January 12 January 12 is the 12th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 353 days remaining (354 in leap years). Events 1500-1899 1528 - Gustav I of Sweden crowned king of Sweden 1709 - Little Ice Age: Two-month freezing period begins in France - The coast of the Atlantic and Seine River freeze, crops fail and at least 24.000 Parisians die 1773 - The first American museum open to the public is opened in (Charleston, South Carolina). 1777 - Mission Santa Clara de Asís is founded in what is now Santa Clara, California 1838 - In order to avoid anti-Mormon persecution, Joseph Smith, Jr. and his followers leave Ohio for Missouri. 1866 - Royal Aeronautical Society is formed (London). 1875 - Kwang-su becomes emperor of China. 1896 - H.L. Smith takes the first x-ray photograph. 1898 - Ito Hirobumi begins his third term as Prime Minister of Japan. 1900-1949 1908 - A long-distance radio message is sent from the Eiffel Tower for the first time. 1915 - The Rocky Mountain National Park is formed by an act of Congress. 1915 - United States House of Representatives rejects proposal to give women the right to vote. 1926 - Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll premiere their radio program Sam 'n' Henry, a precursor to Amos 'n' Andy; possibly the first situation comedy. 1932 - Hattie W. Caraway becomes the first woman elected to the United States Senate. 1940 - World War II: Russia bombs cities in Finland. 1942 - President Franklin Roosevelt creates the National War Labor Board. 1945 - World War II: The Soviets begin a very large offensive in Eastern Europe against the Nazis. 1950-1999 1964 - Rebels in Zanzibar begin a revolt and later proclaim a republic. 1966 - Lyndon B. Johnson states that the United States should stay in South Vietnam until Communist aggression there is ended. 1966 - Batman debuts on ABC. 1969 - Super Bowl III: New York Jets upset the Baltimore Colts, 16-7. 1969 - Hard rock band Led Zeppelin release their eponymous first album. 1970 - Biafra capitulates, ending the Nigerian civil war. 1971 - All in the Family debuts on CBS. 1971 - Harrisburg Six: The Reverend Philip Berrigan and five others are indicted on charges of conspiring to kidnap Henry Kissinger and of plotting to blow up the heating tunnels of federal buildings in Washington, DC. 1976 - UN Security Council votes 11-1 to allow the Palestinian Liberation Organization to participate in a Security Council debate (without voting rights). 1986 - Space shuttle Columbia takes-off with the first Hispanic-American astronaut, Dr. Franklin R. Chang-Diaz. 1991 - Persian Gulf War: An act of the United States Congress authorizes the use of military force to drive Iraq out of Kuwait. 1992 - In the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey, the fictional computer HAL 9000 was supposed to have been initially activated on this date. 1995 - Malcolm X's daughter, Qubilah Shabazz, is arrested for conspiring to kill Louis Farrakhan. 1998 - 19 European nations agree to forbid human cloning. Births 1600-1899 1628 - Charles Perrault, folklorist (d. 1703) 1729 - Edmund Burke, statesman, philosopher (d. 1797) 1746 - Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, Swiss pedagogue (d. 1827) 1856 - John Singer Sargent, artist (d. 1925) 1863 - Swami Vivekananda, guru (d. 1902) 1873 - Spiridon Louis, Greek marathon runner 1876 - Jack London, author (d. 1916) 1876 - Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari, composer (d. 1948) 1877 - Frank J. Corr, mayor of Chicago, IL (d. 1934 1878 - Ferenc Molnár, writer (d. 1952) 1879 - Ray Harroun, first winner of the Indianapolis 500 (d. 1968) 1884 - Texas Guinan, vaudeville performer (d. 1933) 1893 - Hermann Göring, Nazi official (d. 1946) 1893 - Alfred Rosenberg, Nazi official (d. 1946) 1896 - Rex Ingram, director and actor (d. 1950) 1899 - Paul Hermann Müller, chemist, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1948 (d. 1965) 1900-1999 1905 - Tex Ritter, actor, singer (d. 1974) 1908 - Jean Delannoy, film director 1910 - Luise Rainer, actress 1915 - Paul Jarrico, writer (d. 1997) 1916 - Pieter Willem Botha, President of South Africa 1926 - Ray Price, country music singer 1930 - Glenn Yarborough, singer, songwriter 1935 - Kreskin, mentalist 1943 - Ray Manzarek, keyboardist for The Doors 1944 - Joe Frazier, boxing champion 1946 - George Duke, musician 1949 - Wayne Wang, director 1950 - Sheila Jackson Lee, American politician 1951 - Kirstie Alley, actress 1951 - Rush Limbaugh, radio personality 1952 - Ricky Van Shelton, country musician 1954 - Howard Stern, "shock-jock" radio host 1955 - Rockne O'Bannon, writer, producer 1957 - John Lasseter, director, writer, animator 1959 - Blixa Bargeld, lead singer for Einstürzende Neubauten 1960 - Oliver Platt, actor 1964 - Jeff Bezos, president of amazon.com 1966 - Rob Zombie, musician, artist, writer 1970 - Zack de la Rocha, singer 1971 - Richard deCosta, composer 1980 - Bobby Crosby, baseball player 1982 - Dontrelle Willis, baseball pitcher Deaths 1519 - Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1459) 1665 - Pierre de Fermat, mathematician and lawyer (b. 1601) 1674 - Giacomo Carissimi, Baroque era composer 1817 - Juan Andres, Spanish Jesuit (b. 1740) 1943 - Jan Campert, Dutch journalist and writer (b. 1902) 1960 - Nevil Shute, writer (b. 1899) 1965 - Lorraine Hansberry, writer 1976 - Agatha Christie, writer (b. 1890) 2001 - William Hewlett, cofounder of Hewlett-Packard (b. 1913) 2002 - Stanley Unwin, comedian 2002 - Cyrus Vance, former United States Secretary of State (1977-1980) (b. 1917) 2003 - Leopoldo Fortunato Galtieri, dictator of Argentina (b. 1926) 2003 - Kinji Fukasaku, Japanese director (b. 1930) 2003 - Leopoldo Galtieri, Argentine dictator 2003 - Maurice Gibb, singer and bassist in the Bee Gees (b. 1949) Holidays and observances Fiction In 2001: A Space Odyssey, the fictional computer HAL became operational on January 12. In the movie by Stanley Kubrick he was "born" in 1992, while in the book by Arthur C. Clarke the same event occurred in 1997. Most Popular Articles: Music    Musical Instruments    Guitar    Classical Music    History    Music Definition    Country Music    Rock Music    Pop Music    Hip Hop    Rap    DJ    Video Games    Casino Games    Poker    Blackjack    Casinos    Real Estate    Loan    Auction    eBay    Marketing    Search Engine Optimization    File Sharing    MP3    Music Industry    Kazaa    Internet    Supermodel    Fashion    Fashion Designers    Erotica    Modeling    Clothing    Boots    Shoes    Diamond Engagement Rings    Diamond    Rugs    Gospel Music    Affiliate    E-Commerce    Radio This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License at http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html You may copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license. 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