12
April
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April 12 in History
2010
A train derailed near Merano, Italy, after running into a landslide, causing nine deaths and injuring 28 people.
2007
A suicide bomber penetrated the Green Zone and detonated in a cafeteria within a parliament building, killing Iraqi MP Mohammed Awad and wounding more than twenty other people.
2002
A female suicide bomber detonated at the entrance to Jerusalem's Mahane Yehuda open-air market, killing 7 and wounding 104.
1999
US President Bill Clinton is cited for contempt of court for giving "intentionally false statements" in a sexual harassment civil lawsuit.
1998
An earthquake in Slovenia, measuring 5.6 on the Richter scale occurs near the town of Bovec.
1994
Canter & Siegel post the first commercial mass Usenet spam.
1992
The ''Euro Disney Resort'' officially opens with its theme park ''Euro Disneyland''. The resort and its park's name were subsequently changed to Disneyland Paris.
1990
Jim Gary's "Twentieth Century Dinosaurs" exhibition opens at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.
1981
The first launch of a Space Shuttle: ''Columbia'' launches on the STS-1 mission. thumb launch: ''Columbia''.]]
1980
Terry Fox begins his "Marathon of Hope" at St. John's, Newfoundland.
Samuel Doe takes control of Liberia in a ''coup d'état'', ending over 130 years of national democratic presidential succession.
1968
Nerve gas accident at Skull Valley, Utah.
1963
The Soviet nuclear powered submarine K-33 collides with the Finnish merchant vessel M/S ''Finnclipper'' in the Danish straits.
1961
Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human to travel into outer space, in Vostok 3KA-2 (Vostok 1). thumb to travel into outer space: Yuri Gagarin]]
1955
The polio vaccine, developed by Dr. Jonas Salk, is declared safe and effective.
1954
Bill Haley & His Comets record "Rock Around the Clock" in New York City.
1945
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt dies while in office; vice-president Harry Truman is sworn in as the 33rd President.
1937
Sir Frank Whittle ground-tests the first jet engine designed to power an aircraft, at Rugby, England.
1935
First flight of the Bristol Blenheim.
1934
The U.S. Auto-Lite Strike begins, culminating in a five-day melee between Ohio National Guard troops and 6,000 strikers and picketers.
The strongest surface wind gust in the world at 231 mph, is measured on the summit of Mount Washington, New Hampshire.
1927
April 12 Incident: Chiang Kai-shek orders the Communist Party of China members executed in Shanghai, ending the First United Front.
1917
World War I: Canadian forces successfully complete the taking of Vimy Ridge from the Germans.
1910
The SMS Zrinyi, one of the last pre-dreadnoughts built by the Austro-Hungarian Navy, is launched.
1877
The United Kingdom annexes the Transvaal.
1865
American Civil War: Mobile, Alabama, falls to the Union Army.
1864
American Civil War: The Fort Pillow massacre: Confederate forces kill most of the African American soldiers that surrendered at Fort Pillow, Tennessee.
1861
American Civil War: The war begins with Confederate forces firing on Fort Sumter, in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina.
1831
Soldiers marching on the Broughton Suspension Bridge in Manchester, England cause it to collapse.
1820
Alexander Ypsilantis is declared leader of Filiki Eteria, a secret organization to overthrow Ottoman rule over Greece.
1776
American Revolution: With the Halifax Resolves, the North Carolina Provincial Congress authorizes its Congressional delegation to vote for independence from Britain.
1633
The formal inquest of Galileo Galilei by the Inquisition begins.
1606
The Union Flag is adopted as the flag of Great Britain.
1557
Cuenca is founded in Ecuador.
1204
The Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade breach the walls of Constantinople and enter the city, which they completely occupy the following day.
467
Anthemius is elevated to Emperor of the Western Roman Empire.