Historical Events on May 12

Events 1 - 200 of 224

• 254 Stephan I succeeds Lucius I as Catholic Pope
• 919 Duke Henry of Saxony becomes King Henry I of Oostfrankischreich

• 1082 Battle at Mailberg: Vratislav II of Bohemia beats Leopold II of Austr

• 1328 Holy Roman Emperor Louis IV and assembly of priests select Pietro Rainalducc as anti-Pope Nicolaas V
• 1328 Antipope Nicholas V, a claimant to the papacy, is consecrated in Rome by the Bishop of Venice
• 1459 Jodhpur, Sun City, founded by Rao Jodhpur in India
• 1525 Battle at Biblingen: Zwabische Union beats rebel Wurttemberg farmers
• 1534 German Duchy of Wurttemberg becomes Lutheran under Ulrich, Duke of Württemberg
• 1551 San Marcos University in Lima, Peru, opens
• 1588 Catholic League under duke Henri de Guise occupies Paris
• 1604 Spanish garrison of Aardenburg surrenders to Mauritius
• 1640 Uprising against Spanish king Philip IV
• 1689 England & Netherlands form League of Augsburg
• 1695 English King William III departs to Netherlands
• 1701 Drenthe adopts Gregorian calendar (yesterday is 4/29/1701)


• 1733 Maria Theresa crowned Queen of Bohemia in Prague
• 1776 Turgot, French minister of Finance, resigns
• 1777 1st ice cream advertisement (Philip Lenzi in the NY Gazette)

• 1789 Society of St Tammany is formed by Revolutionary War soldiers. It later becomes an infamous group of NYC political bosses

• 1792 Toilet that flushes itself at regular intervals is patented

• 1797 Nore Mutiny: British Royal Navy sailors mutiny on the Thames, England and blockade London
• 1821 The first major battle of the Greek War of Independence against the Turks occurs in Valtetsi
• 1832 Gaetano Donizetti's opera "L'elisir d'amore" premieres in Milan

• 1862 Federal troops occupies Baton Rouge, Louisiana
• 1863 Battle of Raymond, Mississippi
• 1864 Battle of Drewry's Bluff, fought in Chesterfield County, Virginia (Peninsula Campaign), Confederate victory (US Civil War)
• 1864 Battle of Spotsylvania, fought near Courthouse, Virginia (Overland Campaign), inconclusive result (US Civil War)
• 1864 Battle of Todd's Tavern, cavalry battle fought near Todds Tavern, Virginia (Sheridan's Raid), inconclusive result (US Civil War)
• 1864 US Union colonel Emory Upton (24) promoted to brigadier general
• 1865 Last land action of Civil war at Palmito Ranch, Texas
• 1870 Manitoba becomes a province of Canada


• 1871 Segregated street cars integrated in Louisville, Kentucky
• 1873 Oscar II of Sweden-Norway is crowned King of Sweden
• 1874 US Assay Office in Helena, Montana, authorized
• 1875 1st recorded shutout in pro baseball, Chicago 1, St Louis 0
• 1877 Ottawa Rough Riders 1st outside competition vs Britannia
• 1881 Treaty of Bardo, Tunisia becomes a French protectorate

• 1888 Crouching start 1st used in track and field by Charles Sherrill of Yale
• 1890 Louisiana legalized prize fighting
• 1890 The first-ever official cricket County Championship match begins. Yorkshire beats Gloucestershire by eight wickets at Bristol. George Ulyett scores the first century in the competition.
• 1891 Riot against tax increase in Paramaribo, Suriname
• 1894 Ludwig Englander's musical "Passing Show" premieres in NYC
• 1897 1800-1900 year old fossil of "girl of Yde" found in Drente, Netherlands
• 1897 Battle at Thessalie: Turkish army beats Greece
• 1898 Louisiana adopts new constitution with "grandfather clause" designed to eliminate black voters
• 1900 Boer attack under Sarel Eloff, about 70 killed
• 1900 Lord Roberts' troops occupy Crown city
• 1901 US President McKinley visits San Francisco
• 1902 140,000 miners of anthracite coal in Pennsylvania go out on a strike called by the United Mine Workers after the owners have refused to recognize the UMW, negotiate or submit to arbitration

• 1908 Wireless Radio Broadcasting is patented by Nathan B Stubblefield
• 1909 34th Preakness: Willie Doyle aboard Effendi wins in 1:39.8

