2012 in History

Events in History

Events 1 - 100 of 584

• Jan 6 A suicide bomber blows himself up at a police station in Damascus, Syria, killing 26 people and wounding 63
• Jan 7 Hot air balloon crashes in Carterton, New Zealand, killing 11

• Jan 13 Italian cruiseliner Costa Concordia runs aground at Isola de Giglio, Italy, causing 32 deaths
• Jan 14 Suicide bomber kills 53 and injures 130 in Basra, Iraq
• Jan 14 Ma Ying-jeou wins re-election as President of the Republic of China with 51% of the vote
• Jan 18 Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) blackout becomes the largest protest in the history of the internet
• Jan 19 FBI shuts down Megaupload.com for alleged copyright infringement, hacker group Anonymous responds by attacking government and entertainment industry websites
• Jan 23 European Union agrees to embargo Iranian oil in protest against Iran's alleged nuclear weapons program
• Jan 28 Death toll from coordinated bombing attacks in Kano, Nigeria, reaches 185
• Feb 1 At least 73 people are killed in the Egyptian football riots in Port Said
• Feb 2 Cold snap across Europe kills more than 100 people (over 400 people by 08-02)
• Feb 2 MV Rabaul Queen sinks off the coast of Papua New Guinea with 246 people saved and 126 missing (100 of these estimated to be trapped inside)
• Feb 4 Tens of thousands of people are stranded by floods in the Australian states of New South Wales and Queensland
• Feb 6 6.9 magnitude quake hits near the central Philippines with 43 confirmed deaths

• Feb 11 Israeli Air Force conducts four air strikes in Gaza Strip


• Feb 12 Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow is re-elected President of Turkmenistan with 97% of the vote
• Feb 12 Zambia defeat Ivory Coast 8-7 on penalties in the Africa Cup of Nations
• Feb 15 United Kingdom unemployment rate reaches 17 year high of 8.4%
• Feb 15 Fire at Comayagua prison, Honduras, kills 358
• Feb 17 The President of Germany, Christian Wulff, resigns over a corruption scandal
• Feb 19 44 people killed in prison brawl in Apocada, Mexico, between two rival drug cartels
• Feb 20 South Korea angers North Korea as it proceeds with live fire drills in disputed Korean sea borders
• Feb 20 Scientists successfully regenerate the flowering plant, Silene stenophylla from a 31,800 year old piece of fruit, greatly surpassing the previous record of 2,000 years
• Feb 21 Yemeni voters go to the polls for a presidential election where the only candidate on the ballot paper is vice-president Abd Rabbuh Mansur al-Hadi
• Feb 22 Train crash in Buenos Aires, Argentina, kills 50 and injures hundreds
• Feb 23 A series of bomb attacks across 12 Iraqi cities kills 60 and injures 200
• Feb 25 Syrian Army kills 100 civilians in artillery shelling of Homs and Hama
• Feb 25 Al Qaeda suicide bombing kills at least 26 people in Mukalla, Yemen

• Feb 26 Bus plunges off a cliff in Shanxi, China causing 15 deaths
• Feb 26 Train derailment kills 3 and injures 45 in Burlington, Ontario
• Feb 27 Wikileaks begins disclosing 5 million emails from private intelligence company Stratfor
• Feb 28 Occupy London protesters evicted from St Paul's Cathedral
• Feb 28 Discovery of the largest prehistoric penguin, Kairuku grebneffi, at nearly 5ft tall
• Mar 1 Euro zone unemployment reaches historical high of 10.7%


• Mar 2 Tornadoes kill at least 27 people in the American states of Indiana and Kentucky
• Mar 2 The Red Cross is denied access to provide relief to the Baba Amr district in Homs by the Syrian army
• Mar 2 New fiscal compact to prevent excessive debt is signed by 25 out of 27 European Union members
• Mar 3 Lorry crash in east Guinea kills 50 and injures 27
• Mar 3 Two trains crash in Szczekociny, Poland, with 16 people dead and up to 50 injured
• Mar 4 Munitions dump explosions kill at least 250 people in the Republic of Congo

