April 12: Facts & Historical Events On This Day

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson apologized for hosting a party during the height of Covid-19 lockdowns.

Johnson rejected calls for him to resign and instead became the first British prime minister to receive a fine for breaking the law.

Project Starshot was announced by Yuri Milner, Stephen Hawking, and Mark Zuckerberg.

The Starshot is a $100 million project to send a probe on a 20-year journey to Alpha Centauri.

Hillary Clinton announced her candidacy for US President.

The Zimbabwean dollar was suspended indefinitely.

When the Zimbabwean dollar was introduced in 1980, it was on equal par with the US dollar. However, by 2009 it had to be redenominated three times due to hyperinflation. But, this wasn't enough to stop the dollar from losing its value and being abandoned for more stable foreign currencies. Banknotes worth one hundred trillion Zimbabwean dollars were being circulated at their worst point.

The “Twentieth Century Dinosaurs” exhibit opened at the Smithsonian Institution Museum of Natural History.

The sculptor of the exhibition, Jim Gary, is the only sculptor ever invited to present a solo exhibition at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.

The first Space Shuttle mission was launched.

The Columbia Space Shuttle launched under Mission STS-1 and carried a crew of two astronauts. Several delays and setbacks caused the flight to coincidentally take place on the 20th anniversary of the first crewed space flight.

The world’s first person visited space.

Yuri Gagarin was a Soviet cosmonaut and, on this day, became the first person to ever go into space aboard the Vostok 1 spacecraft.

Jonas Salk’s Polio vaccine tested by Jonas Salk was given final approval by the US Food and Drug Administration.

The USDA formally declared that the vaccine was safe and effective with a 90% success rate.

Rock Around The Clock by Bill Haley and His Comets was recorded.

It hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and UK Singles for that year.

Israeli Knesset chose April 13 as the official Holocaust Remembrance Day.

The Battle of Fort Sumter in South Carolina between the United States and the Confederate States started the American Civil War.

Cardinal Bellarmine condemned Galileo for stating that the earth revolved around the sun.

Galileo was later convicted of heresy for his belief that the sun was the center of the universe.

Crusaders from the Fourth Crusade broke through Constantinople’s walls and entered the great city.

Shapur I became co-emperor of the Sasanian Empire with his father Ardashir I.