/year

December 12 in history

200 sourced entries recorded on December 12, from 348 CE to 2024 CE. Every line is quoted from the revision it came from.

Events

  • 627Battle of Nineveh: Heraclius crosses the Great Zab river and, in a feigned retreat, defeats the Persian army (12,000 men) under Rhahzadh, near the ruins of Nineveh (Iraq). Although wounded, Heraclius refuses to leave the battlefield, and in a final cavalry charge personally kills the Persian general.source
  • 1098Siege of Ma'arra: The Crusaders capture the city of Ma'arra after a month's siege and massacre part of the population. Short of supplies, the army is accused of widespread cannibalism.source
  • 1123At Sankt Veit an der Glan, Engelbert II of the House of Sponheim becomes the new Duke of Carinthia and the Margrave of Verona (an area encompassing parts of Austria, Slovenia and Italy) upon the death of his older brother Henry IV.source
  • 1210Emperor Tsuchimikado abdicates the throne in favor of his younger brother, Juntoku, after a 12-year reign. He is the second son of the former Emperor Go-Toba and becomes the 84th emperor of Japan.source
  • 1275Battle of Roccavione: Ghibelline forces defeat a Neapolitan army at Roccavione (Piedmont).source
  • 1317The Portuguese Royal Navy, with 20 warships, is created by order of King Denis. The Navy has 20 armed galleys as warships, under the command of Admiral Manuel Pessanha and will celebrate its 700th anniversary in 2017 as the oldest continuously serving navy in the world.source
  • 1382The noblemen of Lesser Poland meet at Wiślica and, as with the November 25 decision of the nobles of Greater Poland, vote to invite Jadwiga of Hungary to be their ruler.source
  • 1388Maria of Enghien sells the Lordship of Argos and Nauplia to the Republic of Venice.source
  • 1403Local English forces defeat an attempted French raid on the Isle of Wight under Waleran III, Count of Ligny.source
  • 1443At the Battle of Zlatitsa in what is now Bulgaria, Ottoman troops under the Sultan Murad II and General Kasim Pasha defeat an attack by John Hunyadi and the forces of Hungary, Croatia, Poland and Serbia.source
  • 1452Isidore of Kiev, the Latin Patriarch of Constantinople, proclaims the union of the Greek and Latin churches at the Hagia Sophia in hopes of an alliance with Western Christians to prevent the loss of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks.source
  • 1454December 12 (Julian calendar, December 21 Gregorian) – (24th day of 11th month of Kyotuku 3) An earthquake estimated by geologists at 8.4 magnitude strikes off the east coast of Japan and causes a tsunami that kills an indeterminate number of people in the Kantō region and the Tōhoku region.source
  • 1466The Albanian General Skanderbeg arrives in Rome to offer his aid to the Christian League in the defense of Italy against the Ottoman Empire.source
  • 1474Upon the death of Henry IV of Castile, a civil war ensues between his designated successor Isabella I of Castile, and her niece Juana, who is supported by her husband, Afonso V of Portugal. Isabella wins the civil war after a lengthy struggle, when her husband, the newly crowned Ferdinand II of Aragon, comes to her aid.source
  • 1476Philip the Upright becomes the new Elector of the Palatinate within the Holy Roman Empire, upon the death of his adoptive father, the Elector Frederick I.source
  • 1501Grand Duke Aleksandras Jogailaitis, Grand Duke of Lithuania becomes the King of Poland as Aleksander I Jagiellończyk.source
  • 1531Mary, mother of Jesus, in the guise of Our Lady of Guadalupe, appears imprinted on the tilmàtli of Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin, an Aztec convert to Catholicism, in Tepeyac near Mexico City.source
  • 1546Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk and the Lord High Treasurer of England since 1522 is arrested along with his eldest son, Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey and both are imprisoned in the Tower of London. The Earl of Surrey is executed for treason on January 19; the Duke of Norfolk is sentenced to death, but before the sentence can be carried out, King Henry VIII passes away and Norfolk remains in the Tower until being pardoned in 1553.source
