On This Day in History — September 12

Highlights of September 12

• 2015 — An explosion involving illegally stored mining detonators in Petlawad, India, killed 104 people and injured more than 150 others. Read more
• 2008 — A Metrolink train collided head-on with a freight train in Los Angeles, California, resulting in 25 deaths and 135 injuries; the Metrolink driver had passed through a red signal, having likely been distracted by text messaging. Read more
• 2003 — Typhoon Maemi, the strongest recorded typhoon to strike South Korea, made landfall near Busan. Read more
• 2003 — The first public release of Steam, a distribution service for computer games, was made available for download. Read more
• 1995 — Hurricane Ismael formed off the southwest coast of Mexico; it went on to kill over a hundred people in the country. Read more
• 1992 — Aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour, American Mae Jemison became the first Black woman to travel to space. Read more
• 1983 — The clandestine Boricua Popular Army staged a bank robbery in West Hartford, Connecticut, making off with $7 million in the largest cash theft in U.S. history at the time. Read more
• 1977 — South African anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko died after being beaten in police custody in Port Elizabeth. Read more
• 1962 — In a speech at Rice Stadium in Houston, U.S. president John F. Kennedy reiterated an aspiration to land a man on the Moon before 1970 (video featured). Read more
• 1952 — Three boys in Flatwoods, West Virginia, U.S., reported seeing a ten-foot-tall (3 m) monster in the woods while investigating a UFO. Read more
• 1948 — The People's Liberation Army launched the Liaoshen campaign, the first of the three major military campaigns during the late stage of the Chinese Civil War. Read more
• 1942 — RMS Laconia was sunk by a U-boat off the coast of West Africa, which then attempted to rescue the passengers as it was acting under the old prize rules. Read more
• 1942 — World War II: The Imperial Japanese Army began the Battle of Edson's Ridge in an effort to retake Henderson Field on Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands from the Allies. Read more
• 1933 — Hungarian-American physicist Leo Szilard conceived of the idea of the nuclear chain reaction while waiting for a traffic light in Bloomsbury, London. Read more
• 1928 — The Okeechobee hurricane first struck the island of Guadeloupe; eventually it reached the United States and caused over 4,000 deaths overall. Read more
• 1910 — Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 8, one of the largest-scale choral works in the classical concert repertoire and popularly known as the "Symphony of a Thousand", was first performed in Munich. Read more
• 1885 — The Scottish Cup match between Arbroath and Bon Accord ended 36–0, which is still a world record for an unrigged professional association football match. Read more
• 1309 — Reconquista: Castilian forces captured Gibraltar from the Emirate of Granada. Read more
• 379 — Yax Nuun Ahiin I (depicted) took the throne as the ruler (ajaw) of the Mayan city of Tikal. Read more

