File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship

Costa Concordia ''Costa Concordia'' () was a cruise ship operated by Costa Crociere. She was the first of her class, followed by sister ships '' Costa Serena'', '' Costa Pacifica'', '' Costa Favolosa'' and '' Costa Fascinosa'', and ''Carnival Splendor'' built ...

lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in

Seaside Heights, New Jersey Seaside Heights is a borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the borough's population was 2,887,Hurricane Sandy; People gather at a Mayan temple to commemorate the end of the Mayan calendar on December 21, when it was predicted a

doomsday event A global catastrophic risk or a doomsday scenario is a hypothetical future event that could damage human well-being on a global scale, even endangering or destroying modern civilization. An event that could cause human extinction or permanen ...

would occur;

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeedin ...

Curiosity Rover ''Curiosity'' is a car-sized Mars rover designed to explore the Gale crater on Mars as part of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission. ''Curiosity'' was launched from Cape Canaveral (CCAFS) on November 26, 2011, at 15:02:00 UTC and la ...

lands on the surface of

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin at ...

; The

Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting The Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting occurred on December 14, 2012, in Newtown, Connecticut, United States, when 20-year-old Adam Lanza shot and killed 26 people. Twenty of the victims were children between six and seven years old, and t ...

caused shock and outrage across the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

and the world;

K-pop K-pop (), short for Korean popular music, is a form of popular music originating in South Korea as part of South Korean culture. It includes styles and genres from around the world, such as pop, hip hop, R&B, experimental, rock, jazz, go ...

artist Psy performs his hit single

Gangnam Style "Gangnam Style" ( ko, 강남스타일, ) is a K-pop song by South Korean rapper Psy, released on July 15, 2012, by YG Entertainment as the lead single of his sixth studio album, ''Psy 6 (Six Rules), Part 1'' (''Ssai Yukgap Part 1''). The ...

, which became a cultural phenomenon in 2012; the

elementary particle In particle physics, an elementary particle or fundamental particle is a subatomic particle that is not composed of other particles. Particles currently thought to be elementary include electrons, the fundamental fermions ( quarks, leptons, ...

, the

Higgs boson The Higgs boson, sometimes called the Higgs particle, is an elementary particle in the Standard Model of particle physics produced by the quantum excitation of the Higgs field, one of the fields in particle physics theory. In the Stan ...

, dubbed "The God Particle", is discovered by

CERN The European Organization for Nuclear Research, known as CERN (; ; ), is an intergovernmental organization that operates the largest particle physics laboratory in the world. Established in 1954, it is based in a northwestern suburb of Gen ...

and revolutionizes

quantum physics Quantum mechanics is a fundamental theory in physics that provides a description of the physical properties of nature at the scale of atoms and subatomic particles. It is the foundation of all quantum physics including quantum chemistry, qua ...

; The

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, th ...

open in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

., 300x300px, thumb rect 0 0 200 200 Costa Concordia disaster rect 200 0 400 200 Hurricane Sandy rect 400 0 600 200

2012 phenomenon The 2012 phenomenon was a range of eschatological beliefs that cataclysmic or transformative events would occur on or around 21 December 2012. This date was regarded as the end-date of a 5,126-year-long cycle in the Mesoamerican Long Count cal ...

rect 0 200 300 400

rect 300 200 600 400

rect 0 400 200 600

rect 200 400 400 600

rect 400 400 600 600

2012 was designated as: * International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All

Events

January

January 4 Events Pre-1600 *46 BC – Julius Caesar fights Titus Labienus in the Battle of Ruspina. * 871 – Battle of Reading: Æthelred of Wessex and his brother Alfred are defeated by a Danish invasion army. 1601–1900 *1649 – Engl ...

– The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins *

January 12 Events Pre-1600 * 475 – Byzantine Emperor Zeno is forced to flee his capital at Constantinople, and his general, Basiliscus gains control of the empire. * 1528 – Gustav I of Sweden is crowned King of Sweden, having already rei ...

– Violent protests occur in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north o ...

, Romania, as two-day-old demonstrations continue against President

Traian Băsescu Traian Băsescu (; born 4 November 1951) is a conservative Romanian politician who served as President of Romania from 2004 to 2014. Prior to his presidency, Băsescu served as Romanian Minister of Transport on multiple occasions between 1991 ...

's economic

austerity Austerity is a set of political-economic policies that aim to reduce government budget deficits through spending cuts, tax increases, or a combination of both. There are three primary types of austerity measures: higher taxes to fund spend ...

measures. Clashes are reported in numerous Romanian cities between protesters and law enforcement officers. *

January 13 Events Pre-1600 * 27 BC – Octavian transfers the state to the free disposal of the Roman Senate and the people. He receives Spain, Gaul, and Syria as his province for ten years. * 532 – The Nika riots break out, during the raci ...

– The passenger cruise ship ''

'' runs aground off the coast of Italy, causing 32 deaths. *

January 23 Events Pre-1600 * 393 – Roman emperor Theodosius I proclaims his eight-year-old son Honorius co-emperor. * 971 – Using crossbows, Song dynasty troops soundly defeat a war elephant corps of the Southern Han at Shao. * 1264 & ...

–

Iran–European Union relations European Union–Iran relations are the bilateral relations between Iran and the European Union (EU). The EU is Iran's largest trading partner, along with China and the United Arab Emirates. Trade with Iran is subject to the general EU import reg ...

: the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...

adopts an embargo against

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

in protest of its continued effort to enrich

uranium Uranium is a chemical element with the symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Uranium is weak ...

February

February 1 Events Pre-1600 * 1327 – The teenaged Edward III is crowned King of England, but the country is ruled by his mother Queen Isabella and her lover Roger Mortimer. * 1411 – The First Peace of Thorn is signed in Thorn (Toruń), ...

– Egypt's deadliest football incident known as the

Port Said Stadium riot On 1 February 2012, a massive riot occurred at Port Said Stadium in Port Said, Egypt, following an Egyptian Premier League football match between Masry and Ahly. Seventy-four people were killed and more than 500 were injured after thousands o ...

is sparked after local Port Said Al Masry fans attack supporters of Cairo-based team

Al Ahly SC AL, Al, Ål or al may stand for: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Al (Aladdin), Al (''Aladdin'') or Aladdin, the main character in Disney's ''Aladdin'' media * Al (EastEnders), Al (''EastEnders''), a minor character in the British ...

. The massacre results in 74 deaths: 72 Al Ahly fans, 1 Al Masry fan and 1 police officer. Most of the deaths are caused by stabbing, fans thrown off the stands and a stampede. *

February 19 Events Pre-1600 * 197 – Emperor Septimius Severus defeats usurper Clodius Albinus in the Battle of Lugdunum, the bloodiest battle between Roman armies. * 356 – The anti-paganism policy of Constantius II forbids the worship of ...