  • 1567The Scottish Parliament votes to approve the Act Anent the demission of the Crown in favour of our Sovereign Lord, and his Majesty's Coronation 1567, an act regarding the abdication of Mary Queen of Scots in favor of her son James VI and the coronation of James, and confirms James as the legal ruler. Mary's half brother, James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray, is appointed as the regent to rule on behalf of the 18-month-old King of Scotland. In that Moray is absent from Scotland at the time, the Parliament appoints a committee of seven deputy regents to rule on behalf of Moray's power to rule on behalf of King James.source
  • 1567The Scottish Parliament votes to approve the Accession and Coronation Act 1567 (Act Anent the demission of the Crown in favour of our Sovereign Lord, and his Majesty's Coronation), confirming the abdication of Mary Queen of Scots in favor of her son James VI and his coronation as the legal ruler of Scotland. Mary's half brother, James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray, is appointed as the regent to rule on behalf of the King (as Moray is absent from Scotland at this time, the Parliament appoints a committee of seven deputy regents to rule on on his behalf).source
  • 1575Under pressure from Papal nuncio Vincenzo Lauro when a majority of the Sejm has still not agreed on a candidate, the Primate of Poland, Jakub Uchański, declares Maximilian II new King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania.source
  • 1593The marquis of Vitry, gouvernor of Meaux, rallies to the king.source
  • 1594To combat dearth, the City of Antwerp prohibits forestalling on the grain marketsource
  • 1620the title of Earl of Antrim is created in the Peerage of Ireland in favour of Randal MacDonnell, Viscount Dunluce.source
  • 1628At the age of 15, Chetthathirat is crowned as the new King of Thailand upon the death of his father, Intharacha III. Prince Chetthathirat takes the regnal name of Borommaracha II and is killed less than a year later.source
  • 1643Swedish Field Marshal Lennart Torstensson's forces enter Danish territory in Holstein, beginning the Torstenson War.source
  • 1643The Hannibal War starts.source
  • 1653The dissolution of Barebone's Parliament is voted by its members after having passed laws for the Commonwealth of England.source
  • 1663The Dutch Republic prohibits practice of the common law custom of jus naufragii, the doctrine that permitted people to seize property that had washed ashore on their land after a shipwreck.source
  • 1666A sobor (church council) of the Russian Orthodox Church deposes Patriarch Nikon of Moscow, but accepts his liturgical reforms. Dissenters from these, known as Old Believers, continue into the 21st century.source
  • 1683start of exceptional cold spell. The River Thames freezes, allowing a frost fair to be held (pictured).source
  • 1698Mombasa (referred to at the time as Fort Jesus, and now part of Kenya) falls under control of the Emirate of Oman, with Imam Sa'if ibn Sultan as the first Omani Governor.source
  • 1711A constitution is approved for the Academy of Sciences of the Institute of Bologna, which had been founded in 1690.source
  • 1716Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount Townshend, is demoted from his office as Secretary of State for the Northern Department in the British government, and replaced by James Stanhope, 1st Earl Stanhope. This is a move towards the Whig Split of 1717.source
  • 1716Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount Townshend, is demoted from his office as Secretary of State for the Northern Department in the British government and replaced by James Stanhope, 1st Earl Stanhope a prelude to the Whig Split of the following year.source
  • 1718The Admiralty Board is establishedsource
  • 1725Johan Willem Ripperda of the Netherlands, the former Dutch Ambassador to Spain, arrives in Madrid and claims that King Philip V has appointed him as the new Prime Minister. The bluff is successful and he is granted authority by the King's advisers, but after four months, he is forced to resign.source
  • 1729Under the pretense of a peace offering, the Yazoo and Koroa warriors enter the French settlement at Fort St. Pierre (near modern-day Vicksburg, Mississippi) and kill most of the inhabitants.source
  • 1741The deposed regent Anna Leopoldovna, her husband Anthony Ulrich, and their children are imprisoned, initially at Riga and later at Dünamünde fortress.source
  • 1765The Pennsylvania Gazette reports that Dr. Huston, the recently instated Distributor of Stamps for the Royal Colony of North Carolina, has resigned his post in protest at the Stamp Act.source
  • 1768The King lays down the government, which creates the December Crisis (1768), that cause the parliament to call the Riksdag of the Estates.source
  • 1776The second Continental Congress ends after a session that began on May 10, 1775, and continued for 582 days.source
  • 1781American Revolutionary War – Second Battle of Ushant: The British Royal Navy, commanded by Rear Admiral Richard Kempenfelt in HMS Victory, decisively defeats the French fleet in the Bay of Biscay.source
  • 1782American Revolutionary War: Action of 12 December 1782: A naval engagement off Ferrol, Spain, in which the British ship HMS Mediator commanded by James Luttrell successfully attacks a convoy of French and American ships attempting to supply the United States.source
  • 1787Pennsylvania becomes the second U.S. state.source
  • 1804Spain declares war on the United Kingdom.source
  • 1804Spain declares war on Britain.source
  • 1809Siege of Gerona ends as Spanish forced to capitulate by disease and famine.source
  • 1816The thrones of Sicily and Naples are merged into the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, under King Ferdinand I.source
  • 1816December 9–21 – The American Colonization Society is established, to support the emigration of free African Americans to Africa.source
  • 1852legislative election.source
  • 1860Initial riots on the Lambing Flat goldfields near present-day Young, New South Wales.source
  • 1862Yazoo Pass Expedition – Union ironclad gunboat USS Cairo is sunk by a remotely-detonated "torpedo" (naval mine) while clearing mines from the Yazoo River, the first armored ship sunk by mine.source
  • 1862American Civil War: Yazoo Pass Expedition – Union ironclad gunboat USS Cairo is sunk by a remotely-detonated "torpedo" (naval mine) while clearing mines from the Yazoo River, the first armored ship sunk by mine.source
  • 1866Oaks explosion: The worst mining disaster in England kills 383 miners and rescuers.source
  • 1866the Oaks explosion in the Barnsley seam in Yorkshire kills 361 coal miners; a subsidiary explosion the following day kills 27 rescuers. This is the all-time worst colliery or mining disaster in England, and the worst mining accident in the U.K. until 1913.source
  • 1870Joseph H. Rainey of South Carolina becomes the second black U.S. congressman (following Hiram Rhodes Revels in February).source
  • 1872The central battery ironclad Odin is launched from the Naval Dockyard in Copenhagen.source
  • 1872a meteorite strikes Earth near Banbury.source
  • 1897Belo Horizonte, the first planned city in Brazil, is incorporated.source
  • 1897The comic strip The Katzenjammer Kids debuts in the New York Journal.source
  • 1901Guglielmo Marconi receives the first trans-Atlantic radio signal, sent from Poldhu, England, to St. John's, Newfoundland; it is the letter "S" in Morse code.source
  • 1901Guglielmo Marconi receives a transatlantic radio message at St. John's, Newfoundland.source
  • 1905December 7–18 – Moscow Uprising: A Bolshevik-led revolt is suppressed by the army.source
  • 1910New York City socialite Dorothy Arnold disappears. Her family does not notify the police until 6 weeks later, after their own investigations fail to produce any results.source
  • 1911The Delhi Durbar is held to mark the coronation of George V and Queen Mary as Emperor and Empress of India, and the transfer of the capital of British India from Calcutta to Delhi.source
