On this day in History - May 12

254AD - St. Stephen I[Papa Estêvão I] began his reign as the 23rd Catholic Pope. According to the "Liber Pontificalis" he instituted the rule that clerics should wear special clothes at their ministrations.
1003 - Pope Silvester II dies
1012 - Pope Sergius IV dies
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.
1490 - Santa Joana, filha de D. Afonso V, falece no convento de Aveiro (n. 6 Fev 1452). Princesa de Portugal.
1496 - Gustav I of Sweden was born (d. 1560)
1500 - Pedro Álvares Cabral parte para a Índia.
1539 - El gobernador de Cuba, Hernaldo de Soto, parte de La Habana con la empresa de conquistar Florida.
1551 - National University of San Marcos, the oldest university in South America, was founded in Lima, Peru.
1588 - French Wars of Religion: Henry III of France flees Paris after Henry of Guise enters the city.
1590 - Cosimo II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany was born (d. 1621)
1641 - Thomas Wentworth, Earl of Strafford dies (b. 1593)
1670 - King Frederick Augustus I of Poland was born (d. 1733)
1684 - Edme Mariotte dies (b. 1620). French physicist and priest.
1689 - King William's War: William III of England joins the League of Augsburg starting a war with France.
1700 - John Dryden, dies (b. 1631). English writer.
1733 - Maria Theresa was crowned queen of Bohemia in Prague.
1769 - Alvará régio português que combate a consolidação dos prazos das igrejas (legislação sobre a enfiteuse).
1776 - Nacia José de La Mar, Presidente del Perú.
1780 - American Revolutionary War: Charleston, South Carolina is taken by British forces.
1797 - First Coalition: Napoleon I of France conquers Venice.
1803 - A guerra recomeça na Europa, com a denúncia do Tratado de Amiens, assinado em 1801.
1803 - Justus von Liebig, was born (d. 1873). Chemist.
1816 - Nasceu Lord Grimthorpe, desenhador do Big Ben.
1820 - Florence Nightingale, was born in Florence, UItaly (d. 1910). Crimean War nurse known as “Lady with the Lamp,”. She is also known as the founder of modern nursing.
1828 - Dante Gabriel Rossetti, was born (d. 1882). English poet and painter.
1832 - Gaetano Donizetti's opera "L'elisir d'amore," premiered in Milan.
1845 - Gabriel Fauré, was born (d. 1924). Composer.
1845 - János Bacsanyi, dies (b. 1763). Hungarian poet.
1850 - Henry Cabot Lodge, was born (d. 1924). U.S. statesman.
1864 - American Civil War: Battle of Spotsylvania Court House: Thousands of Union and Confederate soldiers die in "the Bloody Angle".
1867 - Friedrich William Eduard Gerhard, dies (b. 1795). German archaeologist.
1870 - Manitoba becomes a province of Canada.
1873 - Oscar II of Sweden-Norway is crowned King of Sweden.
1880 - Lincoln Ellsworth - was born (d. 1951). American scientist and polar explorer.
1881 - In North Africa, Tunisia becomes a French protectorate (The Treaty of Bardo)
1884 - Bedřich Smetana, dies (b. 1824). Czech composer.
1885 - North-West Rebellion: The four-day Battle of Batoche, pitting rebel French Canadians against the Canadian government, comes to an end with a decisive rebel defeat. against the Canadian government, comes to an end with a decisive rebel defeat.
1886 - Numa Convenção luso-francesa, foram definidas as fronteiras entre Angola e o Congo francês
1889 - Otto Frank, was born (d. 1980). Writer, father of Anne Frank
1889 - John Cadbury, dies (b. 1801). Chocolate entrepreneur.
1890 - The first-ever official County Championship match begins. Yorkshire beat Gloucestershire by eight wickets at Bristol. George Ulyett scores the first century in the competition.
1891 - Nace en Olinalá, Guerrero, Juan Andrew Almazán, quien en 1911 se pronunciará contra el maderismo para unirse a Zapata.En 1940 será candidato a la Presidencia de la República, junto con el general Manuel Ávila Camacho, quien resultará ganador.
1892 - Fritz Kortner, was born (d. 1970). Director.
