April 12
| April 12 in recent years |
| 2010 (Monday) |
| 2009 (Sunday) |
| 2008 (Saturday) |
| 2007 (Thursday) |
| 2006 (Wednesday) |
| 2005 (Tuesday) |
| 2004 (Monday) |
| 2003 (Saturday) |
| 2002 (Friday) |
| 2001 (Thursday) |
| 2000 (Wednesday) |
April 12 is the 102nd day of the year (103rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 263 days remaining until the end of the year.
Events
- 467 – Anthemius is elevated to Emperor of the Western Roman Empire.
- 1204 – The Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade breach the walls of Constantinople and enter the city, which they completely occupy the following day.
- 1557 – Cuenca is founded in Ecuador.
- 1606 – The Union Flag is adopted as the flag of Great Britain.
- 1633 – The formal inquest of Galileo Galilei by the Inquisition begins.
- 1776 – American Revolution: With the Halifax Resolves, the North Carolina Provincial Congress authorizes its Congressional delegation to vote for independence from Britain.
- 1820 – Alexander Ypsilantis is declared leader of Filiki Eteria, a secret organization to overthrow Ottoman rule over Greece.
- 1831 – Soldiers marching on the Broughton Suspension Bridge in Manchester, England cause it to collapse.
- 1861 – American Civil War: The war begins with Confederate forces firing on Fort Sumter, in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina.
- 1864 – American Civil War: The Fort Pillow massacre: Confederate forces kill most of the African American soldiers that surrendered at Fort Pillow, Tennessee.
- 1865 – American Civil War: Mobile, Alabama, falls to the Union Army.
- 1877 – The United Kingdom annexes the Transvaal.
- 1910 – The SMS Zrinyi, one of the last pre-dreadnoughts built by the Austro-Hungarian Navy, is launched.
- 1917 – World War I: Canadian forces successfully complete the taking of Vimy Ridge from the Germans.
- 1927 – April 12 Incident: Chiang Kai-shek orders the Communist Party of China members executed in Shanghai, ending the First United Front.
- 1934 – The strongest surface wind gust in the world at 231 mph, is measured on the summit of Mount Washington, New Hampshire.
- 1934 – The U.S. Auto-Lite Strike begins, culminating in a five-day melee between Ohio National Guard troops and 6,000 strikers and picketers.
- 1935 – First flight of the Bristol Blenheim.
- 1937 – Sir Frank Whittle ground-tests the first jet engine designed to power an aircraft, at Rugby, England.
- 1945 – U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt dies while in office; vice-president Harry Truman is sworn in as the 33rd President.
- 1954 – Bill Haley & His Comets record "Rock Around the Clock" in New York City.
- 1955 – The polio vaccine, developed by Dr. Jonas Salk, is declared safe and effective.
- 1961 – Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human to travel into outer space, in Vostok 3KA-2 (Vostok 1).
- 1990 – Jim Gary's "Twentieth Century Dinosaurs" exhibition opens at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.
- 1992 – The Euro Disney Resort officially opens with its theme park Euro Disneyland. The resort and its park's name were subsequently changed to Disneyland Paris.
- 1994 – Canter & Siegel post the first commercial mass Usenet spam.
- 1998 – An earthquake in Slovenia, measuring 5.6 on the Richter scale occurs near the town of Bovec.
- 1999 – US President Bill Clinton is cited for contempt of court for giving "intentionally false statements" in a sexual harassment civil lawsuit.
- 2002 – A female suicide bomber detonated at the entrance to Jerusalem's Mahane Yehuda open-air market, killing 7 and wounding 104.
- 2007 – A suicide bomber penetrated the Green Zone and detonated in a cafeteria within a parliament building, killing Iraqi MP Mohammed Awad and wounding more than twenty other people.
- 2010 – A train derailed near Merano, Italy, after running into a landslide, causing nine deaths and injuring 28 people.
