The Russian submarine Kursk sank in the Barents Sea, trapping 118 sailors who all perished
A torpedo explosion during a naval exercise caused the nuclear submarine to sink to the ocean floor. Evidence suggests some crew members survived in i...
August 12 in History
Significant events that happened on this day.
Historical Events
2000
1996
The Ramones played their final concert at the Palace in Hollywood after 22 years
The legendary punk rock band performed 53 songs in their farewell show, with special guests including Lemmy Kilmister and Chris Cornell. The Ramones n...
1990
Paleontologist Sue Hendrickson discovered the most complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton ever found
The dinosaur, nicknamed "Sue" after its discoverer, was 90% complete and sparked an eight-year legal battle over who owned it. Eventually sold at auct...
1981
IBM released the first personal computer, the IBM PC 5150, changing home computing forever
MajorThe IBM PC became the industry standard, launching the era of personal computing in homes and offices worldwide. It came with 16KB of RAM (expandable...
1978
A pizza delivery to 30,000 feet became the first commercial transaction to a passenger aircraft in flight
Domino's delivered a pizza to a Cessna circling the skies near the Grand Canyon. The stunt was purely promotional, but it worked perfectly for headlin...
1962
The Soviet Union launched two cosmonauts simultaneously in separate spacecraft for the first time
Pavel Popovich aboard Vostok 4 launched while Andriyan Nikolayev was already orbiting in Vostok 3. The two spacecraft came within 4 miles of each othe...
1960
Echo 1, a giant metallic balloon satellite, was launched to bounce radio signals across the Earth
This 100-foot diameter balloon made of mylar-coated plastic became the world's first passive communications satellite. People around the world could a...
1898
The Hawaiian flag was lowered and the American flag raised over Iolani Palace, ending Hawaii's independence
MajorThis ceremony marked the formal annexation of Hawaii by the United States, five years after the overthrow of Queen Liliuokalani. Many native Hawaiians...
1877
Asaph Hall discovered Mars's moon Deimos, just days after finding Phobos
Using the U.S. Naval Observatory's new 26-inch refractor telescope, Hall spotted the tiny irregular moon orbiting Mars. Interestingly, Jonathan Swift...
1867
President Andrew Johnson sparked a constitutional crisis by violating the Tenure of Office Act
Johnson suspended Secretary of War Edwin Stanton without Senate approval, defying a law specifically passed to limit his power during Reconstruction....
1851
Isaac Singer was granted a patent for his sewing machine, revolutionizing the textile industry
Singer's design became the first practical sewing machine for home use, though he was later sued by Elias Howe for patent infringement. Despite the le...