November 12

November 12 is the 316th day of the year (317th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 49 days remaining until the end of the year.

Events

Up to 1900

764 – Tibetan troops occupy Chang'an, the capital of the Chinese Tang Dynasty, for fifteen days.
1028 – Future Byzantine empress Zoe marries Romanus Argyrus according to the wishes of dying Constantine VIII
1439 – Plymouth, England, becomes the first town incorporated by the English Parliament.
1555 – The English Parliament decides that Roman Catholicism will be the state religion of England.
1602 – Sebastian Viscaino lands at, and names, San Diego, California.
1793 – Jean Sylvain Bailly, the first Mayor of Paris, is executed on the guillotine.
1892 – William Heffelfinger becomes the first professional American football player on record, taking part in his first paid game for the Allegheny Athletic Association.
1893 – The Treaty of the Durand is signed between present–day Pakistan and Afghanistan; the Durand Line has become the international border between the two countries.

1901 – 2000

1905 – Newly independent Norway holds a referendum on its system of government. Most voters decide to have a monarch as their Head of State, over having a president.
1908 – An explosion at a mine shaft in Hamm, present–day North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, kills 348 people.
1912 – The bodies of Robert Falcon Scott and his men are found on the Ross Ice Shelf.
1918 – Austria becomes a republic.
1920 – Italy and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes sign the Treaty of Rapallo.
1927 – Leon Trotsky is expelled from the Soviet Communist Party, leaving Joseph Stalin with complete control of the Soviet Union.
1928 – The ship SS Vestris sinks around 200 miles (320 kilometers) off Hampton Roads, Virginia, killing over 110 people.
1933 – Hugh Gray takes the first–known photograph alleged to show the Loch Ness Monster.
1936 – The San Francisco Bay Bridge is opened.
1942 – World War II: The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal between Japanese and American forces begins near Guadalcanal. The battle lasts for three days.
1944 – World War II: The Royal Air Force launches one of the most successful bombing attacks of war and sinks the German battleship Tirpitz off the coast of Norway.
1945 – Sudirman is elected as the first commander–in–chief of the Indonesian Armed Forces.
1948 – In Tokyo, an international war crimes tribunal sentences seven Japanese military and government officials, including Hideki Tojo, to death for their roles in World War II.
1956 – Morocco, Sudan and Tunisia join the UN.
1958 – A team of rock climbers led by Warren Harding completes the first successful climb of the "Nose" on El Capitan in Yosemite Valley, California.
1968 – Equatorial Guinea joins the UN.
1969 – Vietnam War: My Lai Massacre – Independent investigative journalist Seymour Hersh breaks the My Lai story.
1970 – The Oregon Highway Division attempt to destroy a rotting bleached sperm whale with explosives, leading to the now–infamous "exploding whale" incident.
1973 – It is announced that Gerald Ford is to succeed Spiro Agnew as Vice President of the United States.
1975 – The Comoros join the UN.
1980 – The Voyager 1 space probe takes images of Saturn's rings.
1981 – The Space Shuttle Columbia launches on its second flight.
1982 – In the Soviet Union, Yuri Andropov is selected to become the general secretary of the Soviet Communist Party's Central Committee, succeeding the late Leonid Brezhnev.
1982 – Polish Solidarity leader Lech Walesa is released.
1985 – Xavier Suarez becomes Miami's first Cuban–American Mayor.
1990 – Crown Prince Akihito is formally installed as Emperor Akihito of Japan, becoming the 125th Japanese monarch. He had already succeeded his father Hirohito, who died on January 7, 1989.
1990 – Tim Berners-Lee publishes a formal proposal for the World Wide Web.
1991 – Dili Massacre: Indonesian forces opened fire on a crowd of student protesters in Dili, East Timor.
1994 – Chandrika Kumaratunga becomes President of Sri Lanka.
1995 – Mozambique joins the Commonwealth of Nations. As a former Portuguese colony, it is the first Commonwealth member not to have had any historical links with the present–day United Kingdom.
1995 – Azerbaijan holds its first parliamentary elections.
1996 – A Saudi Arabian Airlines Boeing 747 and a Kazakh Ilyushin II–76 cargo plane collide in mid–air near New Delhi, India, killing 349 people in the deadliest mid–air collision to date.
1997 – Ramzi Yousef is found guilty of planning the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.

