On this day | April 12th

On this day: April 12th

Credit/Source: Wikipedia

240 Shapur I becomes co-emperor of the Sasanian Empire with his father Ardashir I.

467 Anthemius is elevated to Roman emperor.

627 King Edwin of Northumbria is converted to Christianity by Paulinus of York, bishop of York.

1012 Duke Oldřich, Duke of Bohemia deposes and blinds his brother Jaromír, Duke of Bohemia, who flees to Greater Poland.

1204 The Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade breach the walls of Constantinople and Siege of Constantinople (1204), which they completely occupy the following day.

1606 The Union Flag is adopted as the flag of Kingdom of England and Kingdom of Scotland ships.

1776 American Revolution: With the Halifax Resolves, the North Carolina Provincial Congress authorizes its Second Continental Congress delegation to vote for independence from Britain.

1782 American Revolution: A Royal Navy fleet led by Admiral George Rodney defeats a French fleet led by the Comte de Grasse at the Battle of the Saintes off Dominica in the Caribbean Sea.

1796 War of the First Coalition: Napoleon Bonaparte wins his first victory as an army commander at the Battle of Montenotte, splitting the Austrian and Piedmontese armies away from each other, and marking the beginning of the Piedmontese surrender in the war.

1807 The Froberg mutiny on Malta ends when the remaining mutineers blow up the magazine of Fort Ricasoli.

1820 Alexander Ypsilantis is declared leader of Filiki Eteria, a secret organization to overthrow Ottoman Empire rule over Greece.

1831 Soldiers marching on the Broughton Suspension Bridge in Manchester, England, cause it to collapse.

1861 American Civil War: Battle of Fort Sumter. The war begins with Confederate States of America forces firing on Fort Sumter, in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina.

1862 American Civil War: The Andrews Raid (the Great Locomotive Chase) occurs, starting from Big Shanty, Georgia (now Kennesaw, Georgia).

1864 American Civil War: The Battle of Fort Pillow: Confederate States Army forces kill most of the African Americans soldiers that surrendered at Fort Pillow, Tennessee.

1865 American Civil War: Mobile, Alabama, falls to the Union (American Civil War).

1877 The United Kingdom annexes the South African Republic.

1900 One day after its enactment by the United States Congress, President William McKinley signs the Foraker Act into law, giving Puerto Rico limited self-rule.

1910 , one of the last pre-dreadnought battleships built by the Austria-Hungary Navy, is launched.

1917 World War I: Canadian Expeditionary Force forces successfully complete the taking of Battle of Vimy Ridge from the Germans.

1927 Shanghai massacre of 1927: Chiang Kai-shek orders the Chinese Communist Party members executed in Shanghai, ending the First United Front.

1927 Rocksprings, Texas is hit by an F5 tornado that destroys 235 of the 247 buildings in the town, kills 72 townspeople, and injures 205; third deadliest tornado in Texas history.

1928 The ''Bremen (aircraft)'', a German Junkers W 33 type aircraft, takes off for the first successful transatlantic aeroplane flight from east to west.

1934 The Wind speed # Highest speed gust in the world at the time of 231 mph, is measured on the summit of Mount Washington (New Hampshire), New Hampshire. It has since been surpassed.

1934 The U.S. Auto-Lite strike begins, culminating in a five-day melee between Ohio National Guard troops and 6,000 strike action.

1937 Sir Frank Whittle ground-tests the first jet engine designed to power an aircraft, at Rugby, Warwickshire.

1945 U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt dies in office; Vice President Harry S. Truman becomes President upon Roosevelt's death.

1945 World War II: The Ninth United States Army under General William Hood Simpson crosses the Elbe astride Magdeburg, and reaches Tangermünde—only 50 miles from Berlin.

1955 The polio vaccine, developed by Dr. Jonas Salk, is declared Jonas Salk # Polio research.

1961 Space Race: The Soviet Union cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human to travel into outer space and perform the first crewed orbital flight, Vostok 1.