–

suspends oil exports to Britain and France, following sanctions put in place by the European Union and the United States in January. *

February 21 Events Pre-1600 *452 or 453 – Severianus, Bishop of Scythopolis, is martyred in Palestine. * 1245 – Thomas, the first known Bishop of Finland, is granted resignation after confessing to torture and forgery. *1440 – The Pru ...

– Greek government-debt crisis:

Eurozone The euro area, commonly called eurozone (EZ), is a currency union of 19 member states of the European Union (EU) that have adopted the euro (€) as their primary currency and sole legal tender, and have thus fully implemented EMU pol ...

finance ministers reach an agreement on a second,

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists o ...

130-billion Greek

bailout A bailout is the provision of financial help to a corporation or country which otherwise would be on the brink of bankruptcy. A bailout differs from the term ''bail-in'' (coined in 2010) under which the bondholders or depositors of global sys ...

. *

February 27 Events Pre-1600 * 380 – Edict of Thessalonica: Emperor Theodosius I and his co-emperors Gratian and Valentinian II declare their wish that all Roman citizens convert to Nicene Christianity. * 425 – The University of Constantin ...

–

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the north and Oman to the northeast and ...

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Ali Abdullah Saleh formally transfers power to

Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...

Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, after a year of mass protests, ending his 33-year-long reign.

March

March 4 Events Pre-1600 * AD 51 – Nero, later to become Roman emperor, is given the title '' princeps iuventutis'' (head of the youth). * 306 – Martyrdom of Saint Adrian of Nicomedia. * 852 – Croatian Knez Trpimir I issues a ...

– A series of explosions is reported at a munitions dump in

Brazzaville Brazzaville (, kg, Kintamo, Nkuna, Kintambo, Ntamo, Mavula, Tandala, Mfwa, Mfua; Teke: ''M'fa'', ''Mfaa'', ''Mfa'', ''Mfoa''Roman Adrian Cybriwsky, ''Capital Cities around the World: An Encyclopedia of Geography, History, and Culture'', ABC-CL ...

, the capital of the

Republic of the Congo The Republic of the Congo (french: République du Congo, ln, Republíki ya Kongó), also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply either Congo or the Congo, is a country located in the western coast of Central Africa to the w ...

, with at least 250 people dead. *

March 5 Events Pre-1600 * 363 – Roman emperor Julian leaves Antioch with an army of 90,000 to attack the Sasanian Empire, in a campaign which would bring about his own death. *1046 – Nasir Khusraw begins the seven-year Middle Eastern j ...

– Air date of '' KONY 2012'' ( viral

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...

) on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

March 12 Events Pre-1600 * 538 – Vitiges, king of the Ostrogoths ends his siege of Rome and retreats to Ravenna, leaving the city to the victorious Byzantine general, Belisarius. *1088 – Election of Urban II as the 159th Pope of the C ...

– A coach carrying school pupils and teachers crashes while travelling through Sierre Tunnel on the A9 motorway in western Switzerland. Of the 52 people on board, 28 are killed, among them 22 children. *

March 13 Events Pre-1600 * 624 – The Battle of Badr, the first major battle between the Muslims and Quraysh. *1567 – The Battle of Oosterweel, traditionally regarded as the start of the Eighty Years' War. *1591 – At the Battle of Ton ...

– After 246 years since its first publication, the ''

Encyclopædia Britannica The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various t ...

'' discontinues its print edition. *

March 15 Events Pre-1600 * 474 BC – Roman consul Aulus Manlius Vulso celebrates an ovation for concluding the war against Veii and securing a forty years' truce. * 44 BC – The assassination of Julius Caesar takes place. * 493 &ndash ...

– Communist party chief of

Chongqing Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a municipality in Southwest China. The official abbreviation of the city, "" (), was approved by the State Co ...

Bo Xilai, well known for his neo-Maoist leanings and policies, is removed from his post after a large scandal involving the murder of British businessman Neil Heywood and an incident involving the Chongqing police chief Wang Lijun. *

March 22 Events Pre-1600 * 106 – Start of the Bostran era, the calendar of the province of Arabia Petraea. * 235 – Roman emperor Severus Alexander is murdered, marking the start of the Crisis of the Third Century. * 871 – Æthelr ...

– The President of Mali,

Amadou Toumani Touré Amadou Toumani Touré (4 November 19489 November 2020) was a Malian politician. He supervised Mali's first multiparty elections as chairman of the transitional government (1991–1992), and later became the second democratically-elected Presid ...

, is ousted in a

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

after mutinous soldiers attack government offices. *

–

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

wins the 2012 Asia Cup cricket tournament.

April

* April 6 – The National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad unilaterally declares the independence of

Azawad Azawad, or Azawagh (Tuareg: Azawaɣ, or Azawad; ar, أزواد) was a short-lived unrecognised state from 2012 to 2013. Azawagh (''Azawaɣ'') is the generic Tuareg Berber name of all Tuareg Berber areas, especially the northern half of Mal ...

from

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Ma ...

. * April 11 – An 8.6 earthquake strikes Indonesia triggering a small tsunami that hits the coast of

Aceh Aceh ( ), officially the Aceh Province ( ace, Nanggroë Acèh; id, Provinsi Aceh) is the westernmost province of Indonesia. It is located on the northernmost of Sumatra island, with Banda Aceh being its capital and largest city. Granted a ...

. * April 12 – Mutinous soldiers in

Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau ( ; pt, Guiné-Bissau; ff, italic=no, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫 𞤄𞤭𞤧𞤢𞥄𞤱𞤮, Gine-Bisaawo, script=Adlm; Mandinka: ''Gine-Bisawo''), officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau ( pt, República da Guiné-Bissau, links=no ) ...

stage a

and take control of the capital city,

Bissau Bissau () is the capital, and largest city of Guinea-Bissau. Bissau had a population of 492,004. Bissau is located on the Geba River estuary, off the Atlantic Ocean, and is Guinea-Bissau's largest city, major port, and its administrative and ...

. They arrest interim President

Raimundo Pereira Raimundo Rodrigues Pereira (born 1956) is a Bissau-Guinean lawyer and politician who was interim President of Guinea-Bissau from 3 March 2009 to 8 September 2009 and again in 2012, following the departure of President Malam Bacai Sanhá for medi ...

and leading presidential candidate

Carlos Gomes Júnior Carlos Domingos Gomes Júnior (born December 19, 1949)
(in Portuguese). is a presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The p ...

campaign. *

April 13 Events Pre-1600 * 1111 – Henry V is crowned Holy Roman Emperor. * 1204 – Constantinople falls to the Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade, temporarily ending the Byzantine Empire. 1601–1900 *1612 – In one of the epic samurai ...

– Kwangmyŏngsŏng-3, a

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...

Earth observation satellite An Earth observation satellite or Earth remote sensing satellite is a satellite used or designed for Earth observation (EO) from orbit, including spy satellites and similar ones intended for non-military uses such as environmental monitoring, ...

