August 12th History, Facts and Trivia
August 12th History Highlights
- 1492 – Christopher Columbus arrived in the Canary Islands on his first voyage to the New World.
- 1865 – Joseph Lister, British surgeon, and scientist, performed the first antiseptic surgery.
- 1952 – Thirteen Jewish writers associated with the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee (JAC) were executed under orders from Joseph Stalin.
- 1953 The detonation of RDS-6s showed that the Soviet Union had created their own nuclear weapons.
- If you were born on August 12th,
You were likely conceived the week of… November 19th (prior year)
August 12th is…
Middle Child Day
Toasted Almond Bar Day
Vinyl Record Day
“The greatest art in the world is the art of storytelling.”
– Cecil B. DeMille
” Love planted a rose, and the world turned sweet.”
– Katharine Lee Bates
“I am who I am, I am what I am, I do what I do and I ain’t never gonna do it any different. I don’t care who likes it and who don’t.”
– Buck Owens
” Every guitar I own gets used and has its purpose.”
– Mark Knopfler
” You reach a point in your career when the weeks turn into a month or more of the phone not ringing.”
– Sam J. Jones
” Successful people jump at opportunity and take advantage of it.”
– Sir Mix-a-Lot
“One very fundamental thing has not changed and I realized that it will never change… is that I really need to go home and practice.”
– Pat Metheny
August 12th Birthdays
1881 – Cecil B. DeMille, American director, and producer (died in 1959)
1907 – Joe Besser, American actor, Stooges #5 (died in 1988)
1910 – Jane Wyatt, American actress (died in 2006)
1918 – Sid Bernstein, American record producer (died in 2013)
1920 – Percy Mayfield, American R&B singer-songwriter (died in 1984)
1925 – Norris McWhirter, Scottish publisher, and activist co-founded the Guinness World Records (died in 2004)
1925 – Ross McWhirter, Scottish publisher, and activist, co-founded the Guinness World Records (died in 1975)
1926 – John Derek, American actor, director, and cinematographer (died in 1998)
1927 – Porter Wagoner, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died in 2007)
1929 – Buck Owens, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died in 2006)
1930 – George Soros, Hungarian-American businessman and investor
1949 – Mark Knopfler, Scottish-English singer-songwriter and guitarist
1950 – August “Kid Creole” Darnell, American musician, singer-songwriter and record producer
1954 – Sam J. Jones, American actor
1954 – Pat Metheny, American jazz guitarist
1963 – Sir Mix-a-Lot, American rapper
1971 – Michael Ian Black, American comedian
1971 – Rebecca Gayheart, American actress
1975 – Casey Affleck, American actor
1980 – Maggie Lawson, American actress
1980 – Dominique Swain, American actress
1992 – Cara Delevingne, English actress
August 12th History
1851 – Isaac Singer was granted a patent (#8,294) for his sewing machine.
1877 – Asaph Hall discovered the Mars moon Deimos.
1883 – The last quagga, a kind of zebra, died at the Artis Magistra zoo in Amsterdam, Netherlands. In 1984, the quagga was the first extinct animal to have its DNA analyzed.
1901 – The Indianapolis Motor Speedway opened.
1960 – Echo 1A, NASA’s first successful communications satellite, was launched.
1977 – The first free flight of the Space Shuttle Enterprise.
1978 – #1 Hit August 12, 1978 – August 25, 1978: Commodores – Three Times a Lady
1981 – The IBM Personal Computer was released.
1985 – Japan Airlines Flight 123 crashed into Osutaka ridge in Gunma Prefecture, Japan, killing 520, becoming the worst single-plane air disaster.
1989 – #1 Hit August 12, 1989 – September 1, 1989: Richard Marx – Right Here Waiting
1990 – Sue, the largest and most complete Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton found to date, was discovered by paleontologist Sue Hendrickson in South Dakota.
1994 – Major League Baseball players went on strike, forcing the cancellation of the 1994 World Series.
2000 – #1 Hit August 12, 2000 – August 25, 2000: Sisqo – Incomplete
Today’s Random Trivia and Shower Thoughts
Relax…this won’t hurt! – Hunter S. Thompson (last phrase of his suicide note) #LastWords
The older I get, the more I realize that Squidward actually wasn’t that bad of a guy.
“After all, tomorrow is another day!” – Scarlett O’Hara (Vivien Leigh)
Sean Connery wore a toupee in every James Bond film that he starred in.
I might not be the best driver in the world, but at least I’ve never featured in a dashcam video. That’s got to count for something.
“Nobody feels like an adult. It’s the world’s dirty secret.” – Peter Hoberg in Liberal Arts
90% of label makers probably have a label on them that says, “label maker” #people
American Graffiti’s budget was exactly $777,777.77, and it was delivered on time – and on budget.
I still feel rather uncomfortable pronouncing “Worcestershire” around others.
By the time Disney is done with Star Wars films, it will simply be ‘some time ago’
Every day at 4:04, I lose complete track of time. #nerdjokes