Historical events on April 12
APRIL 12, 1973
About 1,700 gravediggers in New York City began a 12-week strike, causing a delay in the burial of roughly 1,400 bodies in the city.
A gravedigger is a cemetery worker who is responsible for digging a grave prior to a funeral service. Gravediggers have historically often
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APRIL 12, 1861
Confederate forces began a bombardment of Fort Sumter in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina, starting the American Civil War.
The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States (C.S.), the Confederacy, or the South, was an unrecognized
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APRIL 12, 2012
The Guinea-Bissau military seized control in a coup amid a presidential election, later handing power to a transitional administration under Manuel Serifo Nhamadjo.
On 12 April 2012, a coup d'état in Guinea-Bissau was staged by elements of the armed forces about two weeks before the
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APRIL 12, 1983
Harold Washington was elected as the first African-American mayor of Chicago.
Harold Lee Washington was an American lawyer and politician who was the 51st mayor of Chicago. In April 1983, Washington became the
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APRIL 12, 1980
Canadian athlete Terry Fox embarked on an east-to-west "Marathon of Hope" from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, with a prosthetic leg to raise funds for cancer research.
Terrance Stanley Fox was a Canadian athlete, humanitarian, and cancer research activist. In 1980, having had one leg amputated due to cancer,
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APRIL 12, 2014
A fire broke out near Valparaíso, Chile, eventually destroying at least 2,500 homes and leaving approximately 11,000 people homeless (damage pictured).
The Great Fire of Valparaíso started on 12 April 2014 at 16:40 local time, in the hills of the city of Valparaíso,
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APRIL 12, 1980
Samuel Doe took control of Liberia in a coup d'état, overthrowing President William Tolbert and ending over 130 years of national democratic presidential succession.
Samuel Kanyon Doe was a Liberian politician and military officer who served as the 21st President of Liberia from 1986 to 1990.
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APRIL 12, 1993
Bosnian War: NATO forces began Operation Deny Flight (aircraft pictured) to enforce a no-fly zone over Bosnia and Herzegovina ordered by the United Nations Security Council.
The Bosnian War was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. The war is
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APRIL 12, 1822
Greek War of Independence: Ottoman troops began a massacre of tens of thousands of Greeks (depicted) on the island of Chios.
The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of
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APRIL 12, 627
King Edwin of Northumbria was baptised by Bishop Paulinus of York.
Edwin, also known as Eadwine or Æduinus, was the King of Deira and Bernicia – which later became known as Northumbria – from around
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APRIL 12, 1910
SMS Zrínyi, one of the last pre-dreadnoughts built by the Austro-Hungarian Navy, was launched in Trieste.
SMS Zrínyi was a Radetzky-class semi-dreadnought battleship (Schlachtschiff) of the Austro-Hungarian Navy, named for the Zrinski, a Croatian-Hungarian noble family. Zrínyi and
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APRIL 12, 1204
Troops of the Fourth Crusade entered Constantinople and began a sack of the city, temporarily dissolving the Byzantine Empire.
The Fourth Crusade (1202–1204) was a Latin Christian armed expedition called by Pope Innocent III. The stated intent of the expedition was
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APRIL 12, 1807
The Froberg mutiny of Greek and Albanian troops in British service ended with the explosion of the gunpowder magazine at Fort Ricasoli, Malta.
The Froberg Mutiny was a mutiny within the British armed forces staged between 4 and 12 April 1807 at Fort Ricasoli on
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APRIL 12, 1776
American Revolution: The North Carolina Provincial Congress passed the Halifax Resolves, the first official action in the American colonies calling for independence from Great Britain.
The American Revolution (1765–1783) was an ideological and political movement in the Thirteen Colonies in what was then British America. The revolution
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APRIL 12, 1831
The Broughton Suspension Bridge near Manchester, England, collapsed reportedly because of mechanical resonance induced by troops marching in step across it.
Broughton Suspension Bridge was an iron chain suspension bridge built in 1826 to span the River Irwell between Broughton and Pendleton, now
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