Did you know
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party was founded by Ziaur Rahman in 1978, adhering to the ideology of Bangladeshi nationalism.
February 12 in History
2026 — In the first general election since the July Revolution in Bangladesh, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, led by Tarique Rahman, wins a landslide victory upon returning to power after almost 19 years
A referendum held alongside was also approved by the majority of voters.
February 12 spans 50 recorded events across recorded history, from 1059 to 2026. Below is a curated digest of the most significant moments tied to this date.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
Historical Events
50 events
1059 – 2026
Today in history
More major events on February 12
The featured story and these ranked highlights form a quick summary. Every recorded event remains available in the chronology below.
- 1818 Bernardo O'Higgins formally approves the Chilean Declaration of Independence near Concepción, Chile. Source
- 1946 African American United States Army veteran Isaac Woodard is severely beaten by a South Carolina police officer to the point where he loses his vision in both eyes. The incident later galvanizes the civil rights movement and partially inspires Orson Welles' film Touch of Evil. Source
- 2016 Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill sign an Ecumenical Declaration in the first such meeting between leaders of the Catholic and Russian Orthodox Churches since their split in 1054. Source
Did you know
Ziaur Rahman served as the president of Bangladesh from 1977 until his assassination in 1981.
Did you know
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party is one of the two contemporary mainstream parties in Bangladesh, alongside the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami.
Did you know
Tarique Rahman, the current leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, is the son of Ziaur Rahman.
Did you know
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party returned to power in 2026 after almost 19 years, with Tarique Rahman at its helm.
1059
Upon reaching Rome, Bruno of Toul is elected as pope Leo IX and starts initiating reforms.
Head of the Catholic Church from 1049 to 1054
1096
Pope Urban II confirms the foundation of the abbey of La Roë under Robert of Arbrissel as a community of canons regular.
Head of the Catholic Church from 1088 to 1099
1404
The Italian professor Galeazzo di Santa Sofia performs the first post-mortem autopsy for the purposes of teaching and demonstration at the Heiligen–Geist Spital in Vienna.
Italian physician and anatomist
1429
English forces under Sir John Fastolf defend a supply convoy carrying rations to the army besieging Orléans in the Battle of the Herrings.
15th-century English knight
1502
Isabella I issues an edict outlawing Islam in the Crown of Castile, forcing virtually all her Muslim subjects to convert to Christianity.
Queen of Castile and León from 1474 to 1504
1502
Vasco da Gama sets sail with 15 ships and 800 men from Lisbon, Portugal on his second voyage to India.
Portuguese explorer (c. 1460s – 1524)
1541
1593
Japanese invasion of Korea: Approximately 3,000 Joseon defenders led by general Kwŏn Yul successfully repel more than 30,000 Japanese forces in the Siege of Haengju.
1592–1598 Japanese invasions of Korea
1689
The Convention Parliament declares that the flight to France in 1688 by James II, the last Roman Catholic British monarch, constitutes an abdication.
Parliament of England held in 1689
1733
Georgia Day: Englishman James Oglethorpe founds Georgia, the 13th colony of the Thirteen Colonies, by settling at Savannah.
US state holiday recognizing its founding
1817
An Argentine/Chilean patriotic army, after crossing the Andes, defeats Spanish troops at the Battle of Chacabuco.
Country in South America
1818
Bernardo O'Higgins formally approves the Chilean Declaration of Independence near Concepción, Chile.
Chilean independence leader (1778–1842)
1825
The Creek cede the last of their lands in Georgia to the United States government by the Treaty of Indian Springs, and migrate west.
Indigenous people from Southeastern Woodlands
1889
Antonín Dvořák's Jakobín is premiered at the National Theater in Prague.
Czech composer (1841–1904)
1894
Café Terminus bombing by Émile Henry during the Ère des attentats (1892–1894).
This is considered one of the first acts of modern terrorism.
1909
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is founded.
American civil rights organization
1909
New Zealand's worst maritime disaster of the 20th century happens when the SS Penguin, an inter-island ferry, sinks and explodes at the entrance to Wellington Harbour.
19th and 20th-century New Zealand ferry
1912
The Xuantong Emperor, the last Emperor of China, abdicates.
Emperor of China (1908–1912) and of Manchukuo (1934–1945)
1919
The Second Regional Congress of Peasants, Workers and Insurgents is held by the Makhnovshchina at Huliaipole.
