On this day in history

October 12

31 births · 15 deaths · 5 events

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Anniversary highlights

Event anniversary

1968 Summer Olympics

58 years ago

Born this day

1935

Luciano Pavarotti

Would be 91

Oldest record

676th

Dmitry Donskoy

birth anniversary

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Famous births31

1350 · 676 yrs

Dmitry Donskoy

Dmitry Ivanovich Donskoy (Russian: Дми́трий Ива́нович Донско́й; 12 October 1350 – 19 May 1389) was Prince of Moscow from 1359 and Grand Prince of Vladimir from 1362 until his death in 1389. Dmitry became prince at the age of nine following the death of his father, Ivan II.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

RoyaltyDied aged 38

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Photo: Unknown. Died over 100 years ago · Public domain

1537 · 489 yrs

Edward VI of England

Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

RoyaltyDied aged 15

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Photo: Attributed to William Scrots (active 1537-1553) [1] · Public domain

1715 · 311 yrs

Peter II of Russia

Peter II Alexeyevich (23 October 1715 – 30 January 1730) was Emperor of Russia from 1727 until 1730, when he died at the age of 14. He was the only son of Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich and Charlotte Christine of Brunswick-Lüneburg.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

RoyaltyDied aged 14

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Photo: Unknown author · Public domain

1798 · 228 yrs

Pedro I of Brazil

Dom Pedro I (12 October 1798 – 24 September 1834), known in Brazil and in Portugal as "the Liberator" (Portuguese: o Libertador) or "the Soldier King" (o Rei Soldado) in Portugal, was the founder and first ruler of the Empire of Brazil from 1822 to 1831 (under the name of Pedro I) and King of Portugal in 1826 (under…

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

RoyaltyDied aged 35

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Photo: Simplício Rodrigues de Sá · Public domain

1865 · 161 yrs

Arthur Harden

Sir Arthur Harden, FRS (12 October 1865 – 17 June 1940) was a British biochemist. He shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1929 with Hans Karl August Simon von Euler-Chelpin for their investigations into the fermentation of sugar and fermentative enzymes.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ScienceDied aged 74

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Photo: Nobel Foundation · Public domain

1866 · 160 yrs

Ramsay MacDonald

James Ramsay MacDonald (né James McDonald Ramsay; 12 October 1866 – 9 November 1937) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, first briefly in 1924 and again from 1929 to 1935.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

PoliticsDied aged 71

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Photo: Walter Stoneman · Public domain

1872 · 154 yrs

Ralph Vaughan Williams

Ralph Vaughan Williams ( RAYF vawn WIL-yəmz; 12 October 1872 – 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over sixty years.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

MusicDied aged 85

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Photo: James Bacon and Sons, Leeds · Public domain

1875 · 151 yrs

Aleister Crowley

Aleister Crowley (born Edward Alexander Crowley; 12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947) was an English occultist, ceremonial magician, poet, novelist, mountaineer, and painter.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

LiteratureDied aged 72

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Photo: Aleister Crowley · Public domain

1886 · 140 yrs

Sergo Ordzhonikidze

Sergo Konstantinovich Ordzhonikidze (born Grigol Konstantines dze Orjonikidze; 24 October 1886 – 18 February 1937) was an Old Bolshevik and a Soviet statesman.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

PoliticsWould be 140

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Photo: G.K. Ordzhonikidze · Public domain

1891 · 135 yrs

Edith Stein

Edith Stein (German:; religious name Teresa Benedicta of the Cross; 12 October 1891 – 9 August 1942) was a German philosopher who converted to Catholicism and became a Discalced Carmelite nun.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ReligionWould be 135

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Photo: Unknown author · Public domain

1891 · 135 yrs

Fumimaro Konoe

Prince Fumimaro Konoe (近衞文麿, Konoe Fumimaro; 12 October 1891 – 16 December 1945) was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 1937 to 1939 and from 1940 to 1941.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

PoliticsWould be 135

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Photo: 内閣情報部 · Public domain

1934 · 92 yrs

Richard Meier

Richard Meier (born October 12, 1934) is an American abstract artist and architect, whose geometric designs make prominent use of the color white.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ArtAge 92

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Photo: David Shankbone · CC BY 3.0

Showing 12 of 31

Famous deaths15

1576 · 450 yrs

Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor

Maximilian II (31 July 1527 – 12 October 1576) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1564 until his death in 1576. A member of the Austrian House of Habsburg, he was crowned King of Bohemia in Prague on 14 May 1562 and elected King of Germany (King of the Romans) on 24 November 1562.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

RoyaltyDied aged 49

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Photo: Workshop of Nicolas Neufchatel · Public domain

1730 · 296 yrs

Frederik IV of Denmark

Frederick IV (Danish: Frederik; 11 October 1671 – 12 October 1730) was King of Denmark and Norway from 1699 until his death. Frederick was the son of Christian V of Denmark–Norway and his wife Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Kassel.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