1899 - Indra Devi, was born (d. 2002). Yogi.
1899 - Nace en Guaymas, Sonora, Abelardo L. Rodríguez, quien habrá de distinguirse como revolucionario y político. En 1928 ascenderá a general de división y será Presidente de la República de septiembre de 1933 a noviembre de 1934.
1900 - Helene Weigel, was born (d. 1971). Actress.
1902 - Heinrich Kirchner, German sculptor, was born.
1907 - Katharine Hepburn, was born (d. 2003). Actress.
1907 - Leslie Charteris [Leslie Charles Bowyer Yin] was born in Singapore (d. 15 Apr 1993). English author (The Saint).
1907 - Joris-Karl Huysmans, dies (b. 1848). French author.
1908 - Muere en la ciudad de México, donde naciera en 1838, el distinguido compositor musical Melesio Morales, iniciador en el país de la escuela italiana. Indirectamente fue el creador del Conservatorio Nacional de Música
1910 - Charles B. Fulton, was born (d. 1996). American jurist.
1910 - Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin, was born (d. 1994). Chemist.
1911 - El aviador y constructor de aviones francés Edouard Nieuport logra la plusmarca de velocidad en el aire al alcanzar 120 kilómetros por hora.
1912 - Archibald Cox, was born. U.S. Solicitor General and Watergate special prosecutor
1914 - Howard K. Smith, was born (d. 2002). Journalist.
1918 - Julius Rosenberg, was born (d. 1953). Spy.
1921 - Fallece la escritora Emilia Pardo Bazán.
1921 - Joseph Beuys, was born (d. 1986). Artist.
1921 - Farley Mowat, was born. Writer, naturalist.
1924 - Tony Hancock, was born (d. 1968). Comedian.
1925 - Yogi Berra, was born. Baseball Hall of Famer
1925 - Paul von Hindenburg substitui Walter Simons na presidência da Alemanha.
1925 - Amy Lowell, dies (b. 1874). Poet.
1926 - UK General Strike 1926: In the United Kingdom, a 9-day general strike by trade unions ends.
1926 - Umberto Nobile, Amundsen y Ellsworth sobrevuelan el Polo Norte con el dirigible Norge.
1928 - Burt Bacharach,was born. Composer .
1929 - Nascia Sam Nujoma. Político namibio.
1929 - Nascia Einar Arnaldur Melax. Músico e compositor islandés.
1930 - A Pulitzer prize was awarded to Marc Connelly (Green Pastures).
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 Lindbergh's home.
1934 - "Cocktails For Two" by Duke Ellington hit #1.
1935 - Felipe Alou, was born. Major League Baseball manager.
1935 - Jósef Piłsudski, dies (b. 1867). Poland statesman.
1936 - Frank Stella, was born. Painter
1936 - Tom Snyder, was born. Journalist, TV personality
1936 - Las cortes aprueban la elección de Manuel Azaña como presidente de la República española.
1937 - Coronation of King George VI of Britain at Westminster Abbey after Edward VIII abdication.
1937 - George Carlin, was born. Comedian .
1942 - Ian Dury, was born (d. 2000). Rock star.
1942 - World War II: Second Battle of Kharkov - In the eastern Ukraine, the Soviet Army initiates a major offensive. During the battle the Soviets will capture the city of Kharkov from the German Army, only to be encircled and destroyed.
1942 - 1,500 Jews were gassed in Auschwitz.
1944 - Max Brand, dies. Author.
1944 - Q, dies (b. 1863). British writer.
1948 - Steve Winwood, was born. Singer ("Blind Faith", "Traffic")
1949 - Cold War: The Soviet Union lifts its Blockade of Berlin.
1950 - Bruce Boxleitner, was born. Actor
1950 - Billy Squier, was born. Singer/songwriter
1950 - Gabriel Byrne, was born. Actor.
1951 - Estados Unidos hace explotar la primera “Bomba-H” sobre las islas Marshall, ubicadas en el Océano Pacífico.
1955 - Kix Brooks, was born. Musician
1956 - Louis Calhern, dies (b. 1895). Film actor.
