Common Era

2020 CE

Gregorian Calendar

2020 AD

Holocene Calendar

12020 HE

Japanese Calendar

Heisei 32 (平成32年)

Japanese Imperial Year

Kōki 2680 (皇紀2680年)

Chinese Sexagenary Cycle

Yang Metal Rat (庚子)

First human in space	59 years ago
World War II ends	75 years ago
Hindu-Arabic numerals introduced to Europe	818 years ago
Mythical founding of Japan	2679 years ago
Foundation of Rome	2772 years ago
Beginning of Xia Dynasty in China	4120 years ago
First Egyptian pyramid completed	4630 years ago
End of the Paleolithic Period	12019 years ago

January 1		January 1	F	F
January 2		January 2	F	U
January 3		January 3	F	TH
January 4		January 4	F	A
January 5		January 5	F	R
January 6		January 6	F	K
January 7		January 7	F	G
January 8		January 8	F	W
January 9		January 9	F	H
January 10		January 10	F	N
January 11		January 11	F	I
January 12		January 12	F	J
January 13		January 13	F	AE
January 14		January 14	F	P
January 15		January 15	F	Al
January 16		January 16	U	F
January 17		January 17	U	U
January 18		January 18	U	TH
January 19		January 19	U	A
January 20		January 20	U	R
January 21		January 21	U	K
January 22		January 22	U	G
January 23		January 23	U	W
January 24		January 24	U	H
January 25		January 25	U	N
January 26		January 26	U	I
January 27		January 27	U	J
January 28		January 28	U	AE
January 29		January 29	U	P
January 30		January 30	U	Al
January 31		January 31	TH	F
February 1		February 1	TH	U
February 2	Imbulc	February 2	TH	TH
February 3		February 3	TH	A
February 4		February 4	TH	R
February 5		February 5	TH	K
February 6		February 6	TH	G
February 7		February 7	TH	W
February 8		February 8	TH	H
February 9		February 9	TH	N
February 10		February 10	TH	I
February 11		February 11	TH	J
February 12		February 12	TH	AE
February 13		February 13	TH	P
February 14		February 14	TH	Al
February 15		February 15	A	F
February 16		February 16	A	U
February 17		February 17	A	TH
February 18		February 18	A	A
February 19		February 19	A	R
February 20		February 20	A	K
February 21		February 21	A	G
February 22		February 22	A	W
February 23		February 23	A	H
February 24		February 24	A	N
February 25		February 25	A	I
February 26		February 26	A	J
February 27		February 27	A	AE
February 28		February 28	A	P
March 1		March 1	A	Al
March 2		March 2	R	F
March 3		March 3	R	U
March 4		March 4	R	TH
March 5		March 5	R	A
March 6		March 6	R	R
March 7		March 7	R	K
March 8		March 8	R	G
March 9		March 9	R	W
March 10		March 10	R	H
March 11		March 11	R	N
March 12		March 12	R	I
March 13		March 13	R	J
March 14		March 14	R	AE
March 15		March 15	R	P
March 16		March 16	R	Al
March 17		March 17	K	F
March 18		March 18	K	U
March 19		March 19	K	TH
March 20		March 20	K	A
March 21		March 21	K	R
March 22		March 22	K	K
March 23	Easter March 20	March 23	K	G
March 24		March 24	K	W
March 25		March 25	K	H
March 26		March 26	K	N
March 27		March 27	K	I
March 28		March 28	K	J
March 29		March 29	K	AE
March 30		March 30	K	P
March 31		March 31	K	Al
April 1		April 1	K	S
April 2		April 2	G	F
April 3		April 3	G	U
April 4		April 4	G	TH
April 5		April 5	G	A
April 6		April 6	G	R
April 7		April 7	G	K
April 8		April 8	G	G
April 9		April 9	G	W
April 10		April 10	G	H
April 11		April 11	G	N
April 12		April 12	G	I
April 13		April 13	G	J
April 14		April 14	G	AE
April 15		April 15	G	P
April 16		April 16	G	Al