• Mar 4 Over 10,000 illegal Peruvian gold miners clash with police to gain control of Puerto Maldonado
• Mar 5 27 members of Iraq's security force are killed by gunmen disguised as police in Haditha
• Mar 5 Tropical Storm Irina kills 65 in Madagascar
• Mar 6 9,000 residents are evacuated from Wagga Wagga, Australia, as the Murrimbidgee River threatens to overflow
• Mar 8 Greece secures debt-restructuring deal with private lenders
• Mar 8 Toyota recalls 700,000 vehicles over safety concerns
• Mar 9 Senior members of hacking group Lulz Sec are arrested, including one member of the FBI, in the United States, United Kingdom and Ireland
• Mar 10 At least 130 rockets are fired into Israel from Gaza
• Mar 11 US soldier kills 16 civilians in Afghanistan
• Mar 12 100 people are killed in ethnic clashes and cattle raids in South Sudan
• Mar 12 45 people, including children, are massacred by the Syrian Army in Homs
• Mar 12 China records its highest trade deficit in over a decade
• Mar 13 19 people are shot dead in a bus attack in Ethiopia
• Mar 13 Encyclopaedia Britannica announces that it will no longer publish printed versions of its encyclopaedia
• Mar 13 110 people are killed and 63 are missing after a ferry collides with an oil tanker near Dhaka, Bangladesh
• Mar 13 28 people, including 22 children, are killed in a motorway bus crash near Sierre, Switzerland
• Mar 16 Turkish NATO helicopter crashes into a house killing ten people in the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan
• Mar 17 MESSENGER spacecraft begins its extended mission
• Mar 18 Joachim Gauck elected President of the Federal republic of Germany by the Federal Assembly
• Mar 19 Wendy's overtakes Burger King to become the second best-selling hamburger chain
• Mar 20 50 people are killed and 240 injured in a wave of terror attacks across 10 cities in Iraq
• Mar 21 Five former Guatemalan paramilitaries are sentenced to 7,710 years in jail for their role in the Plan de Sanchez massacre in 1982
• Mar 21 Greek Parliament votes in favour of an international bailout deal
• Mar 22 Massive fire devours thousands of hectares of ancient forests and threatens wildlife on Mount Kenya
• Mar 22 Australia's most wanted man, Malcolm Naden, is captured after seven years on the run in Gloucester, New South Wales
• Mar 22 Largest protest in Quebec's history occurs in Montreal with over 200,000 people marching against government tuition hikes and for free access to post-secondary education
• Mar 22 Ireland returns to recession as GDP falls by 0.2% in the fourth quarter of 2011 following a fall of 1.1% in the third quarter
• Mar 23 African Union suspends Mali's membership following a coup
• Mar 24 African Union deploys 5,000 strong force with the aim of catching or killing warlord Joseph Kony
• Mar 26 Macky Sall elected as President of Senegal

• Mar 27 On This Day launches a sister site in Spanish, Hoy en la Historia
• Mar 30 Spanish Government cuts 27 billion Euros from its budget in a tough austerity measure
• Mar 30 Mastercard and Visa announce a massive breach in security with over ten million compromised credit card numbers
• Mar 30 American Mega Millions lottery hits a world record lottery amount of 640 million dollars
• Mar 31 Fiji Floods kill 2 people and force thousands to be evacuated
• Apr 1 Plane crash in Western Siberia kills at least 31 people (UTair Aviation ATR-72)
• Apr 2 Oikos University, Oakland shooting kills seven people and injures 3
• Apr 3 Spanish unemployment reaches record high, youth unemployment stands at 50%
• Apr 3 Moscow fire kills 17 migrant workers

• Apr 4 Somalia's National Theater is struck by a suicide bomber killing ten people including the presidents of the Somali Olympic Committee and Football Federation
• Apr 4 Boris Tadić, President of Serbia, resigns
• Apr 5 Severe storms in Argentina kill 14 people
• Apr 5 77-year old pensioner's suicide outside Greek parliament prompts further protests in Athens
• Apr 5 International internet group Anonymous hack several Chinese bureaus in opposition to censorship
• Apr 6 US F-18 Hornet crashes into side of apartment building in Virginia with no fatalities
• Apr 7 Joyce Banda becomes President of Malawi
• Apr 7 130 Pakistani Army soldiers are buried in an avalanche near the Siachen Glacier
• Apr 8 German writer Günter Grass labelled 'persona non grata' by Israeli internal affairs minister Eli Yishai, due to his poem "What Must Be Said"

