Major Events
- Jan 6 Geophysicist and meteorologist Alfred Wegener presents his controversial theory of continental drift in a lecture at the Geological Association (Geologischen Vereinigung) at the Senckenberg-Museum, Frankfurt
- Jan 8 Chiefs, representatives of people's and church organizations, and other prominent individuals form the African National Congress and declare its aim to bring all Africans together as one people to defend their rights and freedoms
- Jan 17 Captain Robert Scott's expedition arrives at the South Pole, one month after Roald Amundsen
- Feb 12 The last Qing Emperor of China, Puyi (age 6) abdicates after losing the support of the Chinese people and thus the "mandate of heaven"
- Mar 7 Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen announces his team was the first to reach the South Pole (located 14 December 1911), 34 days before British explorer Robert Falcon Scott
- Mar 29 Captain Robert Falcon Scott, storm-bound in a tent near the South Pole, makes last entry in his diary "the end cannot be far"
- Apr 14 RMS Titanic, the world's largest ocean liner, hits an iceberg at 11.40pm off Newfoundland, sinks in the early hours of April 15
- Apr 15 RMS Titanic sinks at 2:27 AM off Newfoundland as the band plays on, with the loss of between 1,490 and 1,635 people
- May 7 Columbia University approves plans for awarding the Pulitzer Prize in several categories, after established by Joseph Pulitzer
- More 1912 Events
1912 in Film & TV
- Jul 31 US government prohibits movies and photos of prize fights (censorship)
1912 in Music
- Sep 3 Arnold Schoenberg's "Funf Orchesterstucke" (Five Pieces for Orchestra) premieres in London at a Promenade Concert
- Sep 27 W. C. Handy publishes "Memphis Blues", considered the 1st blues song
- Oct 16 Arnold Schoenberg's "Pierrot Lunaire," premieres at the Berlin Choralion-Saal sung by Albertine Zehme
Did You Know?
Jackson Pollock
James Callaghan
Kim Il-sung
Enoch Powell
Alan Turing
Alfredo Stroessner
Danny Thomas
José Ferrer
Wernher von Braun
Sonja Henie
Phil Silvers
Gene Kelly
Lightnin Hopkins
Woody Guthrie
Byron Nelson
Sam Snead
Ben HoganMore People Born in 1912
Fun Fact About 1912
15 young women are fired by Curtis Publishing in Philadelphia for dancing the "Turkey Trot" during their lunch break
Robert Falcon Scott
Edward Smith
Bram Stoker
Wilbur Wright
Harriet Quimby
Jules MassenetMore 1912 Deaths
Articles About 1912
Iceberg Sinks 'Unsinkable' Titanic
The Titanic hit an iceberg on her maiden voyage and sank on this day in history. She took with her to the bottom of the sea some of the world’s richest people.April 15
The Titanic Sinks
The wreck of the RMS Titanic at the bottom of the ocean, photographed in 2004April 15
Eruption of Novarupta
Ash drifts around Katmai village barabaras (sod houses) after the June 1912 eruption of NovaruptaJune 6
Assassination Attempt on Lord Charles Hardinge
An assassination attempt on Lord Charles Hardinge (1858-1944) Viceroy of India, illustration from 'Le Petit Journal'December 23
Famous Weddings in 1912
- Apr 9 Detective writer Erle Stanley Gardner (22) weds Natalie Talbert
- Jun 26 American future US Secretary of State John Foster Dulles (24) weds Janet Pomeroy Avery (21) in Auburn, New York, until his death in 1959
- Aug 1 Physicist Niels Bohr (26) weds Margrethe Norlund at a civil ceremony in Slagelse, Denmark
More Weddings in 1912
H. H. Asquith
Nicholas II
Wilhelm II
William Howard Taft