February 12

Events

*1429 - English Forces under Sir John Fastolf defend a supply convoy carrying rations to the army besieging Orleans from attack by the Comte de Clermont and John Stuart in the Battle of Rouvray (also known as the Battle of the Herrings).
*1502 - Vasco da Gama sets sail from Lisbon, Portugal on his second voyage to India.
*1541 - Santiago, Chile is founded by Pedro de Valdivia.
*1554 - A year after claiming the throne of England for nine days, Lady Jane Grey is beheaded for treason.
*1689 - The Convention Parliament convenes and declares that the flight to France in 1688 by James II, the last Roman Catholic British monarch, constitutes an abdication.
*1700 - The Great Northern War begins in Northern Europe.
*1719 - The Onderlinge van 1719 u.a., the oldest existing life insurance company in the Netherlands is founded.
*1733 - Englishman James Oglethorpe founds the 13th United States colony of Georgia, and its first city at Savannah (known as Georgia Day).
*1771 - Gustav III becomes the King of Sweden.
*1816 - The San Carlo, the oldest working opera house in Europe, is destroyed by fire.
*1817 - Argentine/Chilean patriotic army, after crossing the Andes, defeat Spanish troops on the battle of Chacabuco.
*1818 - Bernardo O'Higgins signs the Independence of Chile near Concepción.
*1825 - The Creek cede the last of their lands in Georgia to the United States government, and migrate west.
*1832 - Ecuador annexes the Galápagos Islands.
*1855 - Michigan State University was established.
*1870 - Women gain the right to vote in Utah Territory.
*1879 - At New York City's Madison Square Garden the first artificial ice rink in North America opens.
*1894 - Anarchist Émile Henry hurls a bomb into Paris's Cafe Terminus, killing one and wounding 20.
*1909 - The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is founded.
*1912 - Xuantong Emperor of the Manchu Qing dynasty, the last Emperor of China, abdicates.
* 1912 - The Republic of China adopts the Gregorian calendar.
*1914 - In Washington, DC, the first stone of the Lincoln Memorial is put into place.
* 1924 - Calvin Coolidge becomes the first President of the United States to deliver a political speech on radio.
*1934 - The Austrian Civil War begins.
* 1934 - The Export-Import Bank of the United States is incorporated.
* 1934 - In Spain the national council of "Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional-Sindicalista" is inaugurated. The council decides to merge the movement with the "Falange Española".
*1946 - World War II: Operation Deadlight ends after scuttling 121 of 154 captured U-boats.
*1961 - U.S.S.R. launches Venera 1 towards Venus.
*1966 - Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, announced famous "Six Points" in Karachi as election manifesto of Awami League that later led to formation of Bangladesh.
* 1973 - Vietnam War: The first United States prisoners of war are released by the Viet Cong.
*1990 - Carmen Lawrence becomes the first female Premier in Australian History when she becomes premier of Western Australia.
*1997 - Hwang Jang-yop, secretary in the Workers' Party of Korea and a prime architect of North Korea's Juche doctrine, defects at the South Korean embassy in Beijing along with his aide, Kim Dok-hong.
*1999 - President Bill Clinton is acquitted by the United States Senate in his impeachment trial.
*2001 - NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft touchdown in the "saddle" region of 433 Eros becoming the first spacecraft to land on an asteroid.
*2002 - The trial of former President of Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Slobodan Milošević begins at the United Nations war crimes tribunal in The Hague. He eventually dies four years later before its conclusion.
* 2002 - US Secretary of Energy makes the decision that Yucca Mountain is suitable to be the United States' nuclear waste repository.
* 2002 - An Iran Air Tupolev Tu-154 crashes prior to landing in Khorramabad, Iran, killing 119.
*2004 - The city of San Francisco, California begins issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples in response to a directive from Mayor Gavin Newsom.
*2006 - A powerful winter storm blankets the Northeastern United States dumping 1 to 2 feet of snow from Washington DC up to Boston, Massachusetts. The storm dumped a record 26.9 inches of snow in New York City.
*2007 - A gunman opens fire in a mall in Salt Lake City, killing 5 people in the Trolley Square shooting.

