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

October 12: Facts & Myths About This Day

October 12 is the 285^th day of the year 2025 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 80 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Sunday.

Under the Julian calendar, this day is September 29, 2025 – a Sunday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?

When this day started, 29,337,120 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 ‘dihectaoctacontapentagon’ day.

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

According to the lunisolar Chinese calendar, there are 128 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 4,678 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.

October 12 Historical Events

• 1398 –
  The Treaty of Salynas is signed between Grand Duke of Lithuania Vytautas the Great and the Teutonic Knights, who received Samogitia.
• 1792 –
  First celebration of Columbus Day in the USA held in New York
• 1871 –
  Criminal Tribes Act (CTA) enacted by British rule in India, which named over 160 local communities 'Criminal Tribes', i.e. hereditary criminals. Repealed in 1949, after Independence of India.
• 1928 –
  An iron lung respirator is used for the first time at Children’s Hospital, Boston
• 1945 –
  World War II: Desmond Doss is the first conscientious objector to receive the U.S. Medal of Honor.
• 1964 –
  The Soviet Union launches the Voskhod 1 into Earth orbit as the first spacecraft with a multi-person crew and the first flight without space suits
• 1986 –
  Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh visit the People’s Republic of China
• 1988 –
  Two officers of the Victoria Police are gunned down executional style in the Walsh Street police shootings, Australia.
• 1994 –
  NASA loses radio contact with the Magellan spacecraft as the probe descends into the thick atmosphere of Venus (the spacecraft presumably burned up in the atmosphere).
• 1999 –
  Pervez Musharraf takes power in Pakistan from Nawaz Sharif through a bloodless coup.

Who were born on October 12?

• 1880 –
  Louis Hémon, French novelist (d. 1913)
• 1904 –
  Ding Ling, Chinese writer (d. 1986)
• 1910 –
  Robert Fitzgerald, American poet and translator (d. 1985)
• 1913 –
  Alice Chetwynd Ley, British romance writer (d. 2004)
• 1916 –
  Alice Childress, American actress and playwright (d. 1994)
• 1920 –
  Christopher Soames, Baron Soames, British politician (d. 1987)
• 1951 –
  Ed Royce, American politician
• 1955 –
  Ante Gotovina, Croatian general
• 1962 –
  John Coleman, English football manager and player
• 1969 –
  Judit Mascó, Spanish model

Who died on October 12?

• 1320 –
  Michael IX Palaeologus (b. 1277)
• 1965 –
  Paul Hermann Müller, Swiss chemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1899)
• 1967 –
  Ram Manohar Lohia, Indian Socialist politician leader (b. 1910)
• 1973 –
  Peter Aufschnaiter, Austrian mountaineer (b. 1899)
• 1985 –
  Ricky Wilson, American musician (The B-52's) (b. 1953)
• 1988 –
  Ruth Manning-Sanders, Welsh poet and children’s book author (b. 1886)
• 1991 –
  Sheila Florance, Australian film and television actress (b. 1916)
• 2006 –
  Gillo Pontecorvo, Italian film director (b. 1919)
• 2011 –
  Dennis Ritchie, American computer scientist (b. 1941)
• 2011 –
  Heinz Bennent, German actor (b. 1921)