1963 The Soviet Union nuclear-powered submarine ''Soviet submarine K-33'' collides with the Finnish merchant vessel M/S ''Finnclipper'' in the Danish straits.

1970 Soviet submarine K-8, carrying four nuclear torpedoes, sinks in the Bay of Biscay four days after a fire on board.

1980 The Americo-Liberian government of Liberia is 1980 Liberian coup d'état.

1980 Transbrasil Flight 303, a Boeing 727, crashes on approach to Hercílio Luz International Airport in Florianópolis, Brazil. Fifty-five out of the 58 people on board are killed.

1980 Canadian runner and athlete, Terry Fox begins his Marathon of Hope Run in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador

1981 The first launch of a Space Shuttle (''Space Shuttle Columbia'') takes place: The STS-1 mission.

1983 Harold Washington is elected as the first black mayor of Chicago.

1985 Space Shuttle Discovery launches on STS-51-D to deploy two communications satellites.

1990 Jim Gary's "Twentieth Century Dinosaurs" exhibition opens at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. He is the only sculptor ever invited to present a solo exhibition there.

1990 Widerøe Flight 839 crashes after takeoff from Værøy Airport in Norway, killing five people.

1992 The ''Euro Disney Resort'' officially opens with its theme park ''Disneyland Park (Paris)''; the resort and its park's name are subsequently changed to Disneyland Resort Paris.

1999 United States President Bill Clinton is cited for contempt of court for giving "intentionally false statements" in a civil lawsuit; he is later fined and disbarred.

1999 During the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, an American McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle Grdelica train bombing, killing between 20 and 60 people.

2002 A suicide bomber 2002 Mahane Yehuda Market bombing at the entrance to Jerusalem's Mahane Yehuda Market, killing seven people and wounding 104.

2007 A suicide bomber 2007 Iraqi Parliament bombing in a cafeteria within a parliament building, killing Iraqi MP Mohammed Awad (politician) and wounding more than twenty other people.

2009 Zimbabwe officially abandons the Zimbabwean dollar as its official currency.

2010 Merano derailment: A rail accident in South Tyrol kills nine people and injures a further 28.

2013 Two 2013 Kidal suicide attack kill three Military of Chad and injure dozens of civilians at a market in Kidal.

2014 The Great Fire of Valparaíso ravages the Chilean city of Valparaíso, killing 16 people, displacing nearly 10,000, and destroying over 2,000 homes.

811 Muhammad al-Jawad, the ninth Imam of Shia Islam (d. 835)

959 Emperor En'yū, emperor of Japan (d. 991)

1116 Richeza of Poland, Queen of Sweden, queen of Sweden and Grand Princess of Minsk (d. 1156)

1432 Anne of Austria, Landgravine of Thuringia (d. 1462)

1484 Antonio da Sangallo the Younger, Italian architect, designed the Apostolic Palace and St. Peter's Basilica (d. 1546)

1484 Rana Sanga, Rana of Mewar (d. 1527)

1500 Joachim Camerarius, German scholar and translator (d. 1574)

1526 Muretus, French philosopher and author (d. 1585)

1550 Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, English courtier and politician, Lord Great Chamberlain (d. 1604)

1577 Christian IV of Denmark (d. 1648)

1612 Simone Cantarini, Italian painter and engraver (d. 1648)

1639 Martin Lister, English naturalist and physician (d. 1712)

1656 Benoît de Maillet, French diplomat and natural historian (d. 1738)

1705 William Cookworthy, English minister and pharmacist (d. 1780)

1710 Caffarelli (castrato), Italian actor and singer (d. 1783)

1713 Guillaume Thomas François Raynal, French historian and author (d. 1796)

1716 Felice Giardini, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1796)

1722 Pietro Nardini, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1793)

1724 Lyman Hall, American physician, clergyman, and politician, 16th Governor of Georgia (d. 1790)

1748 Antoine Laurent de Jussieu, French botanist and author (d. 1836)

1777 Henry Clay, American lawyer and politician, 9th United States Secretary of State (d. 1852)

1792 John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, English soldier and politician, Lord Privy Seal (d. 1840)