Births

*1074 - Conrad, King of Germany and Italy (d. 1101)
*1218 - Kujo Yoritsune, Japanese shogun (d. 1256)
*1567 - Thomas Campion, English composer and poet (d. 1620)
*1606 - John Winthrop, the Younger, Governor of Connecticut (d. 1676)
*1637 - Jan Swammerdam, Dutch biologist (d. 1680)
*1663 - Cotton Mather, New England minister (d. 1728)
*1665 - Rudolf Jakob Camerarius, German botanist and physician (d. 1721)
*1704 - Charles Pinot Duclos, French writer (d. 1772)
*1728 - Étienne-Louis Boullée, French architect (d. 1799)
*1746 - Tadeusz Kościuszko (Thaddeus Kosciusko), Polish, Belarusian and Lithuanian national hero and general (d.1817)
*1753 - François-Paul Brueys D'Aigalliers, French admiral (d. 1798)
*1768 - Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1835)
*1775 - Louisa Adams, First Lady of the United States, wife of John Quincy Adams (d. 1852)
*1777 - Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué, German poet (d. 1843)
*1785 - Pierre Louis Dulong, French physicist (d. 1838)
*1788 - Carl Reichenbach, German chemist and philosopher (d. 1869)
*1791 - Peter Cooper, American Industrialist, inventor and philanthropist (d. 1883)
*1794 - Alexander Petrov, Russian chess player (d. 1867)
*1804 - Heinrich Lenz, German physicist (d. 1865)
*1809 - Charles Darwin, English naturalist (d. 1882)
* 1809 - Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States (d. 1865)
*1828 - George Meredith, English writer (d. 1909)
*1843 - John Graham Chambers, English athlete who wrote the Queensberry rules for boxing (d. 1883)
*1857 - Bobby Peel, English cricketer (d. 1943)
*1861 - Lou Andreas-Salome, Russian-born author (d. 1937)
*1865 - Kazimierz Tetmajer, Polish poet and writer (d. 1940)
*1870 - Marie Lloyd, English music-hall performer (d. 1922)
*1876 - Thubten Gyatso, 13th Dalai Lama (d. 1933)
*1880 - John L. Lewis, American labor union leader (d. 1969)
*1881 - Anna Pavlova, Russian ballerina (d. 1931)
*1884 - Max Beckmann, German artist (d. 1950)
* 1884 - Marie Vassilieff, Russian artist (d. 1957)
* 1884 - Johan Laidoner, Estonian military commander (d. 1953)
*1885 - Julius Streicher, Nazi German publisher (d. 1946)
*1893 - Omar Bradley, American general (d. 1981)
*1897 - Vola Vale, American actress (d. 1970)
*1898 - Wallace Ford, English-born actor (d. 1966)
*1900 - Roger J. Traynor, American judge (d. 1980)
*1902 - William Collier, American stage and film actor (d. 1987)
*1903 - Chick Hafey, baseball player (d. 1973)
* 1903 - Joseph F. Biroc, American cinematographer (d. 1996)
*1904 - Ted Mack, American television host (d. 1976)
*1907 - Clifton C. Edom, American photojournalism educator (d. 1991)
*1908 - Jacques Herbrand, French logician and mathematician (d. 1931)
* 1908 - Jean Effel, French painter and journalist (d. 1982)
* 1908 - August Neo, Estonian wrestler (d. 1982)
*1909 - Sigmund Rascher, German SS doctor (d. 1945)
*1911 - Stephen H. Sholes, American recording executive (d. 1968)
*1912 - R. F. Delderfield, English author (d. 1972)
*1914 - Tex Beneke, American musician and band leader (d. 2000)
* 1914 - Arvid Pardo, Maltese diplomat, a.k.a "Father of the Law of the Sea Conference" (d. 1999)
*1915 - Lorne Greene, American actor (d. 1987)
*1916 - Joseph Alioto, Mayor of San Francisco (d. 1998)
*1917 - Raizo Matsuno, Japanese politician (d. 2006)
*1918 - Julian Schwinger, American physicist, Nobel laureate (d. 1994)
*1919 - Forrest Tucker, American actor (d. 1986)
*1920 - William Roscoe Estep, Baptist historian and professor (d. 2000)
* 1920 - Pran, Indian actor
*1923 - Franco Zeffirelli, Italian film and opera director and designer
* 1923 - Chaskel Besser, Orthodox rabbi
*1925 - Sir Anthony Berry, British politician (d. 1984)
*1926 - Joe Garagiola, American baseball player and announcer
* 1926 - Charles Van Doren, American quiz show contestant
*1930 - Arlen Specter, U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania
*1931 - Janwillem van de Wetering, Dutch author
*1932 - Axel Jensen, Norwegian author (d. 2003)
* 1932 - Julian Lincoln Simon, American economist and author (d. 1998)
*1934 - Anne Krueger, American economist
* 1934 - Bill Russell, American basketball player
* 1934 - Annette Crosbie, Scottish actress
*1935 - Gene McDaniels, American singer