Births
- 599 BC – Mahavira, the 24th Tirthankara of Jainism (d. 527 BC)
- 812 – Muhammad at-Taqi, Muslim Shia Imam (d. 835)
- 1484 – Antonio da Sangallo the Younger, Italian architect (d. 1546)
- 1500 – Joachim Camerarius, German classical scholar (d. 1574)
- 1526 – Muretus, French humanist (d. 1585)
- 1550 – Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, English politician (d. 1604)
- 1577 – Christian IV of Denmark (d. 1648)
- 1705 – William Cookworthy, English chemist (d. 1780)
- 1713 – Guillaume Thomas François Raynal, French writer (d. 1796)
- 1722 – Pietro Nardini, Italian composer (d. 1793)
- 1724 – Lyman Hall, American signer of the Declaration of Independence (d. 1790)
- 1748 – Antoine Laurent de Jussieu, French botanist (d. 1836)
- 1777 – Henry Clay, American statesman (d. 1852)
- 1794 – Germinal Pierre Dandelin, Belgian mathematician (d. 1847)
- 1796 – George N. Briggs, 19th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1861)
- 1799 – Henri Druey, Swiss Federal Councilor (d. 1855)
- 1823 – Aleksandr Ostrovsky, Russian dramatist (d. 1886)
- 1839 – Nikolai Przhevalsky, Russian explorer (d. 1888)
- 1848 – José Gautier Benítez, Puerto Rican poet (d. 1880)
- 1851 – Edward Walter Maunder, English astronomer (d. 1928)
- 1852 – Ferdinand von Lindemann, German mathematician (d. 1939)
- 1856 – William Martin Conway, English art critic and mountaineer (d. 1937)
- 1866 – Princess Viktoria of Prussia (d. 1929)
- 1868 – Akiyama Saneyuki, Japanese naval commander (d. 1918)
- 1869 – Henri Désiré Landru, French serial killer (d. 1922)
- 1871 – Ioannis Metaxas, Greek general and dictator (d. 1941)
- 1878 – Lionel Barrymore, American actor (d. 1954)
- 1883 – Dally Messenger, Australian rugby league footballer (d. 1959)
- 1884 – Otto Meyerhof, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine laureate (d. 1951)
- 1884 – Tenby Davies, Welsh runner (d. 1932)
- 1887 – Harold Lockwood, American actor (d. 1918)
- 1888 – Heinrich Neuhaus, Soviet musician (d. 1964)
- 1892 – Johnny Dodds, American musician (d. 1940)
- 1893 – Robert Harron, American actor (d. 1920)
- 1894 – Francisco Craveiro Lopes, 13th President of Portugal (d. 1964)
- 1898 – Lily Pons, American soprano (d. 1976)
- 1901 – Lowell Stockman, American representative (d. 1962)
- 1902 – Louis Beel, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (d. 1977)
- 1903 – Jan Tinbergen, Dutch economist, Nobel laureate (d. 1994)
- 1907 – Felix de Weldon, Austrian-born sculptor (d. 2003)
- 1907 – Hardie Gramatky, American author and animator (d. 1979)
- 1908 – Robert Lee Scott, Jr., American pilot (d. 2006)
- 1908 – Ida Crowe Pollock, English writer
- 1911 – Mahmoud Younis, Suez Canal engineer (d. 1976)
- 1912 – Walt Gorney, American actor (d. 2004)
- 1912 – Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono IX, Second Vice President of Indonesia (d. 1988)
- 1913 – Keiko Fukuda, Japanese-born American martial artist
- 1914 – Armen Alchian, American economist
- 1916 – Beverly Cleary, American writer
- 1916 – Benjamin Libet, American scientist (d. 2007)
- 1917 – Helen Forrest, American singer (d. 1999)
- 1919 – Billy Vaughn, American musician and bandleader (d. 1991)
- 1921 – Robert Cliche, Quebec politician and magistrate (d. 1978)
- 1923 – Ann Miller, American actor and dancer (d. 2004)
- 1924 – Raymond Barre, French politician and Prime Minister (d. 2007)
- 1924 – Peter Safar, Austrian physician (d. 2003)
- 1925 – Joe Bowman, American sharpshooter, Hollywood consultant, bootmaker & master showman (d. 2009)
- 1928 – Hardy Krüger, German actor
- 1928 – Jean-François Paillard, French conductor
- 1930 – Manuel Neri, American artist
- 1930 – Michał Życzkowski, Polish technician (d. 2006)
- 1931 – Leonid Derbenyov, Russian poet-songwriter (d. 1995)
- 1932 – Dennis Banks, American activist
- 1932 – Lakshman Kadirgamar, Sri Lankan politician (d. 2005)
- 1932 – Tiny Tim, American musician (d. 1996)
- 1933 – Montserrat Caballé, Spanish soprano
- 1934 – Heinz Schneiter, Swiss footballer
- 1935 – Jimmy Makulis, Greek singer (d. 2007)
- 1937 – Igor Volk, Soviet astronaut
