December 12 is the 346th day of the year (347th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 19 days remaining until the end of the year.
- 627 - Battle of Nineveh: A Byzantine army under Emperor Heraclius defeats Emperor Khosrau II's Persian forces, commanded by General Rhahzadh.
- 1098 - First Crusade: Massacre of Ma'arrat al-Numan - Crusaders breach the town's walls and massacre about 20,000 inhabitants. After finding themselves with insufficient food, they resort to cannibalism.
- 1408 - Order of the Dragon: The Order of the Dragon was first created on December 12, 1408 by Emperor Sigismund, then King of Hungary, and his wife Queen Barbara of Celje following the battle for possession of Bosnia.
- 1781 - American Revolutionary War: Second Battle of Ushant - A Royal Navy squadron, commanded by Rear Admiral Richard Kempenfelt in HMS Victory, defeats a French fleet.
- 1787 - Pennsylvania becomes the second state to ratify the United States Constitution five days after Delaware became the first.
- 1812 - The French invasion of Russia comes to an end.
- 1862 - USS Cairo sinks on the Yazoo River, becoming the first armored ship to be sunk by an electrically detonated mine.
- 1870 - Joseph H. Rainey of South Carolina becomes the first black U.S. congressman.
- 1897 - Belo Horizonte, the first planned city in Brazil, is founded.
- 1901 - Guglielmo Marconi receives the first transatlantic radio signal at Signal Hill in St John's, Newfoundland.
- 1911 - Delhi replaces Calcutta as the capital of India.
- 1915 - President of the Republic of China, Yuan Shikai announces his intention to reinstate the monarchy and proclaim himself Emperor of China.
- 1917 - In Nebraska, Father Edward J. Flanagan founds Boys Town as a farm village for wayward boys.
- 1925 - The Majlis of Iran votes to crown Reza Khan as the new Shah of Persia.
- 1936 - Xi'an Incident: The Generalissimo of the Republic of China, Chiang Kai-shek is kidnapped by Zhang Xueliang.
- 1937 - Panay incident: Japanese aircraft bomb and sink US gunboat Panay on the Yangtze River in China.
- 1939 - Winter War: Battle of Tolvajärvi - Finnish forces defeat those of the Soviet Union in their first major victory of the conflict.
- 1939 - HMS Duchess (H64) sinks after a collision with HMS Barham off the coast of Scotland with the loss of 124 men
- 1940 - World War II: Approximately 70 people are killed in the Marples Hotel, Fitzalan Square, Sheffield as a result of a German air raid.
- 1941 - World War II: Fifty four Japanese A6M Zero fighters raid Batangas Field, Philippines. Jesus Villamor and four Filipino fighter pilots fend them off; Cesar Basa is killed.
- 1941 - World War II: USMC F4F "Wildcats" sink the first 4 major Japanese ships off Wake Island.
- 1941 - World War II: UK declares war on Bulgaria. Hungary and Romania declare war on the United States. India declares war on Japan.
- 1941 - Adolf Hitler announces extermination of the Jews at a meeting in the Reich Chancellery
- 1942 - A fire in a hostel in St. John's, Newfoundland kills 100 people.
- 1946 - A fire at a New York City ice plant spreads to a nearby tenement killing 37 people.
- 1948 - Malayan Emergency: Batang Kali Massacre - 14 members of the Scots Guards stationed in Malaysia allegedly massacre 24 unarmed civilians and set fire to the village.
- 1950 - Paula Ackerman, the first woman appointed to perform rabbinical functions in the United States, leads the congregation in her first services.
- 1956 - Commencement of the Irish Republican Army's Border Campaign.
- 1963 - Kenya gains its independence from the United Kingdom.
- 1964 - Prime Minister Jomo Kenyatta becomes the first President of the Republic of Kenya.
- 1969 - Strategy of tension: Piazza Fontana bombing - The offices of Banca Nazionale dell'Agricoltura in Piazza Fontana, Milan, are bombed.
