May 12 in History
- 254 – Pope Stephen I succeeds Pope Lucius I, becoming the 23rd pope of the Catholic Church.
- 907 – Zhu Wen forces Emperor Ai into abdicating, ending the Tang dynasty after nearly three hundred years of rule.
- 1191 – Richard I of England marries Berengaria of Navarre in Cyprus; she is crowned Queen consort of England the same day.
- 1328 – Antipope Nicholas V, a claimant to the papacy, is consecrated in Rome by the Bishop of Venice.
- 1364 – Jagiellonian University, the oldest university in Poland, is founded in Kraków.
- 1510 – The Prince of Anhua rebellion begins when Zhu Zhifan kills all the officials invited to a banquet and declares his intent on ousting the powerful Ming dynasty eunuch Liu Jin during the reign of the Zhengde Emperor.
- 1551 – National University of San Marcos, the oldest university in the Americas, is founded in Lima, Peru.
- 1588 – French Wars of Religion: Henry III of France flees Paris after Henry I, Duke of Guise, enters the city and a spontaneous uprising occurs.
- 1593 – London playwright Thomas Kyd is arrested and tortured by the Privy Council for libel.
- 1743 – Maria Theresa of Austria is crowned Queen of Bohemia after defeating her rival, Charles VII, Holy Roman Emperor.
- 1778 – Heinrich XI, count of the Principality of Reuss-Greiz, is elevated to Prince by Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor.
- 1780 – American Revolutionary War: In the largest defeat of the Continental Army, Charleston, South Carolina is taken by British forces.
- 1797 – War of the First Coalition: Napoleon I of France conquers Venice.
- 1821 – The first major battle of the Greek War of Independence against the Turks is fought in Valtetsi.
- 1846 – The Donner Party of pioneers departs Independence, Missouri for California, on what will become a year-long journey of hardship and cannibalism.
- 1862 – American Civil War: U.S. federal troops occupy Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
- 1863 – American Civil War: Battle of Raymond: Two divisions of James B. McPherson’s XVII Corps turn the left wing of Confederate General John C. Pemberton’s defensive line on Fourteen Mile Creek, opening up the interior of Mississippi to the Union Army during the Vicksburg Campaign.
- 1864 – American Civil War: The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House: Union troops assault a Confederate salient known as the “Mule Shoe”, with the fiercest fighting of the war, much of it hand-to-hand combat, occurring at “the Bloody Angle” on the northwest.
- 1865 – American Civil War: The Battle of Palmito Ranch: The first day of the last major land action to take place during the Civil War, resulting in a Confederate victory.
- 1870 – The Manitoba Act is given the Royal Assent, paving the way for Manitoba to become a province of Canada on July 15.
- 1881 – In North Africa, Tunisia becomes a French protectorate.
- 1885 – North-West Rebellion: The four-day Battle of Batoche, pitting rebel Métis against the Canadian government, comes to an end with a decisive rebel defeat.
- 1888 – In Southeast Asia, the North Borneo Chartered Company’s territories become the British protectorate of North Borneo.
- 1926 – The Italian-built airship Norge becomes the first vessel to fly over the North Pole.
- 1932 – Ten weeks after his abduction, Charles Jr., the infant son of Charles Lindbergh, is found dead near Hopewell, New Jersey, just a few miles from the Lindberghs’ home.
- 1933 – The Agricultural Adjustment Act, which restricts agricultural production through government purchase of livestock for slaughter and paying subsidies to farmers when they remove land from planting, is signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
- 1937 – The Duke and Duchess of York are crowned as King George VI and Queen Elizabeth of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Westminster Abbey.
- 1941 – Konrad Zuse presents the Z3, the world’s first working programmable, fully automatic computer, in Berlin.
- 1942 – World War II: Second Battle of Kharkov: In eastern Ukraine, Red Army forces under Marshal Semyon Timoshenko launch a major offensive from the Izium bridgehead, only to be encircled and destroyed by the troops of Army Group South two weeks later.
- 1942 – World War II: The U.S. tanker SS Virginia is torpedoed in the mouth of the Mississippi River by the German submarine U-507.
- 1948 – Wilhelmina, Queen regnant of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, cedes the throne.
- 1949 – Cold War: The Soviet Union lifts its blockade of Berlin.
