Date·Lore

On This Day · The 346th day of the year

December 12

Few dates reach as far back as December 12: its recorded history runs unusually deep, stretching to 627. Its center of gravity is the 20th century, and disaster looms large.

♐ZodiacSagittarius ◈BirthstoneTurquoise ❀Birth flowerHolly

Sagittarius is the sign for December 12 — read more on the Sagittarius page, or see December's birthstone & birth flower.

Compiled & reviewed by · Last reviewed September 6, 2026

What happened on December 12?

December 12 is the 346th day of the year. It marks 10 notable events in history, dated between 627 and 2012. Famous people born on December 12 include Karl Bryullov, Frank Sinatra and Edvard Munch.

Released on December 12

Movies, games, albums & shows

2025

  • Game Terminator 2D: No Fate
  • TV Speed and Love

2024

  • Game The Spirit of the Samurai
  • Game Murky Divers

Release data from TMDB & IGDB.

Events

10 notable moments
  1. 627

    Battle of Nineveh (627)

  2. 1787

    Pennsylvania

  3. 1866

    Oaks explosion

  4. 1941

    World War II

  5. 1941

    The Holocaust

  6. 1963

    Kenya

  7. 1979

    1979 Tumaco earthquake

  8. 1988

    Clapham Junction rail crash

  9. 2000

    Supreme Court of the United States

  10. 2012

    North Korea

Famous birthday twins

Born on December 12

Karl Bryullov

b. 1799

Frank Sinatra

b. 1915

Edvard Munch

b. 1863

Gustave Flaubert

b. 1821

Tracy Austin

b. 1962

Rajinikanth

b. 1950

Martina Hellmann

b. 1960

Adolf Bötticher

b. 1842

Deaths

  • 2021Vicente Fernández
  • 1997Evgenii Landis
  • 1939Douglas Fairbanks
  • 1921Henrietta Swan Leavitt
  • 1766Johann Christoph Gottsched
  • 1204Maimonides

Holidays & observances

  • —Christian feast day: Corentin of Quimper
  • —Christian feast day: Jane Frances de Chantal
  • —Christian feast day: Edburga of Minster-in-Thanet
  • —Christian feast day: Finnian of Clonard
  • —Christian feast day: Thomas Holland
  • —Christian feast day: Ida of Nivelles
  • —Christian feast day: Peter the Aleut
  • —Christian feast day: Vicelinus

The factual record above — event titles, dates, names, and observances — is drawn from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) license. DateLore adds curation, structure, and original editorial commentary. DateLore is not affiliated with the Wikimedia Foundation.

About the author

Roman Tailor compiles and reviews every date on DateLore. He's the writer and editor behind the site's editorial essays and the day-by-day almanac. Corrections and questions are welcome — read more about DateLore or get in touch.

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