Browse Historical Events by Day: What Happened on February 12th?

Battle of Marathon, where the Athenians defeated the Persians during the first Persian invasion of Greece.

Joan of Arc arrives in the city of Orléans during the Hundred Years' War, eventually leading French forces to victory.

Pope Innocent VIII issues the papal bull "Summis desiderantes affectibus," authorizing the Inquisition to prosecute witchcraft.

Lady Jane Grey, who briefly ruled as Queen of England, is executed for treason.

The Great Northern War begins between Sweden and the coalition of Russia, Saxony, Poland, and Denmark-Norway, during the reign of Peter I of Russia (Peter the Great), who wanted to gain access to the Black Sea. In 1715 Prussia and Hannover joined the war against Sweden. The King of Hannover was also King George II of Great Britain. Many battles were fought over the 21 years, but Russia finally defeated Sweden at the Battle of Poltava in 1709, although a formal peace treaty was not signed until 1721. More

Chile formally declares independence from Spain, on the first anniversary of the pivotal victory over the Spanish at Chacabuco by the forces of Argentinian Jose San Martin and Chilean Bernardo O'Higgins, Although the decisive victory over the Spanish did not come until April 1818 at the Battle of Maipú. Chile's independence was formally recognized by Spain in 1844, when full diplomatic relations were established.

George Washington's birthday is declared a federal holiday in the United States, later becoming Presidents' Day.

1909, February 12 - The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is founded. More

Pu Yi, the last Qing dynasty Emperor of China, is forced to abdicate, ending 267 years of Manchu rule in China and 2,000 years of imperial rule. The former emperor, only six years old at the time, was allowed to keep up his residence in Beijing’s Forbidden City, and he took the name of Henry Pu Yi. More

The trial of Slobodan Milošević begins at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague.

The 2010 Winter Olympics open in Vancouver, Canada.

Pope Francis meets Patriarch Kirill in Havana at the first meeting between Catholic and Russian Orthodox church heads for nearly 1,000 years.