- 1939 – Alan Ayckbourn, English writer
- 1939 – Johnny Raper, Australian rugby league footballer
- 1940 – Herbie Hancock, American musician and composer
- 1940 – John Hagee, American pastor and televangelist
- 1941 – Bobby Moore, English footballer (d. 1993)
- 1942 – Carlos Reutemann, Argentine racing driver and politician
- 1942 – Jacob Zuma, President of South Africa
- 1944 – Georgios Balanos, Greek translator, author and publisher
- 1944 – John Kay, German-born musician
- 1945 – Lee Jong-wook, Korean Director-General of the WHO (d. 2006)
- 1946 – Ed O'Neill, American actor
- 1947 – Tom Clancy, American author
- 1947 – Woody Johnson, sports team owner
- 1947 – Antonin Kratochvil, Czech-born American photographer
- 1947 – David Letterman, American talk show host
- 1947 – Dan Lauria, American actor
- 1948 – Jeremy Beadle, English television presenter (d. 2008)
- 1948 – Joschka Fischer, Foreign Minister of Germany 1998-2005
- 1948 – Sandra "Lois" Reeves, American singer
- 1949 – Scott Turow, American writer
- 1950 – Flavio Briatore, Italian businessman and F1 team principal (Renault F1)
- 1950 – David Cassidy, American singer and actor
- 1951 – Tom Noonan, American actor
- 1952 – Ralph Wiley, American sports journalist (d. 2004)
- 1952 – Reuben Gant, American professional football player
- 1954 – Jon Krakauer, American author
- 1954 – Pat Travers, Canadian musician
- 1956 – Andy García, Cuban-born actor
- 1956 – Herbert Grönemeyer, German singer
- 1957 – Greg Child, Australian mountaineer
- 1957 – Vince Gill, American musician
- 1958 – Will Sergeant, English musician
- 1958 – Howard Stableford, English actor and host
- 1960 – Ron MacLean, Canadian sportscaster
- 1961 – Lisa Gerrard, Australian musician
- 1961 – Magda Szubanski, Australian actress
- 1962 – Art Alexakis, American musician
- 1962 – Takada Nobuhiko, Japanese wrestler
- 1964 – Amy Ray, American musician
- 1965 – Tom O'Brien, American actor-producer
- 1965 – Kim Bodnia, Danish actor
- 1967 – Sarah Cracknell, English singer
- 1967 – Mellow Man Ace, Afro-Cuban rapper
- 1968 – Alicia Coppola, American actress
- 1968 – Adam Graves, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1969 – Lucas Radebe, South African footballer
- 1970 – Nick Hexum, American musician
- 1971 – Nicholas Brendon, American actor
- 1971 – Shannen Doherty, American actor
- 1972 – Sebnem Ferah, Turkish singer
- 1972 – Paul Lo Duca, American baseball player
- 1972 – Dimitrios Kokotis, Greek high jumper
- 1973 – J. Scott Campbell, American comic book artist
- 1973 – Antonio Osuna, Mexican baseball player
- 1973 – Claudia Jordan, American model
- 1974 – Belinda Emmett, Australian actor (d. 2006)
- 1974 – Roman Hamrlik, Czech ice hockey player
- 1974 – Marley Shelton, American actor
- 1974 – Sylvinho, Brazilian footballer
- 1976 – Brad Miller, American basketball player
- 1977 – Giovanny Espinoza, Ecuadorian footballer
- 1977 – Glenn Rogers, Scottish cricketer
- 1977 – Sarah Jane Morris, American actor
- 1977 – Jason Price, Welsh footballer
- 1977 – Jordana Spiro, American actor
- 1978 – Guy Berryman, British musician (Coldplay)
- 1978 – Riley Smith, American actor
- 1979 – Claire Danes, American actress
- 1979 – Jordan De Jong, American baseball player
- 1979 – Elena Grosheva, Russian gymnast
- 1979 – Mateja Kežman, Serbian footballer
- 1979 – Jennifer Morrison, American actress and model
- 1979 – Paul Nicholls, English actor
- 1979 – Cristian Ranalli, Italian footballer
- 1980 – Brian McFadden, Irish singer
- 1980 – Erik Mongrain, Canadian musician
- 1981 – Nicolás Burdisso, Argentine footballer
- 1981 – Brian Vandborg, Danish cyclist
- 1982 – Deen, Bosnian singer
- 1983 – Jelena Dokić, Serbian/Australian tennis player
- 1983 – Dwayne Smith, West Indian cricketer
- 1985 – Jeisa Chiminazzo, Brazilian supermodel
- 1985 – Ted Ginn, Jr., American football player
- 1985 – Paul Murphy, Irish footballer
- 1985 – Anna-Katharina Samsel, German actress
- 1985 – Olga Seryabkina, Russian singer
- 1985 – Hitomi Yoshizawa, Japanese singer
- 1986 – Blerim Džemaili, Swiss footballer
