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

• 1164 –
  Battle of Harim: Nur ad-Din Zangi defeats the Crusader armies of the County of Tripoli and the Principality of Antioch.
• 1831 –
  French intervention forces William I of the Netherlands to abandon his attempt to suppress the Belgian Revolution.
• 1944 –
  Alençon is liberated by General Leclerc, the first city in France to be liberated from the Nazis by French forces.
• 1952 –
  The Night of the Murdered Poets: 13 prominent Jewish intellectuals are murdered in Moscow.
• 1953 –
  The islands of Zakynthos and Kefalonia in Greece are severely damaged by an earthquake measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale.
• 1969 –
  Violence erupts after the Apprentice Boys of Derry march in Derry, Northern Ireland, resulting in a three-day communal riot known as the Battle of the Bogside.
• 1978 –
  The Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Japan and the People’s Republic of China 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.
• 1994 –
  Major League Baseball players go on strike. This will force the cancellation of the 1994 World Series.
• 2000 –
  The Oscar class submarine K-141 Kursk of the Russian Navy explodes and sinks in the Barents Sea during a military exercise.

Who were born on August 12?

• 1883 –
  Pauline Frederick, American actress (d. 1938)
• 1886 –
  Sir Keith Murdoch, Australian journalist and newspaper owner (d. 1952)
• 1910 –
  Yusof bin Ishak, first President of Singapore (d. 1970)
• 1928 –
  Charles Blackman, Australian artist
• 1932 –
  Sirikit, Queen consort of Thailand, wife of Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX)
• 1949 –
  Panagiotis Chinofotis, Greek politician
• 1950 –
  Jim Beaver, American actor and writer
• 1971 –
  Rebecca Gayheart, American actress
• 1973 –
  Jonathan Coachman, American professional wrestler and executive
• 1985 –
  Franck Moutsinga, German rugby player

Who died on August 12?

• 1588 –
  Alfonso Ferrabosco the elder, Italian composer (b. 1543)
• 1648 –
  Ibrahim I, Ottoman Sultan (b. 1615)
• 1810 –
  Etienne Louis Geoffroy, French pharmacist and entomologist (b. 1725)
• 1848 –
  George Stephenson, British locomotive designer (b. 1781)
• 1901 –
  Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld, Finnish-born Swedish explorer (b. 1832)
• 1922 –
  Arthur Griffith, Irish politician (b. 1871)
• 1996 –
  Mark Gruenwald, American comic book writer and editor (b. 1953)
• 2010 –
  André Kim, South Korean Fashion Designer (b. 1935)
• 2010 –
  Richie Hayward, American musician (Little Feat) (b. 1946)
• 2011 –
  Robert Robinson, British television presenter (Ask The Family, Call My Bluff) (b. 1927)