1794 Germinal Pierre Dandelin, Belgian mathematician and engineer (d. 1847)

1796 George N. Briggs, American lawyer and politician, 19th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1861)

1799 Henri Druey, Swiss lawyer and politician, 2nd List of Presidents of the Swiss Confederation (d. 1855)

1801 Joseph Lanner, Austrian composer and conductor (d. 1843)

1816 Charles Gavan Duffy (Australian politician), Irish-Australian politician, 8th Premier of Victoria (d. 1903)

1823 Alexander Ostrovsky, Russian playwright and translator (d. 1886)

1839 Nikolay Przhevalsky, Russian geographer and explorer (d. 1888)

1845 Gustaf Cederström, Swedish painter (d. 1933)

1851 José Gautier Benítez, Puerto Rican soldier and poet (d. 1880)

1851 Edward Walter Maunder, English astronomer and author (d. 1928)

1852 Ferdinand von Lindemann, German mathematician and academic (d. 1939)

1856 Martin Conway, 1st Baron Conway of Allington, English mountaineer, cartographer, and politician (d. 1937)

1863 Raul Pompeia, Brazilian writer (d. 1895)

1868 Akiyama Saneyuki, Japanese admiral (d. 1918)

1869 Henri Désiré Landru, French serial killer (d. 1922)

1871 Ioannis Metaxas, Greek general and politician, 130th Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1941)

1874 William B. Bankhead, American lawyer and politician, 47th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (d. 1940)

1880 Addie Joss, American baseball player and journalist (d. 1911)

1883 Imogen Cunningham, American photographer and educator (d. 1976)

1883 Dally Messenger, Australian rugby player, cricketer, and sailor (d. 1959)

1884 Tenby Davies, Welsh runner (d. 1932)

1884 Otto Meyerhof, German physician and biochemist, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine laureate (d. 1951)

1885 Robert Delaunay, French painter (d. 1941)

1887 Harold Lockwood, American actor and director (d. 1918)

1888 Dan Ahearn, Irish-American long jumper and police officer (d. 1942)

1888 Cecil Kimber, English automobile engineer (d. 1945)

1892 Henry Darger, American writer and artist (d. 1973)

1894 Dorothy Cumming, Australian-American actress (d. 1983)

1894 Francisco Craveiro Lopes, Portuguese field marshal and politician, 13th President of Portugal (d. 1964)

1898 Lily Pons, French-American soprano and actress (d. 1976)

1901 Lowell Stockman, American farmer and politician (d. 1962)

1902 Louis Beel, Dutch academic and politician, 36th Prime Minister of the Netherlands (d. 1977)

1903 Jan Tinbergen, Dutch economist and academic, Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences laureate (d. 1994)