- 1965 – The Soviet spacecraft Luna 5 crashes on the Moon.
- 1968 – Vietnam War: North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces attack Australian troops defending Fire Support Base Coral.
- 1978 – In Zaire, rebels occupy the city of Kolwezi, the mining center of the province of Shaba (now known as Katanga); the local government asks the US, France and Belgium to restore order.
- 1981 – Francis Hughes, Provisional IRA hunger striker, dies in the Maze Prison, Northern Ireland.
- 1982 – During a procession outside the shrine of the Virgin Mary in Fátima, Portugal, security guards overpower Juan María Fernández y Krohn before he can attack Pope John Paul II with a bayonet.
- 1989 – The San Bernardino train disaster kills four people. A week later an underground gasoline pipeline explodes killing two more people.
- 1998 – Four students are shot at Trisakti University, leading to widespread riots and the fall of Suharto.
- 2002 – Former US President Jimmy Carter arrives in Cuba for a five-day visit with Fidel Castro, becoming the first President of the United States, in or out of office, to visit the island since Castro’s 1959 revolution.
- 2003 – The Riyadh compound bombings, carried out by al-Qaeda, kill 26 people.
- 2006 – Mass unrest by the Primeiro Comando da Capital begins in São Paulo (Brazil), leaving at least 150 dead.
- 2006 – Iranian Azeris interpret a cartoon published in an Iranian magazine as insulting, resulting in massive riots throughout the country.
- 2008 – An earthquake (measuring around 8.0 magnitude) occurs in Sichuan, China, killing over 69,000 people.
- 2008 – U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducts the largest-ever raid of a workplace in Postville, Iowa, arresting nearly 400 immigrants for identity theft and document fraud.
- 2010 – Afriqiyah Airways Flight 771 crashes on final approach to Tripoli International Airport in Tripoli, Libya, killing 103 out of the 104 people on board.
- 2015 – A train derailment in Philadelphia kills eight people and injures more than 200.
- 2015 – Massive Nepal earthquake kills 218 people and injures more than 3500.
- 2017 – The WannaCry ransomware attack impacts over 400 thousand computers worldwide, targeting computers of the United Kingdom’s National Health Services and Telefónica computers.
- 2018 – Paris knife attack: A man was fatally shot by police in Paris after killing one and injuring several others.
Births on May 13
1401 – Emperor Shōkō of Japan (d. 1428)
- 1479 – Pompeo Colonna, Catholic cardinal (d. 1532)
- 1496 – Gustav I of Sweden (d. 1560)
- 1590 – Cosimo II de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (d. 1621)
- 1606 – Joachim von Sandrart, German art-historian and painter (d. 1688)
- 1622 – Louis de Buade de Frontenac, French-Canadian soldier and politician, 3rd Governor General of New France (d. 1698)
- 1626 – Louis Hennepin, Flemish priest and missionary (d. 1705)
- 1670 – Augustus II the Strong, Polish king (d. 1733)
- 1700 – Luigi Vanvitelli, Italian architect and engineer, designed the Palace of Caserta and Royal Palace of Milan (d. 1773)
- 1725 – Louis Philippe I, Duke of Orléans (d. 1785)
- 1739 – Johann Baptist Wanhal, Czech-Austrian organist and composer (d. 1813)
- 1754 – Franz Anton Hoffmeister, German composer and publisher (d. 1812)
- 1755 – Giovanni Battista Viotti, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1824)
- 1767 – Manuel Godoy, Spanish field marshal and politician, Prime Minister of Spain (d. 1851)
- 1774 – Ellis Cunliffe Lister, English politician (d. 1853)
- 1777 – Mary Reibey, Australian businesswoman (d. 1855)
- 1803 – Justus von Liebig, German chemist and academic (d. 1873)
- 1804 – Robert Baldwin, Canadian lawyer and politician, 3rd Premier of West Canada (d. 1858)
