Browse Historical Events by Day: What Happened on January 12th?

The Roman general Drusus completes the conquest of Raetia (modern-day Switzerland and Bavaria).

Crusaders start constructing siege engines for the siege of Arqa during the First Crusade.

Marriage negotiations between King Edward II of England and Isabella of France, daughter of King Philip IV, begin.

Henry, Duke of Lancaster, arrives in Calais to aid King Edward III during the Hundred Years' War.

King Peter I of Portugal dies, succeeded by his daughter, Beatrice, and her husband, John I of Castile.

King Henry VIII of England leads an invasion of France during the Italian War of 1542–1546.

The Royalist stronghold of Bolesworth Castle surrenders to the Parliamentarians during the English Civil War.

James Oglethorpe and 130 English colonists arrive at Charleston, South Carolina, establishing the colony of Georgia.

Astronomer Edmond Halley observes the comet that bears his name.

An earthquake in the Midwest, known as the New Madrid earthquake, shakes the central United States.

One of the deadliest winter storms hits the upper Midwest. The blizzard with an epicenter in present-day South Dakota caused the deaths of hundreds of people, including 213 children who never made it home from their one-room schoolhouses and became known as the “Children’s Blizzard”. The frigid temperatures were a nationwide phenomenon. Sub-zero temperatures reached all the way to Texas and Georgia, people could ice skate in San Francisco, and water mains froze in Los Angeles. More

The Mona Lisa is recovered in Florence after being stolen from the Louvre Museum in Paris in 1911.

Hattie Ophelia Wyatt Caraway becomes first woman elected to U.S. Senate when she defeated two male opponents in a special race in Arkansas. More

A 7.0-magnitude earthquake strikes Haiti, causing widespread devastation and loss of life.