 – Jean Papineau-Couture, French Canadian composer (d. 2000)
1916 – Paul Emery, British racing driver (d. 1993)
1916 – Rogelio de la Rosa, Filipino actor and politician (d. 1986)
1917 – Jo Stafford, American singer (d. 2008)
1920 – Richard Quine, American actor (d. 1989)
1922 – Kim Hunter, American actress (d. 2002)
1923 – Vicco von Bülow, German film director
1924 – Sam Jones, jazz bassist (d. 1981)
1927 – Yutaka Taniyama, Japanese mathematician (d. 1958)
1928 – Bob Holness, English presenter and actor
1929 – Michael Ende, German writer (d. 1995)
1929 – Princess Grace of Monaco, American Actress, Royalty (d. 1982)
1930 – Ann Flood, American actress
1931 – Bob Crewe, American songwriter and producer (The Four Seasons)
1934 – Charles Manson, American cult leader
1936 – Mills Lane, American judge and boxing referee
1936 – Mort Shuman, American songwriter and singer (d. 1991)
1938 – Denis DeJordy, Canadian ice hockey player
1939 – Ruby Nash Curtis, American singer (Ruby & the Romantics)
1939 – Lucia Popp, Slovakian soprano (d. 1993)
1940 – Michel Audet, Quebec economist and politician
1940 – Jürgen Todenhöfer, German politician
1943 – Brian Hyland, American singer
1943 – Wallace Shawn, American actor and playwright
1943 – Bjorn Waldegard, Swedish rally driver
1943 – Julie Ege, Norwegian/British actress
1944 – Booker T. Jones, American musician and songwriter (Booker T and the MG s)
1944 – Al Michaels, American television sportscaster
1945 – Tracy Kidder, American journalist and author
1945 – Neil Young, Canadian singer and musician
1947 – Ron Bryant, American baseball player
1947 – Patrice Leconte, French film director and screenwriter
1947 – Buck Dharma, American musician (Blue Öyster Cult)
1948 – Errol Brown, English singer (Hot Chocolate)
1948 – Cliff Harris, American football player
1949 – Ron Lapointe, Canadian ice hockey coach (d. 1992)
1952 – Ronald Burkle, American entrepreneur
1953 – Vasilis Karras, Greek singer
1955 – Katharine Weber, American novelist
1958 – Nick Stellino, Italian-American television chef
1958 – Megan Mullally, American actress and singer
1959 – Vincent Irizarry, American actor
1960 – Maurane, Belgian singer
1961 – Nadia Comaneci, Romanian gymnast
1961 – Enzo Francescoli, Uruguayan footballer
1961 – Jonathan Nossiter, American film director
1961 – Michaela Paetsch, American violinist
1962 – Naomi Wolf, American author and feminist
1962 – Neal Shusterman, American author
1962 – Mark Hunter, Canadian ice hockey player
1962 – Brix Smith, American musician and songwriter (The Fall, The Adult Net)
1962 – Mariella Frostrup, Norwegian born journalist and television presenter
1963 – Susumu Terajima, Japanese actor
1963 – Sam Lloyd, Actor and A Capella singer (Scrubs)
1964 – David Ellefson, American musician (Megadeth)
1965 – Lex Lang, American voice actor
1967 – Michael Moorer, American boxer
1967 – Grant Nicholas, British singer (Feeder)
1968 – Glenn Gilberti, American professional wrestler
1968 – Aya Hisakawa, Japanese voice actress and singer
1968 – Sammy Sosa, Dominican baseball player
1968 – Aaron Stainthorpe, British singer (My Dying Bride)
1969 – Ian Bremmer, American political scientist
1969 – Jason Cundy, English footballer and broadcaster
1969 – Johnny Gosch, American kidnap victim
1969 – Kathleen Hanna, American singer and songwriter
1970 – Donna Adamo, American professional wrestler
1970 – Tonya Harding, American figure skater
1970 – Craig Parker, New Zealand actor
1970 – Harvey Stephens, British actor
1972 – Vassilis Tsiartas, Greek footballer
1973 – Mayte Garcia, American dancer
1973 – Radha Mitchell, Australian actress
1973 – Ethan Zohn, United Soccer Leagues star, Winner of Survivor: Africa
1974 – Tamala Jones, American actress
1975 – Nina Brosh, Israeli model and actress
1975 – Angela Watson, American actress
1975 – Jason Lezak, American swimmer
1976 – Tevin Campbell, American R&B musician
1976 – Judith Holofernes, German singer (Wir sind Helden)
1976 – Miroslaw Szymkowiak, Polish footballer