April 17		April 17	W	F
April 18		April 18	W	U
April 19		April 19	W	TH
April 20		April 20	W	A
April 21		April 21	W	R
April 22		April 22	W	K
April 23		April 23	W	G
April 24		April 24	W	W
April 25		April 25	W	H
April 26		April 26	W	N
April 27		April 27	W	I
April 28		April 28	W	J
April 29		April 29	W	AE
April 30		April 30	W	P
May 1		May 1	W	Al
May 2	Beltain May 1	May 2	H	F
May 3		May 3	H	U
May 4		May 4	H	TH
May 5		May 5	H	A
May 6		May 6	H	R
May 7		May 7	H	K
May 8		May 8	H	G
May 9		May 9	H	W
May 10		May 10	H	H
May 11		May 11	H	N
May 12		May 12	H	I
May 13		May 13	H	J
May 14		May 14	H	AE
May 15		May 15	H	P
May 16		May 16	H	Al
May 17		May 17	N	F
May 18		May 18	N	U
May 19		May 19	N	TH
May 20		May 20	N	A
May 21		May 21	N	R
May 22		May 22	N	K
May 23		May 23	N	G
May 24		May 24	N	W
May 25		May 25	N	H
May 26		May 26	N	N
May 27		May 27	N	I
May 28		May 28	N	J
May 29		May 29	N	AE
May 30		May 30	N	P
May 31		May 31	N	Al
June 1		June 1	I	F
June 2		June 2	I	U
June 3		June 3	I	TH
June 4		June 4	I	A
June 5		June 5	I	R
June 6		June 6	I	K
June 7		June 7	I	G
June 8		June 8	I	W
June 9		June 9	I	H
June 10		June 10	I	N
June 11		June 11	I	I
June 12		June 12	I	J
June 13		June 13	I	AE
June 14		June 14	I	P
June 15		June 15	I	Al
June 16		June 16	J	F
June 17		June 17	J	U
June 18		June 18	J	TH
June 19		June 19	J	A
June 20		June 20	J	R
June 21		June 21	J	K
June 22		June 22	J	G
June 23	Litha June 22	June 23	J	W
June 24		June 24	J	H
June 25		June 25	J	N
June 26		June 26	J	I
June 27		June 27	J	J
June 28		June 28	J	AE
June 29		June 29	J	P
June 30		June 30	J	Al
July 1		July 1	J	S
July 2		July 2	AE	F
July 3		July 3	AE	U
July 4		July 4	AE	TH
July 5		July 5	AE	A
July 6		July 6	AE	R
July 7		July 7	AE	K
July 8		July 8	AE	G
July 9		July 9	AE	W
July 10		July 10	AE	H
July 11		July 11	AE	N
July 12		July 12	AE	I
July 13		July 13	AE	J
July 14		July 14	AE	AE
July 15		July 15	AE	P
July 16		July 16	AE	Al
July 17		July 17	P	F
July 18		July 18	P	U
July 19		July 19	P	TH
July 20		July 20	P	A
July 21		July 21	P	R
July 22		July 22	P	K
July 23		July 23	P	G
July 24		July 24	P	W
July 25		July 25	P	H
July 26		July 26	P	N
July 27		July 27	P	I
July 28		July 28	P	J
July 29		July 29	P	AE
July 30		July 30	P	P
July 31		July 31	P	Al
August 1		August 1	J	F
August 2	Lughnasadh August 1	August 2	J	U
August 3		August 3	Al	TH
August 4		August 4	Al	A
August 5		August 5	Al	R
August 6		August 6	Al	K
August 7		August 7	Al	G
August 8		August 8	Al	W
August 9		August 9	Al	H
August 10		August 10	Al	N
August 11		August 11	Al	I
August 12		August 12	Al	J
August 13		August 13	Al	AE
August 14		August 14	Al	P
August 15		August 15	Al	Al
August 16		August 16	S	F
August 17		August 17	S	U
August 18		August 18	S	TH
August 19		August 19	S	A
August 20		August 20	S	R
August 21		August 21	S	K
August 22		August 22	S	G
August 23		August 23	S	W
August 24		August 24	S	H
August 25		August 25	S	N
August 26		August 26	S	I
August 27		August 27	S	J
August 28		August 28	S	AE
August 29		August 29	S	P
August 30		August 30	S	Al
August 31		August 31	T	F
September 1		September 1	T	U
September 2		September 2	T	TH
September 3		September 3	T	A
September 4		September 4	T	R
September 5		September 5	T	K
September 6		September 6	T	G
September 7		September 7	T	W
September 8		September 8	T	H
September 9		September 9	T	N
September 10		September 10	T	I
