Today May 12th 2009 this day in history Read more below to view events, deaths, births, Holidays observances and video clips. Last database updated: Jan 17th, 2009
Events
1191 – Richard I of England marries Berengaria of Navarre.
1264 – The Battle of Lewes, between King Henry III of England and the rebel Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, begins.
1328 – Antipope Nicholas V, a claimant to the papacy, is consecrated in Rome by the Bishop of Venice.
1364 – Jagiellonian University, the oldest university in Poland, is founded in Kraków, Poland.
1551 – National University of San Marcos, the oldest university in the Americas, is founded in Lima, Peru.
1588 – French Wars of Religion: Henry III of France flees Paris after Henry of Guise enters the city.
1689 – King William s War: William III of England joins the League of Augsburg starting a war with France.
1780 – American Revolutionary War: Charleston, South Carolina is taken by British forces.
1797 – First Coalition: Napoleon I of France conquers Venice.
1821 – The first big battle of the Greek War of Independence against the Turks occurs in Valtetsi.
1862 – U.S. federal troops occupy Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
1863 – American Civil War: Battle of Raymond: two divisions of James B. McPherson s XVII Corps (ACW) turn the left wing of Confederate General John C. Pemberton s defensive line on Fourteen Mile Creek, opening up the interior of Mississippi to the Union Army during the Vicksburg Campaign.
1864 – American Civil War: the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House: thousands of Union and Confederate soldiers die in the Bloody Angle.
1865 – American Civil War: the Battle of Palmito Ranch: the first day of the last major land action to take place during the Civil War, resulting in a Confederate victory.
1870 – The Manitoba Act is given the Royal Assent, paving the way for Manitoba to become a province of Canada on July 15.
1873 – Oscar II of Sweden-Norway is crowned King of Sweden.
1881 – In North Africa, Tunisia becomes a French protectorate.
1885 – North-West Rebellion: the four-day Battle of Batoche, pitting rebel Métis against the Canadian government, comes to an end with a decisive rebel defeat.
1890 – The first-ever official County Championship match begins. Yorkshire beats Gloucestershire by eight wickets at Bristol. George Ulyett scores the first century in the competition.
1926 – UK General Strike 1926: in the United Kingdom, a nine-day general strike by trade unions ends.
1932 – Ten weeks after his abduction, the infant son of Charles Lindbergh is found dead in Hopewell, New Jersey just a few miles from the Lindberghs home.
1937 – Coronation of King George VI of Britain at Westminster Abbey.
1941 – Konrad Zuse presents the Z3, the world s first working programmable, fully automatic computer, in Berlin.
1942 – World War II: Second Battle of Kharkov – in the eastern Ukraine, the Soviet Army initiates a major offensive. During the battle the Soviets capture the city of Kharkov from the German Army, only to be encircled and destroyed.
1942 – Holocaust: 1,500 Jews are sent to gas chambers in Auschwitz.
1949 – The Soviet Union lifts its Blockade of Berlin.
1949 – The western occupying powers approve the Basic Law for the new German state – the Federal Republic of Germany.
1952 – Gaj Singh is crowned Maharaja of Jodhpur.
1955 – The last portion of the IRT Third Avenue Elevated in Manhattan closes.
1958 – A formal North American Aerospace Defense Command agreement is signed between the United States and Canada.
1962 – Douglas MacArthur delivers his famous Duty, Honor, Country valedictory speech at the United States Military Academy.
1965 – The Soviet spacecraft Luna 5 crashes on the Moon.
1965 – West Germany and Israel establish diplomatic relations.
1967 – At Queen Elizabeth Hall, England, Pink Floyd stages the first-ever quadraphonic rock concert.
1975 – Mayagüez incident: the Cambodian navy seizes the American merchant ship SS Mayaguez in international waters.
1978 – In Zaïre, rebels occupy the city of Kolwezi, the mining center of the province of Shaba. The local government asks the U.S., France and Belgium to restore order.
1981 – Francis Hughes starves to death in the Maze Prison in a republican campaign for political status to be granted to Provisional Irish Republican Army prisoners.
1982 – During a procession outside the shrine of the Virgin Mary in Fátima, Portugal, security guards overpower Juan Fernandez Krohn before he can attack Pope John Paul II with a bayonet. Krohn, an ultraconservative Spanish priest opposed to the Vatican II reforms, believed that the Pope had to be killed for being an agent of Moscow.
1999 – David Steel becomes the first Presiding Officer (speaker) of the modern Scottish Parliament.
2002 – Former US President Jimmy Carter arrives in Cuba for a five-day visit with Fidel Castro becoming first President of the United States, in or out of office, to visit the island since Castro s 1959 revolution.