- 1979 - Coup d'état of December Twelfth: South Korean Army Major General Chun Doo-hwan orders the arrest of Army Chief of Staff General Jeong Seung-hwa without authorization from President Choi Kyu-ha, alleging involvement in the assassination of ex-President Park Chung Hee.
- 1979 - President of Pakistan, Zia-ul-Haq, confers Nishan-e-Imtiaz on Nobel laureate Dr Abdus Salam.
- 1979 - Rhodesia changes its name to Zimbabwe.
- 1982 - Women's peace protest at Greenham Common - 30,000 women hold hands and form a human chain around the 14.5 kilometres (9.0 mi) perimeter fence.
- 1984 - Maaouiya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya becomes the third president of Mauritania after a coup d'etat against Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidalla while the latter was attending a summit. Taya was ousted in March 2005 by Ely Ould Mohamed Vall in another coup.
- 1985 - Arrow Air Flight 1285 crashes after takeoff in Gander, Newfoundland killing 256, including 248 members of the United States Army's 101st Airborne Division.
- 1988 - The Clapham Junction rail crash kills thirty-five and injures hundreds after two collisions of three commuter trains - one of the worst train crashes in the United Kingdom.
- 1991 - Russian Federation gains independence from the USSR.
- 2000 - The United States Supreme Court releases its decision in Bush v. Gore
- 2005 - Gebran Tueni, Lebanese journalist and politician, is assassinated.
- 2006 - Peugeot produces its last car at the Ryton Plant signalling the end of mass car production in Coventry, formerly a major centre of the British motor industry.
- 2007 - Francois Hajj, the Lebanese army's chief of operations, is assassinated.
- 1298 - Albert II of Austria (d. 1358)
- 1418 - Albert VI of Austria (d. 1463)
- 1574 - Anne of Denmark, queen consort of James I of England (d. 1619)
- 1610 - Saint Vasilije (d. 1671)
- 1659 - Francesco Galli-Bibiena, Italian architect/designer (d. 1739)
- 1712 - Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine, Austrian military leader (d. 1780)
- 1724 - Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood, British admiral (d. 1816)
- 1745 - John Jay, 1st Chief Justice of the United States (d. 1829)
- 1779 - Madeleine Sophie Barat, French saint (d. 1865)
- 1783 - Ner Alexander Middleswarth, American politician (d. 1865)
- 1786 - William L. Marcy, American statesman (d. 1857)
- 1791 - Archduchess Marie Louise of Austria, second wife of Napoleon (d. 1847)
- 1799 - Karl Briullov, Russian painter (d. 1852)
- 1805 - William Lloyd Garrison, American abolitionist (d. 1879)
- 1805 - Henry Wells, Founder of American Express (d. 1878)
- 1806 - Stand Watie, American Confederate general (d. 1871)
- 1821 - Gustave Flaubert, French writer (d. 1880)
- 1845 - Bruce Price, American architect (d. 1903)
- 1849 - William Kissam Vanderbilt, member of the Vanderbilt family (d. 1920)
- 1863 - Edvard Munch, Norwegian painter (d. 1944)
- 1864 - Paul Elmer More, American essayist (d. 1937)
- 1866 - Alfred Werner, Swiss chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1919)
- 1870 - Walter Benona Sharp, American oil baron (d. 1912)
- 1875 - Gerd von Rundstedt, German field marshal (d. 1953)
- 1876 - Alvin Kraenzlein, Olympic gold medalist (d. 1928)
- 1887 - Kurt Atterberg, Swedish composer (d. 1974)
- 1892 - Herman Potočnik aka Hermann Noordung, Slovenian rocket engineer (d. 1929)