September 11		September 11	T	J
September 12		September 12	T	AE
September 13		September 13	T	P
September 14		September 14	T	Al
September 15		September 15	B	F
September 16		September 16	B	U
September 17		September 17	B	TH
September 18		September 18	B	A
September 19		September 19	B	R
September 20		September 20	B	K
September 21		September 21	B	G
September 22		September 22	B	W
September 23	Mabon September 22	September 23	B	H
September 24		September 24	B	N
September 25		September 25	B	I
September 26		September 26	B	J
September 27		September 27	B	AE
September 28		September 28	B	P
September 29		September 29	B	Al
September 30		September 30	B	S
October 1		October 1	E	F
October 2		October 2	E	U
October 3		October 3	E	TH
October 4		October 4	E	A
October 5		October 5	E	R
October 6		October 6	E	K
October 7		October 7	E	G
October 8		October 8	E	W
October 9		October 9	E	H
October 10		October 10	E	N
October 11		October 11	E	I
October 12		October 12	E	J
October 13		October 13	E	AE
October 14		October 14	E	P
October 15		October 15	E	Al
October 16		October 16	M	F
October 17		October 17	M	U
October 18		October 18	M	TH
October 19		October 19	M	A
October 20		October 20	M	R
October 21		October 21	M	K
October 22		October 22	M	G
October 23		October 23	M	W
October 24		October 24	M	H
October 25		October 25	M	N
October 26		October 26	M	I
October 27		October 27	M	J
October 28		October 28	M	AE
October 29		October 29	M	P
October 30		October 30	M	Al
October 31		October 31	M	F
November 1	Samhain October 31	November 1	L	U
November 2		November 2	L	TH
November 3		November 3	L	A
November 4		November 4	L	R
November 5		November 5	L	K
November 6		November 6	L	G
November 7		November 7	L	W
November 8		November 8	L	H
November 9		November 9	L	N
November 10		November 10	L	I
November 11		November 11	L	J
November 12		November 12	L	AE
November 13		November 13	L	P
November 14		November 14	L	Al
November 15		November 15	L	S
November 16		November 16	Ing	F
November 17		November 17	Ing	U
November 18		November 18	Ing	TH
November 19		November 19	Ing	A
November 20		November 20	Ing	R
November 21		November 21	Ing	K
November 22		November 22	Ing	G
November 23		November 23	Ing	W
November 24		November 24	Ing	H
November 25		November 25	Ing	N
November 26		November 26	Ing	I
November 27		November 27	Ing	J
November 28		November 28	Ing	AE
November 29		November 29	Ing	P
November 30		November 30	Ing	Al
December 1		December 1	O	F
December 2		December 2	O	U
December 3		December 3	O	TH
December 4		December 4	O	A
December 5		December 5	O	R
December 6		December 6	O	K
December 7		December 7	O	G
December 8		December 8	O	W
December 9		December 9	O	H
December 10		December 10	O	N
December 11		December 11	O	I
December 12		December 12	O	J
December 13		December 13	O	AE
December 14		December 14	O	P
December 15		December 15	O	Al
December 16		December 16	D	F
December 17		December 17	D	U
December 18		December 18	D	TH
December 19		December 19	D	A
December 20		December 20	D	R
December 21		December 21	D	K
December 22		December 22	D	G
December 23	Yule December 22	December 23	D	W
December 24		December 24	D	H
December 25		December 25	D	N
December 26		December 26	D	I
December 27		December 27	D	J
December 28		December 28	D	AE
December 29		December 29	D	P
December 30		December 30	D	Al
December 31		December 31	D	S