, explodes shortly after launch. The United States and other countries had called the impending launch a violation of

United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, ...

demands. The launch was planned to mark the centenary of the birth of Kim Il-sung, the founder of the republic. * April 20 – Bhoja Air Flight 213 crashes near Rawalpindi, Pakistan, killing all 127 people on board. * April 25 – Former

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast� ...

n President Charles Taylor is found guilty on 11 counts of aiding and abetting war crimes and crimes against humanity during the Sierra Leone Civil War.

May

* May 2 – A

pastel A pastel () is an art medium in a variety of forms including a stick, a square a pebble or a pan of color; though other forms are possible; they consist of powdered pigment and a binder. The pigments used in pastels are similar to those use ...

version of '' The Scream'', by the Norwegian painter

Edvard Munch Edvard Munch ( , ; 12 December 1863 – 23 January 1944) was a Norwegian painter. His best known work, '' The Scream'' (1893), has become one of Western art's most iconic images. His childhood was overshadowed by illness, bereavement and the d ...

, sells for US$120 million in a New York City auction, setting a new world record for an auctioned work of art. * May 6 – Legislative elections are held in

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...

to elect all 300 members of the

Hellenic Parliament The Hellenic Parliament ( el, Ελληνικό Κοινοβούλιο, Elliniko Kinovoulio; formally titled el, Βουλή των Ελλήνων, Voulí ton Ellínon, Boule of the Hellenes, label=none), also known as the Parliament of the He ...

and the New Democracy party led by Antonis Samaras, comes out as the largest party winning 108 out of 300 seats. * May 7 –

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

is elected President of Russia. * May 12– August 12 – The 2012 World Expo takes place in Yeosu, South Korea.2012 World Expo (English)
Retrieved January 23, 2012. * May 19 – Chelsea wins the 2011-12 UEFA Champions League held in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

by beating the home side

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which pla ...

in the final. *

May 20 Events Pre-1600 * 325 – The First Council of Nicaea is formally opened, starting the first ecumenical council of the Christian Church. * 491 – Empress Ariadne marries Anastasius I. The widowed '' Augusta'' is able to choose her ...

– An annular solar eclipse visible from Asia and North America is the 58th solar eclipse from 73 solar eclipses of Solar Saros 128. *

May 22 Events Pre-1600 * 192 – Dong Zhuo is assassinated by his adopted son Lü Bu. * 760 – Fourteenth recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet. * 853 – A Byzantine fleet sacks and destroys undefended Damietta in Egypt. *11 ...

–

Tokyo Skytree is a broadcasting and observation tower in Sumida, Tokyo. It became the tallest structure in Japan in 2010tallest self-supporting tower in the world at 634 metres high, is opened to the public. *

– 26 – The

Eurovision Song Contest 2012 The Eurovision Song Contest 2012 was the 57th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Baku, Azerbaijan, following the country's victory at the with the song " Running Scared" by the duo Ell & Nikki. It was the first time Azerb ...

takes place in

Baku Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world an ...

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

, and is won by Swedish entrant Loreen with the song "

Euphoria Euphoria ( ) is the experience (or affect) of pleasure or excitement and intense feelings of well-being and happiness. Certain natural rewards and social activities, such as aerobic exercise, laughter, listening to or making music and d ...

June

June 5 Events Pre-1600 * 1257 – Kraków, in Poland, receives city rights. *1283 – Battle of the Gulf of Naples: Roger of Lauria, admiral to King Peter III of Aragon, destroys the Neapolitan fleet and captures Charles of Salerno. *1288 & ...

– 6 – The century's second and last solar

transit of Venus frameless, upright=0.5 A transit of Venus across the Sun takes place when the planet Venus passes directly between the Sun and a superior planet, becoming visible against (and hence obscuring a small portion of) the solar disk. During a tr ...

occurs. The next pair are predicted to occur in 2117 and 2125. *

June 6 Events Pre-1600 * 913 – Constantine VII, the eight-year-old illegitimate son of Leo VI the Wise, becomes nominal ruler of the Byzantine Empire under the regency of a seven-man council headed by Patriarch Nicholas Mystikos, appointed ...

–

2012 Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus outbreak Since 2012, an outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus has affected several countries, primarily in its namesake, the Middle East. The virus, which causes Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), is a novel coronavirus that was ...

first identified. * June 7 – Morley and Dianella in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, Western Australia, have a once in a decade tornado. *

June 8 Events Pre-1600 * 218 – Battle of Antioch: With the support of the Syrian legions, Elagabalus defeats the forces of emperor Macrinus. * 452 – Attila leads a Hun army in the invasion of Italy, devastating the northern provinces ...

–

July 1 Events Pre-1600 * 69 – Tiberius Julius Alexander orders his Roman legions in Alexandria to swear allegiance to Vespasian as Emperor. * 552 – Battle of Taginae: Byzantine forces under Narses defeat the Ostrogoths in Italy, and th ...

–

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

and

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...

jointly host the

UEFA Euro 2012 The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th European Championship for men's national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament, held between 8 June and 1 ...

football tournament, which is won by

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

. *

June 17 Events Pre-1600 * 653 – Pope Martin I is arrested and taken to Constantinople, due to his opposition to monothelitism. *1242 – Following the Disputation of Paris, twenty-four carriage loads of Jewish religious manuscripts were bur ...

– Snap legislative elections are held in

, following failure to form a government, to elect all 300 members of the

and the New Democracy party, led by Antonis Samaras, comes out as the largest party winning 129 out of 300 seats. * June 18 – '' Shenzhou 9'', a Chinese

spacecraft A spacecraft is a vehicle or machine designed to fly in outer space. A type of artificial satellite, spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, Earth observation, meteorology, navigation, space colonization, ...

carrying three Chinese astronauts, including the first-ever female, docks manually with orbiting module Tiangong-1, making this the third country, after the United States and Russia, successfully to perform the mission. *

June 21 Events Pre-1600 * 533 – A Byzantine expeditionary fleet under Belisarius sails from Constantinople to Vandalic War, attack the Vandals in Africa, via Greece and Sicily (approximate date). *1307 – Külüg Khan is enthroned as Khaga ...

– The Congress of Paraguay approves the impeachment of president

Fernando Lugo Fernando Armindo Lugo Méndez (; born 30 May 1951) is a Paraguayan politician and laicized Catholic bishop who was President of Paraguay from 2008 to 2012. Previously he was a Roman Catholic priest and bishop, serving as Bishop of the Dioc ...

. * June 22 –

is removed from power. Vice President

Federico Franco Luis Federico Franco Gómez (born 24 July 1962) is a Paraguayan politician who was President of Paraguay from June 2012 until August 2013. A member of the Authentic Radical Liberal Party (PLRA), he was elected as Vice President of Paraguay in th ...

becomes the new president of Paraguay. * June 24 –

Lonesome George Lonesome George ( es, Solitario George or , 1910 – June 24, 2012) was a male Pinta Island tortoise (''Chelonoidis niger abingdonii'') and the last known individual of the subspecies. In his last years, he was known as the rarest creat ...