• Apr 10 United Nations deadline for Syrian troop withdrawal passes as violence continues
• Apr 10 Apple Inc claims a value of $600 billion making it the largest company by market capitalization in the world

• Apr 11 8.6 magnitude earthquake and 8.2 aftershock occurs off the coast of Indonesia
• Apr 11 2011 London riot looter is jailed for 11 years after starting a fire at a furniture retailer

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Birthdays in History

• Apr 4 Grumpy Cat [Tardar Sauce], American cat internet celebrity, born in Morristown, Arizona (d. 2019)

Weddings in History

• Mar 8 Former "Raising Sextuplets" star Jenny Masche weds longtime beau Levi McClendon in San Diego

• Jun 2 Vice President Joe Biden's daughter Ashley Biden (30) weds Dr. Howard David Krein at St. Joseph on the Brandywine in Wilmington, Delaware
• Jun 30 Mick Jagger's daughter Jade Jagger (41) weds longtime boyfriend Adrian Fillary at the Aynhoe Park Hotel in Oxfordshire, England
• Jun 30 "The Doctors" co-host Travis Stork (40) weds pediatrician Dr. Charlotte Brown in Colorado
• Jul 7 "The Office" Ellie Kemper (32) weds former "Conan O'Brien" writer Michael Koman at the Blessed Sacrament Roman Catholic Church in New York City
• Sep 20 Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah's daughter Princess Hajah Hafizah Sururul Bolkiah (32) weds Pengiran Haji Muhammad Ruzaini (29) at the Throne Hall of Istana Nurul Iman palace in Brunei
• Oct 7 Media personality Jack Osbourne (26) weds Lisa Stelly on the Big Island of Hawaii
• Oct 19 Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg Prince Guillaume (30) weds Countess of Belgium Stephanie de Lannoy (28) in a civil ceremony at the Hotel De Ville in Luxembourg
• Oct 28 Bristol Palin's former fiance Levi Johnston (21) weds Sunny Oglesby (20) at Settlers Bay Lodge in Wasilla, Alaska
• Nov 3 Professional bull rider Luke Snyder (30) weds Jennifer Manna (34) at Big Cedar Lodge outside of Branson, Missouri
• Dec 1 Congressman Joseph Kennedy III (32) weds Lauren Anne Birchfield (28) at the Community Church in Corona del Mar, California
• Dec 1 "The Bachelorette" reality star Ashley Hebert weds J.P. Rosenbaum at the Langham Huntington Hotel in Pasadena, California
• Dec 4 "Teen Mom 2" star Jenelle Evans (21) weds Courtland Rogers (26) at a courthouse in Brunswick County, North Carolina
• Dec 21 "Good Morning America" weather anchor Sam Champion (51) weds fine-arts photographer Rubem Robierb (35) at the couple's apartment in Manhattan
• Dec 25 Marie Osmond's daughter Rachael Osmond (23) weds Gabriel Krueger (22) in Park City, Utah

Divorces in History

• Aug 20 The man known primarily for gatecrashing the White House, Tareq Salahi (42) divorces socialite Michaele Salahi (46) due to adultery, desertion and construction desertion

