On this day in History - Nov. 12

• 0607 - Pope Boniface III dies.
• 0655 - Saint Martin dies (b. 0590). Pope.
• 0764 - Tibetan troops occupy Chang'an, the capital of the Chinese Tang Dynasty, for fifteen days.
• 1028 - Future Byzantine empress Zoe marries Romanus Argyrus according to the wishes of dying Constantine VIII
• 1035 - Canute the Great dies at 41. King of the Danes (1016-1035).
• 1094 - King Duncan II of Scotland dies (b. 1060).
• 1202 - Canute VI dies (b. 1163). King of Denmark.
• 1381 - Adolphus, Count of Cleves, institutes the Order of Fools.
• 1434 - King Louis III of Naples dies.
• 1439 - Plymouth, England, becomes the first town incorporated by the English Parliament.
• 1459 - University of Basel, Switzerland, chartered.
• 1493 - Bartolommeo Bandinelli was born (d. 1560). Italian sculptor.
• 1494 - Revolt of Pisa from Florentine rule.
• 1528 - Qi Jiguang was born (d. 1588). Chinese general.
• 1547 - Claude of Valois was born (d. 1575). French princess.
• 1555 - The English Parliament re-establishes Catholicism.
• 1555 - Stephen Gardiner dies. English stateman.
• 1567 - Anne de Montmorency dies (b. 1493). Constable of France.
• 1595 - John Hawkins dies (b. 1532). English shipbuilder and trader.
• 1606 - Jeanne Mance was born (d. 1673). French Canadian settler.
• 1606 - St. Nicholas Owen dies. One of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales
• 1609 - Opening and closing times of plays regulated in Paris.
• 1614 - Treaty of Xantem Guliks-Kleefse War victory ends.
• 1615 - Richard Baxter was born (d. 1691). English clergyman.
• 1642 - Charles I and the Royalist Army arrive at Brentford, England.
• 1648 - Sor Juana Inies de La Cruz was born (or 1651 according to some sources) (d. 1695). Mexican poet, nun and feminist (Primer Sueno).
• 1651 - Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz was born (d. 1695). Mexican mystic and author.
• 1667 - Hans Nansen dies (b. 1598). Danish statesman.
• 1671 - Thomas Fairfax dies (b. 1612). English Civil War general.
• 1722 - Adriaen van der Werff dies. Dutch painter and architect.
• 1729 - Louis Antoine de Bougainville was born (d. 1811). French explorer.
• 1729 - Francisco Xavier Alegre was born. Mexican historian.
• 1742 - Friedrich Hoffmann dies (b. 1660). German physician and chemist.
• 1746 - Jacques Charles was born (d. 1823). French chemist.
• 1755 - Gerhard von Scharnhorst was born (d. 1813). Prussian general.
• 1757 - Colley Cibber dies (b. 1671). English poet.
• 1793 - Jean Sylvain Bailly, first Mayor of Paris, dies guillotined.
• 1795 - Thaddeus William Harris was born (d. 1856). American naturalist.
• 1815 - Elizabeth Cady Stanton was born (d. 1902). American women's rights activist.
• 1817 - Bahá'u'lláh was born (d. 1892). Persian founder of the Bahá'í Faith.
• 1833 - Alexander Borodin was born (d. 1887). Russian composer.
• 1836 - Juan Ramón Balcarce dies (b. 1773). Argentine military leader and politician.
• 1840 - Auguste Rodin was born (d. 1917). French sculptor (Kiss, Thinker).
• 1842 - John Strutt was born (d. 1919). 3rd Baron Rayleigh, English physicist, Nobel Prize laureate.
• 1847 - Sir James Young Simpson, British physician, is the first to use chloroform as an anaesthetic.
• 1848 - Eduard Müller was born (d. 1919). Member of the Swiss Federal Council.
• 1850 - Mikhail Chigorin was born (d. 1908). Russian chess player.
• 1852 - Carlos Durán Cartín was born. President of Costa Rica (1889-1890).
• 1857 - Manuel Oribe dies. President of Uruguay.
