August 12 in History

Historical Events on August 12

1492 Christopher Columbus arrives in the Canary Islands on his first voyage to the New World.

1865 Joseph Lister, British surgeon and scientist, performs 1st antiseptic surgery.

1914 World War I: The United Kingdom declares war on Austria-Hungary; the countries of the British Empire follow suit.

1944 Waffen-SS troops massacre 560 people in Sant'Anna di Stazzema.

1944 Nazi German troops end the week-long Wola massacre, during which time at least 40,000 people were killed indiscriminately or in mass executions.

1950 Korean War: Bloody Gulch massacre: American POWs are massacred by North Korean Army.

1964 South Africa is banned from the Olympic Games due to the country's racist policies.

1976 Between 1,000 and 3,500 Palestinians are killed in the Tel al-Zaatar massacre, one of the bloodiest events of the Lebanese Civil War

1994 Major League Baseball players go on strike, forcing the cancellation of the 1994 World Series.

All Events

Famous Birthdays on August 12

1831 Helena Blavatsky

1930 George Soros

1988 Tyson Fury

1990 Mario Balotelli

All Births

Famous Deaths on August 12

1822 Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh

1827 William Blake

1992 John Cage

1996 Victor Ambartsumian

All Deaths

Choose Another Date