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Simon O'Reilly

October 12 is the 285th day of the year and notable for a number of historical events. From space exploration to assassination, from rock to nursery rhymes, from prisons to terrorist attacks, the day has provided many exciting headlines. Here is a selection of events from October 12.
Crime and punishment
October 12 1933 was a big day in US crime history.

Gangster Machine Gun Kelly (George Francis Barnes Jnr) was sentenced to life in prison after kidnapping oil tycoon Charles Herschel.


On the same day, another famous gangster John Dillinger escaped from Allen County jail in Ohio.

Alcatraz unofficially became a federal prison in 1933. The famous prison was built to house the worst of the nation’s offenders, including Al Capone, Machine Gun Kelly, and various other kidnappers, armed robbers, escapees and prison undesirables. It is debatable whether anyone ever successfully escaped ‘The Rock’.


Today in 1978, Sex Pistol Sid Vicious was charged with the murder of his girlfriend Nancy Spungen in New York City.
Former Sex Pistol Lydon tells Chinese fans to ‘be perverse’
She was found dead from stab wounds in the bathroom of their room in the Chelsea Hotel. Vicious never went to trial; he died of an overdose while out on bail.
Entertainment


The Jimi Hendrix Experience was formed today in 1966. The power trio played major festivals including Monterey, Woodstock and the Isle of Wight, and had a number of hit singles and albums, before breaking up in 1969.

Classic nursery rhyme Three Blind Mice was published in London in 1609.

Rick Parfitt of rockers Status Quo was born today in 1948. At the other end of the scale, country popster John Denver died in a plane crash on the same day in 1997.
Politics


Japanese politician Inejiro Asanuma was assassinated on live TV by 17-year old nationalist Otoya Yamaguchi with a traditional sword during a televised debate in 1960.

Hua Guofeng succeeds Mao Zedong after his death as chairman of the Communist Party in 1976. Hua was ousted by Deng Xiaoping in 1978.

In 1901 on this day President Theodore Roosevelt renamed the Executive Mansion and the White House was born.

In 1910 Roosevelt became the first president to fly in a plane flown by Arch Hoxsey, an associate of the Wright brothers and the first pilot to fly at night.


Soviet leader Nikita Krushchev’s famous shoe banging incident happened at the UN today in 1960. Angered by the Philippine delegation’s remarks about Soviet imperialism, Krushchev raised his hand to speak. After being ignored by the president of the session the Soviet statesman took off his shoe and the rest is history.


Today in 1958, the USSR conducts a nuclear test at Novaya Zemlya, and another at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk on October 12, 1961.
Not to be outdone, cold war rivals the US held its own nuclear tests at its Nevada test site on this day in 1962, 1985 and 1990.
Also today in 1985. the non-partisan group International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War won the Nobel Peace Prize.
Exploration

Christopher Columbus “discovered” the Americas today in 1492 when his ship made landfall in the Caribbean.
Christopher Columbus, seen as symbol of oppression
Obviously he did not count the population who were already living there when he landed.
October 12 is a major day in space history too. Here are some notable events that happened today.

The launch of Voskhod 1, the first spacecraft with a crew of more than one. Its three-man crew (Komarov, Feokistov, Yegorov) took to the sky in 1964.
Soviet spacecraft Soyuz 7 was launched in 1969.

In 1972, Mariner 9 took pictures of the Martian north pole.
Nasa launched space vehicle S-195 (the first space shuttle) in 1975.

Today in 1977 saw the fourth test of the space shuttle Enterprise.
In 1985, the ill-fated shuttle Challenger moved to Vandenberg air force base for maintenance.

The Arecibo radio telescope in Chile began its Microwave Observing Project: the search for occupied planets in 1992.
Contact with Nasa lost contact with Venus orbiter Magellan today in 1994.

Today in 2005, the second Chinese human space flight got underway with the Shenzhou 6 launch, carrying Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng into orbit for five days.
Terrorism


Today in 1984, the Provisional IRA set off a long-delay time bomb at the Grand Hotel in Brighton, England where British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and members of her Conservative Party were staying during their annual party conference, killing five people. Thatcher narrowly escaped the blast, which gutted the bathroom of her room.

USS Cole was damaged by a terrorist bomb today in 2000. Al-Qaeda launched the suicide attack in a small boat, killing 17 and injured 39.


Today in 2002, members of Jemaah Islamiah, detonated two bombs in Bali’s tourist heavy Kuta, killing 202 people and injuring another 209.
Tears for Bali bomb victims 10 years on
The first blast was a suicide bomb in a backpack inside the Sari Club, followed soon after with a car bomb. A third smaller bomb went off outside the US consulate in Denpasar, but did little damage.
Assorted milestones
Scottish chemist and inventor Charles Mackintosh came up with his eponymous waterproof raincoat in 1823.

Today in 1915, Ford manufactured its millionth car at the River Rouge plant in Detroit.

Today in 1999 the world population hit six billion.
In 1850, the first women’s medical school opened in Pennsylvania.

The first submarine, the USS Holland, was commissioned by the US Navy in 1900.