  • 1913Roosevelt–Rondon Scientific Expedition: Following a speaking tour in Brazil and Argentina, former US President Theodore Roosevelt meets up with Cândido Rondon to embark on a joint exploration of the "River of Doubt".source
  • 1913Vincenzo Peruggia tries to sell the Mona Lisa in Florence, and is arrested.source
  • 1914The New York Stock Exchange re-opens fully, having been closed since August 1, except for bond trading.source
  • 1915President of the Republic of China Yuan Shikai declares himself Emperor.source
  • 1915December 4–18 – The 'Peace Ship' Oscar II chartered by industrialist Henry Ford sails from Hoboken, New Jersey to Oslo on an independent and eventually unsuccessful mission to broker a peace conference.source
  • 1915December 9–14 – Sankebetsu brown bear incident: was the worst bear attack in Japanese history, killing seven settlers in Rokusensawa, Sankebetsu, Tomamae, Rumoi, Hokkaidō, Japan.source
  • 1916"White Friday": In the Dolomites, 100 avalanches bury at least 2,000 Austrian and Italian soldiers.source
  • 1917The Royal Australian Navy battlecruiser HMAS Australia is damaged in a collision with the British cruiser HMS Repulse.source
  • 1922The Duke of Abercorn becomes first Governor of Northern Ireland, a post he will hold until 1945.source
  • 1925The first motel in the world, the Milestone Mo-Tel (later the Motel Inn of San Luis Obispo), opens in San Luis Obispo, California.source
  • 1925Prince Carol, having eloped with Magda Lupescu, writes to King Ferdinand renouncing his right to the throne from Venice causing a dynastic crisis.source
  • 1928In the general election, the National Peasants' Party retains power.source
  • 1928the first Irish coinage is circulated in the state making complete the introduction of banknotes and coinage of the Irish Free State.source
  • 1933Eddie Shore of the Boston Bruins hits Ace Bailey of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Bailey lands head first, and severe head trauma ends his career. The Ace Bailey Benefit Game, a forerunner of the NHL All-Star Game, is played on February 14, 1934.source
  • 1934Guadalupe Robledo (José Lothario), wrestler and manager (NWA, WWE, CWF).(died 2018)source
  • 1935The De La Warr Pavilion at Bexhill-on-Sea, designed by Erich Mendelsohn and Serge Chermayeff, a pioneering example of International Style architecture, opens in England.source
  • 1935opening of The De La Warr Pavilion at Bexhill on Sea in East Sussex, designed by Erich Mendelsohn and Serge Chermayeff in the International style.source
  • 1935The Lebensborn program in support of Nazi eugenics is founded by Heinrich Himmler in Germany.source
  • 1936Xi'an Incident: Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek of the Republic of China is kidnapped by Marshal Zhang Xueliang.source
  • 1937Soviet Union legislative election, 1937source
  • 1937Mae West makes a risqué guest appearance on NBC's Chase and Sanborn Hour, which eventually results in her being banned from radio.source
  • 1937USS Panay incident: Japanese bombers sink the American gunboat USS Panay on the Yangtze in China; the United States accepts the Japanese statement that this was unintentional.source
  • 1939WWII: HMS Duchess sinks after a collision with HMS Barham off the coast of Scotland, with the loss of 124 men.source
  • 1940The MV Salvador carrying some 327 Bulgarian Jewish refugees from Nazi-occupied Europe to Palestine, is wrecked in a violent storm in the Sea of Marmora, near Istanbul; 204 passengers including 66 children are drowned.source
  • 1945Howard Florey shares the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work on penicillin.source
  • 1946Iran crisis of 1946: Iranian troops recapture the Azerbaijan province.source
  • 1947The Iranian Royal Army takes back power in the Azerbaijan province.source
  • 1948December 11–12 – Malayan Emergency: Batang Kali massacre: Scots Guards shoot 24 Chinese villagers in Malaya.source
  • 1950Hayato Ikeda, future Prime Minister of Japan, remarks in the National Diet that "the poor should eat barley".source
  • 1951President Quirino, through a proclamation, declares state of public calamity in Camiguin island due to the impact of the eruption of Mount Hibok-Hibok; and in the entire Visayas and the provinces of Romblon and Masbate due to Typhoon Amy.source
  • 1956Japan becomes a member of the United Nations.source
  • 1956The Irish Republican Army launches its Border Campaign with the bombing of a BBC relay transmitter in County Londonderry, burning of a courthouse in Magherafelt by a unit led by 18-year-old Seamus Costello and of an Ulster Special Constabulary post near Newry and blowing up of a half-built British Army barracks at Enniskillen. A raid on Gough Barracks in Armagh is beaten off after a brief exchange of fire.source
  • 1963Kenya gains independence from the United Kingdom, with Jomo Kenyatta as prime minister.source
  • 1964Jamhuri Day: Kenya becomes a republic, with Jomo Kenyatta as its first President.source
  • 1964Bonni Ginzburg, Israeli goalkeeper.source
  • 1967Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, one of the seminal race relations films of the 1960s, is released to theaters.source
  • 1969The Piazza Fontana bombing in Milan, Italy, kills 17 people and injures 88.source
  • 1970A landslide in western Colombia leaves 200 dead.source
  • 1977The Singapore Labour Foundation is formed to ensure families in unions are well-taken care of, as well as to promote union groups in Singapore.source
  • 19781978 South Korean legislative electionsource
  • 1979The unrecognised state of Zimbabwe Rhodesia returns to British control and resumes using the name Southern Rhodesia.source
  • 1979The NATO Double-Track Decision: is the decision of NATO from December 12, 1979, to offer the Warsaw Pact a mutual limitation of medium-range ballistic missiles and intermediate-range ballistic missiles combined with the threat that in case of disagreement NATO would deploy more middle-range nuclear weapons in Western Europe, following the so-called "Euromissile Crisis".source
  • 1979Coup d'état of December Twelfth: Lieutenant General Chun Doo-hwan, commander of the Security Command, orders the arrest of General Jeong Seung-hwa, ROK Army Chief of Staff, on allegations of involvement in the assassination of President Park Chung Hee. A shoot-out at the Army Headquarters and the Ministry of Defense results in Chun and his fellow eleventh class military academy graduates such as Major General Roh Tae-woo and Major General Jeong Ho-yong taking control of the Korean military.source
  • 1979The 8.2 Mw Tumaco earthquake shakes Colombia and Ecuador with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent), killing 300–600, and generating a large tsunami.source
  • 1980During a meeting in the Vatican City, Pope John Paul II announces to the representatives of Chile and Argentina his proposed resolution of the Beagle Conflict.source
  • 1985Arrow Air Flight 1285R, a Douglas DC-8, crashes after takeoff from Gander, Newfoundland, killing 256 people – 248 of whom were U.S. servicemen returning to Fort Campbell, Kentucky, after overseeing a peacekeeping force in the Sinai Peninsula.source
  • 1987The second section of the MRT was opened, stretching from Novena to Outram Park.source
  • 1988The Clapham Junction rail crash in London kills 35 and injures 132.source
  • 1989Hong Kong begins the forcible repatriation of Vietnamese boat people, starting with a group of 59 who are flown to Hanoi.source
  • 1991Ukraine becomes the first post-Soviet republic to decriminalize homosexuality.source
  • 1991The government of Nigeria moves the capital from Lagos to Abuja.source
  • 1991Supreme Court of Justice, Department of Military, declares not guilty the former members of the Political Executive Committee of the Romanian Communist Party.source
  • 1992At a Council of Ministers meeting in Edinburgh, it is decided that Luxembourg City will remain one of the three seats of the European Union.source
  • 1992The 7.8 Mw Flores earthquake affects the Lesser Sunda Islands in Indonesia with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe) leaving at least 2,500 dead. A destructive tsunami with wave heights of 25 m follows.source