1957 - Erik von Stronheim, dies of cancer, in Paris (b. 1885) . Austrian-US actor and director. His films included "Grand Illusion", "The Merry Widow" and "Greed". In 2000 Arthur Lennig published the biography "Stroheim".
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 West Point.
1962 - Emilio Estevez, was born. Actor
1963 - Vanessa Williams, was born. Actress
1963 - Bobby Kerr, dies (b. 1882). Canadian runner.
1964 - Brett Gurewitz, was born. Guitarist for Bad Religion and NOFX
1965 - The Soviet spacecraft Luna 5 crashes on the Moon.
1966 - Busch Memorial Stadium, home of the St. Louis Cardinals major league baseball team, opens in St. Louis, Missouri.
1966 - Stephen Baldwin, was born. Actor
1967 - At Queen Elizabeth Hall, England, Pink Floyd stages the first-ever quadraphonic rock concert.
1967 - John Masefield, dies (b. 1878). British writer.
1968 - Tony Hawk, was born. Skateboarding legend
1969 - Kim Fields, was born. Actress
1970 - Mike Weir, was born. Canadian golfer, 2003 Masters champion
1971 - Heinie Manush, dies (b. 1901). Baseball Hall of Famer.
1972 - Chile: Salvador Allende nacionaliza la compañía norteamericana ITT.
1975 - Jonah Lomu, was born. New Zealand rugby player
1977 - Graeme Dott, was born. Scottish snooker player
1978 - Jason Biggs, was born. Actor (American Pie)
1995 - Jean Carlos Chera, was born. Brazilian football prodigy
1995 - Sawyer Sweeten, was born. Actor.
1995 - Sullivan Sweeten, was born. Actor.
1971 - Comienza a funcionar el primer radiotelescopio del mundo en la RFA.
1972 - The Rolling Stones release Exile On Main Street, often considered their best album.
1975 - Mayagüez incident: The Cambodian navy seizes the American merchant ship SS Mayaguez in international waters.
1977 - Portugal e Israel estabeleceram relações diplomáticas
1978 - In Zaire, rebels occupy the city of Kolwezi, the mining center of the province of Shaba. The government of Zaire asks the U.S., France and Belgium to restore order.
1982 - In Fatima, Portugal, security guards overpowered a Spanish priest armed with a bayonet who was trying to reach Pope John Paul II.
1985 - Jean Dubuffet, dies (b. 1901). Painter.
1986 - Elisabeth Bergner, dies (b. 1897). Actress.
1986 - Muere Alicia Moreau de Justo, periodista y política argentina, esposa del médico y político socialista Juan B. Justo.
1987 - Doble operación de trasplante en Baltimore (EEUU): el corazón de un hombre vivo de 28 años es injertado en otro enfermo cardíaco y el donante recibe el pulmón y corazón de una víctima de accidente de tráfico.
1989 - A Southern Pacific Railroad freight train derails on Duffy Street on the very steep Cajon Pass in San Bernardino, California
1992 - Robert Reed, dies (b. 1932). Actor.
1994 - John Smith, dies (b. 1938). British politician.
1995 - El actor, escritor y director de cine Fernando Fernán-Gómez es galardonado con el Premio Príncipe de Asturias de las Artes.
1995 - El actor, escritor y director de cine Fernando Fernán-Gómez es galardonado con el Premio Príncipe de Asturias de las Artes.
1999 - David Steel becomes the first Presiding Officer (speaker) of the modern Scottish Parliament.
1999 - In Russia Pres. Yeltsin fired Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov and named Sergei Stepashin, a top police official, to head a new government.
2000 - The Tate Modern art gallery opens in London.
2000 - Adam Petty, dies (b. 1980). Race car driver.
2001 - Perry Como, dies (b. 1912). Singer.
2001 - Dave Benton win the forty-sixth Eurovision Song Contest for Estonia singing "Everybody".
2002 - Former 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 - Sadruddin Aga Khan, dies.
2004 - A wildlife group warned that world cod stocks were falling and could be wiped out in 15 years if the current rate of over fishing continues (Lá se vai o nosso "bacalhauzinho").
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (1965 - 1977).
Israel - Yom Ha'atzma'ut (Israeli Independence Day) for 2005: the observed date of this national holiday is determined by the Jewish Calendar.
International Nursing Day.