What happened on October 12

66 documented historical events happened on October 12, from antiquity to the present day. The best known is this: Chen Yanxiang, the only person from Indonesia known to have visited dynastic Korea, reached Seoul after having set out from Java four months before. On the same day, in another year: Believing he had reached the East Indies, Christopher Columbus made landfall on an island in the Caribbean, sparking a series of events that led to the European colonization of the Americas. On Almanaccolo every event is listed in chronological order, grouped by century, and links to the Wikipedia article it comes from, so you can always read further or check the source. Alongside the events you find who was born and who died on this date, and which observances are celebrated around the world.

160 people with a Wikipedia article were born on October 12, including Don Howe, Tony Kubek, Paul Hawkins (racing driver). The list spans every era and every field — art, science, politics, sport, entertainment — ordered by year of birth, from the earliest to the most recent. The six featured people are those most has been written about: the ordering uses the length of their Wikipedia article as an indicator of prominence. For each one you find their occupation, year of birth and a link to the full biography.

132 people with a Wikipedia article died on October 12, including Demosthenes, Pope Honorius I, Pope John IV. The list is in chronological order by year of death and spans all of documented history, from antiquity to the present day. For each person you find their occupation, the year and a link to the Wikipedia biography, where the full story and its sources can be read.

24 observances are celebrated on October 12 around the world: Christian feast day: Blessed Louis Brisson, Christian feast day: Edith Cavell and Elizabeth Fry (Church of England), Christian feast day: Fiacc, Christian feast day: Our Lady of the Pillar (Fiestas del Pilar), Christian feast day: Our Lady of Aparecida, Christian feast day: Radim Gaudentius (Czech Republic). The list gathers national holidays, international days and religious or civil observances falling on this date in different countries, as recorded on Wikipedia. Some are fixed and recur on the same day every year; others depend on the local calendar. Each links to the article explaining its origin and meaning.