• 1910 Philadelphia Athletic's "Chief Bender" no-hits Cleveland Indians, 4-0
• 1911 American economic expert W Morgan Schuster arrives by invitation to assume almost dictatorial power over Persia's finances; a move resented by Russia
• 1911 1st Inter-Empire Championships open in London
• 1912 Amsterdam-North football club D.W.V. is established
• 1913 Harry Green runs world record marathon (2:38:16.2)
• 1915 Croatians plunder Armenia, killing 250
• 1915 Franklin K Mathiews presents idea of "Book Week"
• 1916 James Connolly and Sean McDermott are executed following their involvement in the Easter Rising in Dublin
• 1917 42nd Preakness: E Haynes aboard Kalitan wins in 1:54.4
• 1917 43rd Kentucky Derby: Charles Borel on Omar Khayyam wins in 2:04.6
• 1919 Yanks & Senators play 2nd straight extra inning tie, 4-4 in 15
• 1919 The Transvaal British Indian Association calls a mass meeting to organise opposition to the proposed Asiatics (Land and Trading) Amendment Act; in the Act, Transvaal Indians are prohibited from owning shares in limited companies
• 1921 National Hospital Day 1st observed in the United States
• 1923 48th Preakness: Benny Marinelli aboard Vigil wins in 1:53.6
• 1924 49th Preakness: John Merimee aboard Nellie Morse wins in 1:57.2
• 1925 Uzbekistan & Kirgizistan become autonomous Soviet republics

• 1926 Hans Luther resigns for 2nd time as German Chancellor after no-confidence vote against his minority government
• 1926 British General Strike ends after 9 days, coal mine workers stay on strike

• 1928 Second Opium Law introduced - international law to control drugs
• 1929 Pulitzer prize awarded to Julia Peterkin (Scarlet Sister Mary)
• 1930 Pulitzer prize awarded to Marc Connelly (Green Pastures)

• 1933 Federal Emergency Relief Administration & Agricultural Adjustment Administration form to help the needy & farmers

• 1934 59th Preakness: Robert Jones aboard High Quest wins in 1:58.2
• 1936 Ralph Vaughan Williams' "Poisoned Kiss" premieres in London
• 1937 St Louis Cards beat Philadelphia Phillies, 15-3

• 1938 Sandoz Labs manufactures LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide)
• 1940 French marines occupy St Maarten
• 1940 German tanks conquer Moerdijkbrug
• 1940 Nazi blitzkrieg and conquest of France begins with the crossing of the Muese River

• 1941 British forces march into Alexandria
• 1941 Konrad Zuse presents the Z3, the world's first working programmable, fully automatic computer, in Berlin
• 1942 1,500 Jews gassed in Auschwitz

• 1942 Nazi U-boat sinks American cargo ship at mouth of Mississippi River
• 1942 Russia occupies Crackow, until Aug 23, 1943
• 1943 Axis forces in North Africa surrender

• 1943 German troops in Tunisia North Africa surrender
• 1944 900+ 8th US Air Force bombers attack Zwikau, Bohlen & Brux
• 1944 Crimea purged of Nazi troops
• 1944 German police arrest Dutch resistance member Gerrit van der Veen and later execute him
• 1948 Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands abdicates

• 1950 Darius Milhauds opera "Bolivar" premieres in Paris
• 1951 1st H Bomb test, on Enewetak Atoll
• 1952 Charlton Playground named in Bronx
• 1952 Gaj Singh is crowned Maharaja of Jodhpur.
• 1953 KUHT TV channel 8 (PBS) in Houston, TX, begins broadcasting
• 1955 Chicago Cub Sam Jones is 1st black to pitch no-hitter (Pirates, 4-0)
• 1956 Brooklyn Dodger Carl Erskine's 2nd no-hitter, beats NY Giants, 3-0
• 1956 East Pakistan struck by cyclone and tidal waves
• 1958 "Nee Nee Na Na Na Na Nu Nu" by Dicky Doo & The Don'ts hits #40
• 1958 US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Enwetak

• 1961 Russian Mikhail Botvinnik wins world chess championship for 3rd time
• 1962 Grevelingen dam closes
• 1962 US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Christmas Island

• 1963 Race riot in Birmingham, Alabama
• 1964 Manlio Brosio chosen as secretary-general of NATO
• 1965 Israel & West Germany exchange letters beginning diplomatic relations
• 1966 St Louis' Busch Stadium opens, Braves lose to Cards 4-3 in 12 inns
• 1967 H Rap Brown replaces Stokely Carmichael as chairman of Student
• 1967 Provo disbands in Neth Nonviolent Coordinating Committee

• 1967 20th Cannes Film Festival: "Blowup" directed by Michelangelo Antonioni wins the Grand Prix du Festival International du Film

• 1968 "March of Poor" under Rev Abernathy reach Washington, D.C.
• 1968 WSKG TV channel 46 (PBS) in Binghamton, NY, begins broadcasting
• 1969 Kenneth H Wallis achieved record speed for an autogiro-179 KPH

