On this day: October 12

Events on October 12

• 1406 Chen Yanxiang, the only person from Indonesia known to have visited dynastic Korea, reached Seoul four months after leaving Java. Wikipedia
• 1492 Believing he had reached the East Indies, Christopher Columbus made landfall on an island in the Caribbean, sparking a series of events that led to the European colonization of the Americas. Wikipedia
• 1798 The Peasants' War began in Overmere, Southern Netherlands, with peasants taking up arms against the French occupiers. Wikipedia
• 1799 Jeanne Geneviève Garnerin became the first woman to make a parachute descent, falling 900 metres (3,000 ft) in the gondola of a hot air balloon. Wikipedia
• 1822 Pedro I of Brazil is proclaimed the emperor. Wikipedia
• 1890 The Uddevalla Suffrage Association was founded in Uddevalla, Sweden, with the purpose of bringing about universal suffrage. Wikipedia
• 1892 The Pledge of Allegiance of the United States was first used in public schools to coincide with the opening of the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Wikipedia
• 1898 A statue of Austin Blair was dedicated in a ceremony that attracted up to 30,000 people to Lansing, Michigan. Wikipedia
• 1901 President Theodore Roosevelt officially renames the "Executive Mansion" to the White House. Wikipedia
• 1909 Foundation of Coritiba Foot Ball Club. Wikipedia
• 1917 First World War: New Zealand troops suffered more than 2,000 casualties, including more than 800 deaths, in the First Battle of Passchendaele, making it the nation's largest loss of life in one day. Wikipedia
• 1928 The iron lung, a type of medical ventilator, was used for the first time at the Boston Children's Hospital to treat an eight-year-old girl paralyzed by polio. Wikipedia
• 1933 The United States Department of Justice acquired a military prison on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay, to be transformed into the last-resort Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary. Wikipedia
• 1946 Il Canto degli Italiani is adopted as national anthem by the newly formed Italian Republic. Wikipedia
• 1960 Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev reportedly pounded his shoe on a desk during a meeting of the United Nations General Assembly in protest at a speech by Philippine delegate Lorenzo Sumulong. Wikipedia
• 1960 Japan Socialist Party leader Inejirō Asanuma was assassinated during a live television recording by a far-right ultra-nationalist using a short sword. Wikipedia
• 1964 The Soviet Union launches the Voskhod 1 into Earth orbit as the first spacecraft with a multi-person crew, and the first flight without pressure suits. Wikipedia
• 1973 President Nixon nominates House Minority Leader Gerald R. Ford as the successor to Vice President Spiro T. Agnew. Wikipedia
• 1978 While in prison for murder, boxer James Scott defeated Eddie "The Flame" Gregory, a leading light heavyweight. Wikipedia
• 1979 Typhoon Tip, the largest and most intense tropical cyclone ever recorded, reached a worldwide record-low sea-level pressure of 870 mbar (25.69 inHg) in the western Pacific Ocean. Wikipedia
• 1984 The Provisional Irish Republican Army detonated a bomb at the Grand Hotel in Brighton, England, in a failed attempt to assassinate British prime minister Margaret Thatcher and her cabinet. Wikipedia
• 1992 An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.8 or 5.9 struck south of Cairo, Egypt, killing 545 people. Wikipedia
• 2002 Terrorists detonate bombs in two nightclubs in Kuta, Bali, Indonesia, killing 202 and wounding over 200. Wikipedia
• 2005 The second Chinese human spaceflight, Shenzhou 6, is launched, carrying two cosmonauts in orbit for five days. Wikipedia
• 2013 Twelve people were killed in an apartment-building collapse in Medellín, leading to new construction laws being passed in Colombia. Wikipedia
• 2017 The United States announces its decision to withdraw from UNESCO. Israel immediately follows. Wikipedia

Born on October 12

• 1350 Dmitri Donskoi, Grand Duke of Moscow (died 1389) Wikipedia
• 1537 Edward VI, king of England (died 1553) Wikipedia
• 1798 Pedro I, emperor of Brazil (died 1834) Wikipedia
• 1865 Arthur Harden, English biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1940) Wikipedia
• 1866 Ramsay MacDonald, Scottish journalist and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (died 1937) Wikipedia
• 1872 Ralph Vaughan Williams, English composer and educator (died 1958) Wikipedia
• 1875 Aleister Crowley, English magician and author (died 1947) Wikipedia
• 1891 Edith Stein, Polish nun and martyr; later canonized (died 1942) Wikipedia
• 1891 Fumimaro Konoe, Japanese soldier and politician, 39th Prime Minister of Japan (died 1945) Wikipedia
• 1896 Eugenio Montale, Italian poet and translator, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1981) Wikipedia
• 1934 Richard Meier, American architect, designed the Getty Center and City Tower Wikipedia
• 1935 Luciano Pavarotti, Italian tenor and actor (died 2007) Wikipedia
• 1949 Carlos the Jackal, Venezuelan terrorist Wikipedia
• 1962 Branko Crvenkovski, Macedonian engineer and politician, 3rd President of the Republic of Macedonia Wikipedia
• 1963 Satoshi Kon, Japanese animator and screenwriter (died 2010) Wikipedia
• 1968 Hugh Jackman, Australian actor, singer, and producer Wikipedia
• 1975 Marion Jones, American basketball player and runner Wikipedia
• 1977 Bode Miller, American skier Wikipedia
• 1980 Ledley King, English footballer Wikipedia
• 1983 Alex Brosque, Australian footballer Wikipedia
• 1986 Cristhian Stuani, Uruguayan footballer Wikipedia
• 1992 Josh Hutcherson, American actor and producer Wikipedia

