December 12th
What Happened on the day you were born on This day in History
For Those With Birthdays 12th December or looking for specific year these years are Included on this date 1900, 1901, 1913, 1917, 1925, 1937, 1944, 1946, 1956, 1962, 1963, 1969, 1975, 1980, 1988, 1989, 1992, 1993, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2012, Born This Day,
Norway 2003 Norway Keiko From Free Willy Movies December 12th, 2003 : Keiko the Orca (or killer whale) made famous by the "Free Willy" movies, died in the Norwegian fjord that had become his home. Keiko was originally captured near Iceland in 1979 and sold to the Icelandic aquarium, Following public pressure for his release after his starring role in the movies he was airlifted to Taknes fjord in Norway where many hoped he could be returned to the wild

1900 Ireland Irish Party December 12th, 1900 : In Dublin, Ireland Irish delegates convened to create what they called the “Irish Party” and denounced British atrocities in the Boer War. An applauded John Dillon proposed a resolution passed that “the South African war was entered upon in pursuance of a conspiracy to deprive two free nations of their liberty in the interests of capitalists and mine owners.”

UK 1901 England Marconi December 12th, 1901 : Marconi sends first wireless transmission over 2000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean from Poldhu in Cornwall, England, to Newfoundland, Canada . The transmission consisted of the Morse-code signal for the letter "s" which consists of three dots ( ... ).

France 1913 France The Mona Lisa December 12th, 1913 : The Mona Lisa is recovered Two years after it's theft from the Louvre Museum in Paris in Florence in Italian waiter Vincenzo Peruggia's hotel room.

Israel 1917 Israel Jerusalem December 12th, 1917 : Major Vivian Gilbert of the British army revealed the inside story of how Jerusalem fell during the First World War. He said that an army cook was out looking for eggs and was presented with the keys to the city by the mayor. The British won the Holy Land back from the Turks.

France 1917 France Train Derailed December 12th, 1917 : 500 French soldiers are killed when their train derails in Modane, France.


U.S. 1917 U.S.A. Boys Town December 12th, 1917 : Father Edward Flanagan founds Boys Town dedicated to the care of at-risk children, with national headquarters in the village of Boys Town, Nebraska.

U.S. 1925 U.S.A. First Motel Opens December 12th, 1925 : The first Motel opens the Milestone Mo-Tel of San Luis Obispo, California as the midpoint stop between Los Angeles to San Francisco and costing $1.25 per night per room, The word Motel was a shortening of the words Motorists and Hotel. A motel allowed the customers to park their car outside their room or chalet.

Italy 1937 Italy Withdraws from the League of Nations December 12th, 1937 : Benito Mussolini withdrew Italy from the League of Nations and challenged democracies to fight with his army. One hundred thousand fascists stood in the rain and someone shouted, “We are leaving a tumbling temple where there is no talk of peace, but where wars are prepared.”

U.S.A. 1937 U.S.A. U.S. Navy Gunboat Panay December 12th, 1937 : Japanese Aircraft sink the U.S. Gunboat Panay in Chinese Waters, Japan appologises and makes reparations, This happened during Japan's war of Invasion against China and is not part of the second world war.

Germany 1944 Germany Mass Bombing By Allies December 12th, 1944 : The U.S. 8th and 15th Air Force plus the RAF pummeled Germany in the biggest fighting force that was ever put in the air. Britain had 1,000 bombers and 800 fighters who bombed railways and other targets in Germany.

U.S. 1946 U.S.A. United Nations Headquarters December 12th, 1946 : The millionaire benefactor John D. Rockefella Jr. offers the United Nations a six-block tract of Manhattan real estate for the site of U.N. headquarters, which is accepted by the UN.

Nigeria 1956 Africa Odongo December 12th, 1956 : The movie “Odongo” revealed more about Africa than any movie before it ever had. Stars like MacDonald Carey, Rhonda Fleming, and a boy named Juma all gave cameo appearances, but the most praise went to the wildlife and scenes of Africa.

India 1963 India Karruppanna Kamraj December 12th, 1963 : Karruppanna Kamraj became a folk hero in India because he was determined to haul down the Union Jack and create an independent country. Kamraj was uneducated and ended up in a British prison for his seditious political activities, however, he managed the political underground even from jail. He ended up minister of Madras Province, and many wanted him as prime minister, but he did not speak Hindi which is India’s main language.

Iceland 1962 Iceland Military Base December 12th, 1962 : Although Iceland is remote and does not have an army or navy, it had become an important military air base since World War II. Iceland’s parliament is the oldest government in existence -- it is 1,032 years old.

Kenya 1963 Kenya Independence December 12th, 1963 : Kenya gained its independence from Britain and the Kenya African National Union (KANU) headed by Jomo Kenyatta takes over the country.

