Today in History for 12th May 2025
Historical Events
1784 – Ratified copies of the Treaty of Paris, ending the Revolutionary War exchanged between US and Great Britain, in Paris
1888 – Crouching start first used in track and field by Charles Sherrill of Yale
1972 – Paul McCartney and Wings release single “Mary Had a Little Lamb”
2010 – An Afriqiyah Airways Flight crashes and kills everyone but one person on board
2017 – Former One Direction singer Harry Styles releases his self-titled debut solo album
Famous Birthdays
1850 – Henry Cabot Lodge, U.S. statesman, born in Beverly, Massachusetts (d. 1924)
1900 – Helene Weigel, Austrian-German actress (Metropolis, Mutter Courage), born in Vienna, Austria-Hungary (d. 1971)
1926 – Earl Hutto, American politician (Rep-D-Florida, 1979-95), born in Panama City, Florida (d. 2020)
1931 – Johan Fleerackers, Flemish civil servant and cultural attaché (Minister of Cutlure, 1965-77), born in Mortsel, Belgium (d. 1989)
1971 – Doug Basham, American professional wrestler, born in Louisville, Kentucky
Famous Deaths
1641 – Thomas Wentworth, 1st earl of Strafford and Viceroy of Ireland, beheaded at 48
1737 – Cornelis van Alkemade, Dutch historian, collector of antiquities and author (Coinage of the Counts of Holland), dies at 83
1852 – John Richardson, Canadian writer (War of 1812), dies at 55
1856 – Jacques Philippe Marie Binet, French mathematician, physicist and astronomer, dies at 70
2008 – Irena Sendler [née Krzyżanowska], Polish nurse, social worker, and WWII heroine who helped smuggle Jewish ghetto children to safety, dies at 98
