May 12 in History

52 events 254 – 2024

May 12 spans 52 recorded events across recorded history — from 254 – 2024. Below is a curated digest of the most significant moments tied to this date.

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The WannaCry ransomware attack impacts over 400,000 computers worldwide, targeti

2017 — The WannaCry ransomware attack impacts over 400,000 computers worldwide, targeting computers of the United Kingdom's National Health Services and Telefónica computers

Did you know

The National Health Service was established on July 5, 1948.

Did you know

NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care in Northern Ireland operate separately from the National Health Service in England.

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The NHS is headquartered in Leeds, England, and is the largest employer in the United Kingdom.

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The NHS provides comprehensive and universal healthcare to all UK citizens, with most services free at the point of use.

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The NHS budget for 2020-2021 was approximately £140 billion, with the majority allocated to hospital services and primary care.


Pope Stephen I succeeds Pope Lucius I, becoming the 23rd pope of the Catholic Church, and immediately takes a stand against Novatianism.
Head of the Catholic Church from 254 to 257
Pope Stephen I was the Bishop of Rome from 12 May 254 to his death on 2 August 257. He was later canonized as a saint and some accounts say he was killed while celebrating Mass.
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254
Zhu Wen forces Emperor Ai into abdicating, ending the Tang dynasty after nearly three hundred years of rule.
Chinese warlord and Later Liang emperor from 907 to 912
Emperor Taizu of Later Liang (後梁太祖), personal name Zhu Quanzhong (朱全忠), né Zhu Wen (朱溫), name later changed to Zhu Huang (朱晃), nickname Zhu San, was a Chinese military general, monarch, and politician. He was a Jiedushi and warlord who in 907 overthrew the Tang dynasty and established the Later Liang dynasty, ruling as its first emperor, ushering in the era of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms. The last two Tang emperors, Emperor Zhaozong of Tang and Emperor Ai of Tang, who "ruled" as his puppets from 903 to 907, were both murdered by him.
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907
Richard I of England marries Berengaria of Navarre in Cyprus; she is crowned Queen consort of England the same day.
King of England from 1189 to 1199
Richard I, known as Richard the Lionheart or Richard Cœur de Lion because of his reputation as a great military leader and warrior, was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine, and Gascony; Lord of Cyprus; Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes; and was overlord of Brittany at various times during the same period. He was the third of five sons of Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine and was therefore not expected to become king, but his two elder brothers predeceased their father.
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1191
Antipope Nicholas V, a claimant to the papacy, is consecrated in Rome by the Bishop of Venice.
13/14th-century Italian preacher; claimant to the papacy from 1328 to 1330
Nicholas V, born Pietro Rainalducci was an antipope in Italy from 12 May 1328 to 25 July 1330 during the pontificate of Pope John XXII (1316–1334) at Avignon. He was the last antipope set up by a Holy Roman Emperor.
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1328
Jagiellonian University, the oldest university in Poland, is founded in Kraków.
Academic institution in Kraków, Poland
The Jagiellonian University is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and one of the oldest universities in continuous operation in the world. The university grounds form part of the Kraków Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university has been viewed as a vanguard of Polish culture as well as a significant contributor to the intellectual heritage of Europe.
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1364
Pope Alexander VI excommunicates Girolamo Savonarola.
Head of the Catholic Church from 1492 to 1503
Pope Alexander VI was head of the Catholic Church and leader of the Papal States from 11 August 1492 until his death in 1503.
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1497
The Prince of Anhua rebellion begins when Zhu Zhifan kills all the officials invited to a banquet and declares his intent on ousting the powerful Ming dynasty eunuch Liu Jin during the reign of the Zhengde Emperor.
1510 rebellion in China
The Prince of Anhua rebellion, or the Prince of Anhua's uprising, refers to the uprising led by Zhu Zhifan, Prince of Anhua, against the reigning Ming emperor, Zhengde Emperor, and took place in Ningxia, one of the nine military regions on the Ming Chinese border with Mongolia. In 1510, Liu Jin, a eunuch who held significant power in the government thanks to the trust and support of the Zhengde Emperor, sent officials to Ningxia to implement tax increases for military households and punish tax debtors, which sparked anger and discontent among the people. Taking advantage of the situation, Zhu Zhifan launched the rebellion on 12 May, declaring it a campaign against Liu Jin. However, the surrounding military commanders did not join in and instead reported the rebellion to the government in Beijing. In response, an army led by high official Yang Yiqing and eunuch Zhang Yong was sent to suppress the rebellion. Before the army reached Ningxia, loyalists led by garrison officer Qiu Yue captured the prince on 30 May.
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1510
National University of San Marcos, the oldest university in the Americas, is founded in Lima, Peru.
Public university in Lima, Peru
The National University of San Marcos is a public research university located in Lima, the capital of Peru. In the Americas, it is the first officially established and the oldest continuously operating university.
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1551
French Wars of Religion: Henry III of France flees Paris after Henry I, Duke of Guise, enters the city and a spontaneous uprising occurs.
1562–1598 Catholic-Protestant conflicts
The French Wars of Religion were a series of civil wars between French Catholics and Protestants from 1562 to 1598. Between two and four million people died from violence, famine or disease directly caused by the conflict, and it severely damaged the power of the French monarchy. The fighting ended with a compromise in 1598, when Henry of Navarre, who converted to Catholicism in 1593, was proclaimed King Henry IV of France and issued the Edict of Nantes, which granted substantial rights and freedoms to the Huguenots. However, Catholics continued to disapprove of Protestants and of Henry, and his assassination in 1610 triggered a fresh round of Huguenot rebellions in the 1620s.
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1588
London playwright Thomas Kyd is arrested and tortured by the Privy Council for libel.
16th-century English dramatist
Thomas Kyd was an English playwright, the author of The Spanish Tragedy, and one of the most important figures in the development of Elizabethan drama.
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1593
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Born on May 12