Deaths in History

Deaths 1 - 100 of 243

• Jan 1 Elizabeth Brumfiel, American feminist archaeologist, dies of cancer at 66
• Jan 1 Kiro Gligorov, 1st President of the Republic of Macedonia (1991-99), dies at 94
• Jan 1 Hermann Guggiari, Paraguayan engineer & sculptor, dies at 88
• Jan 1 Ed Jenkins, American Congressman (Democratic-Georgia), dies at 78
• Jan 1 Carlos Soria, Argentine lawyer & politician, dies from gunshot to the head at 62
• Jan 1 Marcelle Narbonne, French super-centenarian & oldest person in Europe, dies at 113
• Jan 1 Nay Win Maung, Burmese physician & pro-democracy activist, dies from a heart attack at 50
• Jan 2 David Barron, British physicist & computer scientist, at 76 (b.1935)
• Jan 2 Ivan Calin, Moldavian President & Prime Minister 1980-1990, dies at 76
• Jan 2 William Carey, American businessman & philanthropist (W. P. Carey & Co.), died from complications after a heart attack at 81
• Jan 2 Gordon Hirabayashi, American sociologist & opponent to Japanese-American internment, dies after Alzheimer's disease at 93
• Jan 3 Wylie Walker Vale, American endocrinologist who discovered the stress hormone, dies at 70
• Jan 3 Robert L Carter, American civil rights activist & judge, dies after complications from a stroke at 94
• Jan 3 Winifred Milius Lubell, American illustrator & writer (The Outer Lands), dies of congestive heart failure at 97
• Jan 3 Josef Skvorecky, Czech writer & publisher, dies at 87
• Jan 3 Harold Zirin, American astronomer, dies at 82
• Jan 4 Eve Arnold, American photojournalist, dies at 99
• Jan 4 Ruben Ayala, American politician (California State Senator 1974-1998), dies of natural cause at 89
• Jan 4 James Crow, American geneticist, dies at 95
• Jan 4 Gatewood Galbraith [Louis], lawyer, American political activist, iconic Kentucky political figure, dies from pneumonia at 64
• Jan 4 Rod Robbie, Canadian architect and planner (Roger's Centre/Sky Dome, Toronto), dies at 83
• Jan 6 Ellen Pence, social activist, dies from cancer at 63
• Jan 6 Roger Boisjoly, American aerodynamicist (anticipated challenger disaster), dies at 73
• Jan 7 Ibrahim Aslan, Egyptian author, dies from heart failure at 77
• Jan 9 Malam Bacai Sanhá, President of Guinea-Bissau, dies of diabetes at 64
• Jan 9 William Roll, German poltergeist researcher and parapsychologist (The Poltergeist, Unsolved Mysteries), dies at 85
• Jan 10 Gevork Vartanian, Soviet intelligence agent, dies at 87
• Jan 12 Bill Janklow, American politician and four-term Governor of South Dakota (Republican: 1979-87, 1995-2003), dies of brain cancer at 72
• Jan 12 Reginald Hill, British crime author (Andrew Dalziel and Peter Pascoe novels), dies of brain cancer at 75
• Jan 12 Charles Price, American businessman and diplomat, dies at 80
• Jan 13 Rauf Denktash, leader of Turkish Cypriots, dies of multiple organ failure at 87
• Jan 13 Gianpiero Moretti, steering wheel designer, dies from cancer at 71
• Jan 15 Edward Derwinski, Chicago congressman 1959-83 and first Secretary of Veteran Affairs, dies of cancer at 85
• Jan 20 John F Baker Jnr, United States Army Master Sergeant and Medal of Honour recipient dies at 66
• Jan 21 Jonathan Idema, American torturer, kidnapper and con-artist, dies from Aids complications at 55
• Jan 21 Roy John Britten, American molecular biologist, dies at 92
• Jan 23 Anthony Capo, DeCavalcante crime family hitman and informant, dies from heart attack at 52/53
• Jan 27 Kevin White, American politician, dies at 82
• Jan 29 Oscar Luigi Scalfaro, Italian President (1992-99), dies at 93
• Jan 29 Goody Petronelli, American boxing trainer and manager, dies at 88
• Jan 30 Mary Grierson, Welsh botanical artist, dies at 99
• Jan 31 Anthony Bevilacqua, American cardinal, dies at 88
• Jan 31 Dorothea Tanning, American artist (Nachtmusik, 1943, Night Shadow, 1945), dies at 101
• Jan 31 Tristram Coffin, American folklorist, dies from pneumonia at 89
• Jan 31 Mike Kelley, American artist, commits suicide at 57
• Feb 1 Gerlando Alberti, Sicilian Mafioso, dies from cancer at 88
• Feb 1 Wislawa Szymborska, Polish poet & Nobel Laureate, dies at 88
• Feb 2 Dorothy Gilman, American mystery writer, dies from Alzheimer's disease at 88
• Feb 3 Christopher Samuel Youd, British sci-fi writer (Tripods Trilogy), dies at 89
