Summary of the Day ✨ 12 April (12/04)
After 16 years in power, Viktor Orban was defeated in Hungary’s parliamentary election by Peter Magyar and TISZA, marking the first government change in over a decade, while a devastating fire in Valparaíso, Chile killed 16 people, destroyed 2,500 homes, and displaced nearly 10,000 residents. Elsewhere, terrorist attacks in Mali and a rail accident in South Tyrol claimed multiple lives, while Zimbabwe officially abandoned its national currency as the official medium of exchange.
Historical Events 📜
- 2026: After 16 years in power, Viktor Orban is defeated in the 2026 Hungarian parliamentary election by Peter Magyar and TISZA, marking the first change in government in Hungary for over a decade.
- 2014: The Great Fire of Valparaíso ravages the Chilean city of Valparaíso, killing 16 people, displacing nearly 10,000, and destroying more than 2,500 homes.
- 2013: Two suicide bombers kill three Chadian soldiers and injure dozens of civilians at a market in Kidal, Mali.
- 2010: Merano derailment: A rail accident in South Tyrol kills nine people and injures a further 28.
- 2009: Zimbabwe officially abandons the Zimbabwean dollar as its official currency.
- 2007: A suicide bomber penetrates the Green Zone and detonates in a cafeteria within a parliament building, killing Iraqi MP Mohammed Awad and wounding more than twenty other people.
- 2002: A suicide bomber blows herself up at the entrance to Jerusalem’s Mahane Yehuda Market, killing seven people and wounding 104.
- 1999: United States President Bill Clinton is cited for contempt of court for giving “intentionally false statements” in a civil lawsuit; he is later fined and disbarred.
- 1999: During the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, an American McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle shoots a passenger train, killing between 20 and 60 people.
- 1992: The Euro Disney Resort officially opens with its theme park Euro Disneyland; the resort and its park’s name are subsequently changed to Disneyland Resort Paris.
- 1990: Jim Gary’s “Twentieth Century Dinosaurs” exhibition opens at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. He is the only sculptor ever invited to present a solo exhibition there.
- 1990: Widerøe Flight 839 crashes after takeoff from Værøy Airport in Norway, killing five people.
- 1985: Space Shuttle Discovery launches on STS-51D to deploy two communications satellites.
- 1983: Harold Washington is elected as the first black mayor of Chicago.
- 1981: The first launch of a Space Shuttle (Columbia) takes place: The STS-1 mission.
Famous Births 👶
- 1996: Jan Bednarek, Polish footballer
- 1996: Matteo Berrettini, Italian tennis player
- 1995: Pedro Cachin, Argentine tennis player
- 1994: Eric Bailly, Ivorian professional footballer
- 1994: Isabelle Drummond, Brazilian actress and singer
- 1994: Guido Rodríguez, Argentine footballer
- 1994: Saoirse Ronan, American-born Irish actress
- 1994: Sehun, South Korean musician
- 1993: Robin Anderson, American tennis player
- 1993: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1992: Chad le Clos, South African swimmer
- 1991: Lionel Carole, French professional footballer
- 1991: Oliver Norwood, English-born Northern Irish international footballer
- 1991: Magnus Pääjärvi, Swedish ice hockey player
- 1991: Jazz Richards, Welsh international footballer
Notable Deaths 🕊️
- 2026: Asha Bhosle, Indian playback singer, businesswoman, actress and television personality (born 1933)
- 2026: Chris Payton-Jones American football player (born 1995)
- 2025: Pilita Corrales, Filipino singer-songwriter and actress (born 1939)
- 2024: Roberto Cavalli, Italian fashion designer and inventor (born 1940)
- 2024: Eleanor Coppola, American filmmaker (born 1936)
- 2024: Robert MacNeil, Canadian-American journalist and author (born 1931)
- 2022: Gilbert Gottfried, American comedian, actor, and singer (born 1955)
- 2021: Joseph Siravo, American actor and producer (born 1955)
- 2020: Tarvaris Jackson, American football player (born 1983)
- 2017: Charlie Murphy, American actor and comedian (born 1959)
- 2016: Mohammad Al Gaz, Emirati politician & diplomat (born 1930)
- 2016: Anne Jackson, American actress (born 1925)
- 2015: Paulo Brossard, Brazilian jurist and politician (born 1924)
- 2015: Patrice Dominguez, Algerian-French tennis player and trainer (born 1950)
- 2015: Alfred Eick, German commander (born 1916)
Holidays & Observances 🎉
- Children’s Day (Bolivia)
- Christian feast day:
Adoniram Judson (Episcopal Church) - Christian feast day:
Alferius - Christian feast day:
Blessed Angelo Carletti di Chivasso - Christian feast day:
Erkembode - Christian feast day:
Pope Julius I - Christian feast day:
Sabbas the Goth - Christian feast day:
Teresa of the Andes - Christian feast day:
Zeno of Verona - Christian feast day:
April 12 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) - Commemoration of first human in space by Yuri Gagarin:
Cosmonautics Day (Russia) - Commemoration of first human in space by Yuri Gagarin:
International Day of Human Space Flight - Commemoration of first human in space by Yuri Gagarin:
Yuri’s Night (International observance) - Halifax Day (North Carolina)
- National Redemption Day (Liberia)