, the last known individual of the Pinta Island tortoise subspecies, dies in Galápagos National Park, thus making the subspecies

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

. *

June 30 Events Pre-1600 * 296 – Pope Marcellinus begins his papacy. * 763 – The Byzantine army of emperor Constantine V defeats the Bulgarian forces in the Battle of Anchialus. * 1422 – Battle of Arbedo between the duke of Milan ...

–

Mohamed Morsi Mohamed Mohamed Morsi Eissa al-AyyatThe spellings of his first and last names vary. survey of 14 news organizations plus Wikipedia in July 2012 Muslim Brotherhood The Society of the Muslim Brothers ( ar, جماعة الإخوان المسلمين'' ''), better known as the Muslim Brotherhood ( '), is a transnational Sunni Islamist organization founded in Egypt by Islamic studies, Islamic scholar and scho ...

, is elected 5th President of

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...

, the first elected democratically by the Egyptian people, sparking mixed reactions and protests throughout the country.

July

July 4 Events Pre-1600 *362 BC – Battle of Mantinea: The Thebans, led by Epaminondas, defeated the Spartans. * 414 – Emperor Theodosius II, age 13, yields power to his older sister Aelia Pulcheria, who reigned as regent and proclaimed ...

–

announces the discovery of a new particle with properties consistent with the

after experiments at the

Large Hadron Collider The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is the world's largest and highest-energy particle collider. It was built by the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) between 1998 and 2008 in collaboration with over 10,000 scientists and hundr ...

. * July 20 –

2012 Aurora, Colorado shooting On July 20, 2012, a mass shooting occurred inside a Century 16 movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, United States, during a midnight screening of the film ''The Dark Knight Rises''. Dressed in tactical clothing, James Holmes set off tear gas g ...

: 12 people are killed and 58 are injured in a mass shooting at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado. The shooter, James Holmes, opens fire on a crowd during a screening of '' The Dark Knight Rises''. * July 21 – Turkish adventurer Erden Eruç becomes the first person in history to complete a solo human-powered

circumnavigation Circumnavigation is the complete navigation around an entire island, continent, or astronomical body (e.g. a planet or moon). This article focuses on the circumnavigation of Earth. The first recorded circumnavigation of the Earth was the ...

of the Earth. * July 23 – The Solar storm of 2012 is an unusually large coronal mass ejection emitted by the Sun which barely misses the

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's sur ...

by nine days. If it had hit, it would have caused up to US$2.6 trillion in damages to electrical equipment worldwide. * July 27– August 12 – The

are held in London, England, United Kingdom. *

July 30 Events Pre-1600 * 762 – Baghdad is founded. * 1419 – First Defenestration of Prague: A crowd of radical Hussites kill seven members of the Prague city council. * 1502 – Christopher Columbus lands at Guanaja in the Bay Is ...

– 31 – In the worst power outage in world history, the

2012 India blackouts Two severe power blackouts affected most of northern and eastern India on 30 and 31 July 2012. The 30 July 2012 blackout affected over 400 million people and was briefly the largest power outage in history by number of people affected, beating ...

leave 620 million people without power.

August

August 6 Events Pre-1600 *1284 – The Republic of Pisa is defeated in the Battle of Meloria by the Republic of Genoa, thus losing its naval dominance in the Mediterranean. *1538 – Bogotá, Colombia, is founded by Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesad ...

– ''

Curiosity Curiosity (from Latin '' cūriōsitās'', from ''cūriōsus'' "careful, diligent, curious", akin to ''cura'' "care") is a quality related to inquisitive thinking such as exploration, investigation, and learning, evident by observation in human ...

'', the Mars Science Laboratory mission's

rover Rover may refer to: People * Constance Rover (1910–2005), English historian * Jolanda de Rover (born 1963), Dutch swimmer * Rover Thomas (c. 1920–1998), Indigenous Australian artist Places * Rover, Arkansas, US * Rover, Missouri, US * ...

, successfully lands on

. *

August 24 Events Pre-1600 * 367 – Gratian, son of Roman Emperor Valentinian I, is named co-Augustus at the age of eight by his father. * 394 – The Graffito of Esmet-Akhom, the latest known inscription in Egyptian hieroglyphs, is writte ...

– The

House of Representatives of Japan The is the lower house of the National Diet of Japan. The House of Councillors (Japan), House of Councillors is the upper house. The composition of the House is established by and of the Constitution of Japan. The House of Representatives ha ...

passes a resolution criticizing the

President of South Korea The president of the Republic of Korea (), also known as the president of South Korea (often abbreviated to POTROK or POSK; ), is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Korea. The president leads the State Council, and ...

Lee Myung-bak Lee Myung-bak (; ; ; born 19 December 1941) is a South Korean businessman and politician who served as the 10th president of South Korea from 2008 to 2013. Before his presidency, he was the CEO of Hyundai Engineering and Construction, and the m ...

's visit to the disputed Liancourt Rocks. * August 31 –

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''O ...

severs diplomatic relations with Hungary, following the extradition to

and subsequent pardoning of Ramil Safarov, who was convicted of killing an Armenian soldier in Hungary in 2004. The move is also met with fierce criticism from other countries.

September

* September 7 – Canada officially cuts diplomatic ties with

by closing its embassy in

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

, and orders the expulsion of Iranian diplomats from

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the c ...

, over support for

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

, nuclear plans and human rights abuses. * September 11– 27 – A series of terrorist attacks are directed against United States diplomatic missions worldwide, as well as diplomatic missions of Germany, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. In the US, opinions are divided over whether the attacks are a reaction to a

trailer for the film '' Innocence of Muslims''. In Libya, among the dead is

US ambassador Ambassadors of the United States are persons nominated by the president to serve as the country's diplomatic representatives to foreign nations, international organizations, and as ambassadors-at-large. Under Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. ...

J. Christopher Stevens. * September 22 – The United Kingdom informs the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level o ...

about a novel coronavirus case originating from Saudi Arabia.

October

October 14 Events Pre-1600 *1066 – The Norman conquest of England begins with the Battle of Hastings. *1322 – Robert the Bruce of Scotland defeats King Edward II of England at the Battle of Old Byland, forcing Edward to accept Scotland's ...

– Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner becomes the first person to break the sound barrier without any machine assistance, during a record space dive out of the '' Red Bull Stratos'' helium-filled balloon from 128,000 ft () over

Roswell, New Mexico Roswell () is a city in, and the seat of, Chaves County in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Chaves County forms the entirety of the Roswell micropolitan area. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 48,422, making it the fifth-largest city ...

in the United States. * October 16 – Seven paintings worth $25 million are stolen from the Kunsthal in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte (river), Rotte'') is the second largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the Prov ...

, the Netherlands. * October 22 – November 2 – Hurricane Sandy, the largest Atlantic hurricane on record (as measured by diameter, with tropical-storm-force winds spanning 900 miles (1,400 km)), wreaks havoc, resulting in 233 total deaths and $68.7 billion (2012 USD) damage. * October 28 – Jorge Lorenzo becomes the World Champion of the 2012 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season.