  • 1995The city of Nablus passes from Israeli to Palestinian Authority control.source
  • 2000Bush v. Gore: The United States Supreme Court rules that the recount of the 2000 presidential election in Florida should be halted and the original results be certified, thus making George W. Bush the winner of the U.S. presidential election.source
  • 2003The Dutch Reformed Church, Reformed Churches in the Netherlands and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Kingdom of the Netherlands decide to merge.source
  • 2003December 5–13 – 2003 SEA Games was held. This was the first time Vietnam staged the SEA Games.source
  • 2005Scientists announce that they have created mice with small numbers of human neurons in an effort to make realistic models of neurological disorders.source
  • 2009December 7–18 – The UNFCCC's 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference is held in Copenhagen, Denmark.source
  • 2012North Korea successfully launches satellite Kwangmyongsong-3 Unit 2.source
  • 2012December 12 would be the last time in the 21st century that the month, day and final two digits of the year are the exact same (12/12/12). The next time this will happen will be on New Year's Day in 2101 (01/01/01).source
  • 2012December 6–16 – The 2012 FIFA Club World Cup is held in Japan and won by Sport Club Corinthians Paulista.source
  • 2015A global climate change pact is agreed at the COP 21 summit in Paris, committing all countries to reduce carbon emissions for the first time.source
  • 2019December 2–13 – The 2019 United Nations Climate Change Conference takes place in Madrid, Spain, after Chilean President Sebastián Piñera announced in October that his country could not host the conference due to political unrest in the country.source
  • 2019Boris Johnson and his Conservative Party win a landslide victory in the 2019 United Kingdom general election achieving a majority in the House of Commons of 80 seats.source
  • 2021An election held to elect new prime ministersource
  • 2021Max Verstappen won his first Formula One World Championship and the first for a Dutch driver, driving for Red Bull Racing at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.source
  • 2022Bahamian authorities arrest FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried and begin the process of extraditing him to the United States.source
  • 2023December 10–12 – 2023 Egyptian presidential election: Incumbent President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi wins a third term with 89.6 percent of the vote in the election.source
  • 20232023 Guayana Esequiba crisis: A meeting is to be held in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines on Thursday to discuss the ongoing dispute between Venezuela and Guyana. Both countries will try to prevent the crisis escalating into an armed conflict.source
  • 2024Papua New Guinea receives a licence to have a local team play in the Australian National Rugby League beginning in 2028, as part of efforts to strengthen ties and counter China’s influence in the Indo-Pacific.source
  • 2024Indian chess prodigy Gukesh Dommaraju defeats former world champion Ding Liren in the 2024 World Chess Championship, breaking the previous age record of 22 set by Garry Kasparov by becoming champion at 18 years, 195 days old.source

Births

  • 1298Albert II, Duke of Austria ("the Lame"), German nobleman (died 1358)source
  • 1418Archduke Albert VI of Austria (died 1463)source
  • 1448John Talbot, 3rd Earl of Shrewsbury, English Earl (died 1473)source
  • 1526Álvaro de Bazán, 1st Marquis of Santa Cruz, Spanish admiral (died 1588)source
  • 1574Adam Wenceslaus, Duke of Cieszyn (died 1617)source
  • 1574Anne of Denmark, queen of James VI and I of Scotland and England (died 1619)source
  • 1616Martin Lluelyn, Welsh poet (died 1682)source
  • 1630Olaus Rudbeck, physicist and anatomist (died 1702)source
  • 1670Axel Rosenkrantz, landowner, baron and civil servant (d 1723).source
