February 12 facts for kids

2025 Calendar

February 12 in recent years

February 12 is the 43rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 322 days remain until the end of the year (323 in leap years).

February 12th is a special day filled with many important events throughout history. From the founding of new cities and countries to scientific discoveries and major changes in leadership, this date has seen a lot happen. It's also the birthday of many famous people, including scientists, leaders, and artists. Let's explore some of the key moments and people connected to February 12th.

Events
Births
Deaths
Holidays and observances
See also

Events

Historical Moments Before 1600

1096 – Pope Urban II officially approved the start of the La Roë abbey, a community of canons.
1404 – In Vienna, a professor named Galeazzo di Santa Sophie performed the first autopsy for teaching purposes.
1429 – English soldiers, led by Sir John Fastolf, protected a food supply convoy during the Battle of the Herrings near Orléans.
1502 – Queen Isabella I of Spain made a rule that outlawed Islam in her kingdom. This meant many Muslim people had to change to Christianity.
1502 – The famous explorer Vasco da Gama began his second journey to India from Lisbon, Portugal, with 15 ships and 800 men.
1541 – The city of Santiago, Chile, was founded by Pedro de Valdivia.
1593 – During the Japanese invasion of Korea, about 3,000 Joseon defenders, led by General Kwon Yul, successfully fought off more than 30,000 Japanese forces in the Siege of Haengju.

Important Events from 1601 to 1900

1689 – The Convention Parliament in England declared that James II, the last Roman Catholic British monarch, had given up his throne by fleeing to France in 1688.
1733 – Georgia Day: Englishman James Oglethorpe founded Georgia, the 13th American colony, by settling in Savannah.
1771 – Gustav III became the King of Sweden.
1817 – An army from Argentina and Chile, after crossing the Andes mountains, defeated Spanish troops in the Battle of Chacabuco.
1818 – Bernardo O'Higgins officially approved the Chilean Declaration of Independence near Concepción, Chile.
1825 – The Creek people gave up their last lands in Georgia to the United States government through the Treaty of Indian Springs and moved west.
1832 – Ecuador took control of the Galápagos Islands.
1889 – Antonín Dvořák's opera Jakobín was performed for the first time at the National Theater in Prague.

Modern History: 1901 to Today

1909 – The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), an important civil rights organization, was founded.
1909 – New Zealand had its worst maritime disaster of the 20th century when the ferry SS Penguin sank and exploded near Wellington Harbour.
1912 – The Xuantong Emperor, the very last Emperor of China, gave up his throne.
1935 – The USS Macon, one of the largest helium-filled airships ever built, crashed into the Pacific Ocean off California.
1945 – A terrible tornado outbreak in Mississippi and Alabama caused 45 deaths and injured 427 people.
1946 – World War II: Operation Deadlight ended after 121 captured German U-boats were sunk.
1946 – African American World War II veteran Isaac Woodard was severely beaten by a police officer in South Carolina, causing him to lose his sight. This event helped spark the civil rights movement.
1947 – The largest iron meteorite observed up to that time crashed in Sikhote-Alin, Soviet Union, creating an impact crater.
1947 – Fashion designer Christian Dior introduced his "New Look" collection, helping Paris become a top fashion capital again.
1961 – The Soviet Union launched Venera 1 towards Venus, aiming to be the first spacecraft to reach another planet.
1963 – Construction began on the famous Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri.
1963 – Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 705 crashed into the Everglades after taking off from Miami International Airport, killing everyone on board.
1974 – Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, a writer who won the Nobel Prize in Literature, was sent away from the Soviet Union.
1983 – One hundred women in Lahore, Pakistan, protested against a proposed law by military leader Zia-ul-Haq. They were met with force but succeeded in getting the law removed.
1988 – Cold War: In the 1988 Black Sea bumping incident, a U.S. Navy ship, USS Yorktown (CG-48), was intentionally bumped by a Soviet ship in Soviet waters.
1990 – Carmen Lawrence became the first female Premier (leader) in Australian history, leading the state of Western Australia.
1992 – The current Constitution of Mongolia officially started.
1994 – Four thieves broke into the National Gallery of Norway and stole Edvard Munch's famous painting The Scream.
1999 – United States President Bill Clinton was found not guilty by the United States Senate in his impeachment trial.
2001 – The NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft landed on the asteroid 433 Eros, becoming the first spacecraft to land on an asteroid.
2002 – The trial of Slobodan Milošević, the former President of Yugoslavia, began at the United Nations court in The Hague, Netherlands.
2002 – An Iran Airtour plane crashed in the mountains outside Khorramabad, Iran, killing 119 people.
2004 – The city of San Francisco began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, following a directive from Mayor Gavin Newsom.
2009 – Colgan Air Flight 3407 crashed into a house in Clarence Center, New York, killing everyone on board and one person on the ground.
2016 – Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill met and signed an Ecumenical Declaration. This was the first meeting between leaders of the Catholic and Russian Orthodox Churches since their split in 1054.
2019 – The country known as the Republic of Macedonia officially changed its name to the Republic of North Macedonia. This settled a long-standing disagreement with Greece.

