May 12 Events |
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| May 12th, 2008 (May 12 2008) | Event | 2008 Wenchuan earthquake (measuring around 8.0 magnitude) occurs in Sichuan, China, killing over 60,000 people | |
| May 12th, 2006 (May 12 2006) | Event | Justin Gatlin equals the 100 metres sprint world record with a time of 9.77 seconds in Doha, Qatar. | |
| May 12th, 2003 (May 12 2003) | Event | The Riyadh compound bombings, carried out by Al Qaeda, kill 26. | |
| May 12th, 2003 (May 12 2003) | Event | Fifty-nine Democratic lawmakers bring the Texas Legislature to a standstill by going into hiding in a dispute over a Republican congressional redistricting plan. | |
| May 12th, 2002 (May 12 2002) | Event | 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. | Jimmy Carter Quotes |
| May 12th, 1999 (May 12 1999) | Event | David Steel becomes the first Presiding Officer (speaker) of the modern Scottish Parliament. | |
| May 12th, 1994 (May 12 1994) | Event | United Kingdom opposition leader John Smith dies in a London hospital after two serious heart attacks. | |
| May 12th, 1982 (May 12 1982) | Event | During a procession outside the shrine of the Virgin Mary in Fatima, 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". | |
| May 12th, 1981 (May 12 1981) | Event | Francis Hughes starves to death in the Maze Prison in a republican campaign for political status to be granted to IRA prisoners. | Ted Hughes Quotes |
| May 12th, 1980 (May 12 1980) | Event | West Ham United wins the FA Cup, beating Arsenal 1-0 at Wembley Stadium. Midfield playmaker Trevor Brooking scores the winner with a rare header. | |
| May 12th, 1978 (May 12 1978) | Event | In Zaire, 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. | |
| May 12th, 1975 (May 12 1975) | Event | Mayaguez incident: the Cambodian navy seizes the American merchant ship SS Mayaguez in international waters. | |
| May 12th, 1967 (May 12 1967) | Event | At Queen Elizabeth Hall, England, Pink Floyd stages the first-ever quadraphonic rock concert. | |
| May 12th, 1965 (May 12 1965) | Event | The Soviet spacecraft Luna 5 crashes on the Moon. | |
| May 12th, 1965 (May 12 1965) | Event | West Germany and Israel establish diplomatic relations. | |
| May 12th, 1962 (May 12 1962) | Event | Douglas MacArthur delivers his famous "Duty, Honor, Country" valedictory speech at the United States Military Academy. | Douglas MacArthur Quotes |
| May 12th, 1958 (May 12 1958) | Event | A formal North American Aerospace Defense Command agreement is signed between the United States and Canada. | |
| May 12th, 1955 (May 12 1955) | Event | The last portion of the IRT Third Avenue Elevated in Manhattan closes. | |
| May 12th, 1952 (May 12 1952) | Event | Gaj Singh is crowned Maharaja of Jodhpur. | |
| May 12th, 1949 (May 12 1949) | Event | The Soviet Union lifts its Blockade of Berlin. | |
| May 12th, 1949 (May 12 1949) | Event | The western occupying powers approve the Basic Law for the new German statethe Federal Republic of Germany. | |
| May 12th, 1942 (May 12 1942) | Event | 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. | |
| May 12th, 1942 (May 12 1942) | Event | Holocaust: 1,500 Jews are sent to gas chambers in Auschwitz. | |
| May 12th, 1941 (May 12 1941) | Event | Konrad Zuse presents the Z3, the world s first working programmable, fully automatic computer, in Berlin. | |
| May 12th, 1937 (May 12 1937) | Event | Coronation of King George VI of Britain at Westminster Abbey. | |
| May 12th, 1932 (May 12 1932) | Event | 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. | |
| May 12th, 1926 (May 12 1926) | Event | UK General Strike 1926: in the United Kingdom, a nine-day general strike by trade unions ends. | |
| May 12th, 1890 (May 12 1890) | Event | 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. | |
| May 12th, 1885 (May 12 1885) | Event | North-West Rebellion: the four-day Battle of Batoche, pitting rebel Metis against the Canadian government, comes to an end with a decisive rebel defeat. | |
| May 12th, 1881 (May 12 1881) | Event | In North Africa, Tunisia becomes a French protectorate. | |
| May 12th, 1873 (May 12 1873) | Event | Oscar II of Sweden-Norway is crowned King of Sweden. | |
| May 12th, 1870 (May 12 1870) | Event | The Manitoba Act is given the Royal Assent, paving the way for Manitoba to become a province of Canada on July 15. | |
| May 12th, 1865 (May 12 1865) | Event | 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. | |
| May 12th, 1864 (May 12 1864) | Event | American Civil War: the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House: thousands of Union and Confederate soldiers die in "the Bloody Angle". | |
| May 12th, 1863 (May 12 1863) | Event | 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. | Gene Ray Quotes |
| May 12th, 1862 (May 12 1862) | Event | U.S. federal troops occupy Baton Rouge, Louisiana. | |
| May 12th, 1821 (May 12 1821) | Event | The first big battle of the Greek War of Independence against the Turks occurs in Valtetsi. | |
| May 12th, 1797 (May 12 1797) | Event | First Coalition: Napoleon I of France conquers Venice. | |
| May 12th, 1780 (May 12 1780) | Event | American Revolutionary War: Charleston, South Carolina is taken by British forces. | |
| May 12th, 1689 (May 12 1689) | Event | King William s War: William III of England joins the League of Augsburg starting a war with France. | William King Quotes |
| May 12th, 1588 (May 12 1588) | Event | French Wars of Religion: Henry III of France flees Paris after Henry of Guise enters the city. | |
| May 12th, 1551 (May 12 1551) | Event | National University of San Marcos, the oldest university in the Americas, is founded in Lima, Peru. | |
| May 12th, 1364 (May 12 1364) | Event | Jagiellonian University, the oldest university in Poland, is founded in Krakow, Poland. | |
| May 12th, 1328 (May 12 1328) | Event | Antipope Nicholas V, a claimant to the papacy, is consecrated in Rome by the Bishop of Venice. | |
| May 12th, 1264 (May 12 1264) | Event | The Battle of Lewes, between King Henry III of England and the rebel Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, begins. | |
| May 12th, 1191 (May 12 1191) | Event | Richard I of England marries Berengaria of Navarre. | |