• 1865 - Elizabeth Gaskell dies (b. 1810). English novelist.
• 1866 - Sun Yat-sen was born (d. 1925). First President of the Republic of China.
• 1881 - Maximilian von Weichs was born (d. 1954). German field marshal.
• 1881 - Olev Siinmaa was born (d. 1948). Estonian architect.
• 1886 - Ben Travers was born (d. 1980). British playwright.
• 1889 - DeWitt Wallace was born (d. 1981). American magazine publisher (Reader's Digest).
• 1890 - Lily Kronberger was born (d. 1974). Hungarian figure skater.
• 1892 - William "Pudge" Heffelfinger becomes the first professional American football player, participating in his first paid game for the Allegheny Athletic Association.
• 1893 - The treaty of the Durand Line was signed between present day Pakistan and Afghanistan and which has gained international recognition as a international border between the two sister-nations.
• 1896 - Salim Ali was born (d. 1987). Indian ornithologist.
• 1898 - Leon Štukelj was born (d. 1999).Slovene gymnast, Olympic gold medalist and athlete
• 1900 - Ricardo Espírito Santo was born. Portuguese banker and entrepreneur.
• 1903 - Jack Oakie was born (d. 1978). American actor.
• 1903 - Camille Pissarro dies. French painter.
• 1905 - (November 12 & 13) Norway holds referendum in favour of monarchy over republic.
• 1908 - Harry Blackmun was born (d. 1999). U.S. Supreme Court Justice.
• 1908 - Amon Göth was born (d. 1946). Commandant of Nazi concentration camp.
• 1911 - Buck Clayton wasd born (d. 1991). American jazz trumpet player.
• 1912 - The frozen bodies of Robert Scott and his men are found on the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica.
• 1914 - Augusto dos Anjos dies (b. 1884). Brazilian poet.
• 1915 - Roland Barthes was born (d. 1980). French sociologist, philosopher and writer.
• 1916 - Jean Papineau-Couture was born (d. 2000). French Canadian composer.
• 1916 - Paul Emery was born (d. 1993). British racing driver.
• 1916 - Rogelio de la Rosa was born (d. 1986). Filipino actor and politician.
• 1916 - Percival Lowell dies (b. 1855). American astronomer.
• 1917 - Jo Stafford was born. American singer.
• 1918 - Emperor Karl of Austria-Hungary abdicates and Austria becomes a republic.
• 1918 - Odete de Saint-Maurice was born. Portuguese writer.
• 1920 - Italy and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes sign the Treaty of Rapallo.
• 1920 - Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis was elected the first commissioner of baseball.
• 1920 - Richard Quine was born (d. 1989). American actor.
• 1922 - The Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority is founded on the campus of Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana.
• 1922 - Kim Hunter was born (d. 2002). American actress.
• 1923 - Portugal: I Congress of Portuguese Communist Party, in Lisbon.
• 1923 - Vicco von Bülow was born. German graphic artist, actor and film director.
• 1924 - Sam Jones was born (d. 1981). American jazz bassist.
• 1927 - Leon Trotsky is expelled from the Soviet Communist Party, leaving Joseph Stalin with undisputed control of the Soviet Union.
• 1927 - The Holland Tunnel opens to traffic as the first Hudson River vehicular tunnel linking New Jersey to New York City.
• 1927 - Yutaka Taniyama was born (d. 1958). Japanese mathematician.
• 1929 - Michael Ende was born (d. 1995). German writer.
• 1929 - Grace Kelly was born (d. 1982). Princess Grace of Monaco, American actress. (Philadelphia Story, Rear Window).
• 1929 - Princess Grace of Monaco was born (d. 1982). American Actress, Royalty.
• 1930 - Ann Flood was born. American actress.
• 1930 - Portugal: Clube Desportivo das Aves is founded.
• 1931 - Bob Crewe was born. American songwriter and producer (The Four Seasons).
• 1933 - O NDASP, partido nazi de Adolf Hitler, vence as eleições alemãs com mais de 90% dos votos e chega ao poder.
