ON FEB. 12 ...
In 1554, Lady Jane Grey, who had claimed the throne of England for nine days, and her husband, Guildford Dudley, were beheaded after being condemned for high treason.
In 1689 the Declaration of Rights was signed in England, proclaiming William and Mary king and queen for life.
In 1733 English colonists led by James Oglethorpe founded Savannah, Ga.
In 1809 Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, was born in present-day Larue County, Ky. Also in 1809 Charles Darwin, biologist and author of “On the Origin of Species,” was born in Shrewsbury, England.
In 1818 Chile officially
proclaimed its independence, more than seven years after initially renouncing Spanish rule.
In 1907 more than 300 people died when the steamer Larchmont collided with a schooner off Block Island in New England.
In 1909 the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People was founded.
In 1912 the Manchu Dynasty abdicated in China, making way for the establishment of a provincial republic.
In 1915 the cornerstone for the Lincoln Memorial was laid in Washington.
In 1940 the radio play “The Adventures of Superman” made its debut on the Mutual network with Bud Collyer as the Man of Steel.
In 1973 the first release of American prisoners of war from the Vietnam conflict took place.
In 1993, in a crime that shocked Britons, two 10-yearold boys lured 2-year-old James Bulger from his mother at a shopping mall in Liverpool, England, then beat him to death.
In 1999 the Senate voted to acquit President Bill Clinton of perjury and obstruction of justice; Clinton told Americans he was “profoundly sorry” for what he had said and done in the Monica
Lewinsky affair that triggered it.
In 2000 Charles Schulz, creator of the “Peanuts” comic strip, died in Santa Rosa, Calif.; he was 77. Also in 2000 Hall of Fame football coach Tom Landry, who led the Dallas Cowboys to five Super Bowls, died in Irving, Texas; he was 75.
In 2004, defying a California law, San Francisco officials began performing weddings for same-sex couples.
In 2006 a record 26.9 inches of snow fell in New York’s Central Park.
In 2008 General Motors reported losing $38.7 billion in 2007, the largest annual loss in automotive history at the time, and offered buyouts to 74,000 hourly workers.
In 2016 Pope Francis traveled to Cuba and met with Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church in the first encounter ever between the heads of two of the largest branches of the Christian faith.
In 2018 Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan announced he cut loose Kevin Quinn, a veteran of his political organization, over “unwanted advances and inappropriate text messages” to a female campaign worker. Also in 2018 the legendary gun manufacturer Remington announced it would file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.