History for October 12

History for October 12 - On-This-Day.com
Elmer Sperry 1860, Ned Jarrett 1932, Luciano Pavarotti 1935 


Chris Wallace 1947, Susan Anton 1950, Kirk Cameron 1970 


1492 - Christopher Columbus, an Italian explorer, sighted Watling Island in the Bahamas. He believed that he had found Asia while attempting to find a Western ocean route to India. The same day he claimed the land for Isabella and Ferdinand of Spain. 


1810 - Bavarian Crown Prince Ludwig married Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen. The royalty invited the public to attend the event which became an annual celebration that later became known as Oktoberfest. 


1915 - Former U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt criticized U.S. citizens who identified themselves by dual nationalities. 


1920 - Construction of the Holland Tunnel began. It opened on November 13, 1927. The tunnel links Jersey City, NJ and New York City, NY. 


1945 - Private First Class Desmond T. Doss was presented with the Congressional Medal of Honor for outstanding bravery as a medical corpsman. He was the first conscientious objector in American history to win the award. 


1960 - Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev pounded a shoe on his desk during a dispute at a U.N. General Assembly. 


1972 - During the Vietnam War, a racial brawl broke out aboard the U.S. aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk. Nearly 50 sailors were injured. 


1994 - The Magellan space probe ended its four-year mission to Venus for the purpose of mapping.