February 12
The U.S. state of Georgia celebrates the arrival of the first colonists to the thirteenth of the original Thirteen Colonies with
Georgia Day.
Today is
Darwin Day, celebrating the birth date of Charles Darwin and his contributions to science.
Today, is a legal public holiday in the U.S. celebrating the
birth date of Abraham Lincoln.
Also observed today is
National Freedom to Marry Day, ion the U.S., promoting and bringing awareness to same sex marriage.
Our friends and neighbors in Canadia mark this day as
Sexual and Reproductive Health Awareness Day.
And, finally, the General Assembly of the United Nations has adopted this date as
Red Hand Day, drawing attention to the fates of child soldiers in war and armed conflict.
Events
1502
Vasco da Gama sets sail from Lisbon, Portugal, on his
second voyage to India.
1554 A year after claiming the throne of England for nine days,
Lady Jane Grey is beheaded for treason.
1593
Japanese invasion of Korea: Approximately 3,000 Joseon defenders led by general Kwon Yul successfully repel more than 30,000 Japanese forces in the
Siege of Haengju.
1733 Englishman
James Oglethorpe founds Georgia, the 13th colony of the
Thirteen Colonies, and its first city at Savannah (known as Georgia Day).
1855
Michigan State University is established.
1909 The
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is founded.
1915 In Washington, D.C., the first stone of the
Lincoln Memorial is put into place.
1924
George Gershwin's
Rhapsody in Blue received its premiere in a concert titled "An Experiment in Modern Music", in Aeolian Hall, New York, by Paul Whiteman and his band, with Gershwin playing the piano.
1946 World War II:
Operation Deadlight ends after scuttling 121 of 154 captured German U-boats.
1947 The
largest observed iron meteorite until that time creates an impact crater in Sikhote-Alin, in the Soviet Union.
1963 Construction begins on the
Gateway Arch in St. Louis.
1967 - 15 police officers raided
Redlands, the West Sussex home of
The Rolling Stones'
Keith Richards during a weekend party. The police who were armed with a warrant issued under the dangerous drugs act took away various substances for forensic tests.
George and
Pattie Harrison had been at the house, but it was said that the police waited for them to leave before they raided the house in order not to bust the holder of an
MBE.
1974
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1970, is exiled from the Soviet Union.
1977 -
Pink Floyd released their tenth studio album
Animals in the US, where it reached No.3 in the charts. The album's cover image, a pig floating between two chimneys on
Battersea Power Station, was conceived by bassist
Roger Waters and realised by long-time design and photographic collaborators
Hipgnosis.
1989 -
Aretha Franklin lost a court case against Broadway producer Ashton Springer, who sued for $1 million (£0.58 million) when Aretha failed to turn up for rehearsals for the stage show Sing Mahalia Sing, blaming her fear of flying on the non appearance.
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.
1994 Four thieves break into the
National Gallery of Norway and steal
Edvard Munch's iconic painting
The Scream.
1999 United States President Bill Clinton is
acquitted by the United States Senate in his impeachment trial.
2001
NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft touches down in the "saddle" region of
433 Eros, becoming the first spacecraft to land on an asteroid.
2003 - Former
Doors drummer
John Densmore took out legal action against The Doors keyboard player
Ray Manzarek and guitarist
Robby Krieger for breach of contract, trademark infringement and unfair competition. The band had reformed with Ex-
Cult singer
Ian Astbury and former
Police drummer Stewart Copeland. Densmore said "It shouldn't be called The Doors if it's someone other than
Jim Morrison singing."
2004 The city of San Francisco begins issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples in response to a directive from Mayor Gavin Newsom.
2009
Colgan Air Flight 3407 crashes into a house in Clarence Center, New York while on approach to Buffalo Niagara International Airport, killing all on board and one on the ground.
2016 Pope Francis met Patriarch Kirill at Josι Martν International Airport in Cuba, the first meeting between the pontiff of the Catholic Church and the primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, together they signed the
Havana Declaration.
Births
41 - Tiberius Claudius Caesar Britannicus; 1663 Cotton Mather; 1775 Louisa Adams (6th FLOTUS); 1809 Charles Darwin; 1809 Abraham Lincoln (16th POTUS); 1876 13th Dalai Lama; 1877 Louis Renault (founded Renault automobiles); 1893 Omar Bradley; 1904 Ted Mack; 1915 Lorne Greene; 1919 Forrest Tucker; 1923 Franco Zeffirelli; 1926 Joe Garagiola, Sr.; 1926 Charles Van Doren (quiz show cheater); 1928 Vincent Montana, Jr.

(MFSB); 1930 Arlen Specter; 1936 Joe Don Baker; 1938 Judy Blume; 1939 Ray Manzarek

(The Doors); 1942 Ehud Barak; 1944 Moe Bandy♪ ♫; 1945 Maud Adams; 1948 Ray Kurzweil; 1950 Steve Hackett

(Genesis); 1950 Michael Ironside (B-movies); 1952 Simon MacCorkindale; 1952 Michael McDonald

(Steely Dan, Doobie Bros); 1953 Joanna Kerns; 1956 Arsenio Hall; 1956 Brian Robertson

(Thin Lizzy, Motorhead); 1966 Paul Crook♪ ♫(Meat Loaf, Anthrax, Sebastian Bach); 1968
Josh Brolin; 1968 Chynna Phillips♪ ♫; 1969 Darren Aronofsky; 1974 'Prince' Naseem Hamed

; 1980 Christina Ricci

; 1984 Brad Keselowski
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