On This Day - What Happened On December 12 | Britannica

🤑 Explore Britannica's Newest Newsletter: Money Matters Learn More Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos A Britannica Newsletter Discover the fascinating events that shaped the world, straight from our editors. SIGN UP ADD TO YOUR INBOX Thanks for signing up for Today in History. Your first newsletter will arrive soon! By clicking "Add To Your Inbox"tapping "Sign Up" you are agreeing to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Home On This Day TODAY IN HISTORY December 12 What Happened On Your Bday? Go to Today's Date

Featured Event

1925 The first motel The world's first motel opened on this day in 1925. Located in San Luis Obispo, the Milestone Mo-Tel gave motorists a place to stop as they drove between San Francisco and Los Angeles. Read today's edition of Today in History >> © Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Featured Biography

Edvard Munch Norwegian artist bornDecember 12, 1863Loten, NorwaydiedJanuary 23, 1944 (aged 80)near Oslo, Norway© 1994 Munch-museet/Munch-Ellingsen/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York 1950 Rajinikanth Indian actor 1945 Portia Simpson Miller prime minister of Jamaica 1923 Bob Barker American game show host 1915 Frank Sinatra American singer and actor 1893 Edward G. Robinson American actor See All Biographies On This Day

More Events On This Day

2020 English writer John le Carré, who was best known for suspenseful, realistic spy novels, died at age 89. Take our quiz about the life and works of English authorsHorst Tappe—Camera Press/Globe Photos 2015 A landmark climate change agreement was reached at a UN conference in Paris as 195 countries agreed to limit greenhouse gas emissions; the accord effectively replaced the Kyoto Protocol. What's the difference between global warming and climate change?© Benoit Tessier/Reuters 2009 With the victory of Democratic politician Annise Parker, Houston became the then largest city in the United States to elect an openly gay mayor. Discover 10 other Democrats who made historyZblume 2000 The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a fair recount of ballots in Florida could not be performed by the deadline for certifying the state's electors, effectively ending the 2000 U.S. presidential election and awarding the presidency to George W. Bush.Wilfredo Lee/AP/REX/Shutterstock.com 1999 American author Joseph Heller—the author of Catch-22 (1961), one of the most significant works of protest literature to appear after World War II—died at age 76. Test your knowledge of famous writersOliver Morris—Hulton Archive/Getty Images 1977 Saturday Night Fever, starring John Travolta, had its world premiere; the film was a huge hit, as was the accompanying disco sound track by the Bee Gees.Paramount Pictures 1964 Kenya became a republic on the first anniversary of its independence from Britain. Learn more stories of African independenceEncyclopædia Britannica, Inc. 1936 Chinese Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek was seized by one of his own generals, Chang Hsüeh-liang, beginning the Xi'an Incident. Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about ChinaCamera Press/Globe Photos 1923 Game show host Bob Barker, who was best known for hosting The Price Is Right from 1972 to 2007, was born in Darrington, Washington.PRNewsFoto/Fleetwood Enterprises, Inc./AP Images 1915 Singer Frank Sinatra, who also achieved wide success as a film actor, was born in Hoboken, New Jersey. How much do you know about Frank Sinatra?Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (LC-GLB13-0779) 1846 New Granada (now Colombia and Panama) signed the Bidlack Treaty with the United States, granting U.S. right-of-way across the Isthmus of Panama in exchange for a guarantee of neutrality for the isthmus and the sovereignty of New Granada.Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. 1821 Gustave Flaubert—a leading figure in the realist school of French literature who is best known for his masterpiece, Madame Bovary—was born. Test your knowledge of famous authors and poets© Leemage—Corbis/Getty Images SIGN UP FOR History's Biggest Headlines Discover the fascinating events that shaped the world, straight from our editors. SIGN UP Thanks for signing up for Today in History. Your first newsletter will arrive soon! SIGN UP By clicking "Sign Up" you are agreeing to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.