December 12 is the 346th day (347th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 19 days remaining.

Events

• 627 - Battle of Nineveh
• 1531 - Apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mexico City
• 1719 - The first U.S. newspaper (the Boston Gazette) is published
• 1781 - The British navy defeated a French fleet in the Second Battle of Ushant during the American Revolutionary War.
• 1787 - Pennsylvania becomes the second state to ratify the United States Constitution
• 1870 - Joseph H. Rainey of South Carolina becomes the first black U.S. congressman
• 1897 - The city of Belo Horizonte is founded.
• 1900 - US Steel formed
• 1901 - First radio transmission across the Atlantic Ocean by Guglielmo Marconi
• 1913 - Mona Lisa recovered in Florence, two years after it was stolen
• 1917 - In Nebraska, Father Edward J. Flanagan founds Boys Town as a farm village for wayward boys (in 1979 it was opened to girls as well).
• 1925 - Reza Pahlavi takes control of Iran as Shah
• 1937 - Panay incident
• 1939 - Finland defeated the Soviet Union in the Battle of Tolvajärvi, their first major victory in the Winter War.
• 1941 - United States seizes French ship Normandie.
• 1948 - Batang Kali Massacre, Malaysia
• 1963 - Kenya gains its independence from the United Kingdom.
• 1969 - Strage di Piazza Fontana in Italy.
• 1979 - The South Korea.
• 1979 - Rhodesia changes its name to Zimbabwe
• 1981 - The Chaos Computer Club was founded in Berlin.
• 1983 - Dallos is the first OAV (Original Animation Video) ever released.
• 1985 - Arrow Air Flight 1285 crashes after takeoff in Gander, Newfoundland killing 256, including 248 members of the United States Army's 101st Airborne Division
• 1996 - Uday Hussein is seriously injured in an assassination attempt.
• 2000 - The United States Supreme Court releases its decision in Bush v. Gore, deciding the presidential election of 2000.
• 2003 - Paul Martin, Jr. is sworn-in as the 21st Prime Minister of Canada
• 2004 - Portuguese football team FC Porto wins the last-held Intercontinental Cup against Colombia's Once Caldas in an 8-7 penalty shoot-out.

Births

• 1298 - Duke Albert II of Austria
• 1418 - Duke Albert VI of Austria
• 1574 - Anne of Denmark, consort of James I of England (d. 1619)
• 1745 - John Jay, United States Supreme Court justice (d. 1829)
• 1805 - William Lloyd Garrison, abolitionist (d. 1879)
• 1806 - Stand Watie, Confederate general, Cherokee leader (d. 1871)
• 1821 - Gustave Flaubert, French writer (d. 1880)
• 1863 - Edvard Munch, Norwegian painter (d. 1944)
• 1871 - Umenosuke Bessho, Japanese writer (d. 1945)
• 1876 - Alvin Kraenzlein, American athlete
• 1879 - Laura Hope Crews, stage & film actress, 'Aunt Pitty' from Gone With The Wind (d. 1942)
• 1887 - Kurt Atterberg, Swedish composer
• 1892 - Liesl Karlstadt, actress along with Karl Valentin (d. 1960)
• 1892 - Herman Potočnik Noordung, Slovene pioneer of astronautics and cosmonautics, and rocket engineer (d. 1929)
• 1893 - Edward G. Robinson, actor (d. 1973)
• 1900 - Sammy Davis, Sr., American dancer
• 1903 - Ozu Yasujiro, film director (d. 1963)
• 1905 - Mànes Sperber, writer (d. 1984)
• 1914 - Patrick O'Brian, British author (d. 2000)
• 1915 - Frank Sinatra, American singer and actor (d. 1998)
• 1918 - Joe Williams, singer (d. 1999)
• 1919 - Hermann Neuberger, sports official (d. 1992)
• 1923 - Bob Barker, game show host, television personality
• 1924 - Ed Koch, former mayor of New York City
• 1927 - Honor Blackman, actress
• 1927 - Robert Noyce, American inventor (d. 1990)
• 1929 - John Osborne, British dramatist (d. 1994)
• 1932 - Bob Pettit, basketball star
• 1934 - Miguel de la Madrid, President of Mexico
• 1938 - Connie Francis, American singer
• 1940 - Sharad Pawar, Indian politician
• 1940 - Dionne Warwick, American singer
• 1943 - Dickie Betts, musician (The Allman Brothers)
• 1943 - Grover Washington Jr., musician (d. 1999)
• 1952 - Cathy Rigby, gymnast, actress
• 1957 - Sheila E., musician
• 1967 - John Randle, American football player
• 1970 - Jennifer Connelly, actress
• 1976 - Dan Hawkins, musician
• 1979 - Nate Clements, American football player
• 1981 - Yuvraj Singh, cricketer, India
• 1983 - Katrina Elam, Country singer

Deaths

• 884 - Carloman, King of the West Franks
• 1574 - Selim II, Ottoman Emperor
• 1894 - Sir John Thompson, fourth Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1845)
• 1923 - Raymond Radiguet, French author (b. 1903)
• 1929 - Charles Goodnight, cattle baron (b. 1836)
• 1939 - Douglas Fairbanks, Sr., American actor (b. 1883)
• 1952 - Bedřich Hrozný, Czech orientalist and linguist
• 1963 - Ozu Yasujiro, film director
• 1968 - Tallulah Bankhead, actress (b. 1902)
• 1970 - Doris Blackburn, Australian politician (b. 1889)
• 1971 - David Sarnoff, radio and television pioneer (b. 1891)
• 1994 - Stuart Roosa, Apollo Astronaut (b. 1933)
• 1996 - Vance Packard, American author on media manipulation (b. 1914)
• 1999 - Joseph Heller, American author (b. 1923)
• 2001 - Jean Richard, French actor (b. 1921)
• 2002 - Dee Brown, author
• 2003 - Geidar Aliev, former President of Azerbaijan (b. 1923)
• 2003 - Keiko, the killer whale in the Free Willy movies
• 2003 - Fadwa Toukan, Palestinian poet

Holidays and observances

• Independence Day in Kenya (1963)
• Bahá'í Faith - Feast of Masá'il (Questions) - First day of the 15th month of the Bahá'í Calendar
• Roman Catholic - Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe
• United Nations - Digital Solidarity Day

December 11 - December 13 - November 12 - January 12 -- listing of all days