2012 (MMXII) was a leap year starting on Sunday in the Gregorian calendar.

The year 2012 was the International Year of Cooperatives and the Alan Turing Year.

Contents

· 1Events

o 1.5May

o 1.6June

o 1.7July

· 2Deaths

· 4Hit songs

· 5References

Events[change | change source]

January[change | change source]

The Costa Concordia on its side after the accident

· January 1 – Start of Denmark's Presidency of the European Union

· January 5 – Portia Simpson-Miller becomes Prime Minister of Jamaica for a second time.

· January 6 – New Mexico celebrates the 100th anniversary of its statehood.

· January 10 – The Doomsday Clock is set to five minutes before midnight, after the nuclear disaster at Fukushima in Japan in 2011, and the nuclear threat level.

· January 13–22 – The first Winter Youth Olympics are held in Innsbruck, Austria.

· January 14 – The cruise ship Costa Concordia runs aground off the Tuscan coast, at the island of Giglio, and partially sinks. Out of more than 4000 people on board, at least 30 people are killed.

· January 18 – The English language Wikipedia blacks out for 24 hours in protest against the internet laws SOPA and PIPA proposed by the United States Congress.

· January 20 – 185 people are killed in a series of coordinated bombings in Kano, Nigeria, carried out by the Islamist extremist group Boko Haram.

· January 23 – The EU adopts an embargo against Iran over its uranium enrichment.

· January 30 – Following this date, cold weather in Europe causes several deaths, due to the low temperatures.

· January 31 – 433 Eros, the second-largest Near Earth Object on record (size 13×13×33 km) passes Earth. NASA studied Eros with the NEAR Shoemaker probe launched on February 17, 1996.^[1]

February[change | change source]

German President Christian Wulff who resigned on February 17

· February 1 – Violence erupts at the end of a football match in Port Said, Egypt, killing 74 people.

· February 2 – The ferry MV Rabaul Queen sinks off the north coast of Papua New Guinea, with at least 230 people being rescued, and several missing.

· February 6 – Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II marking the 60th anniversary of her accession to the Thrones of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia & New Zealand (as well as the 60th anniversary of her becoming Head of the Commonwealth).

· February 7 - President of the Maldives Mohamed Nasheed announces his resignation. Mohammed Waheed Hassan takes over from him.

· February 11 - American singer and actress Whitney Houston is found dead at her hotel in Los Angeles.

· February 12 - The Zambia national football team wins the African Cup of Nations, defeating the Ivory Coast.

· February 15 - A fire at a prison in Honduras kills at least 357 people.

· February 17 - President of Germany Christian Wulff announces his resignation following a home-loan scandal. He is the shortest-serving President in the history of the Federal Republic of Germany. Horst Seehofer becomes interim-President.

· February 19 - Iran suspends oil exports to France and the United Kingdom, after sanctions were imposed by the EU and the United States.

· February 21 - EU finance ministers reach an agreement on a 130 billion-Euro bailout for Greece.

· February 25 - Abd Rabbuh Mansur Al-Hadi succeeds Ali Abdullah Saleh as President of Yemen.

March[change | change source]

Tornado damage in West Liberty, Kentucky.

· March 2 - A tornado outbreak in Alabama, Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana kills 39 people.

· March 4 - Several munitions dump explosions in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo, kill over 250 people.

· March 4 - Vladimir Putin declares victory in the Russian Presidential Election, returning him to the Presidency.

· March 13 - It is announced that, after 244 years, the Encyclopedia Britannica is to stop its print edition to focus on its online version.