Today in history: Sid Vicious, Jimi Hendrix, Nikita Krushchev and Mao Zedong were all in the news

An Australian police officer stands near the ruins of the Sari Club, which was flattened by a bomb attack in Kuta, Bali, Indonesia on October 12, 2002. Photo: AP

FILE PHOTO: Rick Parfitt (L) and Francis Rossi of British rock group Status Quo perform at the Glastonbury Festival 2009 in south west England June 28, 2009. REUTERS/Luke MacGregor /File Photo

BG7J02 The White House south facade

This illustration provided by the National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center shows Arecibo Radio Observatory. [JUL2014 BROADSHEET TECHNOLOGY]

B9RE3T Voskhod 1 the world s first spacecraft Photo: Alamy

The U.S. Navy destroyer USS Cole (DDG 67) is towed away from the port city of Aden, Yemen, into open sea by the Military Sealift Command ocean-going tug USNS Catawba (T-ATF 168), in this file picture taken October 29, 2000. Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed May 1, 2011, in a firefight with U.S. forces in Pakistan and his body was recovered, President Barack Obama said on May 1, 2011. Besides Sept. 11, Washington has also linked bin Laden to a string of attacks -- including the 1998 bombings of American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania and the 2000 bombing of the warship USS Cole in Yemen. REUTERS/Sgt. Don L./USA Marine corps (Tags: MILITARY)

KE51X4 'Three Blind Mice' - score and lyrics of the popular children 's song and nursery rhyme. Photo: Alamy

FG0W6K MARINER 9: MARS c1971. /nA view of Mars from 280 miles. Photographed by the Mariner 9, c1971. Photo: Alamy

File - Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th president of the United States, is seen in this undated file photo. President Barack Obama won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize Friday Oct. 9, 2009. The stunning choice made Obama the third sitting U.S. president to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Theodore Roosevelt won the award in 1906 and Woodrow Wilson won in 1919. (AP Photo, File)

DRYCN3 George Machine Gun Kelly, American Gangster and outlaw Photo: Alamy

***FOR ONE TIME USE ONLY*** China launches its second manned spacecraft Shenzhou VI at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China's Gansu Province October 12, 2005. China's second manned spacecraft entered orbit after blasting off from a remote northwestern launch site on Wednesday, state media said, just two years after the country joined the elite club of space powers. CHINA OUT NO ARCHIVES NO RESALES REUTERS/Stringer

Emirates Team New Zealand sails during the round robin one yacht races of the Louis Vuitton Cup challenger series in the 34th America's Cup in San Francisco, California July 7, 2013. The 34th America's Cup sailing regatta began in San Francisco on Sunday with only one team competing in the first race as Italy's Luna Rossa Challenge sat it out in protest of rule changes it says put it at a disadvantage. In an bizarre start to a competition that was originally meant to attract a dozen or more international challengers, Emirates Team New Zealand sailed the race course alone in San Francisco Bay in order to formally win the first of several matches in the Louis Vuitton Cup. REUTERS/Jana Asenbrennerova (UNITED STATES - Tags: SPORT YACHTING)

Chairman Mao Zedong with his fostered successor Hua Guofeng, 1976 . XINHUA PHOTO N. 24664/0020

E3R5JB Convair/General Dynamics Plant and Personnel Photo: Alamy

(FILES) This file photo taken on August 23, 2017 shows a 76-foot statue of explorer Christopher Columbus in Columbus circle in New York City. New York will keep its famed but controversial statue of Christopher Columbus following a review of "symbols of hate," as the United States debates tributes to figures whose legacies are increasingly questioned. Democratic Party Mayor Bill de Blasio ordered the 90-day review after deadly violence at a neo-Nazi rally in Virginia last August built nationwide momentum to remove symbols of the pro-slavery Civil War South. / AFP PHOTO / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / SPENCER PLATT

FF91Y7 SUBMARINE: 'HOLLAND,' 1898. /nAmerica's armored torpedo-boat, USS Holland. Drawing, English, 1898. Photo: Alamy

Photo: SHUTTERSTOCK

TO GO WITH AFP STORY by Mira Oberman, US-auto-company-history-society This undated image released by The Henry Ford and Ford Motor Company shows a 1924 Model T Assembly Line. Thanks to this and many other innovations, the time it took to build a Model T dropped from up to 14 hours to about 1.5 hours. Ford's iconic Model T was built for the common man and began to transform the US landscape soon after it first rolled out of a Detroit factory a hundred years ago. The 10 millionth Model T was produced on June 4, 1927. AFP PHOTO/THE HENRY FORD AND FORD MOTOR COMPANY/RESTRICTED TO EDITPORIAL USE = GETTY OUT =

Posthumous Jimi Hendrix album will feature 10 previously unreleased tracks

Guitarist and singer Jimi Hendrix (centre) with Mitch Mitchell, left, and Noel Redding, right. Photo: TNS

FILE - In this 1970 file photo, musician Jimi Hendrix performs on the Isle of Wight in England. Experience Hendrix and Legacy Recordings announced Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2017, that they will release Hendrix’s “Both Sides of the Sky” on March 9, 2018. The 13-track album includes 10 songs that have never been released. (AP Photo/File)

epa06345086 A mural of US musician Jimi Hendrix by street artist Levi Ponce is shown on a building wall in North Hollywood, California, USA, 22 November 2017. EPA-EFE/EUGENE GARCIA

Lifestyle

October 12 was a day to remember thanks to the Jimi Hendrix Experience being formed in 1966, Soviet leader Nikita Krushchev causing a stir at the UN today in 1960, and in 1976, Hua Guofeng succeeds Mao Zedong after his death


October 12 was a day to remember thanks to the Jimi Hendrix Experience being formed in 1966, Soviet leader Nikita Krushchev causing a stir at the UN today in 1960, and in 1976, Hua Guofeng succeeds Mao Zedong after his death.