- 1987 – Brendon Urie, American musician (Panic at the Disco)
- 1987 – Brooklyn Decker, American model and actress
- 1988 – Amedeo Calliari, Italian footballer
- 1994 – Saoirse Ronan, Irish actress
- 1994 – Airi Suzuki, Japanese singer
- 2000 – Suzanna von Nathusius, Polish child actress
Deaths
- 45 BC – Gnaeus Pompeius, the Younger, Roman general
- 65 – Seneca the Younger, Roman philosopher, statesman and dramatist
- 238 – Gordian I, Roman Emperor
- 238 – Gordian II, heir to the Roman Empire
- 352 – St. Julius I, 35th Pope
- 434 – Archbishop Maximianus of Constantinople
- 1125 – Vladislaus I of Bohemia (b. 1065)
- 1443 – Henry Chichele, Archbishop of Canterbury
- 1550 – Claude, Duke of Guise, French soldier (b. 1496)
- 1555 – Juana of Castile, wife of Philip I of Castile (b. 1479)
- 1675 – Richard Bennett, British Colonial Governor of Virginia (b. 1609)
- 1684 – Nicolò Amati, Italian luthier from Cremona, a member of the Amati family (b. 1596)
- 1687 – Ambrose Dixon, Virginia Colony pioneer
- 1704 – Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet, French bishop and writer (b. 1627)
- 1748 – William Kent, English architect
- 1782 – Metastasio, Italian poet and librettist (b. 1698)
- 1788 – Carlo Antonio Campioni, French-born composer (b. 1719)
- 1795 – Johann Kaspar Basselet von La Rosée, Bavarian general (b. 1710)
- 1814 – Charles Burney, English music historian (b. 1726)
- 1817 – Charles Messier, French astronomer (b. 1730)
- 1850 – Adoniram Judson, American Baptist missionary (b. 1788)
- 1872 – Nikolaos Mantzaros, Greek composer (b. 1795)
- 1878 – William Marcy Tweed, aka Boss Tweed, American politician (b. 1823)
- 1898 – Elzéar-Alexandre Taschereau, Roman Catholic archbishop of Quebec (b. 1820)
- 1902 – Marie Alfred Cornu, French physicist (b. 1842)
- 1912 – Clara Barton, American nurse and Red Cross advocate (b. 1821)
- 1933 – Adelbert Ames, American general, 27th and 30th Governor of Mississippi (b. 1835)
- 1938 – Feodor Chaliapin, Russian bass (b. 1873)
- 1945 – Franklin D. Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States (b. 1882)
- 1962 – Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya, Indian politician and engineer (b. 1861)
- 1962 – Ron Flockhart, Scottish racing driver (b. 1923)
- 1968 – Heinrich Nordhoff, German automobile engineer and Volkswagen director (b. 1899)
- 1971 – Ed Lafitte, American baseball player (b. 1871)
- 1971 – Wynton Kelly, American jazz pianist (b. 1931)
- 1975 – Josephine Baker, American dancer (b. 1906)
- 1977 – Phil Wrigley, American manufacturer and baseball executive (b. 1894)
- 1980 – Clark McConachy, New Zealand billiards and snooker player (b. 1895)
- 1980 – William R. Tolbert, Jr., President of Liberia (b. 1913)
- 1981 – Joe Louis, American boxer (b. 1914)
- 1983 – Carl Morton, American baseball player (b. 1944)
- 1984 – Edwin T. Layton, American naval officer (b. 1903)
- 1986 – Valentin Kataev, Russian writer (b. 1897)
- 1987 – Mike Von Erich, American wrestler (b. 1964)
- 1988 – Alan Paton, South African writer (b. 1903)
- 1989 – Gerald Flood, British actor (b. 1927)
- 1989 – Abbie Hoffman, American political leader (b. 1936)
- 1989 – Sugar Ray Robinson, American boxer (b. 1921)
- 1999 – Boxcar Willie, American singer (b. 1931)
- 2000 – Rajkumar, Kannada Artist, Natasarvaboma
- 2001 – Harvey Ball, American inventor (b. 1921)
- 2002 – George Shevelov, Ukrainian-American linguist, Harvard professor. (b. 1908)
- 2003 – Cecil H. Green, British-born American geophysicist (b. 1900)
- 2003 – Sydney Lassick, American actor (b. 1922)
- 2006 – Dr. Rajkumar, Indian film actor/singer (b. 1929)
- 2006 – Puggy Pearson, American poker player (b. 1929)
- 2006 – William Sloane Coffin, American clergyman (b. 1924)
- 2007 – Kevin Crease, Australian TV anchor (b. 1936)
- 2008 – Patrick Hillery, Irish politician (b. 1923)
- 2008 – Cecilia Colledge, British ice skater and Olympian (b. 1920)
- 2008 – Jerry Zucker, Israeli-born American businessman (b. 1949)
- 2009 – Marilyn Chambers, American pornographic actress (b. 1952)
- 2010 – Palito, Filipino comedian (b. 1934)
Holidays and observances
External links