Births

Famous People Born Before 1600

AD 41 – Britannicus, a Roman son of Emperor Claudius.
1218 – Kujo Yoritsune, a Japanese shōgun.
1540 – Won Gyun, a Korean general and admiral.
1567 – Thomas Campion, an English composer, poet, and doctor.

Notable Births from 1601 to 1900

1606 – John Winthrop the Younger, an English-American lawyer and politician who became Governor of Connecticut.
1637 – Jan Swammerdam, a Dutch biologist and zoologist.
1663 – Cotton Mather, an influential English-American minister and author.
1768 – Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor.
1775 – Louisa Adams, the 6th First Lady of the United States.
1791 – Peter Cooper, an American businessman and helper of others, who founded Cooper Union.
1809 – Charles Darwin, a famous English geologist and scientist known for his theory of evolution.
1809 – Abraham Lincoln, an American lawyer and statesman who became the 16th President of the United States.
1824 – Dayananda Saraswati, an Indian monk and philosopher who started Arya Samaj.
1870 – Marie Lloyd, a popular English actress and singer.
1876 – The 13th Dalai Lama, a spiritual leader.
1877 – Louis Renault, a French engineer who helped start the car company Renault.
1881 – Anna Pavlova, a famous Russian-English ballerina.
1882 – Walter Nash, a New Zealand lawyer and politician who became the 27th Prime Minister of New Zealand.
1884 – Max Beckmann, a German painter and sculptor.
1893 – Omar Bradley, an American general.

People Born from 1901 to Today

1907 – Joseph Kearns, an American actor.
1915 – Lorne Greene, a Canadian-American actor.
1918 – Julian Schwinger, an American physicist who won the Nobel Prize.
1922 – Hussein Onn, a Malaysian lawyer and politician who became the 3rd Prime Minister of Malaysia.
1923 – Franco Zeffirelli, an Italian director and producer.
1926 – Joe Garagiola, an American baseball player and sportscaster.
1934 – Bill Russell, a legendary American basketball player and coach.
1938 – Judy Blume, a popular American author.
1939 – Ray Manzarek, an American musician and keyboard player for The Doors.
1942 – Ehud Barak, an Israeli general and politician who became the 10th Prime Minister of Israel.
1945 – Maud Adams, a Swedish model and actress.
1948 – Ray Kurzweil, an American computer scientist and engineer.
1950 – Steve Hackett, an English singer-songwriter and guitarist.
1950 – Michael Ironside, a Canadian actor.
1952 – Michael McDonald, an American singer-songwriter.
1956 – Arsenio Hall, an American actor and talk show host.
1961 – Michel Martelly, a Haitian singer and politician who became the 56th President of Haiti.
1965 – Brett Kavanaugh, an American lawyer and judge who became an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.
1968 – Josh Brolin, an American actor.
1968 – Chynna Phillips, an American singer and actress.
1969 – Darren Aronofsky, an American director and screenwriter.
1973 – Tara Strong, a Canadian-American voice actress.
1974 – Naseem Hamed, an English boxer.
1979 – Jesse Spencer, an Australian actor.
1980 – Christina Ricci, an American actress.
1980 – Gucci Mane, an American rapper.
1984 – Brad Keselowski, an American race car driver.
1988 – DeMarco Murray, an American football player.
1988 – Nicolás Otamendi, an Argentine footballer.
1990 – Robert Griffin III, an American football player.
1993 – Jennifer Stone, an American actress.
2001 – Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, a Georgian footballer.

