2012 - Major Events

By Tiger Dude
  • Period: to

    1 Jan 2012 - 31 Dec 2012

  • Armed Commandos To Protect Endangered Tigers

    Starting on this date, armed commandos in India will be ordered to protect endangered Tigers, from poachers.

  • EU Adopts An Embargo Against Iran

    The European Union adopts an embargo against Iran, in protest of that nation's continued efforts to enrich uranium.

  • Boko Haram In Nigeria

    A series of co-ordinated bombing attacks in Kano, Nigeria, which has been going on since 20 January, results in 185 deaths. The attacks are blamed on the radical Islamist group Boko Haram, 11 members of which are killed in a shoot-out in the northeastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri, on 28 January, 2012.

  • Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II

    The 60th Anniversary of her being crowned as the Queen of England, and as well as the Commonwealth.

  • Honduras Prison Fire

    A fire at a prison in Comayagua, Honduras kills 360 people.

  • Iran Oil Exports

    Iran suspends oil exports to Britain and France, following sanctions put into place by the European Union and the United States in January.

  • Second Greek Bail-out

    Greek Government Debt Crisis: Eurozone finance ministers reach an agreement on a second, 130-billion Euro Greek Bail-out.

  • The President of Yemen Resigns

    Arab Spring: As a result of ongoing potests, Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh resigns, and is succeeded by his Vice President, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Al-Hadi.

  • Brazzaville Explosions

    A series of explosions are reported at a munitions dump in Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of the Congo, with at least 250 people dead.

  • Encyclopaedia Britannica Discontinues Print Edition

    After 244 years since its first publication, the Encyclopaedia Britannica discontinues its print edition.

  • Pope Shenouda III Dies

    Pope Shenouda III of Alexandria, the leader of the Coptic Orthodox Church, died on 17 March, 2012, at the age of 88.

  • Coup D'Etat in Mali

    The President of Mali, Amadou Toumani Toure, is ousted in a coup d'etat, after mutinous soldiers attack government offices.

  • Azawad Unilaterally Declares Its Independence

    The National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad unilaterally declares the independence of Azawad, from Mali.

  • Coup-D'Etat in Guinea-Bissau

    Mutinous soldiers in Guinea-Bissau stage a coup-d'etat, and take control of the capital city, Bissau. They arrest interim President Raimundo Pereira and leading presidential candidate Carlos Gomez Junior, in the midst of a presidential election campaign.

  • North Korean Satellite Explodes After Launch

    Kwangmyongsong-3, a North Korean Earth-observation satellite, explodes shortly after launch. The United States and other countries had called the impending launch a violation of United Nations Security Council demands. The launch was planned to mark the centenary of the birth of Kim Il-sung, the founder of the republic.

  • Former Liberian President Charles Taylor Found Guilty

    Former Liberian President Charles Taylor is found guilty on 11 counts of aiding and abetting war crimes and crimes against humanity, during the Sierra Leone Civil War.

  • The Scream Sets A New World Record

    A pastel version of The Scream, by Norwegian painter Edvard Munch, sells for US$120-million in a New York City auction, therefore setting a new world record for an auctioned work of art.

  • 2012 World Expo Begins

    The 2012 World Expo begins, in Yeosu, South Korea. It is scheduled to end on August 12, 2012.

  • Tokyo Skytree Opens

    Tokyo Skytree, the tallest self-supporting tower in the world, at 634 meters high, is opened to the public.

  • World Stock Markets Plunge

    The world's stock markets plunge, hitting their lowest levels, since the beginning of the year.

  • Hosni Mubarak Is Sentenced To Life In Prison

    An Egyptian court sentences former President Hosni Mubarak to life in prison, due to his role in the killing of protesters, during the uprising, that eventually toppled his regime, in February 2011.

  • Transit of Venus

    The century's second and last solar transit of Venus occurs. The transit continued until the next day, June 6. The next pair are predicted to occur in December 2117, and December 2125.

  • The Pinta Island Tortoise Dies Out

    Lonesome George, the last known individual of the Pinta Island Tortoise, died in the Galapagos, on this date. This makes his entire species now extinct.

  • Shenzhou 9 Docks

    Shenzhou 9, a Chinese spacecraft carrying 3 Chinese astronauts, including the first-ever female one, docked manually with an orbiting module Tiangong 1, first time as the country, making them as the third country, after the United States and Russia, to successfully perform the mission.