1907 Felix de Weldon, Austrian-American sculptor, designed the Marine Corps War Memorial (d. 2003)

1907 Zawgyi (writer), Burmese poet, author, literary historian, critic, scholar and academic (d. 1990)

1908 Ida Pollock, English author and painter (d. 2013)

1908 Robert Lee Scott, Jr., American pilot and general (d. 2006)

1910 Gillo Dorfles, Italian art critic, painter and philosopher (d. 2018)

1910 Irma Rapuzzi, French politician (d. 2018)

1911 Mahmoud Younis, Egyptian engineer (d. 1976)

1912 Frank Dilio, Canadian businessman (d. 1997)

1912 Hamengkubuwono IX, Indonesian politician, 2nd List of Vice Presidents of Indonesia (d. 1988)

1912 Hound Dog Taylor, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1975)

1913 Keiko Fukuda, Japanese-American martial artist (d. 2013)

1914 Armen Alchian, American economist and academic (d. 2013)

1916 Beverly Cleary, American author (d. 2021)

1916 Russell Garcia (composer), American-New Zealand composer and conductor (d. 2011)

1916 Benjamin Libet, American neuropsychologist and academic (d. 2007)

1917 Helen Forrest, American singer and actress (d. 1999)

1917 Vinoo Mankad, Indian cricketer (d. 1978)

1917 Robert Manzon, French racing driver (d. 2015)

1919 István Anhalt, Hungarian-Canadian composer and educator (d. 2012)

1919 Billy Vaughn, American musician and bandleader (d. 1991)

1921 Robert Cliche, Canadian lawyer, judge, and politician (d. 1978)

1922 Simon Kapwepwe, Zambian politician, 2nd Vice President of Zambia (d. 1980)

1923 Ann Miller, American actress, singer, and dancer (d. 2004)

1924 Raymond Barre, French economist and politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 2007)

1924 Peter Safar, Austrian physician and academic (d. 2003)

1924 Curtis Turner, American race car driver (d. 1970)

1925 Evelyn Berezin, American computer scientist and engineer (d. 2018)

1925 Ned Miller, American country music singer and songwriter (d. 2016)

1925 Oliver Postgate, English animator, puppeteer, and screenwriter (d. 2008)

1926 Jane Withers, American actress (d. 2021)

1927 Thomas Hemsley, English baritone (d. 2013)

1927 Alvin Sargent, American screenwriter (d. 2019)

1928 Hardy Krüger, German actor (d. 2022)

1928 Jean-François Paillard, French conductor (d. 2013)

1929 Elspet Gray, Scottish actress (d. 2013)

1929 Mukhran Machavariani, Georgian poet and educator (d. 2010)

1930 John Landy, Australian runner and politician, 26th Governor of Victoria (d. 2022)

1930 Bryan Magee, English philosopher and politician (d. 2019)

1930 Manuel Neri, American sculptor and painter (d. 2021)

1930 Pythagoras Papastamatiou, Greek lyricist and playwright (d. 1979)

1930 Michał Życzkowski, Polish technician and educator (d. 2006)

1931 Leonid Derbenyov, Russian poet and songwriter (d. 1995)

1932 Lakshman Kadirgamar, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician, 5th Minister of Foreign Affairs (Sri Lanka) (d. 2005)