· March 13 - A coach crash in Switzerland kills 28 people, including 22 children, who were returning to Belgium.

· March 18 - Joachim Gauck is chosen to succeed Christian Wulff as President of Germany. He becomes President immediately.

· March 19 - Four people are killed in a shooting attack at a Jewish school in Toulouse, France. The gunman, Mohammed Merah, is killed three days later after a siege.

· March 22 - Ahmed Toumani Toure, President of Mali, is ousted in a coup after armed soldiers attack government offices.

· March 25 - Macky Sall is elected President of Senegal, succeeding Abdoulaye Wade.

April[change | change source]

· April 1 - Aung San Suu Kyi wins a seat in the Burmese parliament.

· April 2 - President of Hungary Pal Schmitt resigns following a plagiarism scandal.

· April 5 - President of Malawi Bingu wa Mutharika dies. Joyce Banda succeeds him.

· April 6 - The National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad declares an independent state, Azawad, in northern Mali, which is not recognised internationally.

· April 11 - Two strong earthquakes strike off the Indian Ocean coast of Sumatra, causing widespread panic and tsunami alerts all around the Indian Ocean.

· April 12 - A coup takes place in Guinea-Bissau as mutinous soldiers arrest interim President Raimundo Pereira and Presidential candidate Carlos Gomes Junior, as they take control of the capital, Bissau.

· April 13 - Kwangmyongsong-3, a North Korean earth observation satellite, explodes shortly after launch.

· April 16 - The trial of Anders Behring Breivik, perpetrator of the 2011 Norway attacks, begins in Oslo.

· April 22 - Francois Hollande defeats Nicolas Sarkozy in the first round of the French Presidential election. They both go through to the second round, as National Front leader Marine Le Pen comes third.

· April 26 - Former President of Liberia Charles Taylor is found guilty of war crimes, committed during the Sierra Leone Civil War.

May[change | change source]

The solar eclipse as seen from San Juan Capistrano, California

· May 2 – Edvard Munch's The Scream sells for 120 million US dollars, a record price for a work of art at auction.

· May 6 – Second round of the French Presidential Election: Francois Hollande is elected President of France, defeating Nicolas Sarkozy.

· May 6 – The Parliamentary election in Greece ends in an inconclusive result. A re-run is scheduled for June 17.

· May 7 – Vladimir Putin becomes President of Russia for a second time, swapping places with Dmitry Medvedev, who becomes Prime Minister.

· May 12 – The 2012 World Expo begins in Yeosu, South Korea. It is due to last until August 12.

· May 15 – Francois Hollande becomes President of France.

· May 18-20 – The G8 Summit is held at Camp David, near Washington, DC after a last minute switch of location. Chicago was originally the host city of the G8 summit prior to the NATO Summit.

· May 20 – Taur Matan Ruak becomes President of East Timor.

· May 20-21 - The first NATO Summit in the United States outside of Washington, D.C. is held in Chicago, Illinois.

· May 20 – A magnitude 6 earthquake strikes northern Italy, killing at least 7 people and destroying many historic buildings.

· May 20 – Annular solar eclipse: Path of annularity runs through the Pacific Ocean from East Asia to the Western and Midwestern United States.

· May 22 - The Tokyo Skytree in Tokyo, Japan, opens to the public. It is the tallest self-supporting tower in the world, at a height of 634 metres.

· May 26 – Final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 in Baku, Azerbaijan, which is won for Sweden by Loreen.

· May 29 - Mitt Romney secures the Republican Party nomination for President of the United States.

June[change | change source]

The Venus transit, viewed from northern Germany

Devastating wildfires in Colorado

· June 2 - Former President of Egypt Hosni Mubarak is sentenced to prison for ordering the killing of demonstrators during the 2011 Egyptian protests.

· June 2-5 - Celebrations take place across the UK and Commonwealth to mark Queen Elizabeth II's 60 years on the throne.

· June 3 - A Dana Air Flight crashes into a building in Lagos, Nigeria, killing all 153 people on board and 40 on the ground.

