What Happened Today in History on October 12

Persian king Cyrus (Achaemenid Empire), conquers Babylon, the ancient capital of the Neo-Babylonian (Chaldean) empire covering modern Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Israel. Many consider Babylon, the ancient literary, religious an science center,

The Siege of Orléans by the English during the Hundred Years' War with France, begins (October 12, 1428 – May 8,1429), marking a turning point in the conflict. The siege took place at the peak of English power during the later stages of the war, but was repulsed by French forces inspired by the arrival of Joan of Arc.

Seventy days after departing from Spain on August 3, 1492, Christopher Columbus and his crew make landfall in the present day Bahamas archipelago on an island he names San Salvador, marking the European discovery of the Americas. Expand +

The birth of Oktoberfest - Kronprinz Ludwig (later King Ludwig I) marries Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen and the citizens of Munich were invited to attend the royal festivities held on the fields in front of the city gates. The fields were named "Theresienwiese" ("Theresa's Meadow") in honor of the Crown Princess. Locals have abbreviated the name simply to Wiesn. Expand +

The Pledge of Allegiance is first recited by students in many U.S. public schools as part of the Columbus Day celebration.

USS Holland (SS-1) the first US Submersible Torpedo Boat, is commissioned by the Navy, Lt. Harry H. Caldwell in command in Newport, R.I. The USS Holland, was named for its designer John Philip Holland. It had been launched in 1898 by Crescent Shipyards, Elizabeth, N.J. More

Minnesota's Moose Lake and Cloquet Fires. Originally started miles away a couple of days earlier by a spark from a passing train during an extreme dry season. Over 1000 people lost their lives, thirty-eight communities were destroyed, 250,000 acres were burned, causing and economic loss of $73 million (over a billion in today's economy). More

US Army medic Private First Class Desmond Thomas Doss becomes the first conscientious objector to be awarded the Medal of Honor. More

Equatorial Guinea Independence Day from Spain.

The Kitty Hawk Race Riot - More than 100 sailors on the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk are involved in a race riot resulting in 46 sailors injured. in a race riot involving more than 100 sailors on the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk en route to her station in the Gulf of Tonkin off Vietnam. More

The Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) carries out a bombing in Brighton, England, targeting the Conservative Party conference. Although Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher survives, five people are killed in the attack.

The USS Cole, on a refueling stop at Aden, Yemen. is attacked by two suicide pilots of a small bomb-laden boat, blasting a a 40-by-40-foot hole in the port side of the USS Cole, at midship. Seventeen sailors were killed and 38 wounded in the attack. Following investigations determined the attack had ben carried out by members of Saudi exile Osama bin Laden’s al Qaeda terrorist network. More

Terrorist bombings in Bali, Indonesia, kill over 200 people and injure hundreds more. More

The 2012 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the European Union (EU) "for over six decades of contribution to the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe."  All Nobel Peace Prizes