• 1933 - Hugh Gray of the British Aluminium Company takes the first known photos of the Loch Ness Monster; four of them turn out to be blank, while the last one is later proven to be a hoax.
• 1934 - The musical Babes in Toyland debuts, featuring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy as comic relief (see Laurel and Hardy).
• 1934 - Charles Manson was born. American cult leader and mass murderer.
• 1936 - In California, the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge opens to traffic.
• 1936 - Nobel for literature awarded to Eugene O'Neill.
• 1936 - Mills Lane was born. American judge and boxing referee.
• 1936 - Mort Shuman was born (d. 1991). American songwriter and singer.
• 1938 - Hermann Göring announces Nazi Germany plans to make Madagascar the "Jewish homeland", an idea that actually was first considered by 19th century journalist Theodor Herzl.
• 1938 - Denis DeJordy was born. National Hockey League goaltender.
• 1939 - Lucia Popp was born (d. 1993). Slovakian soprano.
• 1939 - Ruby Nash Curtis was born. American singer (Ruby & the Romantics).
• 1939 - Norman Bethune dies (b. 1890). Canadian doctor and humanitarian.
• 1940 - Michel Audet was born. Québécois economist and politician.
• 1940 - Jürgen Todenhöfer was born. German politician.
• 1940 – Bruno Tolentino was born (d. 27 Jun 2007). Brazilian poet.
• 1940 - Screaming Lord Sutch was born (d. 16 Jun 1999). 1960’s pop singer, politician, leader of the Official Monster Raving Loony Party.
• 1941 - World War II: Temperatures around Moscow drop to -12 ° C and the Soviet Union launches ski troops for the first time against the freezing German forces near the city.
• 1941 - The Soviet cruiser "Chervona Ukraina" is destroyed during the battle of Sevastopol
• 1941 - João Nogueira was born in Rio de Janeiro (d. 2000). Brazilian singer and composer.
• 1941 - Abe "Kid Twist" Reles dies (b. 1907). American mobster.
• 1942 - Paulinho da Viola was born in Rio de Janeiro. Brazilian singer and composer.
• 1942 - World War II: The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal between Japanese and American forces begins near Guadalcanal, will last for three days.
• 1943 - Brian Hyland was born. American singer.
• 1943 - Bjorn Waldegard was born. Swedish rally driver.
• 1944 - Al Michaels was born. American television sportscaster.
• 1944 - Booker T. Jones was born. American musician, singer, and songwriter (Booker T and the MG's)
• 1944 - World War II: The Royal Air Force launches one of the most successful precision bombing attacks of war and sinks the German battleship Tirpitz off the coast of Norway.
• 1944 - Otto Blumenthal dies (b. 1876). German mathematician.
• 1945 - Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Cordell Hull (establishing UN).
• 1945 - Neil Young was born. Canadian singer, songwriter, and musician.
• 1945 - Tracy Kidder was born. American journalist and author.
• 1946 - A branch of the Exchange National Bank in Chicago, Illinois opens the first ten drive-up teller windows.
• 1947 - Buck Dharma was born. American musician (Blue Öyster Cult).
• 1947 - Ron Bryant was born. American baseball player.
• 1947 - Patrice Leconte was born. French film director and screenwriter
• 1947 - Emmuska Orczy dies. Hungarian writer.
• 1948 - In Tokyo, an international war crimes tribunal sentences seven Japanese military and government officials to death, including General Hideki Tojo, for their roles in World War II.
• 1948 - Cliff Harris was born. American football player.
• 1948 - Errol Brown was born. English singer (Hot Chocolate).
• 1948 - Umberto Giordano dies (b. 1867). Italian composer.
• 1949 - Cândida Branca Flor was born (d. 2001). Portuguese singer.
• 1949 - Ron Lapointe was born (d. 1992). French Canadian ice hockey coach.
• 1951 - Konstantin Biebl dies (b. 26 Feb 1898). Czech poet.
• 1952 - Mário Gomes was born. Brazilian actor.
• 1952 - Ronald Burkle was born. American entrepreneur.
• 1953 - Vasilis Karras was born. Greek singer.