November

* November 6 –

2012 United States presidential election The 2012 United States presidential election was the 57th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012. Incumbent Democratic President Barack Obama and his running mate, incumbent Vice President Joe Biden, were re ...

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

is reelected

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal gove ...

, defeating his Republican challenger

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts ...

. * November 13 – A total solar eclipse occurs in parts of Australia and the South Pacific. It is the 45th of 72 solar eclipses of

Solar Saros 133 Saros cycle series 133 for solar eclipses occurs at the Moon's ascending node, repeating every 18 years, 11 days, containing 72 events. All eclipses in this series occurs at the Moon's ascending node. Solar Saros 133 is one of the saros series ...

. * November 14– 21 –

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

launches Operation Pillar of Defense against the Palestinian-governed

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza.. ...

, killing

Hamas Hamas (, ; , ; an acronym of , "Islamic Resistance Movement") is a Palestinian Sunni- Islamic fundamentalist, militant, and nationalist organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qas ...

military chief Ahmed Jabari. In the following week 140 Palestinians and five Israelis are killed in an ensuing cycle of violence. A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is announced by

Egyptian Foreign Minister This is a list of ministers heading the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Egypt. *1933 : Nakhla George al-Motyei Pasha *1933 : Salib Sami Bey (1st time) *1933 - 1934 : Abdel Fattah Yahya Ibrahim Pasha (2nd time) *1934 - 1935 : Kam ...

Mohamed Kamel Amr and

US Secretary of State The United States secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The office holder is one of the highest ranking members of the president's Ca ...

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

after the week-long escalation in hostilities in Southern Israel and the Gaza Strip. *

November 25 Events Pre-1600 *571 BC – Servius Tullius, king of Rome, celebrates the first of his three triumphs for his victory over the Etruscans. * 1034 – Máel Coluim mac Cináeda, King of Scots, dies. His grandson, Donnchad, son of Bethó ...

– December 9 –

Typhoon Bopha Typhoon Bopha, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Pablo, was the strongest tropical cyclone on record to ever affect the southern Philippine island of Mindanao, making landfall as a Category 5 super typhoon with winds of 175 mph (28 ...

, known as "Pablo" in the Philippines, kills at least 1,067 with around 838 people missing. The typhoon causes considerable damage in the island of

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...

. * November 29 – The

UN General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...

approves a motion granting Palestine non-member observer state status.

December

* December 6 – The U.S. state of

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

becomes the first jurisdiction in the modern world officially to legalize the possession of

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: '' Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternative ...

for personal use. * December 8 – The UN Climate Change Conference in

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...

agrees to extend the

Kyoto Protocol The Kyoto Protocol was an international treaty which extended the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that commits state parties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, based on the scientific consensus that (part ...

until 2020. * December 12 –

successfully launches satellite Kwangmyongsong-3 Unit 2. * December 12 is the last time in the 21st century that the month, day and final two digits of the year are the exact same (12/12/12). The next time this will happen will be on New Year’s Day in 2101 (01/01/01). * December 14 –

: Twenty-eight people, including the gunman, are killed in Sandy Hook, Connecticut. *

December 17 Events Pre-1600 *497 BC – The first Saturnalia festival was celebrated in ancient Rome. * 546 – Siege of Rome: The Ostrogoths under king Totila plunder the city, by bribing the Byzantine garrison. * 920 – Romanos I Lekape ...

– Spanish bank Grupo Santander announces the acquisition of the remaining 10% of

Banesto Banco Español de Crédito, S.A. (), “Spanish Credit Bank”) better known as Banesto, was a Spanish multinational financial services company. Prior to the Spanish Government's historical intervention in 1993, the very first in the history of ...

it did not yet own, effectively absorbing it into Banco Santander. * December 18 – At least 55 people drown after an overcrowded boat capsizes off the coast of

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constitut ...

. * December 21 – Final year of the world as claimed by the Mayan calendar, ending on 12-21-12, stating that 2013 will not happen according to

Births

January 7 Events Pre-1600 * 49 BC – The Senate of Rome says that Caesar will be declared a public enemy unless he disbands his army. This prompts the tribunes who support him to flee to Ravenna, where Caesar is waiting. * 1325 – Alfonso I ...

– Blue Ivy Carter, American singer *

January 24 Events Pre-1600 * 41 – Claudius is proclaimed Roman emperor by the Praetorian Guard after they assassinate the previous emperor, his nephew Caligula. * 914 – Start of the First Fatimid invasion of Egypt. *1438 – The Counc ...

– Princess Athena of Denmark *

February 23 Events Pre-1600 * 303 – Roman emperor Diocletian orders the destruction of the Christian church in Nicomedia, beginning eight years of Diocletianic Persecution. * 532 – Byzantine emperor Justinian I lays the foundation stone of ...

– Princess Estelle, Duchess of Östergötland

Deaths

January

January 1 January 1 or 1 January is the first day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 364 days remaining until the end of the year (365 in leap years). This day is also known as New Year's Day since the day marks the beginning of the ye ...

** Bob Anderson, English fencer (b.

1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...

) **

Kiro Gligorov Kiro Gligorov ( mk, Киро Глигоров, ; 3 May 1917 – 1 January 2012) was a Macedonian politician who served as the first President of the Republic of Macedonia (now North Macedonia) from 1991 to 1999. Early life He was born in Štip, ...

, 1st President of the Republic of Macedonia (b. 1917) *

January 3 Events Pre-1600 *AD 69, 69 – The Roman legions on the Rhine refuse to declare their allegiance to Galba, instead proclaiming their legate, Aulus Vitellius, as emperor. * 250 – Emperor Decius orders everyone in the Roman Empire (ex ...

– Josef Škvorecký, Czech writer (b.

1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China hold ...

) *

January 9 Events Pre-1600 * 681 – Twelfth Council of Toledo: King Erwig of the Visigoths initiates a council in which he implements diverse measures against the Jews in Spain. *1127 – Jin–Song Wars: Invading Jurchen soldiers from the Jin ...

– Malam Bacai Sanhá, 4th President of Guinea-Bissau (b.

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country i ...

) *

January 10 Events Pre-1600 * 49 BC – Julius Caesar crosses the Rubicon, signalling the start of civil war. * 9 – The Western Han dynasty ends when Wang Mang claims that the divine Mandate of Heaven called for the end of the dynasty and the ...

–

Gevork Vartanian Gevork Andreevich Vartanian ( hy, Գևորգ Վարդանյան, russian: Гево́рк Андре́евич Вартаня́н; 17 February 1924 – 10 January 2012) was a Soviet intelligence officer. He was primarily responsible, together w ...

, Soviet intelligence officer (b.

