On This Day in History — May 12

Highlights of May 12

• 2022 — The Event Horizon Telescope released the first image of Sagittarius A*. Read more
• 2017 — The WannaCry ransomware attack affected more than 400,000 computers worldwide, including systems used by the National Health Service and Telefónica. Read more
• 2015 — An earthquake in Nepal killed 218 people and injured more than 3,500 others. Read more
• 2015 — A train derailment killed eight people and injured more than 200 others in Philadelphia. Read more
• 2010 — On arrival at Tripoli International Airport, Afriqiyah Airways Flight 771 crashed into the ground at a speed of 262 kn (485 km/h; 302 mph) and exploded, killing all but one of the 304 people on board. Read more
• 2008 — In Postville, Iowa, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducted the largest-ever raid of a workplace and arrested nearly 400 immigrants for identity theft and document fraud. Read more
• 1998 — Four students were shot and killed by Indonesian soldiers at Trisakti University in Jakarta, which led to widespread riots and the resignation of President Suharto nine days later. Read more
• 1982 — The Coppergate Helmet (pictured), the best preserved of the six known Anglo-Saxon helmets, was discovered. Read more
• 1982 — Juan María Fernández y Krohn attempted to assassinate Pope John Paul II with a bayonet in Fátima, Portugal. Read more
• 1975 — The Cambodian navy seized the American container ship SS Mayaguez in what they claimed to be Cambodian territorial waters. Read more
• 1968 — Vietnam War: The 1st Australian Task Force began the defence of Fire Support Base Coral in the largest unit-level action of the war for the Australian Army. Read more
• 1967 — The Jimi Hendrix Experience released the critically acclaimed and widely influential debut album Are You Experienced. Read more
• 1948 — The United Kingdom publicly announced that it was independently developing nuclear weapons, after the US Atomic Energy Act of 1946 ended cooperation on the matter. Read more
• 1941 — German engineer Konrad Zuse presented the Z3, the first working programmable and fully automatic computer, to an audience of scientists in Berlin. Read more
• 1938 — During an exercise to demonstrate air power, United States Army Air Corps bomber aircraft intercepted the Italian ocean liner SS Rex (pictured) 620 nautical miles (1,100 km) off the US Atlantic coast. Read more
• 1932 — Nazi deputies assaulted journalist Helmuth Klotz in the German parliament building after he publicized the homosexuality of a senior Nazi politician. Read more
• 1926 — The crew of the airship Norge (pictured), led by Roald Amundsen, became the first people to make a verified trip to the North Pole. Read more
• 1888 — North Borneo was established as a British protectorate. Read more
• 1881 — Under threat of invasion, Muhammad III as-Sadiq, Bey of Tunis, signed the Treaty of Bardo to make Tunisia a French protectorate. Read more
• 1863 — American Civil War: The Confederates were routed in the Battle of Raymond, a small battle that had an inordinately large impact on the Vicksburg campaign. Read more
• 1846 — The Donner Party, an American pioneer group which became known for resorting to cannibalism when they became trapped in the Sierra Nevada, left Independence, Missouri, for California. Read more
• 1743 — War of the Austrian Succession: Habsburg ruler Maria Theresa was crowned Queen of Bohemia after Austrian forces drove French troops from the territory. Read more
• 1510 — Zhu Zhifan, the Prince of Anhua (in modern Shaanxi, China), began an unsuccessful rebellion against the reign of the Zhengde Emperor. Read more