1932 Tiny Tim (musician), American singer and ukulele player (d. 1996)

1932 Jean-Pierre Marielle, French actor (d. 2019)

1933 Montserrat Caballé, Spanish soprano and actress (d. 2018)

1934 Heinz Schneiter, Swiss footballer and manager (d. 2017)

1935 Jimmy Makulis, Greek singer (d. 2007)

1936 Tony Earl, American politician, 40th Governor of Wisconsin (d. 2023)

1936 Charles Napier (actor), American actor (d. 2011)

1936 Kennedy Simmonds, Kittitian politician, 4th List of Prime Ministers of Saint Kitts and Nevis

1937 Dennis Banks, American author and activist (d. 2017)

1937 Igor Volk, Ukrainian-Russian colonel, pilot, and astronaut (d. 2017)

1939 Alan Ayckbourn, English director and playwright

1939 Johnny Raper, Australian rugby league player and coach (d. 2022)

1940 Woodie Fryman, American baseball player (d. 2011)

1940 Herbie Hancock, American pianist, composer, and bandleader

1941 Bobby Moore, English footballer and manager (d. 1993)

1942 Bill Bryden, Scottish actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2022)

1942 Carlos Reutemann, Argentinian race car driver and politician (d. 2021)

1942 Jacob Zuma, South African politician, 4th President of South Africa

1943 Sumitra Mahajan, Indian politician, 16th Speaker of the Lok Sabha

1944 Lisa Jardine, English historian, author, and academic (d. 2015)

1944 John Kay (musician), German-Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer

1945 Lee Jong-wook, South Korean physician and diplomat (d. 2006)

1946 John Dunsworth, Canadian actor and comedian (d. 2017)

1946 Ed O'Neill, American actor and comedian

1946 George Robertson, Baron Robertson of Port Ellen, Scottish politician and diplomat, 10th Secretary General of NATO

1947 Roy M. Anderson, English epidemiologist, zoologist, and academic

1947 Martin Brasier, English palaeontologist, biologist, and academic (d. 2014)

1947 Tom Clancy, American historian and author (d. 2013)

1947 David Letterman, American comedian and talk show host

1947 Wayne Northrop, American actor (d. 2024)

1948 Jeremy Beadle, English television host and producer (d. 2008)

1948 Joschka Fischer, German academic and politician

1948 Christos Iakovou, Greek weightlifter

1948 Marcello Lippi, Italian footballer, manager, and coach

1949 Scott Turow, American lawyer and author

1949 Pravin Gordhan, South African politician (d. 2024)

1950 Joyce Banda, Malawian politician, 4th president of Malawi

1950 Flavio Briatore, Italian businessman

1950 David Cassidy, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2017)

1950 Nicholas Sackman, English composer and educator

1951 Tom Noonan, American actor

1952 Reuben Gant, American football player

1952 Leicester Rutledge, New Zealand rugby player

1952 Gary Soto, American poet, novelist, and memoirist

1952 Ralph Wiley, American journalist (d. 2004)

1953 Tanino Liberatore, Italian author and illustrator

1954 John Faulkner, Australian educator and politician, 52nd Minister for Defence (Australia)

1954 Steve Stevaert, Belgian businessman and politician (d. 2015)

1954 Pat Travers, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist

1955 Fabian Hamilton, English graphic designer, engineer, and politician

1956 Andy Garcia, Cuban-American actor, director, and producer

1956 Herbert Grönemeyer, German singer-songwriter and actor

1957 Greg Child, Australian mountaineer and author

1957 Vince Gill, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

1957 Tama Janowitz, American novelist and short story writer

1958 Will Sergeant, English guitarist

1958 Klaus Tafelmeier, German javelin thrower

1958 Ginka Zagorcheva, Bulgarian hurdler

1960 David Thirdkill, American basketball player

1961 Corrado Fabi, Italian racing driver

1961 Charles Mann (American football), American football player and sportscaster

1961 Magda Szubanski, English-Australian actress, comedian and writer

1962 Art Alexakis, American singer-songwriter and musician

1962 Carlos Sainz Sr., Spanish racing driver

1962 Nobuhiko Takada, Japanese mixed martial artist and wrestler, founded Hustle (professional wrestling)

1963 Lydia Cacho, Mexican journalist and author

1964 Chris Fairclough, English footballer and coach