- 1806 – Johan Vilhelm Snellman, Finnish philosopher and politician (d. 1881)
- 1812 – Edward Lear, English poet and illustrator (d. 1888)
- 1814 – Adolf von Henselt, German pianist and composer (d. 1889)
- 1820 – Florence Nightingale, Italian-English nurse, social reformer, and statistician (d. 1910)
- 1825 – Orélie-Antoine de Tounens, French lawyer and explorer (d. 1878)
- 1828 – Dante Gabriel Rossetti, English poet and painter (d. 1882)
- 1829 – Pavlos Carrer, Greek composer and educator (d. 1896)
- 1839 – Tôn Thất Thuyết, Vietnamese mandarin (d. 1913)
- 1840 – Alejandro Gorostiaga, Chilean colonel (d. 1912)
- 1842 – Jules Massenet, French composer (d. 1912)
- 1845 – Gabriel Fauré, French pianist, composer, and educator (d. 1924)
- 1850 – Henry Cabot Lodge, American historian and politician (d. 1924)
- 1850 – Frederick Holder, Australian politician, 19th Premier of South Australia (d. 1909)
- 1859 – William Alden Smith, American lawyer and politician (d. 1932)
- 1859 – Frank Wilson, English-Australian politician, 9th Premier of Western Australia (d. 1918)
- 1863 – Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury, Bengali writer, painter, violin player and composer, technologist and entrepreneur. (d. 1915)
- 1867 – Hugh Trumble, Australian cricketer and accountant (d. 1938)
- 1869 – Carl Schuhmann, German gymnast, wrestler, and weightlifter (d. 1946)
- 1872 – Anton Korošec, Slovenian priest and politician, 10th Prime Minister of Yugoslavia (d. 1940)
- 1873 – J. E. H. MacDonald, English-Canadian painter (d. 1932)
- 1874 – Clemens von Pirquet, Austrian pediatrician and immunologist (d. 1929)
- 1875 – Charles Holden, English architect, designed the Bristol Central Library (d. 1960)
- 1880 – Lincoln Ellsworth, American explorer (d. 1951)
- 1885 – Paltiel Daykan, Lithuanian-Israeli lawyer and jurist (d. 1969)
- 1885 – Saneatsu Mushanokōji, Japanese author (d. 1976)
- 1886 – Ernst A. Lehmann, German captain and pilot (d. 1937)
- 1899 – Abelardo L. Rodríguez, substitute president of Mexico (d. 1967)
- 1889 – Otto Frank, German-Swiss businessman and Holocaust survivor; father of diarist Anne Frank (d. 1980)
- 1892 – Fritz Kortner, Austrian-German actor and director (d. 1970)
- 1895 – William Giauque, Canadian-American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1982)
- 1895 – Jiddu Krishnamurti, Indian-American philosopher and author (d. 1986)
- 1900 – Helene Weigel, Austrian-German actress (d. 1971)
- 1901 – The Duke of Paducah, American country comedian, radio host and banjo player (d. 1986)
- 1903 – Faith Bennett, British actress and ATA pilot during WWII (d. 1969)
- 1903 – Wilfrid Hyde-White, English actor (d. 1991)
- 1905 – Édouard Rinfret, Canadian lawyer and politician, Postmaster General of Canada (d. 1994)
- 1907 – Leslie Charteris, English author and screenwriter (d. 1993)
- 1907 – Katharine Hepburn, American actress (d. 2003)
- 1908 – Nicholas Kaldor, Hungarian-English economist (d. 1986)
- 1910 – James Dudley, American baseball player, wrestling manager and executive (d. 2004)
- 1910 – Johan Ferrier, Surinamese educator and politician, 1st President of Suriname (d. 2010)
- 1910 – Dorothy Hodgkin, English biochemist, crystallographer, and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1994)
- 1910 – Gordon Jenkins, American pianist and composer (d. 1984)
- 1911 – Charles Biro, American author and illustrator (d. 1972)
- 1912 – Henry Jonsson, Swedish runner (d. 2001)
- 1912 – Marshal Royal, American saxophonist and clarinet player (d. 1995)
- 1914 – Bertus Aafjes, Dutch poet and author (d. 1993)
- 1914 – Howard K. Smith, American journalist and actor (d. 2002)
- 1915 – Tony Strobl, American comics artist and animator (d. 1991)
- 1916 – Albert Murray, American author and critic (d. 2013)
