12 September in history

5 events that happened on 12 September, from 490 BCE to 1962.

  1. ✦ Anniversary of the day

    490 BCE 1,536 years ago

    Athenians defeat the Persians at Marathon

    By the traditional date, the Athenians and Plataeans charged and routed the Persian landing force at Marathon. The legend of a runner carrying news to Athens inspired the modern marathon race.

    Athens

  2. 1213 CE 813 years ago

    Simon de Montfort defeats and kills Peter II of Aragon at Muret

    Crusaders under Simon de Montfort routed a larger army of Aragon and Toulouse at Muret, killing King Peter II. The defeat ended Aragonese hopes in Languedoc and opened it to northern French rule.

  3. 1683 CE 343 years ago

    John III Sobieski relieves the siege of Vienna

    A relief army led by King John III Sobieski of Poland routed the Ottoman forces besieging Vienna, ending with a great charge of Polish hussars. The Ottoman advance into central Europe was halted for good.

    Polish-Lithuanian CommonwealthPolish hussarsVienna

  4. 1848 CE 178 years ago

    Switzerland adopts its federal constitution

    The Swiss Diet declared the new federal constitution accepted, turning a loose league of cantons into a federal state with a two-chamber parliament. Its framework still underpins Switzerland today.

    Switzerland

  5. 1962 CE 64 years ago

    Kennedy tells Rice University 'we choose to go to the Moon'

    In a speech at Rice University in Houston, John F. Kennedy committed America to a Moon landing that decade, 'not because they are easy, but because they are hard'. Apollo 11 landed seven years later.

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