· June 4 - Partial lunar eclipse

· June 6 – The second and last solar transit of Venus of the century. The next pair is predicted to occur in 2117 and 2125.

· June 8-July 1 – The UEFA Euro 2012 is played in Poland and Ukraine. It is won by the Spain national football team.

· June 9 - Devastating wildfires begin in Colorado.

· June 17 - Parliamentary election in Greece: The second such election in Greece in the space of six weeks.

· June 17 - The deciding round of Egypt's Presidential election is held.

· June 18-June 23 – Turing Centenary Conference at the University of Cambridge, in honor of the mathematician, computer scientist, and cryptographer Alan Turing, the last day of the conference being the hundredth anniversary of his birth.^[2]

· June 20 - Antonis Samaras is sworn in as Prime Minister of Greece.

· June 22 - President of Paraguay Fernando Lugo is removed from office by impeachment and is succeeded by Federico Franco.

· June 22 - A Turkish Air Force McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II fighter airplane is shot down by the Syrian Armed Forces, killing both pilots on board, further damaging already difficult relations between the two countries.

· June 24 - Shenzhou 9, a Chinese spacecraft carrying three Chinese astronauts, including the first female one, docks manually with orbiting module Tiangong 1, becoming the third country to successfully perform the mission.

· June 24 - Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood is announced as the winner of Egypt's Presidential election.

· June 28 - The United States Supreme Court declares that Barack Obama's healthcare reform plan is constitutional.

· June 30 - Mohamed Morsi is sworn in as President of Egypt.

· June 30 - Iceland's Presidential election is held, won by incumbent President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson.

· June 30 - An extra leap second is added at the end of the month.

July[change | change source]

Cyclist Chris Hoy leads in the Great Britain team at the opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

· July 1 - Start of Cyprus' Presidency of the European Union

· July 1 - Presidential election in Mexico - won by Enrique Pena Nieto.

· July 4 - Scientists at CERN announce that they have discovered a particle whose properties are consistent with those of the Higgs boson, after experiments were carried out at the Large Hadron Collider.

· July 7 - Flooding affects parts of the Krasnodar Krai region in southern Russia, killing 72 people.

· July 13 - FIFA is embroiled in its second corruption scandal in just over a year, as Sepp Blatter claims that there may have been irregularities when Germany won the right to host the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

· July 18–21 – The 2012 World Rowing Championships are held at Plovdiv, Bulgaria.

· July 20 - A gunman opens fire at a cinema in Aurora, Colorado. The shooting kills 12 people and 59 are reported injured.

· July 24 - John Atta Mills, President of Ghana, dies while still in office. John Dramani Mahama takes over the running of the country until the election in December.

· July 25 - Pranab Mukherjee becomes President of India, succeeding Pratibha Patil, whose five-year term expired.

· July 27 – Opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics begins in London at 7:30 pm UTC, 8:30pm BST.^[3]

· July 29 - In Romania, a referendum is held on whether President Traian Basescu should be removed from office. He remains in his position after a low voter turnout.

· July 30/31 - Large parts of northern and eastern India are affected by wide-scale power failures, leaving over 600 million people without electricity.

August[change | change source]

The Curiosity rover lands on Mars.

The Olympic flame going out at the end of the 2012 Summer Olympics.

· early August - Typhoon Haikui causes flooding in the Philippines.

· August 6 - Curiosity, the Mars Science Laboratory mission's rover, successfully lands on the planet Mars.

· August 11 - Two earthquakes over magnitude 6, followed by several aftershocks, strike the area around Tabriz in northwestern Iran, killing over 300 people.

· August 11 - US presidential candidate Mitt Romney chooses Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan as his running mate.

· August 11 - The Jamaican men's 4 by 100 metre team wins the gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics, meaning that Usain Bolt successfully defends all three of the titles he won in Beijing in 2008.

· August 12 – The closing ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London takes place. Host nation Great Britain finishes with the third-highest gold medal count, 29, winning 65 medals overall.