• 1954 - Ellis Island stopped serving as the chief immigration station for the United States. Twenty million immigrants went through Ellis Island in its 62 years of operation.
• 1955 - Alfréd Hajós dies (b. 1878). Hungarian swimmer.
• 1956 - Morocco, Sudan and Tunisia joined to United Nations.
• 1956 - Francisco Louçã was born. Portuguese politician and economist.
• 1956 – Juan Negrín dies (b. 1889). Spanish prime-minister.
• 1958 - Megan Mullally was born. American actress.
• 1958 - Nick Stellino was born. Italian-American television chef.
• 1959 - Vincent Irizarry was born. American actor.
• 1960 - Maurane was born. Belgian singer.
• 1961 - Enzo Francescoli was born. Uruguayan footballer.
• 1961 - Jonathan Nossiter was born. American film director.
• 1961 - Michaela Paetsch was born. American violinist.
• 1961 - Nadia Comaneci was born. Romanian gymnast.
• 1962 - Brix Smith was born. American musician and songwriter (The Fall, The Adult Net).
• 1962 - Mariella Frostrup was born. Norwegian born journalist and television presenter.
• 1962 - Mark Hunter was born. National Hockey League player.
• 1962 - Naomi Wolf was born. American author and feminist.
• 1962 - Neal Shusterman was born. American author.
• 1963 - Sula Miranda (Suely Brito de Miranda) was born in Rio de Janeiro. Brazilian singer.
• 1963 - Susumu Terajima was born. Japanese actor.
• 1964 - David Ellefson was born. American musician (Megadeth).
• 1965 - Ferdinand Marcos is elected president of Philippines.
• 1965 - Lex Lang was born. American voice actor.
• 1965 - Syedna Taher Saifuddin dies (b. 1888). Bohra Spiritual Leader.
• 1966 - David Schwimmer was born. American actor.
• 1967 - Grant Nicholas was born. British singer (Feeder).
• 1967 - Michael Moorer was born. American boxer.
• 1968 - Aaron Stainthorpe was born. British singer (My Dying Bride).
• 1968 - Aya Hisakawa was born. Japanese voice actress/singer.
• 1968 - Glenn Gilberti was born. American professional wrestler.
• 1968 - Sammy Sosa was born. Dominican Major League Baseball player.
• 1969 - Vietnam War: My Lai Massacre - Independent investigative journalist Seymour Hersh breaks the My Lai story.
• 1969 - Ian Bremmer was born. American political scientist.
• 1969 - Kathleen Hanna was born. American singer and songwriter.
• 1969 - Heinz-Christian Strache was born. Austrian politician.
• 1969 - Johnny Gosch was born. American kidnap victim.
• 1969 - Liu Shaoqi dies (b. 1898). Former Chairman of the People's Republic of China.
• 1970 - A cyclone and tidal wave hit East Pakistan, killing over 200,000 people.
• 1970 - The Oregon Highway Division attempts to destroy a rotting beached Gray whale with explosives, leading to the now infamous exploding whale incident.
• 1970 - Craig Parker was born. New Zealand actor.
• 1970 - Donna Adamo was born. American female professional wrestler.
• 1970 - Harvey Stephens was born. British child actor.
• 1970 - Tonya Harding was born. American figure skater.
• 1971 - Vietnam War: As part of Vietnamization, US President Richard M. Nixon sets February 1, 1972 as the deadline for the removal of another 45,000 American troops from Vietnam.
• 1972 - Reynaldo Gianecchini was born in Birigui- S. Paulo. Brazilian actor.
• 1972 - Vassilis Tsiartas was born. Greek footballer.
• 1972 - Rudolf Friml dies (b. 1879). Czech composer of operettas.
• 1973 - Mayte Garcia was born. American dancer.
• 1973 - Radha Mitchell was born. Australian actress.
• 1973 - Tara Strong was born. Canadian voice actress.
• 1974 - South Africa suspended from UN General Assembly over racial policies.
• 1974 - Alessandro Birindelli was born. Italian football player.
• 1974 - Tamala Jones was born. American actress.
