1912
Centuries: 19th century - 20th century - 21st centuryDecades: 1860s 1870s 1880s 1890s 1900s - 1910s - 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s
Years: 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 - 1912 - 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917
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2 Year in topic 3 Births 4 Deaths: 5 Nobel Prizes 6 Heads of state in 1912 |
Events
- January 1 - Establishment of Republic of China.
- January 6 - New Mexico is admitted as the 47th U.S. state.
- Alfred Wegener proposes the theory of continental drift
- February 12 - Republic of China adopts the Gregorian calendar
- February 14 - Arizona is admitted as the 48th U.S. state.
- February 14 - In Groton, Connecticut, the first diesel-powered submarine is commissioned.
- March 1 - Albert Berry makes the first parachute jump from a moving airplane.
- March 5 - Italian forces are the first to use dirigibles for a military purpose by using them for reconnaissance west of Tripoli behind Turkish lines.
- March 7 - Roald Amundsen announces discovery of the South Pole
- March 12 - The Girl Guides (later renamed the Girl Scouts) are founded.
- March 30 - France establishes a protectorate over Morocco.
- April 15 - Sinking of the S.S. Titanic.
- May 13 - In the United Kingdom, the Royal Flying Corps (now the Royal Air Force) in established.
- June 6-June 8 - eruption of Novarupta in Alaska, second largest volcanic eruption in historic time.
- July 30 - In Japanese History, end of the Meiji Era and beginning of the Taisho Era.
- August 25 - Kuomintang, the Chinese nationalist party is founded
- September 25 - Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism founded
- October 8 - First Balkan War begins: Montenegro declares war against Turkey.
- October 14 - While campaigning in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, former president Theodore Roosevelt is shot by saloonkeeper William Schrank. With a fresh flesh wound and the bullet still in him, Roosevelt still delivers his scheduled speech.
- November 5 - U.S. presidential election, 1912: Democraticic challenger Woodrow Wilson wins a landslide victory over Republican incumbent William Howard Taft. Taft's base was undercut by Progressive Party candidate (and former Republican) Theodore Roosevelt, who finished second, ahead of Taft.
- November 11 - Khios declares its independence from the ottoman empire.
- November 27 - Spain declares a protectorate over the north shore of Morocco.
- November 28 - Albania declares its independence from the Ottoman Empire.
- December 3 - First Balkan War ends - Bulgaria, Greece, Montenegro, and Serbia (the Balkan League) sign an armistice with Turkey, ending the two-month long war.
- December 14 - Norwegian polar explorer Roald Amundsen and a team of four, become the first people to reach the South Pole.
- Sea Scouting begins under the aegis of the Boy Scouts of America
- Kazimierz Funk identifies vitamins.
- The first blues song, "The Memphis Blues," is published.
Year in topic
- 1912 in art
- 1912 in film
- 1912 in literature
- 1912 in music
- 1912 in sports
Births
- January 7 - Charles Addams, cartoonist
- January 8 - José Ferrer, actor († 1992)
- January 14 - Rudolf Hagelstange, German lyricist, narrator and essayist († 1984)
- January 16 - Franz Tumler, Austrian narrator († 1998)
- January 28 - Jackson Pollock, painter, initiator of Dripping painting († 1956)
- January 30 - Barbara W. Tuchman, historian († 1989)
- February 6 - Eva Braun, Adolf Hitler's mistress († 1945)
- February 11 - Roy Fuller English poet/novelist.
- February 11 - Rudolf Firkusny Napajedla, Czechoslovakian, pianist.
- February 18 - Heinz Kühn, politician († 1992)
- February 19 - Stan Kenton, musician († 1979)
- February 20 - Pierre Boulle, author
- February 27 - Lawrence Durrell, writer († 1990)
- March 12 - Irving Layton, poet
- March 14 - Les Brown, band leader († 2001)
- March 15 - Lightnin' Hopkins, musician († 1982)
- March 16 - Pat Nixon, actress, First Lady of the United States († 1993)
- March 17 - Bayard Rustin, civil rights activist († 1987)
- March 22 - Karl Malden, actor
- March 23 - Wernher von Braun, physicist and engineer († 1977)
- March 27 - James Callaghan, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
- March 31 - Hermann Höcherl, politician († 1989)
- April 8 - Sonja Henie, Olympic and World Champion figure skater
- April 26 - A.E. van Vogt, science fiction writer († 2000)
- April 28 - Odette Sansom, SOE agent, WW II heroine (+ 1995)
- May 9 - Pedro Armendáriz, actor († 1963)
- May 12 - Archibald Cox, Watergate special prosecutor
- May 14 - Ben Hogan, golfer († 1997)
- May 16 - Studs Terkel, writer
- May 18 - Walter Sisulu, anti-apartheid activist († 2003)
- May 18 - Perry Como, singer († 2001)
- May 23 - John Payne, actor († 1989)
- May 27 - Sam Snead († 2002)
- May 28 - Patrick White, author († 1990)
- May 30 - Joseph Stein, playwright
- May 31 - Alfred Deller, singer, early modern countertenor († 1979)
- June 26 - Jay Silverheels, actor († 1980)
- July 1 - David R. Brower, major environmentalist († 2000)
- July 14 - Woody Guthrie, folk musician († 1969)
- July 17 - Art Linkletter, television host
- August 30 - Nancy Wake, WW II heroine
- September 5 - John Cage, American composer
- September 12 - Jacques Fath, French couturier († 1954)
- September 19 - Kurt Sanderling, conductor
- September 21 - Chuck Jones, animator
- September 29 - Michelangelo Antonioni, Italian film director
- October 21 - Georg Solti, conductor († 1997)
- October 22 - Johan Hendrik Weidner, Belgian born WW II hero (+ 1994)
- October 27 - Conlon Nancarrow, composer († 1997)
- November 21 - Eleanor Powell, actress, dancer († 1982)
- November 26 - Eugene Ionesco, playwright († 1994)
Deaths:
- March 29 - Robert Falcon Scott, explorer
- March 30 - Karl May, author
- April 15 - Most of crew and passengers on the Titanic
- April 15 - John Jacob Astor IV, businessman aboard the Titanic
- April 15 - Benjamin Guggenheim, businessman, aboard the Titanic
- May 14 - August Strindberg
- May 25 - Austin Lane Crothers, politician.
- May 30 - Wilbur Wright of the Wright brothers, American co-inventor of the airplane.
Nobel Prizes
- Physics - Nils Gustaf Dalén
- Chemistry - not awarded
- Medicine - Alexis Carrel
- Literature - Gerhart Johann Robert Hauptmann
- Peace - Elihu Root