· August 16 - Police open fire on striking miners at the Marikana mine in South Africa, killing 34.

· August 22 - It is ruled that the attempt to unseat Romania's President Traian Basescu in a referendum was not legal.

· August 24 - Cyclist Lance Armstrong announces that he will no longer fight against doping allegations, as the World Anti-Doping Agency strips him of his seven consecutive (in-a-row) Tour de France titles.

· August 24 - A court in Oslo declares Anders Behring Breivik sane and rules that he should serve a 21-year prison sentence for the 2011 Norway attacks.

· August 29 - Start of the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London.

· August 31 - Researchers announce the successful implantation of an early prototype bionic eye with 24 electrodes.

· August 31 - Armenia breaks off diplomatic ties with Hungary, after the extradition of Azerbaijani Ramil Safarov to his homeland, followed by his pardoning. He had been convicted of killing an Armenian soldier in Hungary in 2004.

September[change | change source]

· September 7 - Two earthquakes in southern China kill at least 80 people.

· September 7 - Canada breaks off diplomatic relations with Iran, over its stance on Syria, its nuclear programme and its human rights record.

· September 9 – End of the 2012 Summer Paralympics.

· September 11 - Both embassies in Cairo, Egypt and in Benghazi, Libya were attacked by Muslims who were believed to be protesting over a movie Innocence of Muslims, this attack killed U.S. Ambassador of Libya Christopher Stevens, Sean Smith, and 2 more people were killed and about two injured. It was later revealed that this may have been a coordinated terrorist attack.

· September 27 - Flooding affects parts of southern Spain.

· September 28 - A plane crashes shortly after take-off from Kathmandu, Nepal, and bursts into flames, killing all 19 people on board, who were heading to Mount Everest Base Camp.

· September 30 - Europe wins the Ryder Cup golf tournament over the United States, coming back from far behind to win.

October[change | change source]

Damage from Hurricane Sandy on the New Jersey coast on October 30.

· October 1 - A ferry accident in Hong Kong kills 38 people.

· October 3 - A bomb attack believed to be linked to the Syrian conflict is carried out on the other side of the border with Turkey.

· October 9 - Pakistani schoolgirl and education activist Malala Yousafzai is shot and wounded during an assassination attempt by the Taliban while returning home on a school bus.

· October 12 - The European Union wins the Nobel Peace Prize.

· October 14 - Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner becomes the first person to break the sound barrier (travel faster than the speed of sound) without mechanical help, during a record space dive out of the Red Bull helium-filled balloon from 24 miles (39 kilometres) over Roswell, New Mexico, United States.

· October 15 - British Prime Minister David Cameron and Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond sign an agreement in Edinburgh, Scotland, on the terms and conditions of a referendum on Scottish independence, due to be held in 2014.

· October 19 - A bomb attack in Beirut, Lebanon, kills 11 people, including the Lebanese army chief, in an attack believed to be linked to the conflict in neighbouring Syria.

· October 24 - Ireland ceases analog television broadcasts.

· October 24-30 - Hurricane Sandy kills over 200 people in Jamaica, Haiti, Cuba, the Bahamas, Eastern United States and parts of Canada and, in terms of diameter, it is the biggest North Atlantic Hurricane ever measured. Considerable storm surge damage causes major disruption on the eastern seaboard of the United States.

· October 26 - Silvio Berlusconi is found guilty of tax fraud.

· October 30 - Hurricane Sandy dissolves.

November[change | change source]

Barack Obama, who was elected to a second term as President of the United States.

· November 3 - The New York City Marathon is cancelled for the first time in 42 years, due to Hurricane Sandy.

· November 4 - Bishop Tawadros is elected the next Pope of the Coptic Church in Egypt, succeeding Pope Shenouda III of Alexandria, who died in March.

· November 6 – United States presidential election, 2012: After winning the electoral and popular vote, President Barack Obama wins re-election against Mitt Romney.

