What are the important events that happened on May 12? Here are historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.
May 12: Facts & Myths About This Day
May 12 is the 133rd day of the year 2024 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 233 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Sunday.
Under the Julian calendar, this day is April 29, 2024 – a Sunday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?
When this day started, 476,520 hours 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 ‘hectatriacontatrigon’ day.
Taurus is the zodiac sign of a person born on this day. Emerald is the modern birthstone for this month. Sapphire is the mystical birthstone from Tibetan origin that dates back over a thousand years.
According to the lunisolar Chinese calendar, there are 262 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 4,160 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.
Do people and celebrities interest you? Discover all the May 12 famous birthdays who share your special day. Learn some fun facts about your birthday! (Sponsored link)
May 12 Historical Events
- 1364 –Jagiellonian University, the oldest university in Poland, is founded in Kraków, Poland.
- 1780 –American Revolutionary War: In the largest defeat of the Continental Army, Charleston, South Carolina is taken by British forces.
- 1865 –American Civil War: the Battle of Palmito Ranch: the first day of the last major land action to take place during the Civil War, resulting in a Confederate victory.
- 1873 –Oscar II is crowned King of Sweden.
- 1942 –Holocaust: 1,500 Jews are sent to gas chambers in Auschwitz.
- 1958 –A formal North American Aerospace Defense Command agreement is signed between the United States and Canada.
- 1968 –Vietnam War: North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces attack Australian troops defending Fire Support Base Coral, east of Lai Khe in South Vietnam on the night of 12/13 May, resulting in heavy casualties on both sides and beginning the Battle of Coral-Balmoral.
- 1998 –Four students are shot at Trisakti University, leading to widespread riots and the fall of Suharto
- 2003 –Fifty-nine Democratic lawmakers bring the Texas Legislature to a standstill by going into hiding in a dispute over a Republican congressional redistricting plan.
- 2006 –Iranian Azeris interpret a cartoon published in an Iranian magazine as insulting, resulting in massive riots throughout the country.
Who were born on May 12?
- 1590 –Cosimo II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (d. 1621)
- 1842 –Jules Massenet, French composer (d. 1912)
- 1907 –Katharine Hepburn, American actress (d. 2003)
- 1907 –Leslie Charteris, British author and screenwriter (d. 1993)
- 1910 –Charles B. Fulton, American jurist (d. 1996)
- 1937 –Beryl Burton, British cyclist (d. 1996)
- 1950 –Billy Squier, American singer and musician
- 1961 –Paul Begala, American political commentator
- 1961 –Thomas Dooley, German-American soccer player
- 1988 –Marcelo Vieira da Silva Júnior, Brazilian footballer
Who died on May 12?
- 1748 –Thomas Lowndes, English astronomer (b. 1692)
- 1845 –János Batsányi, Hungarian poet (b. 1763)
- 1876 –Georgi Benkovski, Bulgarian revolutionary (b. 1843)
- 1884 –Bedřich Smetana, Czech composer (b. 1824)
- 1944 –Arthur Quiller-Couch, English writer (b. 1863)
- 1985 –Jean Dubuffet, French painter (b. 1901)
- 1992 –Lenny Montana, American actor (b. 1926)
- 1999 –Abd-al-Aziz ibn Abd-Allah ibn Baaz, Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia 1993-1999 (b. 1910)
- 2003 –Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan, French United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (b. 1933)
- 2006 –Hussein Maziq, Prime Minister of Libya (b. 1918)
Holy Toledo! Did you know that coffee and word games are an excellent combination to sharpen your vocabulary? Let’s give it a quick spin. Within 30 seconds, how many words can you think of from these letters CFASDRWOFFU? Check your answers here: Word scramble CFASDRWOFFU. (Sponsored by WordFinder.Cafe)