Italy 1969 Italy Milan Bank Bombing December 12th, 1969 : A bomb is exploded in a bank in Milan, Italy 13 people have been killed and more than 100 injured .

Canada 1975 Canada Firearms Laws December 12th, 1975 : A federal licensing of all firearms was recommended by the dean of law, Martin Friedland, who works at the University of Toronto. He said that gun users should have to pass a competency test and undergo a criminal record check.

UK 1975 England Balcombe Street Siege December 12th, 1975 : A six-day siege has ends peacefully at Balcombe Street in London after four IRA gunmen freed their two hostages and gave themselves up to police.

UK 1980 England Leonardo da Vinci Auction December 12th, 1980 : American oil tycoon Armand Hammer pays $5,126,000 at a London auction for a notebook containing writings written around 1508 by the legendary artist Leonardo da Vinci. When it went up for auction again in 1994 Bill Gates bought the Manuscript $30.8 million.

UK 1988 England Clapham Junction Rail Crash December 12th, 1988 : Three trains are involved in a collision during morning rush hour at Clapham Junction in south London, with 35 dead and 100 others injured.

Germany 1989 East Germany Going Forward December 12th, 1989 : It was the first time since World War II that a prominent U.S. government official had gone to East Germany. Secretary of State James Baker met with East and West German politicians and talked about the new political realities since the crumbling of the Berlin Wall on November 9th.

Scotland 1992 Scotland The Princess Royal December 12th, 1992 : The Princess Royal the Queens daughter Princess Anne remarries and becomes Mrs Timothy Laurence after a small family wedding in Scotland

Hungary 1993 Hungary More Chaplains Needed December 12th, 1993 : Atheism is out and religion is with the Hungarian military which has 100,000 soldiers. After years of not having a single army chaplain Hungary wants one chaplain for every 1,000 soldiers. The change came about because a lot of the soldiers are Roman Catholics.

U.S. 2000 U.S.A. Bush v. Gore December 12th, 2000 : The United States Supreme Court hands out it's ruling over the counting of ballets in Florida which allowed Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris's previous certification of George W. Bush as the winner of Florida's electoral votes to stand and effectively ending the 2000 presidential election in favor of George W. Bush.

U.S. 2006 U.S.A. Soldier Report December 12th, 2006 : Lance Cpl. Ryan Fleming, home on leave from fighting in Al Anbar province Iraq, spoke to North Aiken Elementary school children about the good and bad experiences he had in that country. The Aiken Standard reported that Fleming as saying, “Insurgents bury bombs under roads and even put them in animal carcasses”. The American soldiers are in constant danger from explosives. However, he said the positive part of his job was helping Iraqi kids.
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Russia 2007 Russia Kasparov abandons his race for the Russian presidency December 12th, 2007 : The Russian opposition figure and former world chess champion, Garry Kasparov, will no longer be contesting the presidential election in March. Mr. Kasparov has said that his Other Russia bloc had faced difficulty arranging for its supporters to meet in Moscow (which is an official requirement for his candidacy). Kasparov has announced that he is abandoning his bid for the presidency, although he did say that 'My electoral campaign finishes tomorrow.'

Switzerland 2008 Switzerland Switzerland negates cross-border passport checks December 12th, 2008 : Switzerland is not part of the European Union but has opened its borders to E.U. member states. Under the Schengen Agreement, which Switzerland has signed, cross-border passport checks are to be abolished. The move is the latest in a series of bilateral agreements which the Swiss government has been negotiating with Brussels as a means of not to being isolated from the Eurobloc trade zone. The Swiss people have approved joining the Schengen Agreement by a nationwide referendum.

Tunisia 2011 Tunisia Moncef Marzouki Elected President of Tunisia 12th December, 2011 : Moncef Marzouki, a human rights activist and opposition leader, was elected to be President of Tunisia by the Constituent Assembly. Marzouki had been in exile for twenty years and only returned to the country after former president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali was forced out of office in January.

United States 2011 United States Occupy Protests Block West Coast Ports 12th December, 2011 : Occupy Wall Street protesters along the US West coast blocked three ports in California, Oregon, and Washington, disrupting work in the ports. The protests were deemed successful after several workers at the different ports were sent home over safety concerns. The aim of the protests was to hurt profits of companies that run the harbors, but many truck drivers claim that they were the ones hurt by the protest as they could not deliver and pick up goods for transport.

North Korea
2012 North Korea North Korea Launches Rocket

12th December, 2012 : North Korea successfully launched the Unha-3 long-range rocket defying international warnings. North Korea stated that they were able to place a satellite into orbit, but the international community believed that launch was to disguise testing their long-range missile technology.