· November 6 - A referendum is held in Puerto Rico on its future status. A majority support a change, with a majority of them voting for Puerto Rico becoming the 51st US State.

· November 6 - In referendums, a majority of voters in the US States of Maine, Maryland and Washington support introducing same-sex marriage.

· November 6 - In other referendums, the states of Washington and Colorado have majorities voting for the legalisation of marijuana for recreational use, while Oregon rejects the proposal.

· November 10 - Four days after the United States presidential election, 2012, Barack Obama secures the state of Florida, completing the 332-206 electoral college win.

· November 13 – Total solar eclipse (It was visible in northern Australia and the South Pacific).

· November 14 - Israel launches Operation Pillar of Defense on Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, killing Hamas military chief Ahmed Jabari. Hostilities over the following week kill 133 Palestinians and 5 Israelis.

· November 15 - The Communist Party of China unveils Xi Jinping as its next General Secretary, who is expected to lead the People's Republic of China until 2022.

· November 21 - After a week of violence in Israel and the Gaza Strip, the United States and Egypt announce a ceasefire, ending the week-long war.

· November 25 - A fire in a clothing factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh, kills over 100 people.

· November 25 - Regional elections are held in Catalonia, dominated by the issue of possible future independence from Spain.

· November 25 - Sebastian Vettel wins the Formula One World Championship for the third year in a row, becoming the youngest driver to win three Formula One championships.

· November 25 to December 2 - Typhoon Bopha, known in the Philippines as "Pablo", kills at least 1,020 people, with 844 missing, causing considerable damage on the island of Mindanao.

· November 28 – Penumbral lunar eclipse.

· November 29 - At the UN General Assembly, a majority of member states votes to give Palestine non-member observer state status.

December[change | change source]

· December 1 - Enrique Pena Nieto becomes President of Mexico.

· December 3 – Jupiter in opposition.

· December 8 - In Qatar, at the UN Climate Conference, it is agreed that the Kyoto Protocol is extended until 2020.

· December 12 - North Korea announces that it has carried out a successful rocket launch.

· December 14 - Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting: A shooting occurs at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, as 26 people, including 20 children, are shot dead by 20-year-old Adam Lanza, who then turns the gun on himself.

· December 15 - Egypt holds a referendum on its constitution.

· December 16 - Parliamentary election in Japan: The Liberal Democratic Party of Japan, under Shinzo Abe, wins the election.

· December 17 – Members of the Electoral College meet in each U.S. state.

· December 19 - Park Geunhye is elected President of South Korea over Moon Jae-in. She becomes the country's first female leader in February 2013.

· December 21 – 11:11 UTC. Winter Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, Summer Solstice in the Southern Hemisphere.^[4]

· December 21 – The Mesoamerican Long Count calendar, notably used by the pre-Columbian Maya civilization among others, completes a "great cycle" of thirteen baktuns.^[5] Some people believed that the end of this cycle would be the end of the world.^[5]

· December 21 - Barack Obama nominates John Kerry to become United States Secretary of State, a position in which he would succeed Hillary Clinton.

· December 26 - Shinzo Abe becomes Prime Minister of Japan for the second time.

· December 28 - At the age of 115 years, 253 days, Jiroemon Kimura of Japan becomes the oldest man ever, overtaking Christian Mortensen who had died in 1998. The oldest-ever person is Jeanne Calment, who lived for 122 years, 164 days.

· December 31 - Politicians in the United States do last-minute talks in an attempt at avoiding the so-called "Fiscal Cliff", a series of tax rises that would come into force in the new year.

Deaths[change | change source]

Main article: Deaths in 2012

Nobel Prizes[change | change source]

· Physiology or Medicine: John Gurdon and Shinya Yamanaka

· Physics: Serge Haroche and David J. Wineland

· Chemistry: Robert Lefkowitz and Brian Kobilka

· Literature: Mo Yan

· Peace: European Union

· Economics: Alvin E. Roth and Lloyd Shapley

Hit songs[change | change source]