• 1970 Harry A Blackmun is confirmed as a justice on Supreme Court
• 1970 KTVM TV channel 6 in Butte, MT (NBC/ABC) begins broadcasting
• 1970 Race riots in Augusta Georgia; 6 blacks killed (5 by cops)
• 1970 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
• 1972 Milwaukee Brewers beat Minnesota Twins, 4-3, in 22 innings (completed 5/13)

• 1973 6th ABA championship: Indiana Pacers beat Ky Colonels, 4 games to 3
• 1973 Dueling Tubas by Martin Mull hits #92
• 1974 28th NBA Championship: Boston Celtics beat Milwaukee, 4 games to 3
• 1975 US merchant ship Mayaguez seized by Cambodian forces
• 1976 20th European Cup: Bayern Munich beats Saint-Etienne 1-0 at Glasgow
• 1977 Emmy 4th Daytime Award presentation


• 1978 US Commerce Department says hurricane names will no longer be only female

• 1980 1st non-stop trans-North American balloon flight lands at Sainte-Félicité, Quebec. Maxie Anderson and son Kristian piloted the Kitty Hawk for five days.
• 1980 West Ham United wins the FA Cup, beating Arsenal 1-0 at Wembley Stadium; midfield playmaker Trevor Brooking scores winner with a rare header
• 1981 "Lena Horne: Lady, Music" opens at Nederlander NYC for 333 performances
• 1981 NY Islanders tie own record with two shorthanded playoff goals in a pd vs Minn
• 1982 FC Barcelona of Spain win 22nd European Cup Winner's Cup against Standard Liège of Belgium 2-1 in Barcelona
• 1982 Pulitzer prize awarded to John Updike (Rabbit is Rich)
• 1982 US Football League forms

• 1983 Julie Lynne Hayek, (California), crowned 32nd Miss USA
• 1984 Discovery moves to Vandenberg AFB for mating of STS 41-D
• 1984 France performs nuclear test
• 1984 Joe Lucius scores his 13th hole-in-one on same hole

• 1984 White Horse by Laid Back hits #26
• 1984 World of Rivers world exposition opens in New Orleans
• 1985 Amy Eilberg is ordained in NY as 1st woman Conservative rabbi

• 1986 Fred Markham (US), unpaced & unaided by wind, is 1st to pedal 65 mph on a level course, Big Sand Flat, California
• 1988 "Carrie" opens at Virginia Theater NYC for 5 performances
• 1989 "Entertainment Tonight" makes 2,000th TV performance
• 1989 Last graffiti covered NYC subway car retired
• 1989 Retired British pilot Jack Mann is kidnapped by Islamic fundamentalists
• 1990 Comic Relief USA '90 (4th one) raises $4.7 million

• 1990 NHL Clarence Campbell Conference Final: Edmonton Oilers beat Chicago Blackhawks, 4 games to 2
• 1991 A new cancer drug is announced which can only be found in bark of a rare tree in the Pacific Northwest
• 1992 1st Belgian woman (Ingrid Baeyens) to ascend Mount Everest
• 1993 Final episode of 6 year run of ABC's "Wonder Years" in Netherlands


• 1993 Parma of Italy win 33rd European Cup Winner's Cup against Royal Antwerp of Belgium 3-1 in London
• 1994 WIBC Bowling Queens won by Anne Marie Duggan

• 1995 Dow Jones for 5th straight day of the week sets a new record (4430.59)
• 1995 Jose Mesa gets 1st of his M.L. record 37 consecutive saves

• 1996 "Inherit the Wind" closes at Royale Theater NYC after 45 performances
• 1996 "Night of the Iguana" closes at Criterion Theater NYC after 68 performances

• 1996 Yankees losing 8-0 to Chicago White Sox, come back to win 9-8
• 1997 14 North Koreans defect to South Korea
• 1997 Angels scores 13 in 7th vs White Sox
• 1997 Russia & Chechnya sign peace deal after 400 years of conflict
• 1997 Australian Susie Maroney becomes first to swim from Cuba to Florida
• 1997 Tornado narrowly misses downtown Miami

• 1999 Sir David Steel becomes the first Presiding Officer (speaker) of the modern Scottish Parliament.
• 2001 46th Eurovision Song Contest: Tanel Padar, Dave Benton and 2XL for Estonia wins singing "Everybody" in Copenhagen
• 2001 English FA Cup Final, Millennium Stadium, Cardiff (72,500): Liverpool beats Arsenal, 2-1 with Michael Owen scoring twice for the Reds

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