From 2001

2001 – Taliban forces abandon Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, ahead of advancing Northern Alliance troops.
2001 – A plane crash in the New York Borough of Queens kills all (260) of those on board, and 5 people on the ground. American Airlines Flight 587 had come down shortly after take–off and was bound for the Dominican Republic.
2003 – Iraq War: In Nasiriya, Iraq, at least 23 people, including the war's first Italian casualties, are killed in a suicide bomb attack on the Italian police base.
2003 – Shanghai Transrapid sets a new world speed record, 501 kilometers per hour (311 miles per hour), for commercial railways systems, which remains the fastest for unmodified commercial rail vehicles.
2004 – Official Guided by Voices Day in Los Angeles, California.
2004 – Resignation of Colin Powell as United States Secretary of Defense.
2010 – The 16th Asian Games begin in Guangzhou, China.
2011 – In the wake of an economic crisis, Silvio Berlusconi resigns as Prime Minister of Italy. Mario Monti is selected to replace him shortly after.
2013 – One World Trade Center is announced as being the tallest building in the United States.
2014 – The Philae lander from the European Space Agency's Rosetta probe lands on the surface of the Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. It is the first man–made object to land on a comet.
2015 – At least 40 people are killed in suicide bomb attacks in Beirut, Lebanon.
2017 – A magnitude 7.3 earthquake strikes the Iran–Iraq border area, killing at least 450 people and injuring hundreds.

Births

Up to 1900

1493 – Bartolomeo Bandelli, Italian sculptor (d. 1560)
1528 – Qi Jiquang, Chinese general (d. 1588)
1547 – Claude of Valois, French princess (d. 1575)
1615 – Richard Baxter, English clergyman (d. 1691)
1651 – Juana Inés de la Cruz, Mexican nun and poet (d. 1695)
1679 – Firmin Bauzit, French scholar (d. 1767)
1729 – Louis Antoine de Bougainville, French explorer (d. 1811)
1746 – Jacques Charles, French physicist (d. 1823)
1755 – Gerhard von Scharnhorst, Prussian general (d. 1813)
1774 – Charles Bell, Scottish physiologist and anatomist (d. 1842)
1790 – Letitia Christian Tyler, American First Lady, wife of John Tyler (d. 1842)
1815 – Elizabeth Cady Stanton, American women's rights activist (d. 1902)
1817 – Baha'u'llah, religious leader of the Baha'i faith (d. 1892)
1830 – Brynjulf Bergslien, Norwegian sculptor (d. 1898)
1833 – Alexander Borodin, Russian composer (d. 1887)
1840 – Auguste Rodin, French sculptor (d. 1917)
1841 – Preston Lea, Governor of Delaware (d. 1916)
1842 – John Strutt, 3rd Baron Raleigh, English physicist (d. 1919)
1850 – Mikhail Chigorin, Russian chess player (d. 1908)
1865 – Sun Yat-sen, Chinese revolutionary and politician (d. 1925)
1872 – William Fay, Irish actor and theatre musician (d. 1947)
1881 – Olev Siinmaa, Estonian architect (d. 1948)
1882 – Infanta María Teresa of Spain (d. 1912)
1883 – James W. Mott, American politician (d. 1945)
1886 – Ben Travers, British playwright (d. 1980)
1890 – Lily Kronberger, Hungarian figure skater (d. 1974)
1891 – Seth Barnes Nicholson, American astronomer (d. 1963)
1892 – Tudor Davies, Welsh operatic tenor (d. 1958)
1895 – Amandus Adamson, Estonian sculptor (d. 1929)
1898 – Leon Stukelj, Slovenian gymnast (d. 1999)