Events

• 2021 — Siberian Light Aviation Flight 51 crashes short of the runway at Kazachinskoye Airport, killing four. Read more
• 2014 — The Synagogue Church building collapse results in the deaths of 115 people and several injured, in the Church run by Nigeria's T. B. Joshua. Read more
• 2013 — NASA confirms that its Voyager 1 probe has become the first manmade object to enter interstellar space. Read more
• 2012 — Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky Air Flight 251 crashes on approach to Palana Airport, killing 10 and injuring four. Read more
• 2008 — The 2008 Chatsworth train collision in Los Angeles between a Metrolink commuter train and a Union Pacific freight train kills 25 people. Read more
• 2007 — Former Philippine President Joseph Estrada is convicted of plunder. Read more
• 2007 — Two earthquakes measuring 8.4 and 7.9 on the Richter Scale hits the Indonesian island of Sumatra, killing 25 people and injuring 161. Read more
• 2005 — Israeli–Palestinian conflict: the Israeli disengagement from Gaza is completed, leaving some 2,530 homes demolished. Read more
• 2003 — The United Nations lifts sanctions against Libya after that country agreed to accept responsibility and recompense the families of victims in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103. Read more
• 2003 — Iraq War: In Fallujah, U.S. forces mistakenly shoot and kill eight Iraqi police officers. Read more
• 2003 — Typhoon Maemi, the strongest recorded typhoon to strike South Korea, made landfall near Busan. Read more
• 2001 — Ansett Australia, Australia's first commercial interstate airline, collapses due to increased strain on the international airline industry, leaving 10,000 people unemployed. Read more
• 1994 — Frank Eugene Corder fatally crashes a single-engine Cessna 150 into the White House's south lawn, striking the West Wing. There were no other casualties. Read more
• 1993 — NASA launches Space Shuttle Discovery on STS-51. Read more
• 1992 — NASA launches Space Shuttle Endeavour on STS-47, which marks the 50th shuttle mission. On board are Mae Carol Jemison, the first African-American woman in space, Mamoru Mohri, the first Japanese citizen to fly in a US spacecraft, and Mark Lee and Jan Davis, the first married couple in space. Read more
• 1992 — Abimael Guzmán, leader of the Shining Path, is captured by Peruvian special forces; shortly thereafter the rest of Shining Path's leadership fell as well. Read more
• 1991 — NASA launches Space Shuttle Discovery on STS-48 to deploy the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite. Read more
• 1990 — The two German states and the Four Powers sign the Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany in Moscow, paving the way for German reunification. Read more
• 1990 — The Red Cross organizations of mainland China and Taiwan sign the Kinmen Agreement on repatriation of illegal immigrants and criminal suspects after two days of talks in Kinmen, Fujian Province in response to the two tragedies in repatriation in the previous two months. It is the first agreement reached by private organizations across the Taiwan Strait. Read more
• 1988 — Hurricane Gilbert devastates Jamaica; it turns towards Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula two days later, causing an estimated $5 billion in damage. Read more
• 1984 — Dwight Gooden sets the baseball record for strikeouts in a season by a rookie with 276, previously set by Herb Score with 246 in 1954. Gooden's 276 strikeouts that season, pitched in 218 innings, set the current record. Read more
• 1983 — A Wells Fargo depot in West Hartford, Connecticut, United States, is robbed of approximately US$7 million by Los Macheteros. Read more
• 1983 — The USSR vetoes a United Nations Security Council Resolution deploring the Soviet destruction of Korean Air Lines Flight 007. Read more
• 1980 — The 43rd government of Turkey is overthrown in a coup d'état led by General Kenan Evren. Read more
• 1980 — Florida Commuter Airlines Flight 65 crashes into the Atlantic Ocean off West End, Bahamas, killing 34 people. Read more
• 1977 — South African anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko dies in police custody. Read more
• 1974 — Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia, 'Messiah' of the Rastafari movement, is deposed following a military coup by the Derg, ending a reign of 58 years. Read more
• 1970 — Dawson's Field hijackings: Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine terrorists blow up three hijacked airliners in Zarqa, Jordan, continuing to hold the passengers hostage in various undisclosed locations in Amman. Read more
• 1969 — Philippine Air Lines Flight 158 crashes in Antipolo, near Manila International Airport in the Philippines, killing 45 people. Read more
• 1966 — Gemini 11, the penultimate mission of NASA's Gemini program, and the current human altitude record holder (except for the Apollo lunar missions and Artemis II). Read more
• 1962 — US President John F. Kennedy delivers his "We choose to go to the Moon" speech at Rice University. Read more
• 1961 — The African and Malagasy Union is founded. Read more
• 1961 — Air France Flight 2005 crashes near Rabat–Salé Airport, in Rabat, Morocco, killing 77 people. Read more
• 1959 — The Soviet Union launches a large rocket, Lunik II, at the Moon. Read more
• 1959 — Bonanza, the first regularly scheduled TV program presented in color, is launched in the United States. Read more
• 1958 — Jack Kilby demonstrates the first working integrated circuit while working at Texas Instruments. Read more
• 1953 — U.S. Senator and future President John Fitzgerald Kennedy marries Jacqueline Lee Bouvier at St. Mary's Church in Newport, Rhode Island. Read more
• 1944 — World War II: The liberation of Yugoslavia from Axis occupation continues. Bajina Bašta in western Serbia is among the liberated cities. Read more
• 1943 — World War II: Benito Mussolini is rescued from house arrest by German commando forces led by Otto Skorzeny. Read more
• 1942 — World War II: RMS Laconia, carrying civilians, Allied soldiers and Italian POWs is torpedoed off the coast of West Africa and sinks with a heavy loss of life. Read more
• 1942 — World War II: First day of the Battle of Edson's Ridge during the Guadalcanal Campaign. U.S. Marines protecting Henderson Field are attacked by Imperial Japanese Army troops. Read more
• 1940 — Cave paintings are discovered in Lascaux, France. Read more
• 1940 — The Hercules Powder plant disaster in the United States kills 51 people and injures over 200. Read more
• 1938 — Adolf Hitler demands autonomy and self-determination for the Germans of the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia. Read more
• 1933 — Leó Szilárd, waiting for a red light on Southampton Row in Bloomsbury, conceives the idea of the nuclear chain reaction. Read more
• 1923 — Southern Rhodesia, today called Zimbabwe, is annexed by the United Kingdom. Read more
• 1915 — French soldiers rescue over 4,000 Armenian genocide survivors stranded on Musa Dagh. Read more
• 1910 — Premiere performance of Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 8 in Munich (with a chorus of 852 singers and an orchestra of 171 players. Mahler's rehearsal assistant conductor was Bruno Walter). Read more
• 1906 — The Newport Transporter Bridge is opened in Newport, South Wales by Viscount Tredegar. Read more
• 1897 — Tirah campaign: In the Battle of Saragarhi, ten thousand Pashtun tribesmen suffer several hundred casualties while attacking 21 Sikh soldiers in British service. Read more
• 1890 — Salisbury, Rhodesia, is founded. Read more
• 1885 — Arbroath 36–0 Bon Accord, a world record scoreline in professional association football. Read more
• 1857 — The SS Central America sinks about 160 miles east of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, drowning a total of 426 passengers and crew, including Captain William Lewis Herndon. The ship was carrying 13–15 tons of gold from the California gold rush. Read more
• 1848 — A new constitution marks the establishment of Switzerland as a federal state. Read more
• 1847 — Mexican–American War: the Battle of Chapultepec begins. Read more
• 1814 — Battle of North Point: an American detachment halts the British land advance to Baltimore in the War of 1812. Read more
• 1723 — Iran and Russia sign the treaty of Saint Petersburg. Iran is forced to cede all lands on the western and southern coast of the Caspian Sea and Russia pledges to provide military support against the Ottoman Empire. Read more
• 1683 — Austro-Ottoman War: Battle of Vienna: Several European armies join forces to defeat the Ottoman Empire. Read more
• 1634 — A gunpowder factory explodes in Valletta, Malta, killing 22 people and damaging several buildings. Read more
• 1609 — Henry Hudson begins his exploration of the Hudson River while aboard the Halve Maen. Read more