20 people 1983 – 2006
Vasilije Adžić
Montenegrin footballer
Vasilije Adžić is a Montenegrin professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Serie A club Juventus and the Montenegro national team.
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2006
Zach Benson
Canadian ice hockey player
Zachary Ruben Benson is a Canadian professional ice hockey player who is a winger for the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted 13th overall by the Sabres in the 2023 NHL entry draft.
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2005
Issa Kaboré
Issa Kaboré
Burkinabé footballer
Issa Kaboré is a Burkinabé professional footballer who plays as a right-back or right wing-back for EFL Championship club Wrexham, on loan from Premier League club Manchester City, and the Burkina Faso national team.
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2001
Hiroki Itō
Hiroki Itō
Japanese footballer
Hiroki Ito is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a centre-back, left-back and defensive midfielder for Bundesliga club Bayern Munich and the Japan national team.
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1999
Mo Bamba
Mo Bamba
American-Ivorian basketball player
Mohamed Fakaba Bamba is an Ivorian-American professional basketball player who last played for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Texas Longhorns. He was…
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1998
Frenkie de Jong
Frenkie de Jong
Dutch footballer
Frenkie de Jong is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for La Liga club Barcelona and the Netherlands national team.
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1997
Fabrice Olinga
Fabrice Olinga
Cameroonian footballer
Fabrice Olinga Essono, known as Olinga, is a Cameroonian professional footballer who plays as a forward.
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1996
Kostas Tsimikas
Kostas Tsimikas
Greek footballer
Konstantinos "Kostas" Tsimikas is a Greek professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Serie A club Roma, on loan from Premier League club Liverpool, and the Greece national team.
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1996
Timo Horn
Timo Horn
German footballer
Timo Phil Horn is a German professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for 2. Bundesliga club VfL Bochum. He began his professional career with 1. FC Köln, where he spent over a decade as the club's first-choice…
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1993
Erik Durm
Erik Durm
German footballer
Erik Durm is a German former professional footballer who played as a full-back.
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1992
Florent Amodio
Florent Amodio
French figure skater
Florent Amodio is a French figure skating coach and former competitor. He is the 2011 European champion, a four-time French national champion, and the 2008 JGP Final champion. He has represented France at two Winter…
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1990
Etika
Etika
American YouTuber and live streamer (died 2019)
Desmond Daniel Amofah, better known as Etika, was an American YouTuber and live streamer. Amofah became known online for his dramatic reactions to Super Smash Bros. character trailers, Nintendo Direct presentations, and…
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1990
Eleftheria Eleftheriou
Eleftheria Eleftheriou
Greek Cypriot singer, musician, and actress
Eleftheria Eleftheriou is a Greek Cypriot singer. She came to prominence through her participation in the second season of the Greek version of The X Factor. Shortly after her elimination, Sony Music Greece signed her…
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1989
Marcelo
Marcelo
Brazilian footballer
Marcelo Vieira da Silva Júnior, known as Marcelo, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a left-back. Widely regarded as one of the greatest left-backs of all time, he is known for his attacking…
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1988
Lance Lynn
Lance Lynn
American baseball player
Michael Lance Lynn is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Between 2011 and 2024, he played 13 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals, Minnesota Twins, New York Yankees, Texas…
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1987
Kieron Pollard
Kieron Pollard
Trinidadian cricketer
Kieron Adrian Pollard is a Trinidadian cricketer, who captained the West Indies cricket team in limited overs cricket. He used to play in various T20 leagues around the globe as an all-rounder. He also used to captain…
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1987
Darren Randolph
Darren Randolph
Irish footballer
Darren Edward Andrew Randolph is an Irish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He represented the Republic of Ireland national team in football, and Ireland at basketball.
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1987
Emily VanCamp
Emily VanCamp
Canadian actress
Emily Irene VanCamp is a Canadian actress. She gained acclaim and international recognition for portraying the lead role of Emily Thorne on the ABC series Revenge (2011–2015). She also starred on the Fox medical drama…
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1986
Domhnall Gleeson
Domhnall Gleeson
Irish actor
Domhnall Gleeson is an Irish actor and screenwriter. The son of actor Brendan Gleeson, he studied media arts at the Dublin Institute of Technology. He began his career by directing and writing short films, and garnered…
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1983
Yujiro Kushida
Yujiro Kushida
Japanese wrestler and mixed martial artist
Yujiro Kushida is a Japanese professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist, better known by his mononymous ring name Kushida. He is signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), and also makes appearances for Major…
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1983
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Died on May 12