- 1893 - Edward G. Robinson, American actor (d. 1973)
- 1900 - Sammy Davis, Sr., American dancer (d. 1988)
- 1902 - Koloman Sokol, Slovak painter (d. 2003)
- 1903 - Dagmar Nordstrom, American composer (d. 1976)
- 1903 - Yasujirō Ozu, Japanese film director (d. 1963)
- 1904 - Nicolas de Gunzburg, magazine editor and socialite (d. 1981)
- 1905 - Manès Sperber, Austrian-born writer (d. 1984)
- 1907 - Roy Douglas, English composer and orchestrator
- 1908 - Gustav Ernesaks, Estonian composer and conductor. (d. 1993)
- 1909 - Karen Morley, American actress (d. 2003)
- 1910 - Richard Sagrits, Estonian painter (d. 1968)
- 1914 - Patrick O'Brian, English author (d. 2000)
- 1915 - Frank Sinatra, American singer and actor (d. 1998)
- 1918 - Joe Williams, American singer (d. 1999)
- 1919 - Olivia Barclay, English astrologer (d. 2001)
- 1919 - Dan DeCarlo, American cartoonist (d. 2001)
- 1920 - Fred Kida, American comics artist
- 1923 - Bob Barker, American television game show host
- 1923 - Bob Dorough, American jazz pianist/vocalist
- 1923 - Ken Kavanagh, Australian racing driver
- 1924 - Ed Koch, Mayor of New York City
- 1925 - Vladimir Shainsky, Soviet and Russian composer
- 1925 - Ahmad Shamlou, Iranian poet (d. 2000)
- 1927 - Robert Noyce, American inventor (d. 1990)
- 1928 - Chinghiz Aitmatov, Soviet-born Kyrgyz writer
- 1929 - Toshiko Akiyoshi, Japanese musician
- 1929 - John Osborne, English dramatist (d. 1994)
- 1930 - Bill Beutel, American journalist (d. 2006)
- 1931 - Lionel Blair, English actor and choreographer
- 1932 - Bob Pettit, American basketball player
- 1934 - Miguel de la Madrid, President of Mexico
- 1937 - Buford Pusser, American sheriff (d. 1974)
- 1938 - Connie Francis, American singer
- 1940 - Sharad Pawar, Indian politician
- 1940 - Dionne Warwick, American singer
- 1942 - Peter Sarstedt, British musician
- 1943 - Dickey Betts, American musician (The Allman Brothers Band)
- 1943 - Grover Washington, Jr., American saxophonist (d. 1999)
- 1944 - Kenneth Cranham, Scottish actor
- 1944 - Jean Doré, Canadian politician, mayor of Montreal
- 1945 - Tony Williams, American jazz drummer (d. 1997)
- 1946 - Emerson Fittipaldi, Brazilian race car driver and two-time F1 world champion
- 1946 - Paula Wagner, American film executive
- 1948 - Tom Wilkinson, English actor
- 1949 - Bill Nighy, English actor
- 1950 - Rajnikanth, Indian actor
- 1950 - Billy Smith, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1950 - Tom Vilsack, American politician
- 1952 - Herb Dhaliwal, Canadian politician
- 1952 - Cathy Rigby, American gymnast and actress
- 1953 - Bruce Kulick, American guitarist (ex-Kiss, Grand Funk Railroad)
- 1953 - Dave Meniketti, American guitarist/singer (Y&T, Meniketti)
- 1954 - Liz Claman, American television anchor
- 1955 - Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, Greek businesswoman
- 1955 - Eddy Schepers, Belgian cyclist
- 1956 - Johan van der Velde, Dutch cyclist
- 1957 - Sheila E., American musician
- 1957 - Robert Lepage, French Canadian playwright
- 1957 - Susan Powter, Australian author and motivational speaker
- 1958 - Sheree J. Wilson, American actress
- 1962 - Tracy Austin, American tennis player
- 1962 - Mike Golic, American football player
- 1963 - Ai Orikasa, Japanese voice actress and singer
- 1964 - Sabu, American professional wrestler