) *

** Rauf Denktaş, 1st President of Northern Cyprus (b.

) **

Miljan Miljanić Miljan Miljanić ( sr-Cyrl, Миљан Миљанић; 4 May 1930 – 13 January 2012) was a Yugoslav and Serbian football player, coach and administrator, who played as a defender. Born in Bitola, Vardar Banovina, Kingdom of Yugoslavia, to ...

, Yugoslavian-born footballer (b. 1930) *

January 15 Events Pre-1600 * 69 – Otho seizes power in Rome, proclaiming himself Emperor of Rome, beginning a reign of only three months. *1541 – King Francis I of France gives Jean-François Roberval a commission to settle the province of ...

– Manuel Fraga Iribarne, Spanish politician (b.

) *

January 19 Events Pre-1600 * 379 – Emperor Gratian elevates Flavius Theodosius at Sirmium to ''Augustus'', and gives him authority over all the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire. * 649 – Conquest of Kucha: The forces of Kucha surrender a ...

– Sarah Burke, Canadian Freestyle skier (b.

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C ...

) *

January 20 Events Pre-1600 * 250 – Pope Fabian is martyred during the Decian persecution. * 649 – King Chindasuinth, at the urging of bishop Braulio of Zaragoza, crowns his son Recceswinth as co-ruler of the Visigothic Kingdom. * 1156 & ...

Etta James Jamesetta Hawkins (January 25, 1938 – January 20, 2012), known professionally as Etta James, was an American singer who performed in various genres, including gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, rock and roll, and soul. Starting her career in 1954, sh ...

, American singer (b.

1938 Events January * January 1 ** The new constitution of Estonia enters into force, which many consider to be the ending of the Era of Silence and the authoritarian regime. ** State-owned railway networks are created by merger, in France ...

) **

Jiří Raška Jiří Raška (; 4 February 1941 – 20 January 2012) was a Czechoslovakian ski jumper. He is regarded as the most famous Czech ski jumper of the 20th century. Early life He was born in Frenštát pod Radhoštěm in 1941. His father died of ...

, Czech ski jumper (b.

1941 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January–August – 10,072 men, women and children with mental and physical disabilities are asphyxiated with carbon monoxide in a gas chamber, at Hadamar E ...

) *

January 22 Events Pre-1600 * 613 – Eight-month-old Constantine is crowned as co-emperor ('' Caesar'') by his father Heraclius at Constantinople. * 871 – Battle of Basing: The West Saxons led by King Æthelred I are defeated by the Danelaw ...

– Joe Paterno, American football player and coach (b. 1926) *

** Theo Angelopoulos, Greek filmmaker (b.

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * January 12 – Amelia Earhart ...

) ** James Farentino, American actor (b.

) *

January 29 Events Pre-1600 * 904 – Sergius III is elected pope, after coming out of retirement to take over the papacy from the deposed antipope Christopher. * 946 – Caliph Al-Mustakfi is blinded and deposed by Emir Mu'izz al-Dawla, rul ...

** François Migault, French racing driver (b.

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command French Army B, part of the Sixth United States Army Group in ...

) ** Oscar Luigi Scalfaro, 9th President of Italy (b.

1918 This year is noted for the end of the First World War, on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, as well as for the Spanish flu pandemic that killed 50–100 million people worldwide. Events Below, the events ...

)

February

Whitney Houston Welcome Home Heroes 1 cropped

** Don Cornelius, American television show host and producer (b. 1936) **

Angelo Dundee Angelo is an Italian masculine given name and surname meaning "angel", or "messenger". People People with the given name * Angelo Accattino (born 1966), Italian prelate of the Catholic Church * Angelo Acciaioli (bishop) (1298–1357), Italian ...

, American boxing trainer and cornerman (b.

1921 Events January * January 2 ** The Association football club Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, from Belo Horizonte, is founded as the multi-sports club Palestra Italia by Italian expatriates in Brazil. ** The Spanish liner ''Santa Isabel'' bre ...

) ** Wisława Szymborska, Polish Nobel poet (b. 1923) *

February 3 Events Pre-1600 *1112 – Ramon Berenguer III, Count of Barcelona, and Douce I, Countess of Provence, marry, uniting the fortunes of those two states. * 1451 – Sultan Mehmed II inherits the throne of the Ottoman Empire. * 1488 – ...

** John Christopher, English writer (b.

) ** Ben Gazzara, American actor (b. 1930) *

February 4 Events Pre–1600 * 211 – Following the death of the Roman Emperor Septimius Severus at Eboracum (modern York, England) while preparing to lead a campaign against the Caledonians, the empire is left in the control of his two quarrelling ...

– Florence Green, English supercentenarian (b. 1901) *

February 6 Events Pre-1600 * 1579 – The Archdiocese of Manila is made a diocese by a papal bull with Domingo de Salazar being its first bishop. 1601–1900 * 1685 – James II of England and VII of Scotland is proclaimed King upon the death ...

** Peter Breck, American actor (b. 1929) **

Antoni Tàpies Antoni Tàpies i Puig, 1st Marquess of Tápies (; 13 December 1923 – 6 February 2012) was a Catalan People, Catalan painter, sculptor and art theorist, who became one of the most famous European artists of his generation. Life The son of Jo ...

, Spanish artist (b. 1923) ** Janice E. Voss, American engineer and astronaut (b.

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim Elliot and Pete Fleming, are kille ...

) *

February 11 Events Pre-1600 *660 BC – Traditional date for the foundation of Japan by Emperor Jimmu. * 55 – The death under mysterious circumstances of Tiberius Claudius Caesar Britannicus, heir to the Roman empire, on the eve of his coming ...

–

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed "Honorific nicknames in popular music, The Voice", she is Whitney Houston albums discography, one of the bestselling music artists ...

, American singer and actress (b. 1963) * February 12 – David Kelly (actor), David Kelly, Irish actor (b. 1929) * February 15 – Lina Romay, Spanish actress (b. 1954) * February 18 – George Brizan, 8th Prime Minister of Grenada (b. 1942) *

– Renato Dulbecco, Italian-born American Nobel virologist (b. 1914) * February 25 – Maurice André, French trumpeter (b. 1933) * February 29 – Davy Jones (musician), Davy Jones, English singer and actor (b. 1945)

March

* March 1 ** Andrew Breitbart, American writer and publisher (b. 1969) ** Lucio Dalla, Italian singer-songwriter (b. 1943) * March 3 ** Ralph McQuarrie, American conceptual designer and illustrator (b. 1929) ** Ronnie Montrose, American guitarist (b.

) * March 6 ** Francisco Xavier do Amaral, 1st President of East Timor (b. 1937) ** Robert B. Sherman, American songwriter (b. 1925) * March 7 – Włodzimierz Smolarek, Polish footballer (b. 1957) * March 10 ** Jean Giraud, French comics artist (b.