Events

• 2024 — Middle/end of the May 2024 solar storms, the most powerful set of geomagnetic storms since the 2003 Halloween solar storms. Read more
• 2018 — Paris knife attack: A man is fatally shot by police in Paris after killing one and injuring several others. Read more
• 2017 — The WannaCry ransomware attack impacts over 400,000 computers worldwide, targeting computers of the United Kingdom's National Health Services and Telefónica computers. Read more
• 2015 — A train derailment in Philadelphia, United States, kills eight people and injures more than 200. Read more
• 2015 — Massive Nepal earthquake kills 218 people and injures more than 3,500. Read more
• 2010 — Afriqiyah Airways Flight 771 crashes on final approach to Tripoli International Airport in Tripoli, Libya, killing 103 out of the 104 people on board. Read more
• 2008 — An earthquake (measuring around 8.0 magnitude) occurs in Sichuan, China, killing over 69,000 people. Read more
• 2008 — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducts the largest-ever raid of a workplace in Postville, Iowa, arresting nearly 400 immigrants for identity theft and document fraud. Read more
• 2006 — Mass unrest by the Primeiro Comando da Capital begins in São Paulo (Brazil), leaving at least 150 dead. Read more
• 2006 — Iranian Azeris interpret a cartoon published in an Iranian magazine as insulting, resulting in massive riots throughout the country. Read more
• 2003 — The Riyadh compound bombings in Saudi Arabia, carried out by al-Qaeda, kill 39 people. Read more
• 2002 — Former US President Jimmy Carter arrives in Cuba for a five-day visit with Fidel Castro, becoming the first President of the United States, in or out of office, to visit the island since the Cuban Revolution. Read more
• 1989 — The San Bernardino train disaster kills four people, only to be followed a week later by an underground gasoline pipeline explosion, which kills two more people. Read more
• 1982 — During a procession outside the shrine of the Virgin Mary in Fátima, Portugal, security guards overpower Juan María Fernández y Krohn before he can attack Pope John Paul II with a bayonet. Read more
• 1978 — In Zaire, rebels occupy the city of Kolwezi, the mining center of the province of Shaba (now known as Katanga); the local government asks the US, France and Belgium to restore order. Read more
• 1975 — Indochina Wars: Democratic Kampuchea naval forces capture the SS Mayaguez. Read more
• 1968 — Vietnam War: North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces attack Australian troops defending Fire Support Base Coral. Read more
• 1965 — The Soviet spacecraft Luna 5 crashes on the Moon. Read more
• 1949 — Cold War: The Soviet Union lifts its blockade of Berlin. Read more
• 1942 — World War II: Second Battle of Kharkov: In eastern Ukraine, Red Army forces under Marshal Semyon Timoshenko launch a major offensive from the Izium bridgehead, only to be encircled and destroyed by the troops of Army Group South two weeks later. Read more
• 1942 — World War II: The U.S. tanker SS Virginia is torpedoed in the mouth of the Mississippi River by the German submarine U-507. Read more
• 1941 — Konrad Zuse presents the Z3, the world's first working programmable, fully automatic computer, in Berlin. Read more
• 1937 — King George VI and Queen Elizabeth of the United Kingdom are crowned in Westminster Abbey. Read more
• 1933 — The Agricultural Adjustment Act, which restricts agricultural production through government purchase of livestock for slaughter and paying subsidies to farmers when they remove land from planting, is signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Read more
• 1933 — President Roosevelt signs legislation creating the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, the predecessor of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Read more
• 1932 — Ten weeks after his abduction, Charles Jr., the infant son of Charles Lindbergh, is found dead near Hopewell, New Jersey, just a few miles from the Lindberghs' home. Read more
• 1926 — The Italian-built airship Norge becomes the first vessel to fly over the North Pole. Read more
• 1926 — The 1926 United Kingdom general strike ends. Read more
• 1885 — North-West Rebellion: The four-day Battle of Batoche, pitting rebel Métis against the Canadian government, comes to an end with a decisive rebel defeat. Read more
• 1881 — In North Africa, Tunisia becomes a French protectorate. Read more
• 1870 — The Manitoba Act is given the Royal Assent, paving the way for Manitoba to become a province of Canada on July 15. Read more
• 1865 — American Civil War: The Battle of Palmito Ranch: The first day of the last major land action to take place during the Civil War, resulting in a Confederate victory. Read more
• 1864 — American Civil War: The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House: Union troops assault a Confederate salient known as the "Mule Shoe", with some of the fiercest fighting of the war, much of it hand-to-hand combat, occurring at "the Bloody Angle" on the northwest. Read more
• 1863 — American Civil War: Battle of Raymond: Two divisions of James B. McPherson's XVII Corps turn the left wing of Confederate General John C. Pemberton's defensive line on Fourteen Mile Creek, opening up the interior of Mississippi to the Union Army during the Vicksburg Campaign. Read more
• 1862 — American Civil War: Union Army troops occupy Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Read more
• 1846 — The Donner Party of pioneers departs Independence, Missouri for California, on what will become a year-long journey of hardship and cannibalism. Read more
• 1821 — The first major battle of the Greek War of Independence against the Turks is fought in Valtetsi. Read more
• 1809 — British contingents under Arthur Wellesley force a French army under general Soult to retreat in the battle of Oporto. Read more
• 1808 — Finnish War: Swedish-Finnish troops, led by Captain Karl Wilhelm Malmi, conquer the city of Kuopio from Russians after the Battle of Kuopio. Read more
• 1797 — War of the First Coalition: Napoleon Bonaparte conquers Venice. Read more
• 1780 — American Revolutionary War: In the largest defeat of the Continental Army, Charleston, South Carolina is taken by British forces. Read more
• 1778 — Heinrich XI, count of the Principality of Reuss-Greiz, is elevated to Prince by Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor. Read more
• 1743 — Maria Theresa of Austria is crowned Queen of Bohemia after defeating her rival, Charles VII, Holy Roman Emperor. Read more
• 1593 — London playwright Thomas Kyd is arrested and tortured by the Privy Council for libel. Read more
• 1588 — French Wars of Religion: Henry III of France flees Paris after Henry I, Duke of Guise, enters the city and a spontaneous uprising occurs. Read more
• 1551 — National University of San Marcos, the oldest university in the Americas, is founded in Lima, Peru. Read more
• 1510 — The Prince of Anhua rebellion begins when Zhu Zhifan kills all the officials invited to a banquet and declares his intent on ousting the powerful Ming dynasty eunuch Liu Jin during the reign of the Zhengde Emperor. Read more
• 1497 — Pope Alexander VI excommunicates Girolamo Savonarola. Read more
• 1364 — Jagiellonian University, the oldest university in Poland, is founded in Kraków. Read more
• 1328 — Antipope Nicholas V, a claimant to the papacy, is consecrated in Rome by the Bishop of Venice. Read more
• 1191 — Richard I of England marries Berengaria of Navarre in Cyprus; she is crowned Queen consort of England the same day. Read more
• 1157 — A church council presided over by Byzantine emperor Manuel I Komnenos in the Palace of Blachernae investigates the orthodoxy of the patriarch of Antioch, Soterichos Panteugenos. Read more
• 907 — Zhu Wen forces Emperor Ai into abdicating, ending the Tang dynasty after nearly three hundred years of rule. Read more
• 254 — Pope Stephen I succeeds Pope Lucius I, becoming the 23rd pope of the Catholic Church, and immediately takes a stand against Novatianism. Read more
• 113 — Roman emperor Trajan dedicates a column celebrating and depicting his victory over the Dacians. Read more

