What Happened This Day In History - May 12

Today in History
May 12

254		St. Stephen I begins his reign as Catholic Pope.
1588		King Henry III flees Paris after Henry of Guise triumphantly enters the city.
1641		The chief advisor to Charles I, Thomas Wentworth, is beheaded in the Tower of London
1780		Charleston, South Carolina falls to British forces.
1851		The Tule River War ends.
1863		With a victory at the Battle of Raymond, Mississippi, Union General Ulysses S. Grant closes in on Vicksburg.
1864		Union General Benjamin Butler attacks Drewry's Bluff on the James River.
1865		The last land battle of the Civil war occurs at Palmito Ranch, Texas. It is a Confederate victory.
1881		Tunisia, in North Africa become a French protectorate.
1885		In the Battle of Batoche, French Canadians rebel against the Canadian government.
1926		The Airship Norge becomes the first vessel to fly over the North Pole.
1932		The body of Charles Lindbergh's baby is found.
1935		Alcoholics Anonymous is founded in Akron, Ohio by "Bill W.," a stockbroker, and "Dr. Bob S.," a heart surgeon.
1940		The Nazi conquest of France begins with the crossing Muese River.
1942		The Soviet Army launches its first major offensive of the war, taking Kharkov in the eastern Ukraine.
1943		Axis forces in North Africa surrender.
1949		The Berlin Blockade ends.
1969		Viet Cong sappers try unsuccessfully to overrun Landing Zone Snoopy in Vietnam.
1975		The U.S. merchant ship Mayaguez is seized by Cambodian forces.
Born on May 12
1812		Edward Lear, poet, painter and the youngest of 21 children.
1816		Edmund Beckett Grimthorpe, lawyer and architect.
1820		Florence Nightingale, English nurse and hospital reformer.
1828		Dante Gabriel Rossetti, English poet and painter.
1907		Katherine Hepburn, actress (The Philadelphia Story, The African Queen).
1915		Mary Kay Ash, founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics.
1921		Farley Mowat, Canadian nature writer (Never Cry Wolf).
1925		Yogi Berra (Lawrence Peter Berra), baseball player and coach.
1933		Andrey Andreyevich Voznesensky, Russian poet.
1936		Tom Snyder, newscaster and television host.
1936		Frank Stella, painter.