- 1918 – Mary Kay Ash, American businesswoman, founded Mary Kay Cosmetics (d. 2001)
- 1918 – Julius Rosenberg, American spy (d. 1953)
- 1921 – Joseph Beuys, German sculptor and illustrator (d. 1986)
- 1921 – Farley Mowat, Canadian environmentalist and author (d. 2014)
- 1922 – Marco Denevi, Argentinian lawyer and author (d. 1998)
- 1922 – Murray Gershenz, American actor and businessman (d. 2013)
- 1922 – Bob Goldham, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster (d. 1991)
- 1922 – Roy Salvadori, English race car driver and manager (d. 2012)
- 1924 – Maxine Cooper, American actress and photographer (d. 2009)
- 1924 – Alexander Esenin-Volpin, Russian-American mathematician and poet (d. 2016)
- 1924 – Tony Hancock, English actor, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1968)
- 1925 – Yogi Berra, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 2015)
- 1926 – Paulette Poujol-Oriol, Hatian educator and writer (d. 2011)
- 1926 – Viren J. Shah, Indian politician, 21st Governor of West Bengal (d. 2013)
- 1928 – Burt Bacharach, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer
- 1929 – Sam Nujoma, Namibian politician, 1st President of Namibia
- 1929 – Dollard St. Laurent, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2015)
- 1930 – Jesús Franco, Spanish director and screenwriter (d. 2013)
- 1932 – Joel Joffe, Baron Joffe, South African-English lawyer and politician (d. 2017)
- 1933 – Andrei Voznesensky, Russian poet (d. 2010)
- 1935 – Felipe Alou, Dominican-American baseball player, coach, and manager
- 1935 – Johnny Bucyk, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
- 1936 – Guillermo Endara, Panamanian lawyer and politician, 32nd President of Panama (d. 2009)
- 1936 – Tom Snyder, American journalist and talk show host (d. 2007)
- 1936 – Frank Stella, American painter and sculptor
- 1937 – Beryl Burton, English cyclist (d. 1996)
- 1937 – George Carlin, American comedian, actor, and author (d. 2008)
- 1937 – Susan Hampshire, English actress
- 1937 – Miriam Stoppard, English physician and author
- 1938 – Millie Perkins, American actress
- 1939 – Cyril Chantler, English pediatrician and academic
- 1939 – Jalal Dabagh, Kurdish journalist and politician
- 1939 – Miltiadis Evert, Greek minister and politician, 69th Mayor of Athens (d. 2011)
- 1939 – Reg Gasnier, Australian rugby league player, coach, and sportscaster (d. 2014)
- 1939 – Ron Ziegler, American politician, White House Press Secretary (d. 2003)
- 1940 – Lill Lindfors, Swedish singer
- 1940 – Norman Whitfield, American songwriter and producer (d. 2008)
- 1941 – Ruud de Wolff, Dutch singer (d. 2000)
- 1942 – Ian Dury, English singer-songwriter (d. 2000)
- 1942 – Michel Fugain, French singer-songwriter
- 1942 – Billy Swan, American country singer-songwriter
- 1942 – Dragoljub Velimirović, Serbian chess player and theoretician (d. 2014)
- 1944 – Chris Patten, English academic and politician, 28th Governor of Hong Kong
- 1945 – Alan Ball, Jr., English footballer and manager (d. 2007)
- 1945 – Ian McLagan, English keyboard player and songwriter (d. 2014)
- 1945 – Patrick Ricard, French businessman (d. 2012)
- 1946 – Daniel Libeskind, American architect, designed the Imperial War Museum North and Jewish Museum
- 1947 – Michael Ignatieff, Canadian journalist and politician
- 1948 – Lindsay Crouse, American actress
- 1948 – Dave Heineman, American captain and politician, 39th Governor of Nebraska
- 1948 – Richard Riehle, American actor
- 1948 – Steve Winwood, English singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist
- 1949 – Ross Bleckner, American painter
- 1950 – Bruce Boxleitner, American actor and author
- 1950 – Gabriel Byrne, Irish actor, director, and producer
- 1950 – Helena Kennedy, Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws, Scottish lawyer, academic, and politician