1901 – 1950

1901 – James Luther Adams, American theologian (d. 1994)
1903 – Jack Oakie, American actor (d. 1978)
1908 – Harry Blackmun, United States Supreme Court justice (d. 1999)
1911 – Buck Clayton, American jazz trumpeter (d. 1991)
1911 – Chad Varah, British founder of the Samaritans telephone helpline (d. 2007)
1915 – Roland Barthes, French writer and philosopher (d. 1980)
1917 – Jo Stafford, American singer (d. 2008)
1920 – Richard Quine, American actor (d. 1989)
1922 – Kim Hunter, American actress (d. 2002)
1923 – Loriot, German comedian, humorist, producer and writer (d. 2011)
1923 – Rubén Bonifaz Nuño, Mexican poet and scholar (d. 2013)
1924 – Sam Jones, American jazz musician (d. 1981)
1928 – Bob Holness, South African–born television presenter and actor (d. 2012)
1929 – Michael Ende, German writer (d. 1995)
1929 – Grace Kelly, American actress and Princess of Monaco (d. 1982)
1930 – Bob Crewe, American songwriter, dancer, singer and record producer (d. 2014)
1931 – Norman Y. Mineta, American politician
1933 – Jalal Talabani, President of Iraq (d. 2017)
1934 – Vavá, Brazilian footballer (d. 2002)
1934 – Leonid Stein, Soviet–Ukrainian chess player (d. 1973)
1934 – Charles Manson, American cult leader (d. 2017)
1935 – Lyudmila Gurchenko, Russian actress and singer (d. 2011)
1936 – Heiner Zieschang, German mathematician (d. 2004)
1936 – Mills Lane, American boxer, referee, lawyer and judge
1937 – Richard H. Truly, American astronaut
1938 – Benjamin Mkapa, former President of Tanzania
1938 – Mort Shuman, American singer-songwriter (d. 1991)
1939 – Lucia Popp, Slovakian soprano (d. 1993)
1939 – Ruby Nash Garnett, American singer
1940 – Jürgen Todenhöfer, German judge and politician
1941 – Cristina Peri Rossi, Uruguayan writer
1943 – Errol Brown, English singer (d. 2015)
1943 – Bjorn Waldegard, Swedish rally driver (d. 2014)
1943 – Wallace Shawn, American actor and playwright
1944 – Booker T. Jones, American rock musician
1944 – Al Michaels, American sportscaster
1945 – Dale Schlueter, American basketball player (d. 2014)
1945 – Neil Young, Canadian singer
1946 – Krister Henriksson, Swedish actor
1948 – Hassan Rouhani, President of Iran
1949 – Jack Reed, American politician

1951 – 1975

1952 – Ernie Fletcher, 60th Governor of Kentucky
1952 – Stuart Cosgrove, Scottish broadcaster and journalist
1955 – Louan Gideon, American actress (d. 2014)
1955 – Les McKeown, Scottish singer
1957 – Tim Samaras, American storm chaser (d. 2013)
1957 – Cécilia Attias, former First Lady of France
1958 – Megan Mullally, American actress
1959 – Toshihiko Sahashi, Japanese composer
1960 – Maurane, Belgian singer (d. 2018)
1961 – Nadia Comaneci, Romanian gymnast
1961 – Enzo Francescoli, Uruguayan footballer
1962 – Naomi Wolf, American author and feminist
1962 – Mariella Frostrup, Norwegian–British journalist
1962 – Mark Hunter, Canadian ice hockey player, coach and manager
1963 – Susumu Terajimi, Japanese actor
1964 – Danny Ellefson, American musician
1964 – Thomas Berthold, German footballer
1964 – Vic Chesnutt, American musician (d. 2009)
1964 – Michael Kremer, American economist
1965 – Eddie Mair, Scottish journalist
1968 – Aya Hisakawa, Japanese voice actress and singer
1968 – Kathleen Hanna, American musician and activist
1968 – Sammy Sosa, Dominican baseball player
1970 – Tonya Harding, American figure skater
1971 – Chen Guangcheng, Chinese human rights activist
1973 – Radha Mitchell, American actress
1974 – Alessandro Birindelli, Italian footballer
1975 – Katherine Grainger, Scottish rower
1975 – Dario Simic, Croatian footballer

From 1976

1976 – Miroslaw Szymkowiak, Polish footballer
1977 – Benni McCarthy, South African footballer
1978 – Eric Addo, Ghanaian footballer
1978 – Ashley Williams, American actress
1980 – Ryan Gosling, Canadian actor
1980 – Charlie Hodgson, English rugby player
1981 – D. J. Campbell, English footballer
1982 – Maxim Tchoudov, Russian biathlete
1982 – Anne Hathaway, American actress
1983 – Carlton Cole, English footballer
1984 – Omarion, American singer
1985 – Adlène Guedioura, French–Algerian footballer
1987 – Bryan Little, Canadian ice hockey player
1988 – Russell Westbrook, American basketball player
1988 – Paul Samaras, American storm chaser (d. 2013)
1989 – Hiroshi Kiyotake, Japanese footballer
1990 – Taulupe Faletau, Welsh rugby union player
1990 – Florent Manaudou, French swimmer
1990 – James McCarthy, Irish footballer
1992 – Adam Larsson, Swedish ice hockey player
1992 – Giulietta, Australian singer
1992 – Trey Burke, American basketball player
2001 – Raffey Cassidy, English actress