- 1964 - Haywood Jeffries, American football player
- 1965 - Will Carling, English rugby union footballer
- 1966 - Royce Gracie, Brazilian martial artist
- 1966 - Kouichi Nagano, Japanese voice actor
- 1966 - Último Dragón, Japanese professional wrestler
- 1967 - Yuzo Koshiro, Japanese composer
- 1967 - Takenobu Mitsuyoshi, Japanese composer
- 1967 - John Randle, American football player
- 1968 - Kate Humble, English television presenter
- 1968 - Rory Kennedy, American documentarian
- 1968 - Laurie Williams, Jamaican West Indies cricketer (d. 2002)
- 1969 - Carrie Westcott, American model and actress
- 1970 - Mädchen Amick, American actress
- 1970 - Jennifer Connelly, American actress
- 1970 - Regina Hall, American actress
- 1972 - Nicky Eaden, English footballer
- 1972 - Wilson Kipketer, Danish middle-distance runner
- 1972 - Kevin Parent, French Canadian singer and songwriter
- 1972 - Brandon Teena, American hate crime victim (d. 1993)
- 1972 - Yeoryios Theodoridis, Greek sprinter
- 1972 - Hank Williams III, American musician, grandson of Hank Williams
- 1973 - William Hutton, American engineer
- 1973 - Walter Otta, Argentine footballer
- 1974 - Nolberto Solano, Peruvian footballer
- 1975 - Mayim Bialik, American actress
- 1975 - Wesley Charles, Vincentian footballer
- 1975 - Craig Moore, Australian footballer
- 1976 - Dan Hawkins, English guitarist (The Darkness)
- 1976 - Lloyd Owusu, English/Ghanaian football player
- 1977 - Nicole, Erica and Jaclyn Dahm, American triplet models
- 1977 - Bridget Hall, American supermodel
- 1977 - Orlando Hudson, American baseball player
- 1977 - Colin White, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1978 - Monica Barladeanu, Romanian actress
- 1978 - Louis (artist), Korean singer ("Jung Hwa Ban Jum")
- 1978 - Jennifer Rovero, Playboy Playmate
- 1978 - Evren Genis, Turkish composer
- 1979 - Garrett Atkins, American baseball player
- 1979 - Nate Clements, American football player
- 1979 - Sharin Foo, Danish singer and bassist
- 1981 - Ronnie Brown, American football player
- 1981 - Shane Costa, American baseball player
- 1981 - Pedro Ríos, Spanish footballer
- 1981 - Jeret Peterson, American aerial skier
- 1981 - Yuvraj Singh, Indian cricketer
- 1981 - Stephen Warnock, English footballer
- 1982 - Dmitry Tursunov, Russian tennis player
- 1983 - Katrina Elam, American singer
- 1984 - Daniel Merrett, Australian Rules Football
- 1984 - Daniel Agger, Danish footballer
- 1986 - Perparim Hetemaj, Finnish footballer
- 1986 - Thomas Wansey, English actor
- 1990 - Victor Moses, an English footballer of Nigerian descent
- 1991 - Daniel Magder, Canadian actor
- 1996 - Karen Miyama, Japanese actress
- 884 - Carloman, King of the West Franks
- 1212 - Geoffrey, Archbishop of York
- 1569 - Metropolitan Philip of Moscow (b. 1507)
- 1574 - Selim II, Ottoman Sultan (b. 1524)
- 1586 - Stefan Batory, King of Poland (b. 1533)
- 1685 - John Pell, English mathematician (b. 1610)
- 1751 - Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke, English statesman and philosopher (b. 1678)
- 1754 - Wu Jingzi, Chinese writer (b. 1701)
- 1766 - Johann Christoph Gottsched, German writer (b. 1700)
- 1789 - John Ponsonby, Irish politician (b. 1713)
- 1790 - Mikhail Shcherbatov, Russian philosopher and writer (b. 1733)
- 1817 - Emperor Tekle Giyorgis I of Ethiopia, (b. about 1751)
- 1843 - King William I of the Netherlands, (b. 1772)