) ** F. Sherwood Rowland, American Nobel chemist (b. 1927) * March 14 – Ċensu Tabone, 4th President of Malta (b. 1913) * March 16 – Estanislau Basora, Spanish footballer (b. 1926) * March 17 ** John Demjanjuk, Ukrainian-American Nazi war crimes defendant (b. 1920) ** Pope Shenouda III of Alexandria (b. 1923) * March 18 – George Tupou V, King of Tonga (b. 1948) * March 21 – Tonino Guerra, Italian screenwriter (b. 1920) * March 23 ** Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, 6th President of Somalia (b. 1934) ** Chico Anysio, Brazilian actor, comedian, writer, and composer (b. 1931) ** Naji Talib, 52nd Prime Minister of Iraq (b. 1917) * March 25 ** Antonio Tabucchi, Italian writer (b. 1943) ** Edd Gould, British animator and creator of Eddsworld (b. 1988) * March 27 ** Adrienne Rich, American writer and feminist (b. 1929) ** Warren Stevens, American actor (b. 1919) * March 28 ** Alexander Arutiunian, Armenian composer (b. 1920) ** Earl Scruggs, American bluegrass musician (b.

)

April

* April 1 ** Giorgio Chinaglia, Italian footballer (b.

) ** Miguel de la Madrid, 52nd President of Mexico (b. 1934) * April 2 – Elizabeth Catlett, American/Mexican artist (b. 1915) * April 5 – Bingu wa Mutharika, 3rd President of Malawi (b. 1934) * April 7 – Mike Wallace, American journalist (b.

) * April 9 – Takeshi Aono, Japanese voice actor (b. 1936) * April 11 – Ahmed Ben Bella, 1st President of Algeria (b. 1916) * April 14 – Jonathan Frid, Canadian actor (b.

) * April 15 – Murray Rose, Australian swimmer (b. 1939) * April 16 – Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller, Danish shipping magnate (b. 1913) * April 18 – Dick Clark, American television host and producer (b. 1929) * April 19 – Levon Helm, American musician (b. 1940) * April 20 – Valeri Vasiliev, Russian ice hockey player (b. 1949) * April 21 – Charles Colson, American evangelist (b. 1931) * April 28 – Ervin Zádor, Hungarian water polo player (b. 1934) * April 29 ** Shukri Ghanem, Prime Minister of Libya (2003–2006) (b. 1942) ** Joel Goldsmith, American composer (b. 1957) * April 30 – Alexander Dale Oen, Norwegian swimmer (b. 1985)

May

Nobel Peace Price Concert 2009 Donna Summer1 cropped

* May 2 – Junior Seau, American football player (b. 1969) * May 3 – Jorge Illueca, 25th President of Panama (b.

) * May 4 ** Adam Yauch, American rapper and musician (b. 1964) ** Rashidi Yekini, Nigerian footballer (b. 1963) * May 5 – Carl Johan Bernadotte, Swedish prince (b. 1916) * May 6 – George Lindsey, American actor (b. 1928) * May 8 – Maurice Sendak, American author (b. 1928) * May 9 ** Geoffrey Henry, 2-Time Prime Minister of Cook Islands (b. 1940) ** Vidal Sassoon, British hairdresser (b. 1928) * May 10 – Carroll Shelby, American automotive designer, racing driver, and entrepreneur (b. 1923) * May 14 – Taruni Sachdev, Indian actress (b. 1998) * May 15 ** Carlos Fuentes, Panamanian-born Mexican writer (b. 1928) ** Zakaria Mohieddin, Egyptian general and politician (b.

) * May 17 – Donna Summer, American singer (b. 1948) * May 18 – Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, German lyric baritone and conductor (b. 1925) * May 19 – Bob Boozer, American basketball player (b. 1937) *

– Robin Gibb, British-Australian musician (b. 1949) * May 25 – Edoardo Mangiarotti, Italian fencer (b. 1919) * May 27 – Friedrich Hirzebruch, German mathematician (b. 1927) * May 29 ** Kaneto Shindo, Japanese film director (b. 1912) ** Doc Watson, American guitarist and songwriter (b. 1923) * May 30 – Andrew Huxley, British Nobel physiologist (b. 1917)

June

* June 2 ** Richard Dawson, British-American actor, comedian, game show host and panelist (b. 1932) ** Kathryn Joosten, American actress (b. 1939) ** Oliver (chimpanzee), Oliver, American chimpanzee performer, promoted as a "humanzee" (b. c.1957) * June 3 – Roy Salvadori, British racing driver (b.

) * June 4 – Eduard Khil, Soviet and Russian baritone singer (b. 1934) *

– Ray Bradbury, American author (b. 1920) *

– Manuel Preciado Rebolledo, Manuel Preciado, Spanish footballer and coach (b. 1957) * June 7 – Bob Welch (musician), Bob Welch, American musician (b. 1945) *

– Frank Cady, American actor (b. 1915) * June 11 ** Ann Rutherford, Canadian-born American actress (b. 1917) ** Teófilo Stevenson, Cuban Olympic boxer (b. 1952) * June 12 – Elinor Ostrom, American Nobel economist (b. 1933) * June 13 – William Standish Knowles, American Nobel chemist (b. 1917) * June 14 – Yvette Wilson, American actress and comedian (b. 1964) * June 16 ** Nayef bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia (b. 1934) ** Susan Tyrrell, American actress (b. 1945) *

– Rodney King, American criminal and victim of police brutality (b. 1965) * June 19 – Richard Lynch, American actor (b. 1940) * June 26 – Nora Ephron, American film director and screenwriter (b.

) *

– Yitzhak Shamir, 7th Prime Minister of Israel (b. 1915)

July

Ernest Borgnine McHale McHale's Navy 1962

– Alan G. Poindexter, American astronaut (b. 1961) * July 3 ** Andy Griffith, American actor (b. 1926) ** Sergio Pininfarina, Italian automobile designer (b. 1926) ** Hollie Stevens, American pornographic actress and model (b.

) * July 8 – Ernest Borgnine, American actor (b. 1917) * July 9 – Terepai Maoate, 6th Prime Minister of the Cook Islands (b. 1934) * July 10 – Dolphy, Filipino actor and comedian (b. 1928) * July 12 – Dara Singh, Indian wrestler, actor, and politician (b. 1928) * July 13 ** Richard D. Zanuck, American film producer (b. 1934) ** Sage Stallone, American actor, film director, producer, and distributor (b. 1976) * July 14 – Sixten Jernberg, Swedish cross-country skier (b. 1929) * July 15 – Celeste Holm, American actress (b. 1917) * July 16 ** Stephen Covey, American author (b. 1932) ** Jon Lord, British musician and composer (b.

) ** Kitty Wells, American country music singer (b. 1919) * July 18 – Rajesh Khanna, Indian actor, producer and politician (b. 1942) * July 19 – Omar Suleiman (politician), Omar Suleiman, Egyptian general, diplomat, and intelligence officer (b. 1936) * July 23 – Sally Ride, American astronaut and physicist (b. 1951) * July 24 ** Chad Everett, American actor (b. 1937) ** Sherman Hemsley, American actor (b.

) ** John Atta Mills, President of Ghana (b.

