Historical Events on February 12

  • 1851: Gold is found in Bathurst, Australia by Edward Hargraves. This sparks the Australian gold rush.
  • 1855: Michigan State University is founded on this day.
  • 1890: One person is killed and twenty other people are wounded when Anarchist Emile Henry throws a bomb into the Cafe Terminus in Paris, France.
  • 1909: The NAACP is founded.
  • 1915: The first stone is laid in the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. D.C on this date.
  • 1935: One of the biggest helium-filled airships ever made – the USS Macon crashes into the Pacific and sinks.
  • 1946: After 121 captured U-boats are scuttled by the Allies, Operation Deadlight comes to an end.
  • 1946: African-American Isaac Woodard is beaten by a South Carolina police officer and ends up losing vision in both of his eye. This would strengthen the Civil Rights Movement. It would also partially inspire the film “Touch of Evil” by Orson Welles.
  • 1961: Venera 1 is launched towards Venus by the Soviet Union.
  • 1963: On this date construction on the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri begins. When finished, this stainless steel covered monument will become the tallest accessible building in Missouri, the tallest man-made object in the Western Hemisphere and the world’s tallest arch – standing 630-feet tall.

Famous Birthdays on February 12

  • English geologist Charles Darwin is born in 1809.
  • American lawyer and 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln is born in 1809.
  • English novelist and poet, George Meredith is born in 1828.
  • American author Alice Roosevelt Longworth is born in 1884.
  • American baseball player and sportscaster, Joe Garagiola, Sr. is born in 1926.
  • American basketball player and coach, Bill Russell is born in 1934.
  • American actress Joanna Kerns is born in 1953.
  • American actress Christine Elise is born in 1965.
  • American actor Josh Brolin is born in 1968.
  • American actress Sarah Lancaster is born in 1980
  • American actress and producer, Christina Ricci is born in 1980.