• 1975 - Angela Watson was born. American actress.
• 1975 - Jason Lezak was born. American swimmer.
• 1975 - Nina Brosh was born. Israeli model and actress.
• 1976 - São realizadas as primeiras eleições autárquicas de Portugal (veja também I Governo Constitucional de Portugal).
• 1976 - Judith Holofernes was born. German singer (Wir sind Helden)
• 1976 - Mirosław Szymkowiak was born. Polish footballer.
• 1976 - Tevin Campbell was born. American R&B musician.
• 1976 - Mikhail Iosifovich Gurevich dies (b. 1893). Russian aircraft designer.
• 1976 - Walter Piston dies (b. 1894). American composer.
• 1977 - Benni McCarthy was born. South-African football player.
• 1977 - Dalene Kurtis was born. American Playboy model.
• 1977 - Lee Murray was born. English Mixed Martial Artist.
• 1978 - As Bishop of Rome Pope John Paul II took possession of his Cathedral Church, the Basilica of St. John Lateran.
• 1978 - Alexandra Maria Lara was born. German Romanian actress.
• 1978 - Andrew Kinlochan was born. English singer and musician.
• 1978 - Ashley Williams was born. American actress.
• 1978 - Lena Yada was born. American actress, model, surfer and WWE Diva
• 1979 - Iran hostage crisis: In response to the hostage situation in Tehran, US President. Jimmy Carter orders a halt to all petroleum imports into the United States from Iran.
• 1979 - Corey Maggette was born. American professional basketball player.
• 1979 - Cote de Pablo was born. Chilean actress.
• 1979 - Matt Cappotelli was born. American professional wrestler.
• 1980 - The NASA space probe Voyager I makes its closest approach to Saturn and takes first images of its rings.
• 1980 - Ryan Gosling was born. Canadian actor.
• 1980 - Trent Acid was born. American professional wrestler.
• 1981 - The space shuttle Columbia was launched for the second time. It was the first time a space vehicle was used more than once.
• 1981 - Pilin Leon of Venezuela is crowned 31st Miss World.
• 1981 - DJ Campbell was born. English football player.
• 1981 - William Holden dies (b. 1981). American actor.
• 1982 - Lech Wałęsa, Solidarity leader, is released from a Polish prison after eleven months.
• 1982 - In the Soviet Union, Yuri Andropov becomes the general secretary of the Soviet Communist Party's Central Committee, succeeding Leonid I. Brezhnev.
• 1982 - Anne Hathaway was born. American actress.
• 1982 - Mikele Leigertwood was born. English footballer.
• 1983 - Carlton Cole was born. English football player.
• 1984 - Conrad Rautenbach was born. Zimbabwean rally driver.
• 1984 - Natalia Tena was born. English actress.
• 1984 - Omarion was born. American R&B musician
  1984 - Sandara Park was born. South Korean who stars in movies and television shows in the Philippines.
• 1984 - Sepp De Roover was born. Belgian footballer.
• 1984 - Chester Himes dies (b. 1909). American author.
• 1986 - Evan Yo was born. Taiwanese pop singer.
• 1987 - Bryan Little was born. Canadian ice hockey player.
• 1989 - Brazil holds 1st free presidential election in 29 years.
• 1989 - Dolores Ibárruri, La Pasionaria, morre em Madrid. Presidente histórica do Partido comunista espanhol.
• 1990 - Crown Prince Akihito is formally installed as Emperor Akihito of Japan, becoming the 125th Japanese monarch.
• 1990 - Tim Berners-Lee publishes a formal proposal for the World Wide Web.
• 1990 - Eve Arden dies (b. 1908). American actress.
• 1990 - A escritora portuguesa Agustina Bessa-Luís é nomeada pela SEC directora do Teatro Nacional D. Maria II.
• 1991 - Dili Massacre, Indonesian forces opened fire on a crowd of student protesters in Dili, East Timor.
• 1991 - Em Roma, o escritor português José Cardoso Pires recebe o Prémio União Latina.
• 1992 - Absolutely Fabulous airs its first episode on BBC1.