- 1950 – Billy Squier, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1951 – George Karl, American basketball player and coach
- 1955 – Kix Brooks, American country music singer-songwriter and musician
- 1956 – Bernie Federko, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager
- 1956 – Sergio Marchi, Argentinean-Canadian urban planner and politician, 10th Canadian Minister of International Trade
- 1956 – Greg Phillinganes, American keyboardist
- 1956 – Asad Rauf, Pakistani cricketer and umpire
- 1957 – Ziya Onis, Turkish economist and academic
- 1958 – Kim Greist, American actress
- 1958 – Andreas Petroulakis, Greek cartoonist
- 1958 – Dries van Noten, Belgian fashion designer
- 1959 – Dave Christian, American ice hockey player
- 1959 – Ray Gillen, American rock singer-songwriter (d. 1993)
- 1959 – Ving Rhames, American actor
- 1960 – Lisa Martin, Australian runner
- 1961 – Thomas Dooley, German-American soccer player and manager
- 1961 – Billy Duffy, English rock guitarist and songwriter
- 1961 – Bruce McCulloch, Canadian actor and comedian
- 1962 – Emilio Estevez, American actor
- 1962 – Brett Gurewitz, American guitarist and songwriter
- 1962 – Gregory H. Johnson, English-born American astronaut
- 1963 – Panagiotis Fasoulas, Greek basketball player and politician
- 1963 – Gavin Hood, South African actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1963 – Stefano Modena, Italian race car driver
- 1963 – Vanessa A. Williams, American actress and producer
- 1964 – Pierre Morel, French director and cinematographer
- 1965 – Renée Simonsen, Danish model and writer
- 1965 – Stacy Wilson, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1966 – Stephen Baldwin, American actor
- 1966 – Bebel Gilberto, American-Brazilian singer-songwriter
- 1966 – Deborah Kara Unger, Canadian actress
- 1967 – Mireille Bousquet-Mélou, French mathematician
- 1967 – Bill Shorten, Australian politician
- 1968 – Tony Hawk, American skateboarder and actor
- 1968 – Catherine Tate, English actress and screenwriter
- 1969 – Suzanne Clément, Canadian actress
- 1969 – Kim Fields, American actress
- 1970 – Mark Foster, English swimmer
- 1970 – Jim Furyk, American golfer
- 1970 – Samantha Mathis, American actress
- 1970 – Mike Weir, Canadian golfer
- 1970 – David A. R. White, American actor and producer
- 1971 – Doug Basham, American wrestler
- 1971 – Jamie Luner, American actress
- 1972 – Christian Campbell, Canadian-American actor, writer and photographer
- 1973 – Mackenzie Astin, American actor
- 1973 – Lutz Pfannenstiel, German footballer and manager
- 1975 – Jonah Lomu, New Zealand rugby player (d. 2015)
- 1975 – Ricky Ortiz, American professional wrestler and football player
- 1976 – Kardinal Offishall, Canadian rap musician and producer
- 1977 – Graeme Dott, Scottish snooker player and coach
- 1977 – Maryam Mirzakhani, Iranian mathematician (d. 2017)
- 1977 – Onur Saylak, Turkish actor, filmmaker and director
- 1977 – Rachel Wilson, Canadian actress and voice actress
- 1978 – Aaron Abrams, Canadian actor
- 1978 – Malin Åkerman, Swedish-Canadian model, actress, and singer
- 1978 – Jason Biggs, American actor and comedian
- 1978 – Aya Ishiguro, Japanese singer and fashion designer
- 1979 – Adrian Serioux,Canadian soccer player
- 1979 – Aaron Yoo, American actor
- 1980 – Keith Bogans, American basketball player
- 1981 – Rami Malek, American actor
- 1981 – Kentaro Sato, Japanese-American composer and conductor
- 1981 – Dennis Trillo, Filipino actor and singer
- 1982 – Donnie Nietes, Filipino boxer
- 1983 – Domhnall Gleeson, Irish actor
- 1983 – Alina Kabaeva, Russian gymnast and politician
- 1983 – Yujiro Kushida, Japanese wrestler and mixed martial artist
- 1983 – Charilaos Pappas, Greek footballer
- 1983 – Virginie Razzano, French tennis player