2003 – The Riyadh compound bombings, carried out by Al Qaeda, kill 26.
2003 – Fifty-nine Democratic lawmakers bring the Texas Legislature to a standstill by going into hiding in a dispute over a Republican congressional redistricting plan.
2007 – 2007 Karachi riots , which killed over 50 people in Karachi and above 100 injured, on the arrival of Chief Justice of Pakistan; Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry in Karachi city.
2008 – 2008 Wenchuan earthquake (measuring around 8.0 magnitude) occurs in Sichuan, China, killing over 69,000 people.
Births
1401 – Emperor Shoko (d. 1428)
1496 – Gustav I of Sweden (d. 1560)
1590 – Cosimo II de Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (d. 1621)
1622 – Louis de Buade de Frontenac, Governor General of New France (d. 1698)
1626 – Louis Hennepin, Flemish missionary (d. 1705)
1670 – Frederick Augustus I of Poland (d. 1733)
1700 – Luigi Vanvitelli, Italian architect (d. 1773)
1725 – Louis Philippe I, Duke of Orléans (d. 1785)
1767 – Manuel de Godoy, Spanish statesman (d. 1851)
1803 – Justus von Liebig, German chemist (d. 1873)
1804 – Robert Baldwin, Canadian politician (d. 1858)
1806 – Johan Vilhelm Snellman, Finnish statesman (d. 1881)
1812 – Edward Lear, British author and poet (d. 1888)
1820 – Florence Nightingale, British nurse (d. 1910)
1828 – Dante Gabriel Rossetti, British poet (d. 1882)
1829 – Pavlos Carrer, Greek composer (d. 1896)
1842 – Jules Massenet, French composer (d. 1912)
1845 – Gabriel Fauré, French composer (d. 1924)
1850 – Henry Cabot Lodge, U.S. statesman (d. 1924)
1867 – Hugh Trumble, Australian cricketer (d. 1938)
1874 – Clemens von Pirquet, Austrian physician (d. 1929)
1880 – Lincoln Ellsworth, American scientist (d. 1951)
1889 – Otto Frank, father of Anne Frank (d. 1980)
1892 – Fritz Kortner, Austrian-born director (d. 1970)
1895 – William Giauque, American chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1982)
1895 – Jiddu Krishnamurti, Indian philosopher (d. 1986)
1899 – Indra Devi, Latvian Yoga Instructor (d. 2002)
1900 – Helene Weigel, German actress (d. 1971)
1903 – Wilfrid Hyde-White, British actor (d. 1991)
1907 – Leslie Charteris, British author and screenwriter (d. 1993)
1907 – Katharine Hepburn, American actress (d. 2003)
1910 – Charles B. Fulton, American jurist (d. 1996)
1910 – Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin, British biochemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1994)
1912 – Archibald Cox, U.S. Solicitor General (d. 2004)
1914 – Bertus Aafjes, Dutch poet (d. 1993)
1914 – Howard K. Smith, American journalist (d. 2002)
1915 – Mary Kay Ash, American businesswoman, founded Mary Kay Cosmetics (d. 2001)
1917 – Frank Clair, Canadian football coach (d. 2005)
1918 – Julius Rosenberg, Soviet spy (d. 1953)
1921 – Joseph Beuys, German artist (d. 1986)
1921 – Farley Mowat, Canadian writer and naturalist
1922 – Marco Denevi, Argentine writer (d. 1998)
1924 – Alexander Esenin-Volpin, Russian mathematician
1924 – Tony Hancock, British comedian (d. 1968)
1925 – Yogi Berra, American baseball player
1928 – Burt Bacharach, American composer
1928 – Henry Cosby, African-American songwriter (d. 2002)
1929 – Dollard St. Laurent, Canadian ice hockey player
1929 – Sam Nujoma, first President of Namibia
1930 – Jesús Franco, Spanish film director
1933 – Andrey Voznesensky, Russian poet
1935 – Felipe Alou, Dominican baseball player and manager
1935 – Johnny Bucyk, Canadian ice hockey player
1936 – Guillermo Endara, President of Panama
1936 – Tom Snyder, American television personality (d. 2007)
1936 – Frank Stella, American painter
1937 – Beryl Burton, British cyclist (d. 1996)
1937 – George Carlin, American comedian (d. 2008)
1937 – Susan Hampshire, British actress
1938 – Millie Perkins, American film actress
1939 – Miltiadis Evert, Greek politician
1939 – Reg Gasnier, Australian rugby league footballer
1939 – Ron Ziegler, White House Press Secretary (d. 2003)
1942 – Ian Dury, British musician (d. 2000)