1977 – Dalene Kurtis, American model
1977 – Lee Murray, English mixed martial artist
1977 – Benni McCarthy, South African footballer
1978 – Andrew Kinlochan, English singer and musician
1978 – Alexandra Maria Lara, Romanian/German actress
1978 – Ashley Williams, American actress
1978 – Lena Yada, American actress, model, surfer, and professional wrestler
1979 – Matt Cappotelli, American professional wrestler
1979 – Corey Maggette, American basketball player
1979 – Cote de Pablo, Chilean/American actress
1980 – Trent Acid, American professional wrestler
1980 – Ryan Gosling, Canadian actor
1981 – DJ Campbell, English footballer
1982 – Anne Hathaway, American actress
1982 – Mikele Leigertwood, English footballer
1983 – Carlton Cole, English footballer
1984 – Sepp De Roover, Belgian footballer
1984 – Omarion, American R&B musician
1984 – Sandara Park, South Korean actor
1984 – Conrad Rautenbach, Zimbabwean rally driver
1986 – Evan Yo, Taiwanese pop singer
1987 – Bryan Little, Canadian ice hockey player
1988 – Russell Westbrook, American basketball player
Deaths
607 – Pope Boniface III
1035 – Canute the Great
1094 – King Duncan II of Scotland (b. 1060)
1434 – King Louis III of Naples (b. 1403)
1555 – Stephen Gardiner, English statesman
1567 – Anne de Montmorency, Constable of France (b. 1493)
1595 – John Hawkins, English shipbuilder and trader (b. 1532)
1606 – St. Nicholas Owen (martyr), one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales
1667 – Hans Nansen, Danish statesman (b. 1598)
1671 – Thomas Fairfax, English Civil War general (b. 1612)
1742 – Friedrich Hoffmann, German physician and chemist (b. 1660)
1757 – Colley Cibber, English poet (b. 1671)
1793 – Jean Sylvain Bailly, first Mayor of Paris (b. 1736)
1836 – Juan Ramón Balcarce, Argentine military leader and politician (b. 1773)
1865 – Elizabeth Gaskell, English novelist (b. 1810)
1916 – Percival Lowell, American amateur astronomer, founder of Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona (b. 1855)
1939 – Norman Bethune, Canadian doctor and humanitarian (b. 1890)
1941 – Abe Kid Twist Reles, American mobster (b. 1907)
1944 – Otto Blumenthal, German mathematician (b. 1876)
1948 – Umberto Giordano, Italian composer (b. 1867)
1955 – Alfréd Hajós, Hungarian swimmer (b. 1878)
1965 – Syedna Taher Saifuddin, Bohra Spiritual Leader (b. 1888)
1969 – Liu Shaoqi, Former Chairman of the People s Republic of China (b. 1898)
1972 – Rudolf Friml, Czech composer of operettas (b. 1879)
1976 – Walter Piston, American composer (b. 1894)
1976 – Mikhail Iosifovich Gurevich, Russian aircraft designer (b. 1893)
1981 – William Holden, American actor (b. 1918)
1984 – Chester Himes, American author (b. 1909)
1990 – Eve Arden, American actress (b. 1908)
1993 – H. R. Haldeman, White House Chief of Staff (b. 1926)
1994 – Wilma Rudolph, American runner (b. 1940)
1997 – Carlos Surinach, Spanish composer (b. 1915)
2000 – Leah Rabin, wife of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, (b. 1928)
2000 – Franck Pourcel, French popular orchestra leader (b. 1913)
2001 – Tony Miles, English chess player (b. 1955)
2003 – Cameron Duncan, New Zealand director (b. 1986)
2003 – Kay E. Kuter, American actor (b. 1925)
2003 – Penny Singleton, American actress (b. 1908)
2003 – Tony Thompson, American drummer (Chic, Power Station) (b. 1954)
2003 – Jonathan Brandis, American actor (b. 1976)
2005 – William G. Adams, former mayor of St. John s, Newfoundland, Canada (b. 1923)
2006 – General Jacob E. Smart, US Air Force leader World War II (b. 1909)
2007 – Khanmohammed Ibrahim, Indian cricketer (b. 1919)
2007 – Ira Levin, American novelist (b. 1929)
2008 – Catherine Baker Knoll, 30th Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania, (b. 1930)
2008 – Mitch Mitchell, English musican (b. 1947)
Holidays and observances
Catholicism: Saint Josaphat Kuntsevych
Bahá í Faith: Holy Day, Birth of Bahá u lláh
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