20 people 2006 – 2024
Mark Damon
Mark Damon
American film actor and producer (born 1933)
Mark Damon was an American film producer and actor. In 1960, he won the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year for his performance in Roger Corman's House of Usher, and later moved to Italy to work in Spaghetti…
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2024
David Sanborn
David Sanborn
American saxophonist (born 1945)
David William Sanborn was an American alto saxophonist. He worked in many musical genres; his solo recordings typically blended jazz with instrumental pop and R&B. He began playing the saxophone at the age of 11 and…
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2024
A. J. Smith
American football executive (born 1949)
Albert J. Smith was an American professional football scout and executive. He served as a part-time scout for several NFL and USFL teams before joining the Buffalo Bills in 1986, serving as a scout and executive for…
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2024
Aimee Stephens
Aimee Stephens
American funeral director and U.S. Supreme Court litigant (born 1960)
Aimee Stephens was an American funeral director known for her fight for civil rights for transgender people. She worked as a funeral director in Detroit and was fired for being transgender. Based on her court case, in a…
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2020
Dennis Nilsen
Dennis Nilsen
Scottish serial killer (born 1945)
Dennis Andrew Nilsen was a Scottish serial killer and necrophile who murdered at least twelve young men and boys between 1978 and 1983. Convicted at the Old Bailey of six counts of murder and two of attempted murder,…
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2018
Mauno Koivisto
Mauno Koivisto
Finnish banker and politician, ninth President of Finland (born 1923)
Mauno Henrik Koivisto was a Finnish politician who served as the president of Finland from 1982 to 1994. He also served as the country's prime minister twice, from 1968 to 1970 and again from 1979 to 1982. He was also…
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2017
Mike Agostini
Mike Agostini
Trinidadian sprinter (born 1935)
Michael George Raymond Agostini was a Trinidadian track and field athlete. He was the first athlete from his country to win a gold medal at what is now known as the Commonwealth Games, when he won the 100 yards final in…
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2016
Peter Gay
Peter Gay
German-American historian, author, and academic (born 1923)
Peter Joachim Gay was a German-American historian, educator, and author. He was a Sterling Professor of History at Yale University and former director of the New York Public Library's Center for Scholars and Writers…
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2015
Cornell Borchers
Cornell Borchers
Lithuanian-German actress and singer (born 1925)
Cornell Borchers was a Lithuanian-German actress and singer, active in the late 1940s and 1950s. She is best remembered for her roles opposite Montgomery Clift in The Big Lift (1950) and Errol Flynn and Nat King Cole in…
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2014
Marco Cé
Marco Cé
Italian cardinal (born 1925)
Marco Cé was an Italian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the Patriarch of Venice from 1978 to 2002 and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1979.
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2014
H. R. Giger
H. R. Giger
Swiss painter, sculptor, and set designer (born 1940)
Hans Ruedi Giger was a Swiss artist best known for his airbrushed images that blended human physiques with machines, an art style known as "biomechanical". He was part of the special effects team that won an Academy…
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2014
Sarat Pujari
Sarat Pujari
Indian actor, director, and screenwriter (born 1934)