*1936 - Joe Don Baker, American actor
* 1936 - Paul Shenar, American actor
*1937 - Charles Dumas, American athlete (d. 2004)
*1938 - Judy Blume, American author
* 1938 - Johnny Rutherford, American race car driver
* 1938 - Peter Temple-Morris, Baron Temple-Morris, British politician
*1939 - Ray Manzarek, American keyboardist (The Doors)
*1940 - Richard Lynch, American actor
*1941 - Naomi Uemura, Japanese adventurer
*1942 - Ehud Barak, Prime Minister of Israel
* 1942 - Pat Dobson, American baseball player (d. 2006)
*1944 - Moe Bandy, American singer
*1945 - Maud Adams, Swedish actress
* 1945 - David Friedman, American economist
*1946 - Cliff DeYoung, American actor and musician
* 1946 - Jean Eyeghe Ndong, Prime Minister of Gabon
* 1946 - Ajda Pekkan, Turkish singer
*1947 - Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, Indian leader of Damdami Taksal (d. 1984)
*1948 - Raymond Kurzweil, American inventor and author
* 1948 - Mike Robitaille, Canadian ice hockey player
*1949 - Joaquín Sabina, Spanish singer and songwriter
*1950 - Michael Ironside, Canadian actor
* 1950 - Steve Hackett, English guitarist (Genesis)
*1951 - Steven Parent, Manson murder victim (d. 1969)
*1952 - Michael McDonald, American musician
* 1952 - Simon MacCorkindale, British actor
*1953 - Joanna Kerns, American actress
* 1953 - Nabil Shaban, British actor
* 1953 - Robin Thomas, American actor
*1954 - Tzimis Panousis, Greek musician and stand-up comedian
*1954 - Philip Zimmermann, American cryptographer
*1955 - Arsenio Hall, American actor and talk show host
* 1955 - Bill Laswell, American bassist and record producer
* 1955 - Chet Lemon, American baseball player
*1956 - Brian Robertson, Scottish musician (Thin Lizzy and Motörhead)
*1958 - Grant McLennan, Australian musician (The Go-Betweens) (d. 2006)
* 1958 - Bobby Smith, Canadian ice hockey player
*1959 - Sigrid Thornton, Australian actress
* 1959 - Larry Nance, American basketball player
*1961 - Jim Harris, Canadian politician
*1962 - Jimmy Kirkwood, Irish-born field hockey player
*1963 - John Michael Higgins, American actor
* 1963 - Ed Lover, American radio personality
*1967 - Chris McKinstry, Canadian computer scientist
* 1967 - Chitravina N. Ravikiran, Indian composer and musician
*1968 - Josh Brolin, American actor
* 1968 - Grégory Charles, French Canadian singer, dancer, pianist, radio and television host
* 1968 - Christopher McCandless, American nomad, subject of biography "Into the Wild" (d. 1992)
* 1968 - Chynna Phillips, American singer
*1969 - Darren Aronofsky, American director and writer
* 1969 - Hong Myung-Bo, Korean footballer
* 1969 - Meja, Swedish singer
* 1969 - Brad Werenka, Canadian ice hockey player
*1970 - Jim Creeggan, Canadian bassist (Barenaked Ladies)
* 1970 - Judd Winick, writer and artist
*1972 - Ajay Naidu, Indian-American actor
* 1972 - Owen Nolan, Canadian ice hockey player
*1973 - Gianni Romme, Dutch speed skater
* 1973 - Kath Soucie, American voice actress
* 1973 - Tara Strong, Canadian voice actress
*1974 - Toranosuke Takagi, Japanese race car driver
* 1974 - Fonzworth Bentley, American hip-hop artist
*1975 - Scot Pollard, American basketball player
*1976 - Anna Benson, American model
* 1976 - Christian Cullen, New Zealand rugby union footballer
* 1976 - Silvia Saint, Czech actress
*1977 - Jimmy Conrad, American soccer player
*1978 - Brett Hodgson, Australian rugby league footballer
* 1978 - Gethin Jones, British (Welsh) television presenter
* 1978 - Silver Meikar, Estonian politician
*1979 - Antonio Chatman, National Football League runningback
* 1979 - Matt Mauck, American football player
* 1979 - Jesse Spencer, Australian actor
*1980 - Juan Carlos Ferrero, Spanish tennis player
* 1980 - Sarah Lancaster, American actress
* 1980 - Christina Ricci, American actress
*1982 - Onil Joseph, Dominican baseball player
* 1982 - Louis Tsatoumas, Greek long jumper
*1983 - Carlton Brewster, National Football League player
*1984 - Peter Vanderkaay, American mid-distance swimmer
* 1984 - Brad Keselowski, NASCAR Nationwide Series Driver
*1984 - Lolly Badcock, English pornographic actress
*1985 - Saskia Burmeister Croft, Australian actress
*1991 - Faisal ibn Hamad Al Khalifah, prince of Bahrain (d. 2006)
*1993 - Jennifer Stone, American actress