Deaths

People Who Died Before 1600

821 – Benedict of Aniane, a French monk and saint.
1247 – Ermesinde, Countess of Luxembourg, a powerful ruler.
1517 – Catherine of Navarre, a queen.
1538 – Albrecht Altdorfer, a German painter and architect.
1554 – Lady Jane Grey, who was the de facto monarch of England for nine days, lost her life.
1554 – Lord Guildford Dudley, who was married to Lady Jane Grey, also lost his life.
1590 – François Hotman, a French lawyer and author.

Deaths from 1601 to 1900

1612 – Jodocus Hondius, a Flemish mapmaker.
1624 – George Heriot, a Scottish goldsmith who founded George Heriot's School.
1713 – Jahandar Shah, a Mughal emperor.
1763 – Pierre de Marivaux, a French author and playwright.
1771 – Adolf Frederick, King of Sweden.
1789 – Ethan Allen, an American farmer, general, and politician.
1804 – Immanuel Kant, a very important German philosopher.
1886 – Randolph Caldecott, an English-American painter and illustrator.
1894 – Hans von Bülow, a German pianist and conductor.

People Who Died from 1901 to Today

1912 – Gerhard Armauer Hansen, a Norwegian physician.
1915 – Émile Waldteufel, a French composer.
1916 – Richard Dedekind, a German mathematician.
1929 – Lillie Langtry, an English singer and actress.
1935 – Auguste Escoffier, a famous French chef.
1942 – Grant Wood, an American painter.
1949 – Hassan al-Banna, an Egyptian educator who founded the Muslim Brotherhood.
1954 – Dziga Vertov, a Polish-Russian director.
1971 – James Cash Penney, an American businessman who founded J. C. Penney stores.
1975 – Carl Lutz, a Swiss vice-consul during WWII, who helped save over 62,000 Jewish people.
1976 – Sal Mineo, an American actor.
1979 – Jean Renoir, a French actor and director.
1983 – Eubie Blake, an American pianist and composer.
1984 – Anna Anderson, a Polish-American woman who claimed to be Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia.
1984 – Julio Cortázar, an Argentinian author.
1989 – Thomas Bernhard, an Austrian playwright and author.
1994 – Donald Judd, an American painter and sculptor.
2000 – Tom Landry, an American football coach.
2000 – Charles M. Schulz, an American cartoonist who created Peanuts.
2009 – Several people died in the Colgan Air Flight 3407 crash, including historian Alison Des Forges and activist Beverly Eckert.
2010 – Nodar Kumaritashvili, a Georgian luger, died during the Winter Olympics.
2011 – Peter Alexander, an Austrian singer and actor.
2011 – Betty Garrett, an American actress and dancer.
2014 – Sid Caesar, an American actor and comedian.
2015 – Gary Owens, an American radio host and voice actor.
2017 – Al Jarreau, an American singer.
2019 – Gordon Banks, an English footballer.
2022 – Ivan Reitman, a Slovak-Canadian actor, director, and producer.

Holidays and observances

Christian feast day:
- Benedict of Aniane
- Damian
- Julian the Hospitaller
- Martyrs of Abitinae
- February 12 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Darwin Day (International)
Georgia Day (Georgia (U.S. state))
Lincoln's Birthday (United States)
Red Hand Day (United Nations)
Union Day (Myanmar)