Born on September 12

• 2001 — Ziaire Williams, American basketball player Read more
• 1999 — Jerome Ford, American football player Read more
• 1997 — Sydney Sweeney, American actress Read more
• 1997 — Almida de Val, Swedish curler Read more
• 1996 — Colin Ford, American actor Read more
• 1995 — Steven Gardiner, Bahamian sprinter Read more
• 1994 — Druski, American comedian and actor Read more
• 1994 — RM, South Korean rapper, songwriter and record producer Read more
• 1994 — Elina Svitolina, Ukrainian tennis player Read more
• 1994 — Mohammed Asif, Indian sailor and researcher Read more
• 1993 — Kelsea Ballerini, American country pop singer Read more
• 1992 — Alexia Fast, Canadian actress Read more
• 1992 — Sviatlana Pirazhenka, Belarusian tennis player Read more
• 1991 — Mike Towell, Scottish professional boxer (died 2016) Read more
• 1991 — Scott Wootton, English footballer Read more
• 1989 — Freddie Freeman, American-Canadian baseball player Read more
• 1989 — Andrew Luck, American football player Read more
• 1988 — Amanda Jenssen, Swedish singer-songwriter and guitarist Read more
• 1988 — Guðmundur Ari Sigurjónsson, Icelandic politician Read more
• 1986 — Alfie Allen, English actor Read more
• 1986 — Joanne Jackson, English swimmer Read more
• 1986 — Yuto Nagatomo, Japanese footballer Read more
• 1986 — Dimitrios Regas, Greek sprinter Read more
• 1986 — Emmy Rossum, American singer and actress Read more
• 1984 — Nashat Akram, Iraqi footballer Read more
• 1984 — Chelsea Carey, Canadian curler Read more
• 1984 — Petra Marklund, Swedish singer Read more
• 1983 — Tom Geißler, German footballer Read more
• 1983 — Daniel Muir, American football player Read more
• 1983 — Sergio Parisse, Argentinian-Italian rugby player Read more
• 1983 — Clayton Richard, American baseball player Read more
• 1983 — Carly Smithson, Irish singer-songwriter Read more
• 1983 — Niels Tas, Belgian politician Read more
• 1982 — Zoran Planinić, Croatian basketball player Read more
• 1982 — Sal Rinauro, American wrestler Read more
• 1981 — Jennifer Hudson, American singer and actress Read more
• 1981 — Staciana Stitts, American swimmer Read more
• 1980 — Sean Burroughs, American baseball player (died 2024) Read more
• 1980 — Fernando César de Souza, Brazilian footballer Read more
• 1980 — Yao Ming, Chinese basketball player Read more

