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, 1,715,472,000 seconds 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.
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May 12 Historical Events
- 254 –Pope Stephen I succeeds Pope Lucius I as the 23rd pope.
- 1588 –French Wars of Religion: Henry III of France flees Paris after Henry of Guise enters the city and a spontaneous uprising occurs.
- 1689 –King William’s War: William III of England joins the League of Augsburg starting a war with France.
- 1870 –The Manitoba Act is given the Royal Assent, paving the way for Manitoba to become a province of Canada on July 15.
- 1885 –North-West Rebellion: the four-day Battle of Batoche, pitting rebel Métis against the Canadian government, comes to an end with a decisive rebel defeat.
- 1949 –The Soviet Union lifts its blockade of Berlin.
- 1952 –Gaj Singh is crowned Maharaja of Jodhpur.
- 1975 –Mayagüez incident: the Cambodian navy seizes the American merchant ship SS Mayaguez in international waters.
- 2003 –The Riyadh compound bombings, carried out by Al Qaeda, kill 26 people.
- 2007 –Riots in which over 50 people are killed and over 100 are injured take place in Karachi upon the arrival in town of the Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry.
Who were born on May 12?
- 1670 –King Augustus II of Poland (d. 1733)
- 1929 –Sam Nujoma, first President of Namibia
- 1942 –Billy Swan, American songwriter and singer
- 1962 –Brett Gurewitz, American songwriter (Bad Religion) and record producer (Epitaph Records)
- 1969 –Kevin Nalty, American YouTube personality
- 1973 –Kendra Kassebaum, American stage actress
- 1973 –Robert Tinkler, Canadian voice actor
- 1978 –Aya Ishiguro, Japanese singer (Morning Musume)
- 1978 –Wilfred Le Bouthillier, Canadian singer
- 1990 –Jacory Harris, American football player
Who died on May 12?
- 1699 –Lucas Achtschellinck, Flemish painter (b. 1626)
- 1708 –Adolf Friedrich II of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (b. 1658)
- 1792 –Charles Simon Favart, French dramatist (b. 1710)
- 1867 –Friedrich William Eduard Gerhard, German archaeologist (b. 1795)
- 1884 –Bedřich Smetana, Czech composer (b. 1824)
- 1967 –John Masefield, British writer (b. 1878)
- 1992 –Nikos Gatsos, Greek poet and lyricist (b. 1911)
- 2000 –Adam Petty, American race car driver (b. 1980)
- 2001 –Perry Como, American singer (b. 1912)
- 2003 –Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan, French United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (b. 1933)
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