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 225th day of the year 2024 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 141 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Monday.
Under the Julian calendar, this day is July 30, 2024 – a Monday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?
When this day started, 28,723,680 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 ‘dihectaicosapentagon’ 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 170 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 4,252 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.
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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.
1793 –
The Rhône and Loire (Lêre) départments are created when the former département of Rhône-et-Loire is split into two.
1898 –
An Armistice ends the Spanish-American War.
1898 –
The Hawaiian flag is lowered from Iolani Palace in an elaborate annexation ceremony and replaced with the flag of the United States to signify the transfer of sovereignty from the Republic of Hawai`i to the United States.
1944 –
Waffen SS troops massacre 560 people in Sant'Anna di Stazzema.
1960 –
Echo 1A, NASA’s first successful communications satellite, is launched.
1978 –
The Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Japan and the People’s Republic of China is signed.
1982 –
Mexico announces it is unable to pay its enormous external debt, marking the beginning of a debt crisis that spreads to all of Latin America and the Third World.
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?
1604 –
Tokugawa Iemitsu, Japanese shogun (d. 1651)
1886 –
Sir Keith Murdoch, Australian journalist and newspaper owner (d. 1952)
1907 –
Joe Besser, American actor and comedian (d. 1988)
1912 –
Samuel Fuller, American film director (d. 1997)
1927 –
Porter Wagoner, American singer (d. 2007)
1931 –
William Goldman, American screenwriter
1971 –
Michael Ian Black, American comedian
1980 –
Maggie Lawson, American actress
1981 –
Tony Capaldi, Northern Irish footballer
1983 –
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, Dutch footballer
Who died on August 12?
1577 –
Thomas Smith, English diplomat and scholar (b. 1513)
1638 –
Johannes Althusius, German writer (b. 1557)
1848 –
George Stephenson, British locomotive designer (b. 1781)
1849 –
Albert Gallatin, Swiss-American politician, 4th United States Secretary of the Treasury (b. 1761)
1864 –
Sakuma Shōzan, Japanese reformer (b. 1811)
1891 –
James Russell Lowell, American poet and essayist (b. 1819)
1900 –
Wilhelm Steinitz, Austrian chess player (b. 1836)
1973 –
Karl Ziegler, German chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1898)
1979 –
Sir Ernst Boris Chain, British biochemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1906)
1982 –
Henry Fonda, American actor (b. 1905)
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