• 1992 - Macey Cruthird was born. American actress
• 1993 - Decree of President of Kazakhstan "About introducing national currency of Republic of Kazakhstan" was issued.
• 1993 - The first Ultimate Fighting Championship is held in Denver, Colorado.
• 1993 - H. R. Haldeman dies (b. 1926). Watergate scandal figure.
• 1993 - O escritor português José Saramago recebe o Prémio Vida Literária.
• 1994 - Al Gore symbolically signed the Kyoto Protocol.
• 1994 - Wilma Rudolph dies (b. 1940). American runner.
• 1995 - A República Popular de Moçambique é admitida como membro da Commonwealth.
• 1995 - 26th NYC Marathon won by German Silva in 2:10:00.
• 1995 - 25th NYC Women's Marathon won by Tegla Loroupe in 2:28:06
• 1995 - Luís Mateus dies. Portuguese journalist.
• 1996 - A Saudi Arabian Airlines Boeing 747 and a Kazakh Ilyushin Il-76 cargo plane collide in mid-air near New Delhi, India killing 349.
• 1997 - Ramzi Yousef is found guilty of masterminding the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.
• 1997 - Carlos Surinach dies (b. 1915). Spanish composer.
• 1998 - Vice President of the United States Al Gore symbolically signs the Kyoto Protocol.
• 1998 - Daimler-Benz completes a merger with Chrysler to form Daimler-Chrysler.
• 1999 - The Düzce earthquake strikes in Turkey with a magnitude of 7.2 on the Richter scale.
• 2000 - Leah Rabin dies (b. 1928). Wife of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin
• 2000 - Franck Pourcel dies (b. 1913). French popular orchestra leader.
• 2001 - In New York City, American Airlines Flight 587, an Airbus A300 on its way to the Dominican Republic, crashes minutes after takeoff from John F. Kennedy International Airport, killing all 260 on board and five on the ground.
• 2001 - 2001 Attack on Afghanistan: Taliban forces abandon Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, ahead of advancing Afghan Northern Alliance troops.
• 2001 - Tony Miles dies (b. 1955). English chess player.
• 2002 - Special Extended DVD Edition of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring is released.
• 2003 - Iraq war: In Nasiriya, Iraq, at least 23 people, among them the first Italian casualties of the 2003 Iraq war are killed in a suicide bomb attack on an Italian police base.
• 2003 - With 501 km/h (311 mph) Shanghai Transrapid sets up a new world record for commercial railway systems.
• 2003 - Cameron Duncan dies (b. 1896). New Zealand director.
• 2003 - Jonathan Brandis dies (b. 1976). American actor.
• 2003 - Kay E. Kuter dies (b. 1925). American actor.
• 2003 - Jonathan Brandis dies (b. 1976). American actor.
• 2003 - Penny Singleton dies (b. 1908). American actress.
• 2003 - Tony Thompson dies (b. 1954). American drummer (The Power Station).
• 2003 - Portugal: Parte para o Iraque o contingente de 124 militares da GNR.
• 2004 - Scott Peterson is found guilty of first degree murder of his wife Laci Peterson and their unborn son Conner after a five-and-a-half month long trial.
• 2004 - Portugal: XXVI Congress of Social Democrat Party (PPD/PSD) in Barcelos.
• 2004 - John Peel dies (b. 1939). English DJ and Broadcaster.
• 2004 - Tito Francona dies (b. 1933). Baseball player.
• 2005 - William G. Adams dies (b. 1923). Former mayor of St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada.
• 2006 - The former Soviet republic of South Ossetia holds a referendum on independence from Georgia.
• 2006 - General Jacob E. Smart dies (b. 1909). US Air Force leader World War II.
• 2007 - Ira Levin dies (b. 1929). American novelist.
• 2007 - Khanmohammed Ibrahim dies (b. 1919). Indian cricketer.
• Bahá'í Faith: Holy Day, Birth of Bahá'u'lláh
• National Holiday: Birth of Sun Yat-Sen (observed in China and Taiwan)
• Dia do Supermercado - Brasil