- 1858 - Jacques Viger, antiquarian and archeologist, first mayor of Montreal (b. 1787)
- 1889 - Robert Browning, English poet (b. 1812)
- 1889 - Viktor Bunyakovsky, Russian mathematician (b. 1804)
- 1894 - Sir John Thompson, fourth Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1845)
- 1913 - Emperor Menelek II of Ethiopia (b. 1844)
- 1923 - Raymond Radiguet, French author (b. 1903)
- 1926 - Jean Richepin, French poet (b. 1849)
- 1929 - Charles Goodnight, American cattle baron (b. 1836)
- 1934 - Thorleif Haug, Norwegian Nordic skier (b. 1894)
- 1939 - Douglas Fairbanks, American actor (b. 1883)
- 1941 - Cesar Basa, Philippine Air Force and World War II hero (b. 1915)
- 1951 - Mildred Bailey, American jazz singer (b. 1907)
- 1952 - Bedřich Hrozný, Czech orientalist and linguist (b. 1879)
- 1963 - Yasujiro Ozu, Japanese film director (b. 1903)
- 1968 - Tallulah Bankhead, American actress (b. 1902)
- 1970 - Doris Blackburn, Australian politician (b. 1889)
- 1971 - David Sarnoff, Russian-born American General Manager of RCA (b. 1891)
- 1976 - Jack Cassidy, American actor (b. 1927)
- 1976 - Vinko Zganec, Croatian ethnomusicologist (b. 1890)
- 1977 - Lady Spencer Churchill, wife of Winston Churchill (b. 1885)
- 1980 - Jean Lesage, politician, premier of Quebec (b. 1912)
- 1985 - Anne Baxter, American actress (b. 1923)
- 1985 - Ian Stewart, Scottish musician (b. 1938)
- 1987 - Enrique Jorrín, Cuban musician and composer (b. 1926)
- 1988 - Anthony "Tony Pro" Provenzano, American Mafia figure (b. 1917)
- 1992 - Suzanne Lilar, Belgian essayist, novelist and playwright (b. 1901)
- 1993 - József Antall, Hungarian politician (b. 1932)
- 1994 - Stuart Roosa, American astronaut (b. 1933)
- 1996 - Vance Packard, American author (b. 1914)
- 1997 - Yevgeniy Landis, Russian mathematician (b. 1921)
- 1998 - Lawton Chiles, U.S. Senator from Florida and Governor of Florida (b. 1930)
- 1998 - Marco Denevi, Argentine writer (b. 1922)
- 1998 - Mo Udall, American politician (b. 1922)
- 1999 - Paul Cadmus, American artist (b. 1904)
- 1999 - Joseph Heller, American author (b. 1923)
- 2000 - George Montgomery, American actor (b. 1916)
- 2001 - Jean Richard, French actor (b. 1921)
- 2002 - Dee Brown, American author (b. 1908)
- 2002 - Brad Dexter, American actor (b. 1917)
- 2002 - Jay Wesley Neill, American convicted murderer (b. 1965)
- 2003 - Heydər Əliyev, President of Azerbaijan (b. 1923)
- 2003 - Joseph Anthony Ferrario, American Catholic prelate (b. 1926)
- 2003 - Keiko, orca, star of Free Willy (b. 1977)
- 2005 - Gebran Tueni, Lebanese politician (b. 1957)
- 2005 - Annette Vadim, Danish actress (b. 1936)
- 2005 - Robert F. Newmyer, American film producer (b. 1946)
- 2006 - Paul Arizin, American basketball player (b. 1928)
- 2006 - Peter Boyle, American actor (b. 1935)
- 2006 - Kenny Davern, American jazz clarinetist (b. 1935)
- 2006 - Raymond P. Shafer, 38th Governor of Pennsylvania (b. 1917)
- 2006 - Al Shugart, pioneering American computer engineer and co-founder of Seagate Technology (b. 1930)
- 2007 - Ike Turner, American singer, former husband of Tina Turner (b. 1931)
- 2007 - Francois Hajj, Lebanese Army's chief of operations (b. 1953)
- 2008 - Avery Dulles, Roman Catholic Cardinal, heologian (b. 1918)
- 2008 - Van Johnson, American actor (b. 1916)
- 2008 - Tassos Papadopoulos, Cypriot former president (b. 1934)