Deaths

*1538 - Albrecht Altdorfer, German painter
*1554 - Lord Guilford Dudley, consort of Lady Jane Grey (b. 1536)
* 1554 - Lady Jane Grey, claimant to the English throne (b. 1537)
*1571 - Nicholas Throckmorton, English diplomat and politician (b. 1515)
*1590 - François Hotman, French lawyer and writer (b. 1524)
*1595 - Archduke Ernest of Austria, Governor of the Spanish Netherlands (b. 1553)
*1612 - Christopher Clavius, German astronomer (b. 1538)
*1624 - George Heriot, Scottish goldsmith and philanthropist (b. 1563)
*1630 - Fynes Moryson, English traveler and writer (b. 1566)
*1700 - Aleksei Shein, Russian general and statesman (b. 1662)
*1724 - Elkanah Settle, English writer (b. 1648)
*1728 - Agostino Steffani, Italian diplomat and composer (b. 1653)
*1762 - Laurent Belissen, French composer (b. 1693)
*1763 - Pierre de Marivaux, French writer (b. 1688)
*1771 - King Adolf Frederick of Sweden (b. 1710)
*1789 - Ethan Allen, American patriot (b. 1738)
*1799 - Lazzaro Spallanzani, Italian biologist (b. 1729)
*1804 - Immanuel Kant, German philosopher (b. 1724)
*1894 - Hans von Bülow, German pianist and composer (b. 1830)
*1896 - Ambroise Thomas, French opera composer (b. 1811)
*1903 - Gaspar Núñez de Arce, Spanish dramatist and statesman (b. 1834)
*1915 - Émile Waldteufel, French composer (b. 1837)
*1916 - Richard Dedekind, German mathematician (b. 1831)
*1929 - Lillie Langtry, British singer and actress (b. 1853)
*1931 - Samedbey Mehmandarov, Russian general (b. 1855)
*1933 - Henri Duparc, French composer (b. 1848)
*1935 - Auguste Escoffier, French chef (b. 1846)
*1945 - Antonio Villa-Real, Filipino jurist (b. 1880)
*1949 - Hassan al Banna, Egyptian founder of the Muslim Brotherhood (b. 1906)
*1951 - Choudhary Rehmat Ali, Pakistani nationalist (b. 1897)
*1954 - Dziga Vertov, Russian filmmaker (b. 1896)
*1957 - Eric Alfred Knudsen, American folklorist (b. 1872)
*1958 - Douglas Hartree, English mathematical physicist (b.1897)
*1971 - James C. Penney, American department store founder (b. 1875)
*1976 - Sal Mineo, American actor (b. 1939)
*1979 - Jean Renoir, French director (b. 1894)
*1980 - Muriel Rukeyser, American poet (b. 1913)
*1982 - Victor Jory, Canadian actor (b. 1902)
*1983 - Eubie Blake, American musician and songwriter (b. 1887)
*1984 - Anna Anderson, claimant to the throne of Russia (b. 1896)
* 1984 - Julio Cortázar, Argentine writer (b. 1914)
*1985 - Nicholas Colasanto, American actor (b. 1924)
*1989 - Thomas Bernhard, Austrian playwright and novelist (b. 1931)
*1991 - Roger Patterson, American death metal bass player (b. 1968)
*1992 - Bep van Klaveren, Dutch boxer (b. 1907)
*1993 - James Bulger, English murder victim (b. 1990)
*1994 - Sue Rodriguez, Canadian assisted suicide advocate (b. 1950)
*1995 - Robert Bolt, English writer (b. 1924)
* 1995 - Philip Taylor Kramer, American musician (Iron Butterfly) (b. 1952)
*1996 - Bob Shaw, Northern Irish novelist (b. 1931)
*2000 - Screamin' Jay Hawkins, American musician (b. 1929)
* 2000 - Tom Landry, American football coach (b. 1924)
* 2000 - Andy Lewis, Australian musician (b. 1967)
* 2000 - Charles Schulz, American comics author (b. 1922)
* 2000 - Oliver, American pop singer (b. 1945)
*2001 - Kristina Söderbaum, German actress (b. 1912)
*2003 - Vali Myers, Australian painter (b. 1930)
*2005 - Rafael Vidal, Venezuelan athlete (b. 1964)
* 2005 - Sammi Smith, American country music singer (b. 1943)
*2007 - Peggy Gilbert, American jazz saxophonist and bandleader (b. 1905)
* 2007 - Randy Stone, American actor and casting director (b. 1958)
*2008 - Oscar Brodney, American screenwriter (b. 1907)

Holidays and observances

*United States - Lincoln's Birthday
*Georgia Day in the U.S. state of Georgia
*National Freedom to Marry Day (unofficial)
*Darwin Day
*Red Hand DayIn the Roman Catholic Church:
*Saint Benedict of Aniane
*Saint Damian of Alexandria
*Saint Julian the HospitallerIn the Eastern Orthodox Churches:
* February 12 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

External links

* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/february/12 BBC: On This Day]
*
* [http://www1.sympatico.ca/cgi-bin/on_this_day?mth=Feb&day=12 On This Day in Canada] ----