1964 Amy Ray, American folk-rock singer-songwriter, musician, and music producer

1965 Kim Bodnia, Danish actor and director

1965 Chi Onwurah, English politician

1965 Gervais Rufyikiri, Burundian politician

1965 Mihai Stoica, Romanian footballer and manager

1966 Nils-Olav Johansen, Norwegian guitarist and singer

1966 Lorenzo White, American football player

1967 Sarah Cracknell, English singer-songwriter

1968 Alicia Coppola, American actress

1968 Toby Gad, German songwriter and producer

1968 Adam Graves, Canadian ice hockey player

1969 Michael Jackson (wide receiver), American football player and politician (d. 2017)

1969 Jörn Lenz, German footballer and manager

1969 Lucas Radebe, South African footballer and sportscaster

1970 Sylvain Bouchard, Canadian speed skater

1971 Nicholas Brendon, American actor

1971 Shannen Doherty, American actress, director, and producer (d. 2024)

1972 Paul Lo Duca, American baseball player and sportscaster

1973 J. Scott Campbell, American author and illustrator

1973 Ryan Kisor, American trumpet player and composer

1973 Antonio Osuna, Mexican-American baseball player

1973 Christian Panucci, Italian footballer and manager

1974 Belinda Emmett, Australian actress (d. 2006)

1974 Bryan Fletcher (rugby league), Australian rugby league player and sportscaster

1974 Roman Hamrlík, Czech ice hockey player

1974 Marley Shelton, American actress

1974 Sylvinho, Brazilian footballer and manager

1976 Olga Kotlyarova, Russian runner

1976 Brad Miller (basketball), American basketball player

1977 Giovanny Espinoza, Ecuadorian footballer

1977 Sarah Monahan, Australian actress

1977 Jason Price, Welsh footballer

1977 Glenn Rogers, Australian-Scottish cricketer

1978 Guy Berryman, Scottish bassist (Coldplay)

1978 Scott Crary, American director, producer, and screenwriter

1978 Svetlana Lapina, Russian high jumper

1978 Robin Walker, English businessman and politician

1979 Claire Danes, American actress

1979 Elena Grosheva, Russian gymnast

1979 Mateja Kežman, Serbian footballer

1979 Jennifer Morrison, American actress

1979 Cristian Ranalli, Italian footballer

1979 Lee Soo-young, South Korean singer

1980 Sara Head, Welsh Paralympic table tennis champion

1980 Brian McFadden, Irish singer-songwriter

1981 Yuriy Borzakovskiy, Russian runner

1981 Nicolás Burdisso, Argentinian footballer

1981 Tulsi Gabbard, American politician

1981 Grant Holt, English footballer and professional wrestler

1981 Hisashi Iwakuma, Japanese baseball pitcher

1983 Jelena Dokic, Serbian-Australian tennis player

1983 Luke Kibet, Kenyan runner

1984 Aleksey Dmitrik, Russian high jumper

1985 Brennan Boesch, American baseball player

1985 Hitomi Yoshizawa, Japanese singer

1986 Brad Brach, American baseball pitcher

1986 Blerim Džemaili, Swiss footballer

1986 Marcel Granollers, Spanish tennis player

1986 Jonathan Pitroipa, Burkinabé footballer

1987 Luiz Adriano, Brazilian professional footballer

1987 Brooklyn Decker, American model and actress

1987 Shawn Gore, Canadian football player

1987 Josh McCrone, Australian rugby league player

1987 Brendon Urie, American singer, songwriter, musician and multi-instrumentalist

1988 Ricky Álvarez, Argentinian footballer

1988 Stephen Brogan, English footballer

1988 Amedeo Calliari, Italian footballer

1988 Jessie James Decker, American singer-songwriter

1988 Moamen Zakaria, Egyptian footballer

1989 Bethan Dainton, Welsh rugby union player

1989 Ádám Hanga, Hungarian basketball player

1989 Miguel Ángel Ponce, American-Mexican footballer

1989 Valentin Stocker, Swiss footballer

1989 Kaitlyn Weaver, Canadian-American ice dancer

1990 Francesca Halsall, English swimmer

1990 Hiroki Sakai, Japanese footballer

1991 Lionel Carole, French professional footballer

1991 Torey Krug, American ice hockey player

1991 Oliver Norwood, English born Northern Irish international footballer

1991 Magnus Pääjärvi, Swedish ice hockey player

1991 Jazz Richards, Welsh international footballer

1992 Chad le Clos, South African swimmer

1993 Robin Anderson (tennis), American tennis player

1993 Jordan Archer (goalkeeper, born 1993), English-Scottish footballer

1993 Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Canadian ice hockey player

