What are the important events that happened on August 12? Here are historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.

August 12: Facts & Myths About This Day

August 12 is the 224^th day of the year 2025 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 141 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Tuesday.

Under the Julian calendar, this day is July 30, 2025 – a Tuesday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?

When this day started, 29,249,280 minutes has elapsed since midnight of January 1, 1970 – the Unix epoch.

Strange as it may, if we name this day after a polygon then it will be called ‘dihectaicosatetragon’ day.

Leo is the zodiac sign of a person born on this day. Peridot is the modern birthstone for this month. Diamond is the mystical birthstone from Tibetan origin that dates back over a thousand years.

According to the lunisolar Chinese calendar, there are 189 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year.

The ancient Maya civilization believes that the end of the world will happen on December 21, 2012. There are now 4,617 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.

August 12: This Day In History

It is the peak of the Perseid meteor shower. It is also known as the “Glorious Twelfth” in the UK, as it marks the traditional start of the grouse shooting season.

August 12 Historical Events

• 30 BC –
  Cleopatra VII Philopator, the last ruler of the Egyptian Ptolemaic dynasty, commits suicide, allegedly by means of an asp bite.
• 1499 –
  First engagement of the Battle of Zonchio between Venetian and Ottoman fleets.
• 1851 –
  Isaac Singer is granted a patent for his sewing machine.
• 1877 –
  Asaph Hall discovers the Mars moon Deimos.
• 1953 –
  Nuclear weapons testing: the Soviet atomic bomb project continues with the detonation of Joe 4, the first Soviet thermonuclear weapon.
• 1953 –
  The islands of Zakynthos and Kefalonia in Greece are severely damaged by an earthquake measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale.
• 1977 –
  The Sri Lankan riots of 1977, targeting the minority Sri Lankan Tamil people, begin, less than a month after the United National Party came to power. Over 300 Tamils are killed.
• 1980 –
  The Montevideo Treaty, establishing the Latin American Integration Association, is signed.
• 1985 –
  Japan Airlines Flight 123 crashes into Osutaka ridge in Gunma Prefecture, Japan, killing 520, to become the worst single-plane air disaster.
• 1992 –
  Canada, Mexico and the United States announce completion of negotiations for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

Who were born on August 12?

• 1566 –
  Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia of Spain (d. 1633)
• 1910 –
  Yusof bin Ishak, first President of Singapore (d. 1970)
• 1918 –
  Guy Gibson, British aviator, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1944)
• 1925 –
  Dale Bumpers, American politician
• 1929 –
  Buck Owens, American singer (d. 2006)
• 1939 –
  Roy Romanow, Canadian politician
• 1957 –
  Friedhelm Schütte, German footballer
• 1972 –
  Mark Kinsella, Irish footballer
• 1973 –
  Richard Reid, British terrorist (the “Shoe Bomber”)
• 1980 –
  Dominique Swain, American actress

Who died on August 12?

• 1484 –
  Pope Sixtus IV (b. 1414)
• 1633 –
  Jacopo Peri, Italian composer (b. 1561)
• 1638 –
  Johannes Althusius, German writer (b. 1557)
• 1822 –
  Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh, English politician and statesman (b. 1769)
• 1865 –
  William Jackson Hooker, English botanist (b. 1785)
• 1948 –
  Harry Brearley, English inventor (b. 1871)
• 1973 –
  Karl Ziegler, German chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1898)
• 1982 –
  Henry Fonda, American actor (b. 1905)
• 1999 –
  Jean Drapeau, Canadian politician (b. 1916)
• 2010 –
  Isaac Bonewits, American writer and neopaganist (b. 1949)