What Happened Today in History on June 12

James Hargreaves, an English weaver in Blackburn, Lancaster received a patent for his "Spinning Jenny," a hand-powered, multiple-spindle machine that revolutionized cotton spinning. A significant advancement over traditional spinning wheels that could only spin one thread at a time. significantly increasing yarn production, making it a key factor in the industrialization of the textile industry. The initial version had eight spindles, and later models could hold up to 120, showcasing its increasing capacity. Hargreaves faced challenges with his patent application and even a legal battle when his machines were being illegally copied. More

 The Philippines declares its independence from Spain after being a Spanish colony since 1565. Later that year, the Treaty of Paris ended the Spanish-American War and Spain ceded the Philippines to the US, the islands were occupied by U.S. forces. and the Philippines became an American colony until after World War II. The Philippines officially attained complete Independence from the U.S on July 4, 1946, Which is celebrated in the Philippines as Republic Day. More

Six days after D-Day, during the Battle of Normandy, the five Allied landing groups of over 300,000 were able to link up and form a single continues solid front across northwestern France after a bitter fight to capture Carentan, between airborne forces of the United States Army and the German Wehrmacht. The deepest Allied penetration point was southwest of Bayeux, where the allies had driven nearly 15 miles (25 km) inland.  

Over a million people march and gather at New York City’s Central Park demanding nuclear disarmament and an end to the Cold War arms race: making it the largest disarmament rally in American history. The cold war and the arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union had been going on since World War II, and the Cold War felt particularly dangerous in the early 1980s. especially since President Ronald Reagan, a staunch proponent of building up America’s nuclear arsenal and vehemently opposed the idea of disarmament treaties, appeared to prefer nuclear war to nuclear disarmament. More

In a speech in Berlin, President Reagan challenges Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to ― "Tear down this wall"  and open Eastern Europe to political and economic reform. More

Boris Yeltsin becomes the first democratically elected President of Russia, which still was part of the Soviet Union. He remained as President as Russia transitioned to an independent state. He resigned on December 31, 1999 at 12 am Moscow time. His resignation was announced on the main TV channels before the New Year's celebrations. Following his resignation, Vladimir Putin became the acting president and later won the presidential election in March 2000, securing a four-year term.

Russia Day - Commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR).