Discover what happened on December 12 with HISTORY's summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.

December 12

Discover what happened on December 12 with HISTORY&#8217;s summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.

December 12 Archives - History.com

Home

History.com

1980

1963

1970

1913

1937

1901

1965

1967

1989

1997

1787

America’s Founding Fathers decided that one elected civilian - the U.S. president - would lead the executive branch of the federal government, a governmental structure that has remained in place for more than 200 years.

U.S. Presidents

Art History

Crime

Kennedy Assassination

Japan

Film

Crime has been a dark and powerful undercurrent in human society throughout history. Uncover the facts behind some of the most daring robberies, brazen scams and brutal murders ever committed.&nbsp;

Sports and recreation are an integral part of human history, from the ancient Olympics to the Kentucky Derby, Jackie Robinson, Negro League Baseball, the Super Bowl and more.

Sports

American Revolution

Inventors

The Revolutionary War waged by the American colonies against Britain influenced political ideas and revolutions around the globe, as a small fledgling nation won its freedom from the greatest military force of its time.

Videos

<a href="http://history.com/">HISTORY.com</a> works with a wide range of writers and editors to create accurate and informative content. All articles are regularly reviewed and updated by the <a href="http://history.com/">HISTORY.com</a> team. Articles with the “<a href="http://history.com/">HISTORY.com</a> Editors” byline have been written or edited by the <a href="http://history.com/">HISTORY.com</a> editors, including Amanda Onion, Missy Sullivan and Matt Mullen.

History.com Editors

Art history tells the complex story of human civilization through art and design. It ranges from prehistoric art of the Neolithic period through Renaissance masterpieces, Impressionism, Modernism, the Bauhaus and contemporary art.

Art, Literature, and Film History

<a href="https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/world-war-ii-history">World War II</a> was the biggest and deadliest war in history, involving more than 30 countries. Sparked by the 1939 Nazi invasion of Poland, the war dragged on for six bloody years until the Allies defeated the Axis powers of Nazi Germany, Japan and Italy in 1945. Explore the battles, leaders and atrocities from the war and its impact on geopolitics and humankind.

World War II

Inventions from the telephone to the Model T and the computer have defined human history, and inventors like Leonardo da Vinci, Nikola Tesla, Thomas Edison, Eli Whitney and Alexander Graham Bell have transformed our society.

Inventions & Science

China

Football

During the 1980s, conservative politics and Reaganomics held sway as the Berlin Wall crumbled, new computer technologies emerged, AIDS ravaged the United States, especially the gay male community, and blockbuster movies and MTV reshaped pop culture.

1980s

Africa is a large and diverse continent that stretches from South Africa northward to the Mediterranean Sea. The continent makes up one-fifth of the total land surface of Earth.&nbsp;Widely recognized as the birthplace of humankind, Africa saw the rise of great kingdoms, faced the trans-Atlantic slave trade, colonization and Apartheid.

This Day In History: December 12

Da Vinci notebook sells for over $5M

Also on This Day in History December | 12

Kenya declares independence from Britain

This Day in History Video: What Happened on December 12

“Tears Of A Clown” gives Smokey Robinson & The Miracles their first #1 pop hit

Stolen “Mona Lisa” recovered in Florence

USS Panay sunk by Japanese

First radio transmission sent across the Atlantic Ocean

NFL rookie Gale Sayers ties single‑game TD record

JFK memorial album sets record for sales

“Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” opens in theaters

Real estate mogul Leona Helmsley sentenced to prison

14‑year‑old indicted for school shooting

Pennsylvania ratifies the Constitution

Also on This Day in History December | 12

Wake Up to This Day in History