Congress of Makhnovshchina
1921
Bolsheviks launch a revolt in Georgia as a preliminary to the Red Army invasion of Georgia.
Faction of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party
1935
USS Macon, one of the two largest helium-filled airships ever created, crashes into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California and sinks.
United States historic airship
1945
A devastating tornado outbreak in Mississippi and Alabama kills 45 people and injures 427 others.
1945 tornado outbreak in the Southeastern U.S.
1946
World War II: Operation Deadlight ends after scuttling 121 of 154 captured U-boats.
Global conflict (1939–1945)
1946
African American United States Army veteran Isaac Woodard is severely beaten by a South Carolina police officer to the point where he loses his vision in both eyes.
The incident later galvanizes the civil rights movement and partially inspires Orson Welles' film Touch of Evil.
1947
The largest observed iron meteorite until that time creates an impact crater in Sikhote-Alin, in the Soviet Union.
1947 meteorite impact in southeastern Russia
1947
Christian Dior unveils a "New Look", helping Paris regain its position as the capital of the fashion world.
French fashion designer (1905–1957)
1961
The Soviet Union launches Venera 1 towards Venus.
Soviet space probe launched in 1961; first spacecraft to fly by Venus
1963
Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 705 crashes into the Everglades shortly after takeoff from Miami International Airport, killing all 45 people on board.
1963 aviation accident in Florida
1965
Malcolm X visits Smethwick near Birmingham following the racially-charged 1964 United Kingdom general election.
American civil rights activist (1925–1965)
1966
Rabbi Morris Adler is fatally shot by a disgruntled congregant at Congregation Shaarey Zedek in Southfield, Michigan, United States.
Murder-suicide involving prominent Michigan rabbi in 1966
1968
Vietnam War: The Phong Nhị and Phong Nhất massacre occurs, allegedly by South Korean troops.
1955–1975 war in Southeast Asia
1974
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1970, is exiled from the Soviet Union.
Soviet-Russian author and dissident (1918–2008)
1983
One hundred women protest in Lahore, Pakistan against military dictator Zia-ul-Haq's proposed Law of Evidence.
The women were tear-gassed, baton-charged and thrown into lock-up. The women were successful in repealing the law.
1988
Cold War: The 1988 Black Sea bumping incident: The U.S.
missile cruiser USS Yorktown (CG-48) is intentionally rammed by the Soviet frigate Bezzavetnyy in the Soviet territorial waters, while Yorktown claims innocent passage.
1990
Carmen Lawrence becomes the first female Premier in Australian history when she becomes Premier of Western Australia.
Australian politician and academic (born 1948)
1993
Two-year-old James Bulger is abducted from New Strand Shopping Centre by two ten-year-old boys, who later torture and murder him.
1993 child murder in Liverpool, England
1994
Four thieves break into the National Gallery of Norway and steal Edvard Munch's iconic painting The Scream.
Art gallery in Oslo, Norway
1999
United States President Bill Clinton is acquitted by the United States Senate in his impeachment trial.
President of the United States from 1993 to 2001
2001
NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft touches down in the "saddle" region of 433 Eros, becoming the first spacecraft to land on an asteroid.
American space probe to asteroid (1996–2001)
2002
The trial of Slobodan Milošević, the former President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, begins at the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague, Netherlands.
He dies four years later before its conclusion.
2002
An Iran Airtour Tupolev Tu-154 crashes in the mountains outside Khorramabad, Iran while descending for a landing at Khorramabad Airport, killing 119.
Airline in Iran
2004
The city of San Francisco begins issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples in response to a directive from Mayor Gavin Newsom.
City and county in California, US
2009
Colgan Air Flight 3407 crashes into a house in Clarence Center, New York while on approach to Buffalo Niagara International Airport, killing all 49 on board and one on the ground.
2009 aviation accident in New York
2016
Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill sign an Ecumenical Declaration in the first such meeting between leaders of the Catholic and Russian Orthodox Churches since their split in 1054.
Head of the Catholic Church from 2013 to 2025
2019
The country known as the Republic of Macedonia renames itself the Republic of North Macedonia in accordance with the Prespa agreement, settling a long-standing naming dispute with Greece.
Country in Southeast Europe