On This Day: 12 August

12 August in Indian history

• 1765Treaty of Allahabad is signed. The Treaty marks the political and constitutional involvement and the beginning of Company rule in India.India
• 1676Praying Indian John Alderman shoots and kills Metacomet, the Wampanoag war chief, ending King Philip's War.India

12 August in world history

• 2016Syrian civil war: The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) capture the city of Manbij from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
• 2000Kursk, an Oscar-class submarine of the Russian Navy, suffered an on-board explosion and sank in the Barents Sea during a military exercise, killing 118 people.
• 1994Major League Baseball players go on strike, eventually forcing the cancellation of the 1994 World Series.
• 1985Japan Air Lines Flight 123 crashed into Mount Takamagahara in Japan, killing 520 of 524 people on board, including singer Kyu Sakamoto, in the world's deadliest single-aircraft aviation disaster.
• 1977The Sri Lanka Riots, targeting the minority Sri Lankan Tamils, begin, less than a month after the United National Party came to power. Over 300 Tamils are killed.
• 1969The Troubles: Riots erupted in the neighbourhood of Bogside in Derry, and spread across much of Northern Ireland.
• 1964South Africa is banned from the Olympic Games due to the country's racist policies.
• 1953Thermonuclear bomb testing: The Soviet atomic bomb project continues with the detonation of "RDS-6s" (Joe 4) using a "layered" scheme.
• 1945An official administrative history of the Manhattan Project, written by American physicist Henry DeWolf Smyth, was released to the public days after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
• 1944World War II: In Sant'Anna di Stazzema, Italy, the Waffen-SS and the Brigate Nere murdered about 560 local villagers and refugees and burned their bodies.
• 1914World War I: Belgian troops won a victory at the Battle of Halen, but were ultimately unable to stop the German invasion of Belgium.
• 1914World War I: France, the United Kingdom and the British Empire declare war on Austria-Hungary.
• 1898The Hawaiian flag is lowered from ʻIolani Palace in an elaborate annexation ceremony and replaced with the flag of the United States to signify the transfer of sovereignty from the Republic of Hawaii to the United States where it is formally recognized as Hawa
• 1323Sweden and the Novgorod Republic signed the Treaty of Nöteborg, resulting in a hiatus in the Swedish–Novgorodian Wars.
• 1204The Republic of Venice acquires the right to Crete from Boniface I of Montferrat.
• 1099Crusades: Fatimid forces under al-Afdal Shahanshah began retreating to Egypt after the Battle of Ascalon, concluding the First Crusade.

Born on 12 August

• 1978Hayley Wickenheiser, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1952Sitaram Yechury, Indian politician and leader of CPI(M) (died 2024)India
• 1948Siddaramaiah, Indian lawyer and politician, 22nd Chief Minister of KarnatakaIndia
• 1931William Goldman, American author, playwright, and screenwriter (died 2018)
• 1918Guy Gibson, Anglo-Indian commander and pilot, Victoria Cross recipient (died 1944)India
• 1902Mohammad Hatta, Indonesian statesman, 1st Vice President of Indonesia (died 1980)

Died on 12 August

• 1999Jean Drapeau, Canadian lawyer and politician, 37th Mayor of Montreal (born 1916)
• 1973Karl Ziegler, German chemist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1898)
• 1822Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh, Irish-English politician, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (born 1769)
• 1602Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak, Mughal vizier and historian (born 1551)India

Frequently asked questions

What happened on 12 August in history?

2016: Syrian civil war: The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) capture the city of Manbij from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). 2000: Kursk, an Oscar-class submarine of the Russian Navy, suffered an on-board explosion and sank in the Barents Sea during a military exercise, killing 118 people. 1994: Major League Baseball players go on strike, eventually forcing the cancellation of the 1994 World Series. 1985: Japan Air Lines Flight 123 crashed into Mount Takamagahara in Japan, killing 520 of 524 people on board, including singer Kyu Sakamoto, in the world's deadliest single-aircraft aviation disaster.

What happened on 12 August in Indian history?

1765: Treaty of Allahabad is signed. The Treaty marks the political and constitutional involvement and the beginning of Company rule in India. 1676: Praying Indian John Alderman shoots and kills Metacomet, the Wampanoag war chief, ending King Philip's War.

Which famous people were born on 12 August?

Hayley Wickenheiser, Canadian ice hockey player (1978); Sitaram Yechury, Indian politician and leader of CPI(M) (died 2024) (1952); Siddaramaiah, Indian lawyer and politician, 22nd Chief Minister of Karnataka (1948); William Goldman, American author, playwright, and screenwriter (died 2018) (1931).

Which day is observed on 12 August?

International Youth Day; Glorious Twelfth (United Kingdom); HM the Queen Mother's Birthday and National Mother's Day (Thailand); International Youth Day (United Nations); Russian Air Force Day (Russia).