What Happened on Aug 12

Battle Of Ascalon

The Battle of Ascalon took place on August 12, 1099, and is often considered the last action of the First Crusade. The crusaders had negotiated... Read more

Battle of Wolgast

Christian IV of Denmark, encouraged by his successes at Stralsund, assembled another army off the German coast on the Island of Usedom. This landed... Read more

King Philip is Shot Dead by Native American Pilgrim Ally, John Alderman

Philip's allies began to desert him. By early July, over 400 had surrendered to the colonists, and Philip himself had taken refuge in the... Read more

Incorporation of the Town of Chicago, Population 350

On August 12, 1833, the Town of Chicago was incorporated with a population of 350. The first boundaries of the new town were Kinzie, Desplaines,... Read more

Thomas Alva Edison Completes The Model For The First Phonograph

August 12, 1877, is the date popularly given for Thomas Alva Edison's completion of the model for the first phonograph, a device that recorded... Read more

José Bonilla Observation—First Photographing of an Unidentified Flying Object

On August 12, 1883, the astronomer José Bonilla reported that he saw more than 300 dark, unidentified objects crossing before the sun while... Read more

Battle of Asomante

The American cavalry pursued the soldiers that had retreated from Coamo, but were not able to reach them until the units had entered Aibonito Pass,... Read more

Battle of Haelen (1914)

First Field Battle in Belgium The first field battle of the war in Belgium took place northwest of Liege, on August 12, when a force of 5000... Read more

Great Britian and France Declare War on Austria-Hungary

A circular sent to US consuls throughout Germany giving general instructions with regard to the treatment of Americans "AMERICAN EMBASSY,... Read more

Charles Ponzi Surrenders to Federal Authorities and is Charged with Mail Fraud

Carlo Pietro Giovanni Guglielmo Tebaldo Ponzi, commonly known as Charles Ponzi, was an Italian businessman and con artist in the U.S. and Canada.... Read more

Germany Begins Main Assault on English Coastal Airfields

The main attack upon the RAF's defences was code-named Adlerangriff ("Eagle Attack"). Weather, which proved an important feature of the... Read more

Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. is Killed While Serving in World War 2

Operation Aphrodite was a series of bombing runs by explosive-laden aircraft piloted by a skeleton crew who would parachute from the aircraft... Read more

"A Geisha" Is Released

A Geisha (祇園囃子, Gion Bayashi?), or "Gion Festival Music", is a 1953 Japanese film directed by Kenji Mizoguchi centred around life in post-war Gion... Read more

Pete Best joins the Beatles

The group invited Pete Best to become their drummer on 12 August 1960. Four days after hiring Best, the group left for Hamburg. The Beatles began a... Read more

'Marvin K. Mooney Will You Please Go Now!' is Published

Some have suggested that Dr. Seuss wrote Marvin K. Mooney Will You Please Go Now! as a political allegory about Richard Nixon in the aftermath of... Read more

"Harry And Tonto" Is Released

Harry and Tonto is a 1974 film directed by Paul Mazursky and starring Art Carney as Harry Coombes, an elderly widower who is forced from his... Read more

Wallace Yohn Dies

Chase's work on a fourth studio album in mid-1974 came to an end on August 9, 1974. While en route to a scheduled performance at the Jackson County... Read more

Edward Kennedy Withdraws Bid for Presidency

For me, a few hours ago, this campaign came to an end. For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the... Read more

Japan Airlines Flight 123 Crashes into Mt. Osutaka

Japan Airlines Flight 123 was a Japan Airlines domestic flight from Tokyo International Airport (Haneda) to Osaka International Airport (Itami).... Read more

Jean-Michel Basquiat Dies

Jean-Michel Basquiat (December 22, 1960 – August 12, 1988) was an American artist and the first African-American painter to become an international... Read more

The Last Temptation of Christ (film) is Released

The Last Temptation of Christ is a 1988 film directed by Martin Scorsese. It is a film adaptation of the controversial 1960 novel of the same name... Read more

Moscow Music Peace Festival

The Moscow Music Peace Festival was a one-time gathering of high-profile hard rock acts for a performance in Moscow, Soviet Union on 12 and 13... Read more

Coroner release Mental Vortex

Mental Vortex is the fourth album of the Swiss thrash metal trio Coroner. It is probably their most progressive and mature achievement and marks an... Read more

Metallica releases the Black Album

Metallica (also referred to as The Black Album) is the fifth album by the American heavy metal band Metallica, released August 12, 1991 through... Read more

"The Trip, Part 1" - Season 4 Episode 1 of Seinfeld Premiers

"The Trip" is a two-part story (the forty-first and forty-second episodes to air) of NBC's popular sitcom, Seinfeld. Airing on August 12, 1992 and... Read more