12 May 1062

A Monday in history

Weekday

Monday

Season

Spring (N. Hemisphere)

Century

11th century

Records

289

  1. 2022

    The Event Horizon Telescope released the first image of Sagittarius A*.

    Source
  2. 2017

    The WannaCry ransomware attack affected more than 400,000 computers worldwide, including systems used by the National Health Service and Telefónica.

    Source
  3. 2015

    An earthquake in Nepal killed 218 people and injured more than 3,500 others.

    Source
  4. 2015

    A train derailment killed eight people and injured more than 200 others in Philadelphia.

    Source
  5. 2010

    On arrival at Tripoli International Airport, Afriqiyah Airways Flight 771 crashed into the ground at a speed of 262 kn (485 km/h; 302 mph) and exploded, killing all but one of the 304 people on board.

    Source
  6. 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.

    Source
  7. 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.

    Source
  8. 1982

    The Coppergate Helmet (pictured), the best preserved of the six known Anglo-Saxon helmets, was discovered.

    Source
  9. 1982

    Juan María Fernández y Krohn attempted to assassinate Pope John Paul II with a bayonet in Fátima, Portugal.

    Source
  10. 1975

    The Cambodian navy seized the American container ship SS Mayaguez in what they claimed to be Cambodian territorial waters.

    Source
  11. 1968

    Vietnam 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.

    Source
  12. 1967

    The Jimi Hendrix Experience released the critically acclaimed and widely influential debut album Are You Experienced.

    Source
  13. 1948

    The United Kingdom publicly announced that it was independently developing nuclear weapons, after the US Atomic Energy Act of 1946 ended cooperation on the matter.

    Source
  14. 1941

    German engineer Konrad Zuse presented the Z3, the first working programmable and fully automatic computer, to an audience of scientists in Berlin.

    Source
  15. 1938

    During an exercise to demonstrate air power, United States Army Air Corps bomber aircraft intercepted the Italian ocean liner SS Rex (pictured) 620 nautical miles (1,100 km) off the US Atlantic coast.

    Source
  16. 1932

    Nazi deputies assaulted journalist Helmuth Klotz in the German parliament building after he publicized the homosexuality of a senior Nazi politician.

    Source
  17. 1926

    The crew of the airship Norge (pictured), led by Roald Amundsen, became the first people to make a verified trip to the North Pole.

    Source
  18. 1888

    North Borneo was established as a British protectorate.

    Source
  19. 1881

    Under threat of invasion, Muhammad III as-Sadiq, Bey of Tunis, signed the Treaty of Bardo to make Tunisia a French protectorate.

    Source
  20. 1863

    American Civil War: The Confederates were routed in the Battle of Raymond, a small battle that had an inordinately large impact on the Vicksburg campaign.

    Source
  21. 1846

    The 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.

    Source
  22. 1743

    War of the Austrian Succession: Habsburg ruler Maria Theresa was crowned Queen of Bohemia after Austrian forces drove French troops from the territory.

    Source
  23. 1510

    Zhu Zhifan, the Prince of Anhua (in modern Shaanxi, China), began an unsuccessful rebellion against the reign of the Zhengde Emperor.

    Source

Photo archive

24 historic images from this day — tap to open the gallery.

What was life like?

Prices, jobs, food, music and everyday routine — the world as it felt to live in.

Sources & fact check

Every claim is traced to primary sources, archives, universities and the press — with an explicit confidence rating. Dossiers are generated once and cached permanently.

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