1942 – Michel Fugain, French singer and songwriter
1942 – Billy Swan, American songwriter and singer
1945 – Alan Ball, Jr., English footballer (d. 2007)
1945 – Ian McLagan, British keyboardist (Small Faces)
1945 – Patrick Ricard, French businessman
1946 – L. Neil Smith, American science fiction author
1947 – Michael Ignatieff, Canadian politician
1947 – Micheline Lanctôt, American film actor, director and screenwriter
1947 – catherine yronwode, American writer and editor
1948 – Steve Winwood, British musician (The Spencer Davis Group; Traffic)
1948 – David Heineman, American politician, current governor of Nebraska
1950 – Bruce Boxleitner, American actor
1950 – Gabriel Byrne, Irish actor
1950 – Billy Squier, American singer
1956 – Bernie Federko, Canadian ice hockey player
1956 – Glenn Robbins, Australian comedian
1957 – Lou Whitaker, American baseball player
1958 – Andreas Petroulakis, Greek political caricaturist
1958 – Eric Singer, American drummer
1959 – Ving Rhames, American actor
1960 – Paul Arcand, Quebec radio host, journalist and film director
1960 – Ian Khan, British racing driver
1961 – Paul Begala, American political commentator
1961 – Billy Duffy, British guitarist (The Cult)
1961 – Thomas Dooley, German-American Soccer Player
1961 – Lar Park Lincoln, American actress
1961 – Bruce McCulloch, Canadian actor
1962 – Emilio Estevez, American actor
1962 – Brett Gurewitz, American songwriter and record producer (Bad Religion) (Epitaph)
1963 – Panagiotis Fasoulas, Greek basketball player, Mayor of Piraeus
1963 – Gavin Hood, South African film director
1963 – Stefano Modena, Italian racing driver
1963 – Charles Pettigrew, American singer (Charles and Eddie) (d. 2001)
1963 – Jerry Trimble, American actor
1963 – Deborah Kara Unger, Canadian actress
1963 – Vanessa A. Williams, American actress
1966 – Stephen Baldwin, American actor
1966 – Bebel Gilberto, Brazilian singer
1967 – Paul D Amour, American bass guitarist (ex-Tool)
1967 – Joe McKinney, Irish actor
1968 – Mark Clark, American baseball player
1968 – Tony Hawk, American skateboarder
1968 – Scott Schwartz, American actor
1968 – Catherine Tate, British comedian
1969 – Kim Fields, American actress
1969 – Cesar Millan, professional dog trainer
1969 – Kevin Nalty, famed YouTuber
1970 – Jim Furyk, American golfer
1970 – Samantha Mathis, American actress
1970 – Steve Palframan, South African cricketer
1970 – Mike Weir, Canadian golfer
1971 – Doug Basham, American professional wrestler
1973 – Kendra Kassebaum, American stage actress
1973 – Travis Lutter, Mixed Martial Arts Fighter
1975 – Jonah Lomu, New Zealand rugby union footballer
1975 – Lawrence Phillips, American football player
1977 – Graeme Dott, British snooker player
1977 – Rebecca Herbst, American actress
1978 – Jason Biggs, American actor
1978 – Wilfred Le Bouthillier, Acadian-Canadian singer
1978 – Aya Ishiguro, Japanese singer (formerly Morning Musume)
1978 – Josh Phelps, American baseball player
1978 – Hossein Reza Zadeh, Iranian weightlifter
1979 – Andre Carter, American football player
1979 – Robert Key, English Cricketer
1979 – Erdinç Saçan, Turkish-Dutch politician
1979 – Steve Smith, American football player
1981 – Lorena Bernal, Spanish model and actress, Miss Spain 1999
1981 – Kentaro Sato, Japanese composer
1981 – Dennis Trillo (Abelardo Dennis Florencio Ho),Filipino Actor and Singer
1983 – Charilaos Pappas, Greek footballer
1985 – Tally Hall, American soccer player
1985 – Jeroen Simaeys, Belgian footballer
1986 – Emily VanCamp, Canadian actress
1988 – Marcelo, Brazilian footballer
1988 – Marky Cielo, Filipino dancer and actor (d. 2008)
1992 – Malcolm David Kelley, American actor
1995 – Luke Benward, American actor
Deaths
1003 – Pope Silvester II
1012 – Pope Sergius IV
1382 – Queen Joan I of Naples (b. 1327)
1465 – Thomas Palaeologus, Titular Byzantine emperor, Despot of the Morea (b. 1409)
1634 – George Chapman, English writer
1641 – Thomas Wentworth, Earl of Strafford, English statesman (b. 1593)
