12 October in history

8 events that happened on 12 October, from 539 BCE to 2002.

  1. ✦ Anniversary of the day

    539 BCE 2,564 years ago

    Persian forces of Cyrus the Great enter Babylon

    After invading Babylonia, the Persian forces of Cyrus the Great entered the city of Babylon, ending the Chaldean, or Neo-Babylonian, Empire. The Babylonian Chronicles and the Cyrus Cylinder described the city taken without battle; Herodotus and Xenophon reported a siege.

    Cyrus the GreatBabylonChaldean Empire

  2. 633 CE 1,393 years ago

    Cadwallon and Penda defeat and kill Edwin at Hatfield Chase

    Near Doncaster, Cadwallon ap Cadfan of Gwynedd and Penda of Mercia defeated and killed Edwin, the Christian king of Northumbria. Northumbria split into its two kingdoms of Deira and Bernicia, and Cadwallon ravaged it for a year.

    Battle of Hatfield ChaseEdwin of NorthumbriaCadwallon ap Cadfan

  3. 1398 CE 628 years ago

    Vytautas cedes Samogitia to the Teutonic Knights at Salynas

    On an islet of the Neman River, Vytautas the Great, ruler of Lithuania, and Grand Master Konrad von Jungingen signed the Treaty of Salynas, promising Samogitia to the Teutonic Knights for the third time. The dispute dragged on until 1422.

    SamogitiaTeutonic OrderLithuania

  4. 1492 CE 534 years ago

    Columbus makes landfall in the Bahamas

    After 33 days crossing the Atlantic, Christopher Columbus's expedition landed on an island its Taíno inhabitants called Guanahani. The encounter began sustained contact between Europe and the Americas, with vast consequences for both.

    Spanish EmpireChristopher Columbus

  5. 1810 CE 216 years ago

    Crown Prince Ludwig's wedding gives rise to Oktoberfest

    Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria married Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen, and Munich's citizens were invited to celebrate on the fields before the city gates. The festivities, crowned by a horse race, became the annual Oktoberfest.

  6. 1822 CE 204 years ago

    Pedro I is acclaimed Emperor of Brazil

    In Rio de Janeiro, Prince Pedro was acclaimed constitutional Emperor of Brazil, five weeks after declaring independence from Portugal. Brazil became the only lasting monarchy in independent Latin America.

    Rio de JaneiroLatin AmericaBrazil

  7. 1915 CE 111 years ago

    Germans execute the British nurse Edith Cavell

    A German firing squad in Brussels executed Edith Cavell, who had helped some 200 Allied soldiers escape occupied Belgium. Her death caused international outrage and became a powerful theme of Allied propaganda.

    Belgium

  8. 2002 CE 24 years ago

    Bombings in Bali kill 202 people

    Militants of Jemaah Islamiyah bombed two nightclubs in the tourist district of Kuta, Bali, killing 202 people from 21 countries. It remains the deadliest terrorist attack in Indonesia's history.

    Indonesia

Born on 12 October 5

Died on 12 October 6

Dates as the sources give them: in the Julian calendar before 1582, and in some countries for longer (Britain until 1752, Russia until 1918). Only people whose day of birth or death the records agree on are listed.

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