Born on May 12

• 2006 — Vasilije Adžić, Montenegrin footballer Read more
• 2005 — Zach Benson, Canadian ice hockey player Read more
• 2001 — Issa Kaboré, Burkinabé footballer Read more
• 1999 — Hiroki Itō, Japanese footballer Read more
• 1998 — Mo Bamba, American-Ivorian basketball player Read more
• 1997 — Frenkie de Jong, Dutch footballer Read more
• 1996 — Fabrice Olinga, Cameroonian footballer Read more
• 1996 — Kostas Tsimikas, Greek footballer Read more
• 1993 — Timo Horn, German footballer Read more
• 1992 — Erik Durm, German footballer Read more
• 1990 — Florent Amodio, French figure skater Read more
• 1990 — Etika, American YouTuber and live streamer (died 2019) Read more
• 1989 — Eleftheria Eleftheriou, Greek Cypriot singer, musician, and actress Read more
• 1988 — Marcelo, Brazilian footballer Read more
• 1987 — Lance Lynn, American baseball player Read more
• 1987 — Kieron Pollard, Trinidadian cricketer Read more
• 1987 — Darren Randolph, Irish footballer Read more
• 1986 — Emily VanCamp, Canadian actress Read more
• 1983 — Domhnall Gleeson, Irish actor Read more
• 1983 — Yujiro Kushida, Japanese wrestler and mixed martial artist Read more
• 1981 — Rami Malek, American actor Read more
• 1980 — Rishi Sunak, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Read more
• 1979 — Steve Smith Sr., American football player Read more
• 1978 — Malin Åkerman, Swedish-Canadian model, actress, and singer Read more
• 1978 — Jason Biggs, American actor and comedian Read more
• 1977 — Graeme Dott, Scottish snooker player and coach Read more
• 1977 — Maryam Mirzakhani, Iranian mathematician (died 2017) Read more
• 1976 — Bruno Lage, Portuguese football manager Read more
• 1975 — Jonah Lomu, New Zealand rugby player (died 2015) Read more
• 1972 — Rhea Seehorn, American actress Read more
• 1970 — Jim Furyk, American golfer Read more
• 1970 — Samantha Mathis, American actress Read more
• 1970 — Mike Weir, Canadian golfer Read more
• 1969 — Kim Fields, American actress Read more
• 1968 — Tony Hawk, American skateboarder and actor Read more
• 1967 — Bill Shorten, Australian politician Read more
• 1966 — Stephen Baldwin, American actor Read more
• 1965 — Mark Thomas, British sprinter Read more
• 1962 — Emilio Estevez, American actor Read more
• 1962 — Brett Gurewitz, American guitarist and songwriter Read more