- 1983 – Francisco Javier Torres, Mexican footballer
- 1984 – Clare Bowen, Australian actress and singer
- 1985 – Paolo Goltz, Argentinian footballer
- 1985 – Andrew Howe, Italian long jumper and sprinter
- 1985 – Jeroen Simaeys, Belgian footballer
- 1986 – Jonathan Orozco, Mexican footballer
- 1986 – Emily VanCamp, Canadian actress
- 1987 – Kieron Pollard, Trinidadian cricketer
- 1988 – Marcelo, Brazilian footballer
- 1989 – Eleftheria Eleftheriou, Greek Cypriot singer, musician, and actress
- 1990 – Florent Amodio, French figure skater
- 1992 – Volha Khudzenka, Belarusian kayaker
- 1995 – Luke Benward, American actor and singer
- 1995 – Irina Khromacheva, Russian tennis player
- 1997 – Morgan Lake, English athlete
Deaths on May 12
- 805 – Æthelhard, archbishop of Canterbury
- 940 – Eutychius, patriarch of Alexandria (b. 877)
- 1003 – Sylvester II, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 946)
- 1012 – Sergius IV, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 970)
- 1090 – Liutold of Eppenstein, duke of Carinthia
- 1161 – Fergus of Galloway, Scottish nobleman
- 1182 – Valdemar I, king of Denmark (b. 1131)
- 1331 – Engelbert of Admont, Benedictine abbot and scholar
- 1382 – Joanna I, queen of Naples (b. 1328)
- 1465 – Thomas Palaiologos, Despot of Morea (b. 1409)
- 1490 – Joanna, Portuguese princess and regent (b. 1452)
- 1529 – Cecily Bonville, 7th Baroness Harington, English noblewoman (b. 1460)
- 1599 – Murad Mirza, Mughal prince (b. 1570)
- 1634 – George Chapman, English poet and playwright (b. 1559)
- 1641 – Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford, English soldier and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (b. 1593)
- 1684 – Edme Mariotte, French physicist and priest (b. 1620)
- 1699 – Lucas Achtschellinck, Flemish painter (b. 1626)
- 1700 – John Dryden, English poet, playwright, and critic (b. 1631)
- 1708 – Adolphus Frederick II, duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (b. 1658)
- 1748 – Thomas Lowndes, English astronomer and academic (b. 1692)
- 1759 – Lambert-Sigisbert Adam, French sculptor (b. 1700)
- 1784 – Abraham Trembley, Swiss zoologist and academic (b. 1710)
- 1792 – Charles Simon Favart, French playwright and composer (b. 1710)
- 1796 – Johann Uz, German poet and author (b. 1720)
- 1801 – Nicholas Repnin, Russian general and politician, Governor-General of Baltic provinces (b. 1734)
- 1842 – Walenty Wańkowicz, Belarusian-Polish painter (b. 1799)
- 1845 – János Batsányi, Hungarian poet and academic (b. 1763)
- 1856 – Jacques Philippe Marie Binet, French mathematician, physicist, and astronomer (b. 1786)
- 1859 – Sergey Aksakov, Russian author and academic (b. 1791)
- 1860 – Charles Barry, English architect, designed Upper Brook Street Chapel and the Palace of Westminster (b. 1795)
- 1864 – J. E. B. Stuart, American general (b. 1833)
- 1867 – Friedrich Wilhelm Eduard Gerhard, German archaeologist and academic (b. 1795)
- 1878 – Anselme Payen, French chemist and academic (b. 1795)
- 1876 – Georgi Benkovski, Bulgarian activist (b. 1843)
- 1884 – Bedřich Smetana, Czech composer and educator (b. 1824)
- 1907 – Joris-Karl Huysmans, French author and critic (b. 1848)
- 1916 – James Connolly, Scottish-born Irish socialist and rebel leader (b. 1868)
- 1925 – Amy Lowell, American poet and critic (b. 1874)
- 1931 – Eugène Ysaÿe, Belgian violinist, composer, and conductor (b. 1858)
- 1935 – Józef Piłsudski, Polish field marshal and politician, 15th Prime Minister of Poland (b. 1867)
- 1944 – Max Brand, American journalist and author (b. 1892)
- 1944 – Arthur Quiller-Couch, English author, poet, and critic (b. 1863)
- 1956 – Louis Calhern, American actor and singer (b. 1895)
- 1957 – Alfonso de Portago, Spanish bobsledder and race car driver (b. 1928)