) * July 26 – Lupe Ontiveros, American actress (b. 1942) * July 27 – Jack Taylor (referee), Jack Taylor, English football referee (b. 1930) * July 29 – Chris Marker, French writer and documentary filmmaker (b.

) *

– Maeve Binchy, Irish author (b. 1939) * July 31 – Gore Vidal, American author, playwright, screenwriter, and political activist (b. 1925)

August

* August 2 – Mihaela Ursuleasa, Romanian classical pianist (b. 1978) * August 5 – Chavela Vargas, Costa Rican-born Mexican singer (b. 1919) *

** Marvin Hamlisch, American composer and conductor (b.

) ** Bernard Lovell, British physicist and astronomer (b. 1913) * August 9 – Al Freeman Jr., American actor (b. 1934) * August 14 ** Svetozar Gligorić, Serbian chess grandmaster (b. 1923) ** Ron Palillo, American actor and teacher (b. 1949) * August 15 – Harry Harrison (writer), Harry Harrison, American author (b. 1925) * August 16 – William Windom (actor), William Windom, American actor (b. 1923) * August 18 – Scott McKenzie, American singer and songwriter (b. 1939) * August 19 – Tony Scott, English film director (b.

) * August 20 ** Phyllis Diller, American actress and comedian (b. 1917) ** Dom Mintoff, 8th Prime Minister of Malta (b. 1916) ** Meles Zenawi, 3rd President and 10th Prime Minister of Ethiopia (b. 1955) * August 21 – William Thurston, American mathematician (b. 1946) * August 23 – Jerry Nelson, American puppeteer (b. 1934) *

** Pauli Ellefsen, 6th Prime Minister of Faroe Islands (b. 1936) ** Félix Miélli Venerando, Brazilian footballer (b. 1937) * August 25 – Neil Armstrong, American astronaut (b. 1930) * August 31 ** Carlo Maria Martini, Cardinal Archbishop of Milan (b. 1927) ** Sergey Leonidovich Sokolov, Soviet military commander (b. 1911)

September

Santiago Carrillo firmando en la Feria del Libro de Madrid en 2006

* September 1 ** Hal David, American lyricist (b.

) ** Smarck Michel, 6th Prime Minister of Haiti (b. 1937) * September 3 ** Michael Clarke Duncan, American actor (b. 1957) ** Sun Myung Moon, Korean religious leader (b. 1920) * September 5 – Joe South, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer (b. 1940) * September 8 – Thomas Szasz, Hungarian-American psychiatrist (b. 1920) * September 11 – J. Christopher Stevens, American diplomat and lawyer (b. 1960) * September 12 – Sid Watkins, British neurosurgeon (b. 1928) * September 14 – Stephen Dunham, American actor (b. 1964) * September 16 – Princess Ragnhild, Mrs. Lorentzen, Ragnhild Alexandra Lorentzen, Princess of Norway (b. 1930) * September 18 – Santiago Carrillo, Spanish politician (b. 1915) * September 23 ** Pavel Grachev, Russian military commander (b. 1948) ** Corrie Sanders, South African boxer (b. 1966) * September 25 – Andy Williams, American singer (b. 1927) * September 26 – Johnny Lewis, American film and television actor (b. 1983) * September 27 – Herbert Lom, Czech-born actor (b. 1917) * September 28 – Michael O'Hare, American actor (b. 1952) * September 30 – Barbara Ann Scott, Canadian Olympic figure skater (b. 1928)

October

* October 1 – Eric Hobsbawm, British Marxist historian (b. 1917) * October 6 – Chadli Bendjedid, 3rd President of Algeria (b. 1929) * October 8 – Ken Sansom, American actor (b. 1927) * October 10 ** Alex Karras, American football player, professional wrestler and actor (b.

) ** Amanda Todd, Canadian student (b. 1996) * October 11 – Helmut Haller, German footballer (b. 1939) * October 13 – Gary Collins (actor), Gary Collins, American actor and television host (b.

) *

– Arlen Specter, American politician (b. 1930) * October 15 – King Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia (b.

) * October 17 – Sylvia Kristel, Dutch actress (b. 1952) * October 20 – E. Donnall Thomas, American Nobel physician (b. 1920) * October 21 ** Yash Chopra, Indian film director and producer (b. 1932) ** George McGovern, American politician, historian, and author (b.

) * October 22 – Russell Means, American Sioux actor and activist (b. 1939) * October 24 – Margaret Osborne duPont, American tennis player (b.

) * October 27 – Hans Werner Henze, German composer (b. 1926)

November

* November 1 – Mitch Lucker, American singer (b. 1984) * November 2 – Milt Campbell, American decathlete (b. 1933) * November 5 – Elliott Carter, American composer (b. 1908) * November 8 – Lucille Bliss, American actress (b. 1916) * November 17 – Bal Thackeray, Indian politician (b. 1926) * November 23 – Larry Hagman, American actor (b. 1931) *

** Lars Hörmander, Swedish mathematician (b. 1931) ** Dave Sexton, English footballer and coach (b. 1930) * November 26 – Joseph Murray, American Nobel surgeon (b. 1919) * November 30 – I. K. Gujral, 12th Prime Minister of India (b. 1919)

December

* December 4 – Miguel Calero, Colombian footballer (b. 1971) * December 5 ** Dave Brubeck, American pianist (b. 1920) ** Oscar Niemeyer, Brazilian architect (b. 1907) * December 6 – Miguel Abia Biteo Boricó, 5th Prime Minister of Equatorial Guinea (b. 1961) * December 9 ** Jenni Rivera, Mexican-American singer-songwriter, producer and actress (b. 1969) ** Patrick Moore, British astronomer and broadcaster (b. 1923) * December 10 – Iajuddin Ahmed, 13th President of Bangladesh (b. 1931) * December 11 ** Ravi Shankar, Indian sitarist (b. 1920) ** Galina Vishnevskaya, Russian soprano (b. 1926) *

– Daniel Inouye, American politician (b.

) * December 24 ** Charles Durning, American actor (b. 1923) ** Jack Klugman, American actor (b.

) * December 26 – Gerry Anderson, British puppeteer and TV producer (b. 1929) * December 27 ** Harry Carey Jr., American actor (b.

) ** Norman Schwarzkopf Jr., American general (b. 1934) * December 30 – Rita Levi-Montalcini, Italian Nobel neurologist (b. 1909)

Nobel Prizes

* Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Chemistry – Robert Lefkowitz and Brian Kobilka * Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, Economics – Alvin E. Roth and Lloyd Shapley * Nobel Prize in Literature, Literature – Mo Yan * Nobel Peace Prize, Peace –

* Nobel Prize in Physics, Physics – Serge Haroche and David J. Wineland * Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, Physiology or Medicine – John B. Gurdon and Shinya Yamanaka

New English words

*deadnaming, ''deadname'' *''hot take'' *''escape room''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2012 2012, Leap years in the Gregorian calendar

Events

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Births

Deaths

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Nobel Prizes

New English words

See also

References