1994 Eric Bailly, Ivorian professional footballer

1994 Isabelle Drummond, Brazilian actress and singer

1994 Guido Rodríguez, Argentine footballer

1994 Saoirse Ronan, American-born Irish actress

1994 Oh Se-hun (entertainer), South Korean musician

1995 Pedro Cachin, Argentine tennis player

1996 Matteo Berrettini, Italian tennis player

1996 Elizaveta Kulichkova, Russian tennis player

45 BC Gnaeus Pompeius (son of Pompey the Great), Roman general and politician (b. 75 BC)

352 Pope Julius I, pope of the Catholic Church

434 Maximianus of Constantinople, archbishop of Constantinople

901 Eudokia Baïana, Byzantine empress and wife of Leo VI the Wise

1125 Vladislaus I, Duke of Bohemia (b. 1065)

1167 Charles VII of Sweden, king of Sweden (b. c. 1130)

1256 Margaret of Bourbon, Queen of Navarre, regent of Navarre (b. c. 1217)

1443 Henry Chichele, English archbishop (b. 1364)

1500 Leonhard of Gorizia, Count of Gorz (b. 1440)

1530 Joanna La Beltraneja, Princess of Castile (b. 1462)

1550 Claude, Duke of Guise (b. 1496)

1555 Joanna of Castile, Queen of Castile and Aragon (b. 1479)

1675 Richard Bennett (Governor), English politician, List of colonial governors of Virginia (b. 1609)

1684 Nicola Amati, Italian instrument maker (b. 1596)

1687 Ambrose Dixon, English-American soldier (b. 1619)

1704 Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet, French bishop and theologian (b. 1627)

1748 William Kent, English architect, designed Holkham Hall and Chiswick House (b. 1685)

1782 Metastasio, Italian-Austrian poet and composer (b. 1698)

1788 Carlo Antonio Campioni, French-Italian composer (b. 1719)

1795 Johann Kaspar Basselet von La Rosée, Bavarian general (b. 1710)

1814 Charles Burney, English composer and historian (b. 1726)

1817 Charles Messier, French astronomer and academic (b. 1730)

1850 Adoniram Judson, American lexicographer and missionary (b. 1788)

1866 Peter Hesketh-Fleetwood, English politician, founded Fleetwood (b. 1801)

1872 Nikolaos Mantzaros, Greek composer and theorist (b. 1795)

1878 William M. Tweed, American lawyer and politician (b. 1823)

1879 Richard Taylor (Confederate general), Confederate general (b. 1826)

1885 William Crowther (Australian politician), Dutch-Australian politician, 14th Premier of Tasmania (b. 1817)

1898 Elzéar-Alexandre Taschereau, Canadian cardinal (b. 1820)

1902 Marie Alfred Cornu, French physicist and academic (b. 1842)

1906 Mahesh Chandra Nyayratna Bhattacharyya, Indian scholar, academic, and philanthropist (b. 1836)

1912 Clara Barton, American nurse and humanitarian, founded the American Red Cross (b. 1821)

1920 Vlasis Gavriilidis, Greek jourtnalist (b. 1848)

1933 Adelbert Ames, American general and politician, 30th Governor of Mississippi (b. 1835)

1937 Abdülhak Hâmid Tarhan, Turkish playwright and poet (b. 1852)

1938 Feodor Chaliapin, Russian opera singer (b. 1873)

1943 Viktor Puskar, Estonian colonel (b. 1889)

1945 Franklin D. Roosevelt, American lawyer and politician, 32nd President of the United States (b. 1882)

1953 Lionel Logue, Australian actor and therapist (b. 1880)

1962 Ron Flockhart (racing driver), Scottish racing driver (b. 1923)

1966 Sydney Allard, English racing driver and founder of the Allard Motor Company car company (b. 1910)

1968 Heinrich Nordhoff, German engineer (b. 1899)

1971 Ed Lafitte, American baseball player and dentist (b. 1886)

1973 Arthur Freed, American songwriter and producer (b. 1894)

1975 Josephine Baker, French actress, activist, and humanitarian (b. 1906)

1976 Christos Kakkalos, Greek mountain guide (b. 1882)

1977 Philip K. Wrigley, American businessman, co-founded Lincoln Park Gun Club (b. 1894)

1980 William R. Tolbert, Jr., Liberian politician, 20th President of Liberia (b. 1913)

1981 Prince Yasuhiko Asaka of Japan (b. 1887)

1981 Joe Louis, American boxer and wrestler (b. 1914)

1983 Jørgen Juve, Norwegian football player and journalist (b. 1906)

1983 Carl Morton, American baseball player (b. 1944)

1984 Edwin T. Layton, American admiral and cryptanalysis (b. 1903)

1986 Valentin Kataev, Russian author and playwright (b. 1897)

1988 Colette Deréal, French singer and actress (b. 1927)

1988 Alan Paton, South African historian and author (b. 1903)

1989 Abbie Hoffman, American activist, co-founded Youth International Party (b. 1936)

1989 Sugar Ray Robinson, American boxer (b. 1921)

1992 Ilario Bandini, Italian racing driver and businessman (b. 1911)

1997 George Wald, American neurologist and academic, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine laureate (b. 1906)