  • A Leap Second is Added

    An extra second, 23:59:60, is added at the end of the day, in order to keep the atomic clocks in sync with the Earth's rotation.

  • Mohammed Morsi Becomes The 5th President Of Egypt

    Mohammed Morsi was sworn in as the 5th President of Egypt, on June 30th, 2012, after being declared the winner of the country's first-ever free presidential election, on 24 June.

  • The Higgs Boson is Discovered

    CERN announces the discovery of a new particle with properties consistent with the then-hypothetical Higgs boson, after experiments at the Large Hadron Collider.

  • 12 Killed and Many Injured at Movie Theater Shooting

    12 people are killed, and numerous more are injured, when a gunman opens fire at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado. This movie theatre massacre is the worst mass shooting in U.S. history.

  • 2012 Summer Olympics Begin

    The 2012 Summer Olympics begin, on this date.

  • The Worst Power Outage in World History Occurs in India

    In the worst power outage in world history, the 2012 India black-outs leave 620 million people without power.

  • Curiosity Rover Lands On Mars

    The Mars Science Laboratoy exploration rover Curiosity lands on Mars, and begins to explore the Martian landscape.

  • 2012 Summer Olympics end in London

    The 2012 Summer Olympics ended on this date, and the Closing Ceremony was then held, in London.

  • The 2012 World Expo Ends

    The 2012 World Expo, which began on May 12, ends in Yeosu, South Korea.

  • Researchers Succesfully Implant an Early Prototype Bionic Eye

    Researchers successfully perform the first implantation of an early prototype bionic eye with 24 electrodes.

  • Armenia Severs Diplomatic Relations with Hungary

    Armenia severs diplomatic relations with Hungary, following the extradition to Azerbaijan and subsequent pardoning of Ramil Safarov, who was convicted of killing an Armenian soldier in Hungary in 2004. The move is also met with fierce criticism from other countries.

  • Canada Cuts Diplomatic Ties with Iran

    Canada officially cuts diplomatic ties with Iran, by closing its embassy in Tehran, and ordering the expulsion of Iranian diplomats from Ottawa. This was done due to Iran's support for Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, their nuclear plans, and human rights abuses by the Iranian regime.

  • Violent Protests Erupt across the Middle East

    On the 11th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, violent protests against the anti-Islamic film Innocence of Muslims erupt, all over the Muslim world. In Cairo, Egypt, protesters tore down the flag at the American Embassy, and replaced it with an Islamist flag. Armed terrorists, meanwhile, attacked the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, on Sept, 12th, killing Ambassador Chris Stevens and 3 other Americans, in the process. The protests and unrest in the Middle East continued until Sept. 27.

  • Austrian Skydiver Breaks World Record

    Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner becomes the first person in history to break the sound barrier without any machine assistance during a record space dive out of the Red Bull Stratos helium-filled balloon from 24 miles (39 kilometers) over Roswell, New Mexico, in the United States.

  • Hurricane Sandy Strikes The Eastern United States

    From October 24th to October 31st, Hurricane Sandy kills at least 209 people in the Caribbean, Bahamas, United States, and Canada. Considerable storm surge damage causes major disruption to the eastern seaboard of the United States.

  • Barack Obama Is Re-Elected As President of the United States

    On Election Day, November 6, 2012, Americans went to the polls to vote in the 57th quadrennial presidential election in U.S. history. Barack Obama won the election, beating his challenger Mitt Romney with 332 electoral votes, compared to Romney's 206. Obama also got about 2 to 3 million more popular votes, than Romney.

  • War Breaks Out Between Israel And Hamas

    On this day, Israel assassinated a major Hamas leader, with a rocket strike. This was in retaliation to sporadic attacks from the Gaza Strip, recently. This then sparked a war between the 2 countries, which would continue until November 21.

  • A Cease-Fire Is Mediated Between Israel And Hamas

    Israel and Palestine had begun fighting on November 14, when a top Hamas leader was assassinated in a rocket attack by Israel. Afterwards, war ensued, with both sides hitting rockets at each other. The fighting finally ended on November 21, when Egypt helped mediate a cease-fire, after which, the 2 sides both stopped fighting.

  • Palestine Becomes A U.N. Non-Member Observer State

    The U.N. General Assembly approves a motion granting Palestine non-member observer state status.