- 1957 – Erich von Stroheim, Austrian-American actor, director, and producer (b. 1885)
- 1963 – Richard Girulatis, German footballer and manager (b. 1878)
- 1963 – Robert Kerr, Irish-Canadian sprinter and coach (b. 1882)
- 1964 – Agnes Forbes Blackadder, Scottish medical doctor (b. 1875)
- 1966 – Felix Steiner, Russian-German SS officer (b. 1896)
- 1967 – John Masefield, English poet and author (b. 1878)
- 1970 – Nelly Sachs, German poet and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1891)
- 1971 – Heinie Manush, American baseball player and coach (b. 1901)
- 1973 – Frances Marion, American screenwriter, novelist and journalist (b. 1888)
- 1973 – Art Pollard, American race car driver (b. 1927)
- 1974 – Wayne Maki, Canadian National Hockey League player (b. 1944)
- 1980 – Lillian Roth, American actress 9b. 1910)
- 1985 – Jean Dubuffet, French painter and sculptor (b. 1901)
- 1986 – Elisabeth Bergner, German actress (b. 1897)
- 1992 – Nikos Gatsos, Greek poet and songwriter (b. 1911)
- 1992 – Robert Reed, American actor (b. 1932)
- 1993 – Zeno Colò, Italian Olympic alpine skier (b.1920)
- 1994 – Erik Erikson, German-American psychologist and psychoanalyst (b. 1902)
- 1994 – John Smith, Scottish-English lawyer and politician, Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer (b. 1938)
- 1995 – Ștefan Kovács, Romanian football player and coach (b. 1920)
- 1999 – Saul Steinberg, Romanian-American illustrator (b. 1914)
- 2000 – Adam Petty, American race car driver (b. 1980)
- 2001 – Perry Como, American singer and television host (b. 1912)
- 2001 – Alexei Tupolev, Russian engineer, designed the Tupolev Tu-144 (b. 1925)
- 2003 – Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan, French-American diplomat (b. 1933)
- 2005 – Ömer Kavur, Turkish director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1944)
- 2005 – Martin Lings, English author and scholar (b. 1909)
- 2005 – Monica Zetterlund, Swedish actress (b. 1937)
- 2006 – Hussein Maziq, Libyan politician, Prime Minister of Libya (b. 1918)
- 2008 – Robert Rauschenberg, American painter and illustrator (b. 1925)
- 2008 – Irena Sendler, Polish nurse and humanitarian (b. 1910)
- 2009 – Antonio Vega, Spanish singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1957)
- 2012 – Jan Bens, Dutch footballer and coach (b. 1921)
- 2012 – Eddy Paape, Belgian illustrator (b. 1920)
- 2013 – Gerd Langguth, German political scientist, author, and academic (b. 1946)
- 2014 – Cornell Borchers, Lithuanian-German actress and singer (b. 1925)
- 2014 – Marco Cé, Italian cardinal (b. 1925)
- 2014 – H. R. Giger, Swiss painter, sculptor, and set designer (b. 1940)
- 2014 – Sarat Pujari, Indian actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1934)
- 2014 – Lorenzo Zambrano, Mexican businessman and philanthropist (b. 1944)
- 2015 – Peter Gay, German-American historian, author, and academic (b. 1923)
- 2015 – William Zinsser American journalist and critic (b. 1922)
- 2016 – Mike Agostini, Trinidadian sprinter (b. 1935)
- 2017 – Mauno Koivisto, Finnish banker and politician, 9th President of Finland (b. 1923)
- 2018 – Dennis Nilsen, Scottish serial killer (b. 1945)
Holidays and observances on May 12
- 2nd Amendment Day (Pennsylvania, United States)
- Christian feast day:
- Blessed Imelda
- Blessed Joan of Portugal
- Crispoldus
- Dominic de la Calzada
- Epiphanius of Salamis
- Gregory Dix (Church of England)
- Modoald
- Nereus, Achilleus, Domitilla, and Pancras
- Patriarch Germanus I of Constantinople (Eastern Church)
- Philip of Agira
- May 12 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Day of the Finnish Identity (Finland)
- International Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Awareness Day
- International Nurses Day
- Saint Andrea the First Day (Georgia)