Sarat Pujari was an Indian actor, director and producer in Odia film industry (Ollywood). He was originally from Jhaduapada, Sambalpur.
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2014
Lorenzo Zambrano
Lorenzo Zambrano
Mexican businessman and philanthropist (born 1944)
Lorenzo Hormisdas Zambrano Treviño was a Mexican businessman and philanthropist. He took over Cemex, a regional cement company founded by his grandfather, and transformed it into one of the largest cement producers in…
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2014
Gerd Langguth
Gerd Langguth
German political scientist, author, and academic (born 1946)
Gerd Langguth was a professor of political science at the University of Bonn and the author of biographies of Angela Merkel, Horst Köhler and of Rudi Dutschke
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2013
Jan Bens
Dutch footballer and coach (born 1921)
Jan Bens was a Dutch professional football player and coach; he was also an amateur boxer and trainer.
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2012
Eddy Paape
Eddy Paape
Belgian illustrator (born 1920)
Edouard Paape, commonly known as Eddy Paape, was a Belgian comics artist best known for illustrating the science fiction comic series Luc Orient.
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2012
Antonio Vega
Antonio Vega
Spanish singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1957)
Antonio Vega Tallés was a Spanish pop singer-songwriter.
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2009
Robert Rauschenberg
Robert Rauschenberg
American painter and illustrator (born 1925)
Milton Ernest "Robert" or "Bob" Rauschenberg was an American painter and multi-media artist, whose work has been associated with numerous mid-20th century art movements including the New York School, Conceptual Art, Pop…
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2008
Irena Sendler
Irena Sendler
Polish nurse and humanitarian (born 1910)
Irena Stanisława Sendler, operating under the nom de guerre Jolanta, was a Polish humanitarian, social worker, and nurse who served in the Polish Underground Resistance during World War II in German-occupied Warsaw.…
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2008
Hussein Maziq
Hussein Maziq
Libyan politician, Prime Minister of Libya (born 1918)
Hussein Yousef Maziq was a Libyan politician who was Prime Minister of Libya from 20 March 1965 to 2 July 1967. He was one of the most important men in the Kingdom era of Libya.
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2006
See all deaths on May 12
Related questions

More questions about May 12

What happened on May 12?

A featured event on this date is 2017: The WannaCry ransomware attack impacts over 400,000 computers worldwide, targeting computers of the United Kingdom's National Health Services and Telefónica computers. This page also lists 52 events from other years on the same day.

Why is May 12 remembered in history?

May 12 brings together events, births, and deaths across many eras, which makes it useful for seeing how one calendar date connects different historical turning points.

Who was born on May 12?

Notable birthdays on this date include Vasilije Adžić, Zach Benson, Issa Kaboré.

See birthdays

Who died on May 12?

Notable deaths on this date include Mark Damon, David Sanborn, A. J. Smith.

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Short answer

What happened on May 12 in history?

On May 12, one notable event in history was 2017: The WannaCry ransomware attack impacts over 400,000 computers worldwide, targeting computers of the United Kingdom's National Health Services and Telefónica computers..

This date currently highlights 52 recorded events on thisDay.info, spanning 254 – 2024.

DateMay 12
Featured year2017
LocationHistorical Location
Events listed52

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