1998 Robert Ford (poet), Canadian poet and diplomat (b. 1915)

1999 Boxcar Willie, American singer-songwriter (b. 1931)

2001 Harvey Ball, American illustrator, created the smiley (b. 1921)

2002 George Shevelov, Ukrainian-American linguist and philologist (b. 1908)

2004 Moran Campbell, Canadian physician and academic, invented the venturi mask (b. 1925)

2006 William Sloane Coffin, American minister and activist (b. 1924)

2007 Kevin Crease, Australian journalist (b. 1936)

2008 Cecilia Colledge, English-American figure skater and coach (b. 1920)

2008 Patrick Hillery, Irish physician and politician, 6th President of Ireland (b. 1923)

2008 Jerry Zucker (businessman), Israeli-American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1949)

2010 Michel Chartrand, Canadian trade union leader (b. 1916)

2010 Werner Schroeter, German director and screenwriter (b. 1945)

2011 Karim Fakhrawi, Bahraini journalist, co-founded ''Al-Wasat (Bahraini newspaper)'' (b. 1962)

2012 Mohit Chattopadhyay, Indian poet and playwright (b. 1934)

2012 Rodgers Grant, American pianist and composer (b. 1935)

2013 Robert Byrne (chess player), American chess player and author (b. 1928)

2013 Johnny du Plooy, South African boxer (b. 1964)

2013 Michael France, American screenwriter (b. 1962)

2013 Brennan Manning, American priest and author (b. 1934)

2013 Annamária Szalai, Hungarian journalist and politician (b. 1961)

2013 Ya'akov Yosef, Israeli rabbi and politician (b. 1946)

2014 Pierre Autin-Grenier, French author and poet (b. 1947)

2014 Pierre-Henri Menthéour, French cyclist (b. 1960)

2014 Maurício Alves Peruchi, Brazilian footballer (b. 1990)

2014 Hal Smith (catcher), American baseball player and coach (b. 1931)

2014 Billy Standridge, American race car driver (b. 1953)

2015 Paulo Brossard, Brazilian jurist and politician (b. 1924)

2015 Patrice Dominguez, Algerian-French tennis player and trainer (b. 1950)

2015 Alfred Eick, German commander (b. 1916)

2015 André Mba Obame, Gabonese politician (b. 1957)

2016 Mohammad Al Gaz, Emirati politician & diplomat (b. 1930)

2016 Anne Jackson, American actress (b. 1925)

2017 Charlie Murphy (actor), American actor and comedian (b. 1959)

2020 Tarvaris Jackson, American football player (b. 1983)

2021 Joseph Siravo, American actor and producer (b. 1955)

2022 Gilbert Gottfried, American comedian, actor, and singer (b. 1955)

2024 Roberto Cavalli, Italian fashion designer and inventor (b. 1940)

2024 Eleanor Coppola, American filmmaker (b. 1936)

2024 Robert MacNeil, Canadian-American journalist and author (b. 1931)

Children's Day (Bolivia)

Christian calendar of saints:

- Adoniram Judson (Calendar of saints (Episcopal Church))

- Alferius

- Angelo Carletti di Chivasso

- Erkembode

- Pope Julius I

- Teresa of the Andes

- Zeno of Verona

- April 12 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

Commemoration of first human in space by Yuri Gagarin:

- Cosmonautics Day (Russia)

- International Day of Human Space Flight

- Yuri's Night (International observance)

Halifax Day (North Carolina)

National Redemption Day (Liberia)

[http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/12 BBC: On This Day]

[https://www.onthisday.com/events/april/12 Historical Events on April 12]