On This Day: 12 May

12 May in world history

• 2017The WannaCry ransomware attack affected more than 400,000 computers worldwide, including systems used by the National Health Service and Telefónica.
• 2008In Postville, Iowa, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducted the largest-ever raid of a workplace and arrested nearly 400 immigrants for identity theft and document fraud.
• 2008An earthquake (measuring around 8.0 magnitude) occurs in Sichuan, China, killing over 69,000 people.
• 1998Four students were shot and killed by Indonesian soldiers at Trisakti University in Jakarta, which led to widespread riots and the resignation of President Suharto nine days later.
• 1982During a procession outside the shrine of the Virgin Mary in Fátima, Portugal, security guards overpower Juan María Fernández y Krohn before he can attack Pope John Paul II with a bayonet.
• 1978In Zaire, rebels occupy the city of Kolwezi, the mining center of the province of Shaba (now known as Katanga); the local government asks the US, France and Belgium to restore order.
• 1975The Cambodian navy seized the American container ship SS Mayaguez in what they claimed to be Cambodian territorial waters.
• 1975Indochina Wars: Democratic Kampuchea naval forces capture the SS Mayaguez.
• 1968Vietnam War: The 1st Australian Task Force began the defence of Fire Support Base Coral in the largest unit-level action of the war for the Australian Army.
• 1949Cold War: The Soviet Union lifts its blockade of Berlin.
• 1942World War II: Second Battle of Kharkov: In eastern Ukraine, Red Army forces under Marshal Semyon Timoshenko launch a major offensive from the Izium bridgehead, only to be encircled and destroyed by the troops of Army Group South two weeks later.
• 1938During an exercise to demonstrate air power, United States Army Air Corps bomber aircraft intercepted the Italian ocean liner SS Rex 620 nautical miles (1,100 km) off the US Atlantic coast.
• 1933The Agricultural Adjustment Act, which restricts agricultural production through government purchase of livestock for slaughter and paying subsidies to farmers when they remove land from planting, is signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
• 1864American Civil War: The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House: Union troops assault a Confederate salient known as the "Mule Shoe", with some of the fiercest fighting of the war, much of it hand-to-hand combat, occurring at "the Bloody Angle" on the northwest.
• 1863American Civil War: Battle of Raymond: Two divisions of James B. McPherson's XVII Corps turn the left wing of Confederate General John C. Pemberton's defensive line on Fourteen Mile Creek, opening up the interior of Mississippi to the Union Army during the Vic
• 1846The Donner Party, an American pioneer group which became known for resorting to cannibalism when they became trapped in the Sierra Nevada, left Independence, Missouri, for California.
• 1821The first major battle of the Greek War of Independence against the Turks is fought in Valtetsi.
• 1510Zhu Zhifan, the Prince of Anhua (in modern Shaanxi, China), began an unsuccessful rebellion against the reign of the Zhengde Emperor.

Born on 12 May

• 1951George Karl, American basketball player and coach
• 1895Jiddu Krishnamurti, Indian-American philosopher and author (died 1986)India
• 1863Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury, Bengali writer, painter, violin player and composer, technologist and entrepreneur (died 1915)India
• 1804Robert Baldwin, Canadian lawyer and politician, third Premier of West Canada (died 1858)
• 1803Justus von Liebig, German chemist and academic (died 1873)
• 1479Pompeo Colonna, Catholic cardinal (died 1532)

Died on 12 May

• 2014Sarat Pujari, Indian actor, director, and screenwriter (born 1934)India
• 1944Max Brand, American journalist and author (born 1892)
• 1599Murad Mirza, Mughal prince (born 1570)India
• 1465Thomas Palaiologos, Despot of Morea (born 1409)

Frequently asked questions

What happened on 12 May in history?

2017: The WannaCry ransomware attack affected more than 400,000 computers worldwide, including systems used by the National Health Service and Telefónica. 2008: In Postville, Iowa, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducted the largest-ever raid of a workplace and arrested nearly 400 immigrants for identity theft and document fraud. 2008: An earthquake (measuring around 8.0 magnitude) occurs in Sichuan, China, killing over 69,000 people. 1998: Four students were shot and killed by Indonesian soldiers at Trisakti University in Jakarta, which led to widespread riots and the resignation of President Suharto nine days later.

Which famous people were born on 12 May?

George Karl, American basketball player and coach (1951); Jiddu Krishnamurti, Indian-American philosopher and author (died 1986) (1895); Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury, Bengali writer, painter, violin player and composer, technologist and entrepreneur (died 1915) (1863); Robert Baldwin, Canadian lawyer and politician, third Premier of West Canada (died 1858) (1804).

Which day is observed on 12 May?

International ME/CFS and Fibromyalgia Awareness Day; International Nurses Day; J. V. Snellman Day or the Finnish Heritage Day (Finland).