Died on October 12

• 322 BC Demosthenes, Athenian statesman, (born 384 BC) Wikipedia
• 638 Honorius I, pope of the Catholic Church Wikipedia
• 642 John IV, pope of the Catholic Church Wikipedia
• 1492 Piero della Francesca, Italian mathematician and painter (born 1415) Wikipedia
• 1576 Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor (born 1527) Wikipedia
• 1858 Hiroshige, Japanese painter (born 1797) Wikipedia
• 1870 Robert E. Lee, American general (born 1807) Wikipedia
• 1924 Anatole France, French journalist, novelist, and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1844) Wikipedia
• 1969 Sonja Henie, Norwegian figure skater and actress (born 1912) Wikipedia
• 1987 Fahri Korutürk, Turkish commander and politician, 6th President of Turkey (born 1903) Wikipedia
• 1997 John Denver, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (born 1943) Wikipedia
• 1999 Wilt Chamberlain, American basketball player and coach (born 1936) Wikipedia
• 2011 Dennis Ritchie, American computer scientist, created the C programming language (born 1941) Wikipedia
• 2024 Alex Salmond, Scottish economist and politician, First Minister of Scotland (born 1954) Wikipedia

Holidays and observances

• Christian feast day: Domnina of Anazarbus Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Edith Cavell and Elizabeth Fry (Church of England) Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Fiacc Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Our Lady of the Pillar (Fiestas del Pilar) Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Our Lady of Aparecida Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Blessed Louis Brisson Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Radim Gaudentius (Czech Republic) Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Blessed Roman Sitko Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Seraphin of Montegranaro Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Thomas Bullaker Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Wilfrid of Ripon Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Carlo Acutis Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: October 12 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) Wikipedia
• Children's Day (Brazil) Wikipedia
• Discovery of America by Columbus-related observances (see also October 8): Columbus Day (Honduras) Wikipedia
• Discovery of America by Columbus-related observances (see also October 8): Día de la Hispanidad or Fiesta Nacional de España, also Armed Forces Day (Spain) Wikipedia
• Discovery of America by Columbus-related observances (see also October 8): Día de la Raza (El Salvador, Uruguay) Wikipedia
• Discovery of America by Columbus-related observances (see also October 8): Día de la Resistencia Indígena, "Day of Indigenous Resistance" (Venezuela) Wikipedia
• Discovery of America by Columbus-related observances (see also October 8): Día de las Américas (Belize) Wikipedia
• Discovery of America by Columbus-related observances (see also October 8): Día de las Culturas, "Day of the Cultures" (Costa Rica) Wikipedia
• Discovery of America by Columbus-related observances (see also October 8): Día del Respeto a la Diversidad Cultural, "Day of respect for cultural diversity" (Argentina) Wikipedia
• Discovery Day (The Bahamas) Wikipedia
• Feast for Life of Aleister Crowley, celebrated as "Crowleymas" (Thelema) Wikipedia
• Fiesta Nacional de España (Spain) Wikipedia

Sources

• Wikipedia — “October 12” — events, births, deaths and observances (text under CC BY-SA 4.0) (checked 2026-10-15)
• Wikipedia — “Selected anniversaries/October 12” — the anniversaries editors chose for the date and the article each one is about (checked 2026-10-15)
• Wikidata — in how many language editions each entry's own article exists, used to fill the lists (CC0) (checked 2026-10-15)
• vacanza/holidays (open-source holiday rules, MIT licence) — holiday rules used to build the lists (checked 2026-10-15)

The events, births, deaths and observances above are from the English Wikipedia article “October 12” and the articles it links to (authors and history), retrieved 2026-10-15 through the Wikimedia “On this day” feed. They are licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; this selection is shared under the same licence. Every anniversary that Wikipedia's editors selected for October 12 stays on the list; the remaining places, up to 26 events, 22 births and 14 deaths, go to the entries whose own article — about the event itself, or else the person or thing it is about — appears in the most language editions (counted from Wikidata); an article about a person or thing, which covers far more than one day, counts half. An entry with no article of its own counts, also at half, by the least covered article it links, and one that links only places counts for nothing. Each list runs by year, and the wording is unchanged apart from removing references to pictures, audio and video.