October 12th in History

October 12 is the 285th day of the year (286th in leap years). There are 80 days remaining until the end of the year. (Illustration: “Landing of Columbus,” John Vanderlyn, 1847.)

On This Day in History

  • Cyrus the Great takes Babylon (539 BCE)
  • King John loses his crown jewels in The Wash (1216 CE)
  • Christopher Columbus makes landfall in the Caribbean, thinking it is India (1492 CE)
  • This day does not exist in Italy, Poland, Portugal, or Spain because of the introduction of the Gregorian calendar (1582 CE)
  • Charles Macintosh sells the first raincoat (1823 CE)
  • The Executive Mansion in Washington, DC, is officially renamed “White House” (1901 CE)
  • Japanese Socialist Party leader 浅沼 稲次郎 (Inejiro Asanuma) is assassinated on live television (1960 CE)
  • پرویز مشرف‎ (Pervez Musharraf) takes power in Pakistan (1999 CE)
  • Suicide bombers attack the USS Cole in Yemen (2000 CE)
  • China launches its second manned space flight, 神舟六号 (Shenzhou 6) (2005 CE)

Birthdays

  • Pedro I, first emperor of Brazil (1798 CE)
  • Vaughan Williams, composer (1872 CE)
  • Aleister Crowley, occultist (1875 CE)
  • Lester Dent, Doc Savage author (1904 CE)
  • Joe Cronin, baseball player and manager (1906 CE)
  • Art Clokey, Gumby creator (1921 CE)
  • Dick Gregory, comedian and activist (1932 CE)
  • Sam Moore, R&B singer (1935 CE)
  • Luciano Pavarotti, tenor (1935 CE)
  • Daliah Lavi, actress and model (1942 CE)
  • Chris Wallace, journalist (1947 CE)
  • Carlos the Jackal, terrorist (1949 CE)
  • Susan Anton, Muriel Cigar spokesmodel (1950 CE)
  • Deborah Foreman, actress (1962 CE)
  • Hugh Jackman, actor (1968 CE)
  • Adam Rich, child actor (1968 CE)
  • Kirk Cameron, child actor (1970 CE)

Deaths

  • Robert E. Lee, Confederate general (1870 CE)
  • Anatole France, author (1924 CE)
  • Tom Mix, cowboy star (1940 CE)
  • Sonja Henie, figure skater (1969 CE)
  • Dean Acheson, US Secretary of State (1971 CE)
  • Gene Vincent, rockabilly singer (1971 CE)
  • Nancy Spungen, Sid Vicious girlfriend (1978 CE)
  • Johnny Olson, game show announcer (1985 CE)
  • Alf Landon, US presidential candidate (1987 CE)
  • Jay Ward, animator (1989 CE)
  • René Lacoste, tennis player (1996 CE)
  • John Denver, folk-rocker (1997 CE)
  • Matthew Shepard, hate crime victim (1998 CE)
  • Wilt Chamberlain, basketball player (1999 CE)
  • Ray Conniff, bandleader (2002 CE)
  • Belva Plain, author (2010 CE)

Holidays

  • Columbus Day (United States)
  • Descubrimiento de América (Mexico)
  • Día de la Raza (Latin America)
  • Día de la Resistencia Indígina (Venezuela)
  • Día de las Américas (Uruguay)
  • Día de las Culturas (Costa Rica)
  • Discovery Day (Bahamas)
  • Fiesta Nacional de España (Spain)
  • Freethought Day (United States)
  • Independence Day (Equatorial Guinea)
  • International Moment of Frustration Scream Day (informal)
  • Mother’s Day (Malawi)
  • National Family Bowling Day (United States)
  • National Gumbo Day (United States)
  • Piomingo Day (Chicasaw Nation)
  • Spanish Language Day (United Nations)