Died on May 12

• 2026 — Jason Collins, American basketball player (born 1978) Read more
• 2024 — Mark Damon, American film actor and producer (born 1933) Read more
• 2024 — David Sanborn, American saxophonist (born 1945) Read more
• 2024 — A. J. Smith, American football executive (born 1949) Read more
• 2020 — Aimee Stephens, American funeral director and U.S. Supreme Court litigant (born 1960) Read more
• 2018 — Dennis Nilsen, Scottish serial killer (born 1945) Read more
• 2017 — Mauno Koivisto, Finnish banker and politician, ninth President of Finland (born 1923) Read more
• 2016 — Mike Agostini, Trinidadian sprinter (born 1935) Read more
• 2015 — Peter Gay, German-American historian, author, and academic (born 1923) Read more
• 2014 — Cornell Borchers, Lithuanian-German actress and singer (born 1925) Read more
• 2014 — Marco Cé, Italian cardinal (born 1925) Read more
• 2014 — H. R. Giger, Swiss painter, sculptor, and set designer (born 1940) Read more
• 2014 — Sarat Pujari, Indian actor, director, and screenwriter (born 1934) Read more
• 2014 — Lorenzo Zambrano, Mexican businessman and philanthropist (born 1944) Read more
• 2013 — Gerd Langguth, German political scientist, author, and academic (born 1946) Read more
• 2012 — Jan Bens, Dutch footballer and coach (born 1921) Read more
• 2012 — Eddy Paape, Belgian illustrator (born 1920) Read more
• 2009 — Antonio Vega, Spanish singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1957) Read more
• 2008 — Robert Rauschenberg, American painter and illustrator (born 1925) Read more
• 2008 — Irena Sendler, Polish nurse and humanitarian (born 1910) Read more
• 2006 — Hussein Maziq, Libyan politician, Prime Minister of Libya (born 1918) Read more
• 2005 — Ömer Kavur, Turkish director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1944) Read more
• 2005 — Martin Lings, English author and scholar (born 1909) Read more
• 2005 — Kai Setälä, Finnish physician and professor (born 1913) Read more
• 2005 — Monica Zetterlund, Swedish actress (born 1937) Read more
• 2003 — Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan, French-American diplomat (born 1933) Read more
• 2001 — Perry Como, American singer and television host (born 1912) Read more
• 2001 — Didi, Brazilian footballer (born 1928) Read more
• 2001 — Alexei Tupolev, Russian engineer, designed the Tupolev Tu-144 (born 1925) Read more
• 2000 — Adam Petty, American race car driver (born 1980) Read more
• 1999 — Saul Steinberg, Romanian-American illustrator (born 1914) Read more
• 1995 — Adolfo Pedernera, Argentine footballer and manager (born 1918) Read more
• 1994 — Erik Erikson, German-American psychologist and psychoanalyst (born 1902) Read more
• 1994 — John Smith, Scottish-English lawyer and politician, Labour Party leader, Leader of the Opposition (born 1938) Read more
• 1993 — Zeno Colò, Italian Olympic alpine skier (born 1920) Read more
• 1992 — Nikos Gatsos, Greek poet and songwriter (born 1911) Read more
• 1992 — Robert Reed, American actor (born 1932) Read more
• 1986 — Elisabeth Bergner, German actress (born 1897) Read more
• 1985 — Jean Dubuffet, French painter and sculptor (born 1901) Read more
• 1981 — Francis Hughes, Irish Republican, died on hunger strike (born 1956) Read more

Holidays & observances

Christian feast day: Blessed Joan of Portugal; Christian feast day: Crispoldus; Christian feast day: Dominic de la Calzada; Christian feast day: Epiphanius of Salamis; Christian feast day: Gregory Dix (Church of England); Christian feast day: Blessed Imelda Lambertini; Christian feast day: Modoald; Christian feast day: Nereus, Achilleus, Domitilla, and Pancras; Christian feast day: Patriarch Germanus I of Constantinople (Catholic and Eastern Church); Christian feast day: Philip of Agira; Christian feast day: Rictrude; International ME/CFS and Fibromyalgia Awareness Day; International Nurses Day; J. V. Snellman Day or the Finnish Heritage Day (Finland)

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