Merriam-Webster dictionary defines history as a branch of knowledge that records and explains past events. It’s a chronological record of significant events often including an explanation of their causes. The earliest known use of the word history was in the 14th century.
This website utilizes entries from Wikipedia to extract historical events from 3761 BC up to the present. There are currently 105,060 records in our database. The present day Gregorian calendar was adopted to show dates of interest.
Let us begin with what happened today in history. You may also enter a specific day using the form on the right sidebar. It is optional to input the year. If you do give a complete date with month, day and year then only events that happened on that specific date will be shown.
About May 12
May 12, 2025 is the 132nd day of the year 2025 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 233 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Monday.
You can browse the full year calendar in case you need it.
Taurus is the sun sign of a person born on this day. Emerald is the modern birthstone for this month. Sapphire is the mystical birthstone from Tibetan origin that dates back over a thousand years.
According to the lunisolar Chinese calendar, there are 281 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year.
What Happened On May 12
- 1364 –Jagiellonian University, the oldest university in Poland, is founded in Kraków, Poland.
- 1865 –American Civil War: the Battle of Palmito Ranch: the first day of the last major land action to take place during the Civil War, resulting in a Confederate victory.
- 1881 –In North Africa, Tunisia becomes a French protectorate.
- 1949 –The western occupying powers approve the Basic Law for the new German state: the Federal Republic of Germany.
- 1952 –Gaj Singh is crowned Maharaja of Jodhpur.
- 1962 –Douglas MacArthur delivers his Duty, Honor, Country valedictory speech at the United States Military Academy.
- 1965 –The Soviet spacecraft Luna 5 crashes on the Moon.
- 1975 –Mayagüez incident: the Cambodian navy seizes the American merchant ship SS Mayaguez in international waters.
- 1981 –Francis Hughes starves to death in the Maze Prison in a Republican campaign for political prisoner status to be granted to Provisional IRA prisoners.
- 2003 –The Riyadh compound bombings, carried out by Al Qaeda, kill 26 people.
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