RoyaltyDied aged 59

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Photo: Balthasar Denner · Public domain

1869 · 157 yrs

Charles-Augustin Sainte-Beuve

Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve (French:; 23 December 1804 – 13 October 1869) was a French literary critic.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

LiteratureDied aged 65

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Photo: Bertall · Public domain

1870 · 156 yrs

Robert E. Lee

Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a Confederate general whose early actions in the American Civil War led to his appointment as the overall commander of the Confederate States Army near the end of the war.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

MilitaryDied aged 63

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Photo: Julian Vannerson · Public domain

1915 · 111 yrs

Edith Cavell

Edith Louisa Cavell ( KAV-əl; 4 December 1865 – 12 October 1915) was a British nurse. She is celebrated for treating wounded soldiers from both sides without discrimination during the First World War and for helping some 200 Allied soldiers escape from German-occupied Belgium.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ActivismDied aged 49

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Photo: Unknown author · CC BY 4.0

1924 · 102 yrs

Anatole France

Anatole France (French:; born François-Anatole Thibault; 16 April 1844 – 12 October 1924) was a French poet, journalist, and novelist. Several of his books were best-sellers.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

LiteratureDied aged 80

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Photo: Photographer : Wilhelm Benque. Tucker Collection · Public domain

1968 · 58 yrs

Sonja Henie

Sonja Henie (8 April 1912 – 12 October 1969) was a Norwegian figure skater and film star. She was a three-time Olympic champion (1928, 1932, 1936) in women's singles, a ten-time World champion (1927–1936) and a six-time European champion (1931–1936).

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

SportsWould be 114

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Photo: Toronto Star · Public domain

1971 · 55 yrs

Dean Acheson

Dean Gooderham Acheson ( ATCH-iss-ən; April 11, 1893 – October 12, 1971) was an American politician and lawyer. As the 51st U.S. secretary of state, he set the foreign policy of the Harry S. Truman administration from 1949 to 1953.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

LawWould be 133

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Photo: U.S. Department of State from United States · Public domain

1987 · 39 yrs

Fahri Korutürk

Fahri Sabit Korutürk (15 August 1903 – 12 October 1987) was a Turkish admiral, diplomat and politician who was the president of Turkey from 1973 to 1980. Before his presidency, he served as the commander of the Turkish Naval Forces from 1957 to 1960.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

PoliticsWould be 123

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Photo: Anonymous Unknown author · Public domain

1997 · 29 yrs

John Denver

Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), known professionally as John Denver, was an American country and folk singer, songwriter, and actor.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

MusicWould be 82

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Photo: ABC Television · Public domain

1999 · 27 yrs

Wilt Chamberlain

Wilton Norman Chamberlain ( CHAYM-bər-lin; August 21, 1936 – October 12, 1999) was an American professional basketball player. Standing 7 feet 1 inch (2.16 m) tall, he played center in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 14 seasons.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

SportsWould be 90

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Photo: Wilt_Chamberlain2.jpg : Fred Palumbo, World Telegram staff photographer derivative work: JoeJohnson2 ( talk ) · Public domain

2006 · 20 yrs

Carlo Acutis

Carlo Acutis (3 May 1991 – 12 October 2006) was an English-born Italian Catholic teenager known for his devotion to the Eucharist and his use of digital media to promote Catholic devotion.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ReligionWould be 35

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Photo: AndyScott · CC BY-SA 4.0

Showing 12 of 15

Events5

1492 · 534 yrs

First arrival of Christopher Columbus to America

The human history of the Americas is thought to begin with people migrating to these areas from Asia during the height of an ice age. These groups are generally believed to have been isolated from the people of the "Old World" until the coming of Europeans in 1492 with the voyages of Christopher Columbus.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Science

1813 · 213 yrs

Treaty of Gulistan

The Treaty of Gulistan (also spelled Golestan: Russian: Гюлистанский договор, romanized: Gyulistanskiy dogovor; Persian: عهدنامه گلستان, romanized: Ahdnāme-ye Golestān) was a peace treaty concluded between the Russian Empire and Qajar Iran on 24 October 1813 in the village of Gulistan (now in the Goranboy District of…

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Politics

1864 · 162 yrs

Paraguayan War

The Paraguayan War, also known as the War of the Triple Alliance, was a war in South America that lasted from 1864 to 1870. It was fought between Paraguay and the Triple Alliance of Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

War

1968 · 58 yrs

1968 Summer Olympics

The 1968 Summer Olympics (Spanish: Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad (Spanish: Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and officially branded as Mexico 1968 (Spanish: México 1968), were an international multi-sport event held from 12 to 27 October 1968, in Mexico City, Mexico.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Sports

2002 · 24 yrs

2002 Bali bombings

On 12 October 2002, three terrorist attacks took place in the tourist district of Kuta on the Indonesian island of Bali.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Tragedy

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