  • 1712Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine, Lorraine-born Austrian general and soldier (died 1780)source
  • 1724Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood, British admiral (died 1816)source
  • 1731Erasmus Darwin, English scientist and grandfather of Charles Darwin (died 1802)source
  • 1747Anna Seward, English writer (died 1809)source
  • 1779Madeleine Sophie Barat, French Catholic saint, founder of the Society of the Sacred Heart (died 1865)source
  • 1802Jakob Joseph Matthys, Swiss Catholic priest (died 1866)source
  • 1805Henry Wells, American businessman, founder of Wells Fargo (died 1878)source
  • 1863Edvard Munch, Norwegian painter (died 1944)source
  • 1875Gerd von Rundstedt, German field marshal (died 1953)source
  • 1893Edward G. Robinson, Romanian-American actor (died 1973)source
  • 1902Juan Alberto Montes, surveyor and historian (died 1986)source
  • 1903Yasujirō Ozu, film director and screenwriter (died 1963)source
  • 1915Frank Sinatra, American singer, actor (died 1998)source
  • 1920Salim Neisari, Iranian writer.source
  • 1956Xaysomphone Phomvihane, politiciansource
  • 1965Desmond Junaidi Mahesa, politician (died 2023)source

Deaths

  • 348Saint Spyridon, Greek-Cypriot Orthodox bishop and saint (born 270)source
  • 549Finnian of Clonard, Irish monastic saint (born 470)source
  • 884Carloman II, king of the West Frankish Kingdomsource
  • 884Carloman II dies after a hunting accident. He is succeeded by his cousin, Emperor Charles the Fat, who for the last time reunites the Frankish Empire.source
  • 894Guy III, king of Italy and Holy Roman Emperorsource
  • 948Li Song, Chinese official and chancellorsource
  • 1101Al-Musta'li, Fatimid caliph (born 1074)source
  • 1154Vicelinus, German bishop (born 1086)source
  • 1197Wu (or Xiansheng), Chinese empress (born 1115)source
  • 1200Lochlann of Galloway, Scottish noblemansource
  • 1204December 12 (or December 13) – Maimonides, Spanish rabbi and philosopher (born 1135)source
  • 1212Geoffrey, Anglo-Norman archbishop of York and Chancellor of England (born 1152)source
  • 1300Bartolo da San Gimignano, Italian priest (born 1228)source
  • 1300Bartolo da San Gimignano, Italian beatified Catholic priest, member of Third Order of Saint Francis (born 1228)source
  • 1306Conrad of Offida, Italian monk and preacher (born 1241)source
  • 1467Jošt of Rožmberk, Bishop of Breslau, Grand Prior of the Order of St. John (born 1430)source
  • 1476Frederick I, Elector Palatine (born 1425)source
  • 1532Pietro Accolti, Italian Catholic cardinal (born 1455)source
  • 1574Selim II, Ottoman Sultan (born 1524)source
  • 1586Stefan Batory, King of Poland (born 1533)source
  • 1685John Pell, English mathematician (born 1610)source
  • 1696Johan Caspar von Cicignon, military officer (born c.1625).source
  • 1705John Easton, political leader in the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations (born 1624)source
  • 1751Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke, English statesman, philosopher (born 1678)source
  • 1758Françoise de Graffigny, French lettrist (born 1695)source
  • 1777Albrecht von Haller, Swiss anatomist and physiologist (born 1708)source
  • 1843King William I of the Netherlands (born 1772)source
  • 1843William I of the Netherlands (born 1772), former head of statesource
  • 1889Robert Browning, English poet (born 1812)source
  • 1913Menelik II, Emperor of Ethiopia (born 1844)source
  • 1939Douglas Fairbanks, American actor, father of Douglas Fairbanks Jr. (born 1883)source
  • 1958Milutin Milanković, Yugoslav mathematician, astronomer, climatologist and geophysicist, (born 1879)source
  • 1994Jabra Ibrahim Jabra, Palestinian-Iraqi writer and translator. (b.1920)source
  • 2007Ike Turner, 76, American R&B musician and record producer, ex-husband of singer Tina Turner, cocaine overdose.source
  • 2007The Lebanese armed forces' chief of operations, General François al-Hajj, is killed in a bomb attack in Beirut.source
  • 2023Two soldiers are killed by an improvised explosive device while riding a motorcycle in Karimama, Alibori.source