• Feb 3 Norton Zinder, American biologist (genetic transduction), dies from pneumonia at 83
• Feb 4 Florence Green, last surviving veteran of World War One, dies at 110
• Feb 4 Robert Glaser, American educational psychologist, dies from Alzheimer's disease at 91
• Feb 4 Istvan Csurka, Hungarian writer and politician, dies at 77
• Feb 4 Robert Daniel, five term American congressman for Virginia, dies at 75
• Feb 6 Janice Voss, American astronaut (shuttle radar topography mission), dies from breast cancer at 55
• Feb 6 Antoni Tapies, Spanish painter, sculptor and theorist (Dau al Set) dies at 88
• Feb 6 Norma Merrick Sklarek, 1st African-American woman architect in NY & California, dies at 85
• Feb 7 Patricia Stephens Due, African-American civil rights activist (FAMU jail-in), dies from Alzheimer's disease at 72
• Feb 7 Florence Holway, American rape victim and activist, dies at 96
• Feb 8 Gunther Plaut, German-Canadian rabbi, dies at 99
• Feb 10 Jeffrey Zaslow, American author and columnist, dies in a car accident at 53
• Feb 12 John Severin, American comic book artist, dies at 90
• Feb 13 Mohamed Lamari, Chief of Staff of the Algerian Army, dies from a heart attack at 72
• Feb 13 Lillian Bassman, American photographer and painter (Harper's Bazaar), dies at 94
• Feb 16 Baddeley Devesi, first Governor-General of the Solomon Islands, dies at 70
• Feb 16 Anthony Shadid, New York Times foreign correspondent and two time Pulitzer winner, dies from asthma at 43
• Feb 16 Harry McPherson, presidential counsel (Lyndon Johnson) and lobbyist, dies from cancer at 82
• Feb 17 Ulric Neisser, American psychologist, dies at 83
• Feb 19 John Hogan, American research chemist, dies at 92
• Feb 19 Steve Kordek, American pinball machine designer, dies at 100
• Feb 20 Renato Dulbecco, Italian-born American virologist and Nobel laureate, dies at 97
• Feb 21 Baron Hooson [Hugh Emlyn], British politician and peer, dies at 86
• Feb 21 Colin Ireland, British 'Gay Slayer' serial killer, dies at 57
• Feb 21 John Michuki, Kenyan politician, dies from heart attack at 79
• Feb 21 Barney Rosset, American publisher and free speech advocate, dies at 89
• Feb 21 Eiko Ishioka, Japanese Costume designer, dies from pancreatic cancer at 74
• Feb 24 Jan Berenstain [Janice Marian Grant], American author (The Berenstain Bears), dies from a stroke at 88
• Feb 24 Kenneth Price, American ceramic artist and print maker, dies from cancer at 77
• Feb 24 Benedict Freedman, American novelist and mathematician, dies at 92
• Feb 25 Lynn Compton, American jurist and commissioned officer, dies from heart attack at 90
• Feb 27 Tina Strobos, Dutch physician and resistor to Nazi occupation, dies from cancer at 91
• Mar 1 Andrew Breitbart, American conservative blogger & publisher, dies at 43
• Mar 2 Van Barfoot, American army colonel and Medal of Honour recipient, dies at 92
• Mar 2 Lawrence Anthony, South African conservationist and author, dies from heart attack at 61
• Mar 2 James Wilson, American criminologist, dies at 80
• Mar 2 Norman St John-Stevas, Baron St John of Fawsley, British MP (1964-1987), dies at 82
• Mar 5 William Heirens, American serial killer, dies at 83
• Mar 6 Francisco Xavier do Amaral, East Timorese President, dies at 75
• Mar 6 Donald Payne, American Congressman, dies from colon cancer at 77
• Mar 6 Jaap Boersma, Dutch politician (Minister for Social Affairs (ARP)), dies at 82
• Mar 8 Leslie Cochran, American peace activist and police critic, dies from head trauma at 60
• Mar 9 Selma Rubin, American environmental activist, dies at 96
• Mar 9 Lord Wedderton of Charlton, British academic and politician, dies at 84
• Mar 9 Bill Wedderburn, Baron Wedderburn of Charlton, British politician, dies at 84
• Mar 10 Jean Giraud, French comic artist (Alien, Tron), dies at 73
• Mar 10 Mykola Plaviuk, Ukrainian president (1978-81), dies at 86
• Mar 10 F. Sherwood Rowland, American Nobel laureate in chemistry 1995, dies from Parkinson's disease at 84
• Mar 11 Sid Couchey, American comic book artist, dies at 92
• Mar 14 Censu Tabone, President of Malta, dies at 98
• Mar 17 John Demjanjuk, convicted Nazi war criminal, dies from natural causes at 91

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