Died on September 12

• 2026 — George Chuvalo, Canadian boxer (born 1937) Read more
• 2024 — Sitaram Yechury, Indian politician and leader of CPI(M) (born 1952) Read more
• 2019 — ʻAkilisi Pōhiva, Tongan politician and activist, Prime Minister of Tonga (born 1941) Read more
• 2019 — Elsie Vartanian, American politician and director of the United States Women's Bureau (born 1930) Read more
• 2018 — Shen Chun-shan, Taiwanese academic (born 1932) Read more
• 2017 — Allan MacEachen, Canadian economist and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Canada (born 1921) Read more
• 2017 — Edith Windsor, American LGBT rights activist and technology manager at IBM (born 1929) Read more
• 2015 — Claudia Card, American philosopher and academic (born 1940) Read more
• 2014 — Atef Ebeid, Egyptian academic and politician, 47th Prime Minister of Egypt (born 1932) Read more
• 2014 — John Gustafson, English singer-songwriter and bass player (born 1942) Read more
• 2014 — Ian Paisley, Northern Irish evangelical pastor (Free Presbyterian Church) and politician, 2nd First Minister of Northern Ireland (born 1926) Read more
• 2014 — Joe Sample, American pianist and composer (born 1939) Read more
• 2013 — Ray Dolby, American engineer and businessman, founded Dolby Laboratories (born 1933) Read more
• 2013 — Warren Giese, American football player, coach, and politician (born 1924) Read more
• 2013 — Erich Loest, German author and screenwriter (born 1926) Read more
• 2013 — Candace Pert, American neuroscientist and pharmacologist (born 1946) Read more
• 2012 — Arkadii Dragomoshchenko, Russian poet and author (born 1946) Read more
• 2012 — Jon Finlayson, Australian actor and screenwriter (born 1938) Read more
• 2012 — Tom Sims, American skateboarder and snowboarder, founded Sims Snowboards (born 1950) Read more
• 2011 — Alexander Galimov, Russian ice hockey player (born 1985) Read more
• 2010 — Claude Chabrol, French actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1930) Read more
• 2010 — Giulio Zignoli, Italian footballer (born 1946) Read more
• 2009 — Norman Borlaug, American agronomist and humanitarian, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1914) Read more
• 2009 — Jack Kramer, American tennis player and sportscaster (born 1921) Read more
• 2009 — Willy Ronis, French photographer and author (born 1910) Read more
• 2008 — Bob Quinn, Australian footballer and coach (born 1915) Read more
• 2008 — David Foster Wallace, American novelist, short story writer, and essayist (born 1962) Read more
• 2007 — Bobby Byrd, American singer-songwriter and producer (born 1934) Read more
• 2005 — Serge Lang, French-American mathematician, author and academic (born 1927) Read more
• 2003 — Johnny Cash, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (born 1932) Read more
• 2003 — Arthur Johnson, canoeist (born 1921) Read more
• 2000 — Stanley Turrentine, American saxophonist, composer, and bandleader (born 1934) Read more
• 1997 — Judith Merril, American-Canadian science fiction writer, editor and political activist (born 1923) Read more
• 1996 — Ernesto Geisel, Brazilian general and politician, 29th President of Brazil (born 1907) Read more
• 1995 — Jeremy Brett, English actor (born 1933) Read more
• 1995 — Yasutomo Nagai, Japanese motorcycle racer (born 1965) Read more
• 1994 — Tom Ewell, American actor (born 1909) Read more
• 1994 — Boris Yegorov, Russian physician and astronaut (born 1937) Read more
• 1993 — Raymond Burr, Canadian-American actor and director (born 1917) Read more
• 1992 — Ruth Nelson, American actress (born 1905) Read more

Holidays & observances

Christian feast day: Ailbe (Elvis, Eilfyw) of Emly; Christian feast day: Guy of Anderlecht; Christian feast day: The Most Holy Name of the Blessed Virgin Mary; Christian feast day: John Henry Hobart (Episcopal Church (USA)); Christian feast day: Laisrén mac Nad Froích; Christian feast day: Sacerdos of Lyon; Christian feast day: Blessed Thomas of Zumárraga; Christian feast day: September 12 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics); Commemoration of the mass hanging of the Saint Patrick's Battalion (Mexico); Day of Conception (Russia); Defenders Day (Maryland, United States); Enkutatash falls on this day if it is a leap year. Celebrated on the first day of Mäskäräm. (Ethiopia, Eritrea, Rastafari); Nayrouz (Coptic Orthodox Church) (leap years only, September 11 on normal years); National Day (Cape Verde); National Day of Encouragement (United States); Saragarhi Day (Sikhism); United Nations Day for South–South Cooperation (International)

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