1684 – Edme Mariotte, French physicist and priest
1699 – Lucas Achtschellinck, Flemish painter (b. 1626)
1700 – John Dryden, English writer (b. 1631)
1708 – Adolf Friedrich II of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (b. 1658)
1748 – Thomas Lowndes, English astronomer (b. 1692)
1759 – Lambert-Sigisbert Adam, French sculptor (b. 1700)
1784 – Abraham Trembley, Swiss naturalist (b. 1710)
1792 – Charles Simon Favart, French dramatist (b. 1710)
1796 – Johann Peter Uz, German poet (b. 1720)
1798 – George Vancouver, British navy officer and explorer (b. 1757)
1801 – Nicholas Repnin, Russian statesman (b. 1734)
1845 – János Bacsanyi, Hungarian poet (b. 1763)
1856 – Jacques Philippe Marie Binet, French mathematician (b. 1786)
1859 – Sergei Aksakov, Russian writer (b. 1791)
1860 – Charles Barry, English architect (b. 1795)
1864 – J. E. B. Stuart, American soldier from Virginia and a Confederate Army general (b. 1833)
1867 – Friedrich William Eduard Gerhard, German archaeologist (b. 1795)
1871 – Anselme Payen, French physicist (b. 1795)
1876 – Georgi Benkovski, Bulgarian revolutionary, brutally killed by the Turks (b. 1843)
1884 – Bedrich Smetana, Czech composer (b. 1824)
1889 – John Cadbury, English chocolate entrepreneur (b. 1801)
1907 – Joris-Karl Huysmans, French author (b. 1848)
1916 – James Connolly, Irish socialist (b. 1868)
1925 – Amy Lowell, American poet (b. 1874)
1931 – Eugène Ysaÿe, Belgian violinist (b. 1858)
1935 – Józef Pilsudski, Polish statesman (b. 1867)
1944 – Max Brand, American author (b. 1892)
1944 – Arthur Quiller-Couch, English writer (b. 1863)
1956 – Louis Calhern, American actor (b. 1895)
1957 – Alfonso de Portago, Spanish bobsledder and race car driver (b. 1928)
1957 – Erich von Stroheim, film director and actor (b. 1885)
1963 – Bobby Kerr, Canadian runner (b. 1882)
1966 – Felix Martin Julius Steiner, German Heer and Waffen-SS officer (b. 1896)
1967 – John Masefield, British writer (b. 1878)
1970 – Nelly Sachs, German writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1891)
1971 – Heinie Manush, American baseball player (b. 1901)
1973 – Art Pollard, American racecar driver (b. 1927)
1985 – Jean Dubuffet, French painter (b. 1901)
1986 – Elisabeth Bergner, Austrian actress (b. 1897)
1990 – Chen Kenmin, Japanese chef (b. 1912)
1992 – Robert Reed, American actor (b. 1932)
1992 – Nikos Gatsos, Greek poet and lyricist (b. 1911)
1992 – Lenny Montana, American actor (b. 1926)
1994 – Erik Erikson, German psychoanalyst (b. 1902)
1994 – John Smith, British politician (b. 1938)
1995 – Mia Martini, real name: Domenica Bertè, Italian singer and song-writer (b. 1947)
1999 – Abd-al-Aziz ibn Abd-Allah ibn Baaz, Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia 1993-1999 (b. 1910)
1999 – Saul Steinberg, Romanian-American cartoonist (b. 1914)
2000 – Adam Petty, American race car driver (b. 1980)
2001 – Perry Como, American singer (b. 1912)
2001 – Alexei Tupolev, Russian aircraft designer (b. 1925)
2002 – Erich Kulas, ECW Wrestler (Mass Transit)
2003 – Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan, French UN High Commissioner for Refugees (b. 1933)
2005 – Martin Lings, English Islamic scholar (b. 1909)
2005 – Monica Zetterlund, Swedish actress and singer (b. 1937)
2006 – Gillespie V. Montgomery, former U.S. representative from Mississippi (b. 1920)
2007 – Mullah Dadullah Akhund, Taliban military leader
2007 – Teddy Infuhr, American former child actor (b. 1936)
2008 – Robert Rauschenberg, American artist (b. 1925)
2008 – Irena Sendler, Polish social worker, WWII heroine (b. 1910)
Holidays and observances
International Nurses Day, commemorating the birthday of Florence Nightingale in 1820.
Feast day of the following saints in the Roman Catholic Church:
Saints Achilleus and Nereus
Saint Pancras (died 304), second of the Ice Saints
Saint Epiphanius of Salamis
Saint Modoald
Saint Domitilla
Saint Joan of Portugal
Blessed Imelda
Saint Philip of Agira
Dominic de la Calzada
