What are the important events that happened on August 12? Here are historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.
August 12: Facts & Myths About This Day
August 12 is the 224th day of the year 2025 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 141 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Tuesday.
Under the Julian calendar, this day is July 30, 2025 – a Tuesday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?
When this day started, 29,249,280 minutes has elapsed since midnight of January 1, 1970 – the Unix epoch.
Strange as it may, if we name this day after a polygon then it will be called ‘dihectaicosatetragon’ day.
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Leo is the zodiac sign of a person born on this day. Peridot is the modern birthstone for this month. Diamond is the mystical birthstone from Tibetan origin that dates back over a thousand years.
According to the lunisolar Chinese calendar, there are 189 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year.
The ancient Maya civilization believes that the end of the world will happen on December 21, 2012. There are now 4,617 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.
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August 12: This Day In History
It is the peak of the Perseid meteor shower. It is also known as the “Glorious Twelfth” in the UK, as it marks the traditional start of the grouse shooting season.
August 12 Historical Events
- 1099 –First Crusade: Battle of Ascalon Crusaders under the command of Godfrey of Bouillon defeat Fatimid forces led by Al-Afdal Shahanshah. This is considered the last engagement of the First Crusade.
- 1480 –Battle of Otranto: Ottoman troops behead 800 Christians for refusing to convert to Islam.
- 1499 –First engagement of the Battle of Zonchio between Venetian and Ottoman fleets.
- 1831 –French intervention forces William I of the Netherlands to abandon his attempt to suppress the Belgian Revolution.
- 1851 –Isaac Singer is granted a patent for his sewing machine.
- 1944 –Waffen SS troops massacre 560 people in Sant'Anna di Stazzema.
- 1964 –South Africa is banned from the Olympic Games due to the country’s racist policies.
- 1969 –Violence erupts after the Apprentice Boys of Derry march in Derry, Northern Ireland, resulting in a three-day communal riot known as the Battle of the Bogside.
- 1985 –Japan Airlines Flight 123 crashes into Osutaka ridge in Gunma Prefecture, Japan, killing 520, to become the worst single-plane air disaster.
- 1992 –Canada, Mexico and the United States announce completion of negotiations for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
Who were born on August 12?
- 1686 –John Balguy, English philosopher (d. 1748)
- 1831 –Helena Blavatsky, Russian theosophist (d. 1891)
- 1880 –Christy Mathewson, American baseball player (d. 1925)
- 1939 –Roy Romanow, Canadian politician
- 1939 –Skip Caray, American TV and radio baseball announcer (Atlanta Braves) (d. 2008)
- 1941 –Réjean Ducharme, Canadian novelist and playwright
- 1973 –Muqtada al-Sadr, Iraqi theologian and political leader
- 1979 –Cindy Klassen, Canadian speed skater
- 1981 –Djibril Cissé, French footballer
- 1985 –Franck Moutsinga, German rugby player
Who died on August 12?
- 1484 –Pope Sixtus IV (b. 1414)
- 1577 –Thomas Smith, English diplomat and scholar (b. 1513)
- 1822 –Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh, English politician and statesman (b. 1769)
- 1848 –George Stephenson, British locomotive designer (b. 1781)
- 1943 –Vittorio Sella, Italian photographer (b. 1859)
- 1952 –David Bergelson, Ukrainian-born Soviet Yiddish language writer (b. 1884)
- 1959 –Mike O'Neill, Irish-born American baseball player (b. 1877)
- 1982 –Henry Fonda, American actor (b. 1905)
- 2010 –André Kim, South Korean Fashion Designer (b. 1935)
- 2010 –Richie Hayward, American musician (Little Feat) (b. 1946)
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