Deaths

Up to 1900

607 – Pope Boniface III
1035 – Canute the Great, Danish king of England, Denmark, Norway and part of Sweden (b. 995)
1094 – King Duncan II of Scotland (b. 1060)
1139 – King Magnus IV of Norway (b. 1115)
1202 – King Canute VI of Denmark (b. 1163)
1434 – King Louis III of Naples (b. 1403)
1595 – John Hawkins, English shipbuilder, merchant, and slavetrader (b. 1532)
1671 – Thomas Fairfax, English Civil War general (b. 1612)
1720 – Peter Tordenskiold, Danish–Norwegian naval officer (b. 1690)
1742 – Friedrich Hoffmann, German physician and chemist (b. 1660)
1757 – Colley Cibber, English poet (b. 1671)
1793 – Jean Sylvain Bailly, French politician, first Mayor of Paris (executed on the Guillotine) (b. 1736)
1813 – J. Hector St John de Crèvecoeur, French–American writer (b. 1735)
1836 – Juan Ramon Balcarce, Argentine military leader and politician (b. 1773)
1857 – Manuel Oribe, Uruguayan politician (b. 1792)
1865 – Elizabeth Gaskell, English writer (b. 1810)

1901 – 2000

1902 – William Henry Barlow, British railway engineer (b. 1812)
1903 – Camille Pissarro, French painter (b. 1830)
1912 – José Canalejas, Spanish politician and writer (b. 1854)
1916 – Percival Lowell, American astronomer (b. 1855)
1933 – John Cady, American golfer (b. 1866)
1933 – F. Holland Day, American photographer (b. 1864)
1939 – Norman Bethune, Canadian doctor and humanitarian (b. 1890)
1942 – Laura Hope Crews, American actress (b. 1879)
1944 – Otto Blumenthal, German mathematician (b. 1876)
1945 – James W. Mott, American politician (b. 1883)
1946 – Albert Bond Lambert, American golfer (b. 1875)
1946 – Madan Mohan Malaviya, Indian academic and politician (b. 1861)
1948 – Umberto Giordano, Italian composer (b. 1867)
1950 – Lesley Ashburner, American athlete (b. 1883)
1958 – James Michael Curley, American politician, Governor of Massachusetts (b. 1874)
1969 – Iskander Mirza, President of Pakistan (b. 1899)
1969 – Liu Shaoqi, Chinese revolutionary and politician (b. 1898)
1974 – Thorbergur Thordarson, Icelandic writer (b. 1889)
1976 – Walter Piston, American composer (b. 1894)
1990 – Eve Arden, American actress (b. 1908)
1994 – Wilma Rudolph, American runner (b. 1940)
1997 – Carlos Surinach, Spanish composer (b. 1915)
2000 – Leah Rabin, widow of Yitzhak Rabin (b. 1928)

From 2001

2003 – Jonathan Brandis, American actor (b. 1976)
2007 – Ira Levin, American writer (b. 1929)
2008 – Mitch Mitchell, English drummer (b. 1947)
2010 – Henryk Gorecki, Polish composer (b. 1933)
2012 – Sergio Oliva, Cuban–born American bodybuilder (b. 1941)
2013 – Aleksandr Serebrov, Soviet–Russian cosmonaut (b. 1944)
2013 – John Tavener, English composer (b. 1944)
2014 – Warren Clarke, English actor (b. 1947)
2014 – Marge Roukema, American politician (b. 1929)
2014 – Rebekah Gibbs, English actress (b. 1973)
2015 – Márton Fülöp, Hungarian footballer (b. 1983)
2015 – Aaron Shikler, American artist (b. 1922)
2015 – Jihadi John, Kuwaiti–British terrorist (b. 1988)
2016 – Lupita Tovar, Mexican–American actress (b. 1910)
2017 – Bernard Panafieu, French cardinal (b. 1931)
2017 – Jack Ralite, French politician (b. 1928)
2017 – Edith Savage-Jennings, American activist (b. 1924)
2017 – Liz Smith, American gossip columnist (b. 1923)
2017 – Santiago Vernazza, Argentine footballer (b. 1928)
2018 – Ananth Kumar, Indian politician (b. 1959)
2018 – Stan Lee, American comic book writer, publisher and actor (b. 1922)
2018 – Igor Luchenok, Belarussian composer (b. 1938)
2018 – David Pearson, American racing driver (b. 1934)
2018 – Stuart H. Walker, American yachtsman (b. 1923)
2019 – Edwin Bramall, British army officer (b. 1923)
2019 – Herb Dickenson, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1931)
2019 – Bob Johnson, American baseball player (b. 1936)
2019 – Víctor Manuel Pérez Rojas, Venezuelan Roman Catholic prelate (b. 1940)
2019 – Mitsuhisa Taguchi, Japanese footballer (b. 1955)
2020 – Masatoshi Koshiba, Japanese physician (b. 1926)

Observances

Birth of Baha'u'llah (Baha'i faith)
Birth of Sun Yat-sen (Republic of China)
World Pneumonia Day
Constitution Day (Azerbaijan)