December 12 is the 346th day of the year (347th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. 19 days remain until the end of the year.

Events
627 – Battle of Nineveh: A Byzantine army under Emperor Heraclius defeats Emperor Khosrau II's Persian forces, commanded by General Rhahzadh.

884 – King Carloman II dies after a hunting  accident.

1388 – Maria of Enghien sells the lordship of Argos and Nauplia to the Republic of Venice.

1862 – American Civil War: USS Cairo sinks on the Yazoo River.

1866 – Oaks explosion: The worst mining disaster in England kills 361 miners and rescuers.

1870 – Joseph H. Rainey of South Carolina  becomes the second black U.S. congressman.

1901 – Guglielmo Marconi receives the first transatlantic radio signal (the letter "S" [***] in Morse Code), at Signal Hill in St John's, Newfoundland.

1917 – Father Edward J. Flanagan founds Boys Town as a farm village for wayward boys.

1935 – Lebensborn Project, a Nazi reproduction program, is founded by Heinrich Himmler.

1937 – Second Sino-Japanese War: USS Panay incident: Japanese aircraft bomb and sink U.S. gunboat USS Panay on the Yangtze river in China.

1939 – HMS Duchess sinks after a collision with HMS Barham off the coast of Scotland with the loss of 124 men.

1941 – World War II: Fifty-four Japanese A6M Zero fighters raid Batangas Field, Philippines. Jesús Villamor and four Filipino  fighter pilots fend them off; César Basa is killed.

1941 – Adolf Hitler declares the imminent extermination of the Jews at a meeting in the Reich Chancellery.

1945 – The People's Republic of Korea is outlawed in the South, by order of the United States Army Military Government in Korea.

1946 – United Nations Security Council Resolution 13 relating to acceptance of Siam to United Nations is adopted.

1956 – United Nations Security Council Resolution 121 relating to acceptance of Japan to United Nations is adopted.

1979 – The 8.2 Mw  Tumaco earthquake  shakes Colombia and Ecuador with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent), killing 300–600, and generating a large tsunami.

1985 – Arrow Air Flight 1285, a McDonnell Douglas DC-8, crashes after takeoff in Gander, Newfoundland, killing all 256 people on board, including 236 members of the United States Army's 101st Airborne Division.

1988 – The Clapham Junction rail crash  kills thirty-five and injures hundreds after two collisions of three commuter trains—one of the worst train crashes in the United Kingdom.

2000 – The United States Supreme Court  releases its decision in Bush v. Gore.

2001 – Prime Minister of Vietnam Phan Văn Khải announces the decision on upgrading the Phong Nha–Kẻ Bàng nature reserve to a national park, providing information on projects for the conservation and development of the park and revised maps.

2012 – North Korea successfully launches its first satellite, Kwangmyŏngsŏng-3 Unit 2.

2015 – The Paris Agreement relating to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is adopted.

Births
1526 – Álvaro de Bazán, 1st Marquis of Santa Cruz, Spanish admiral (d. 1588)

1685 – Lodovico Giustini, Italian pianist and composer (d. 1743)

1724 – Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood, English admiral and politician (d. 1816)

1786 – William L. Marcy, American lawyer, judge, and politician, 21st United States Secretary of State (d. 1857)

1799 – Karl Bryullov, Russian painter (d. 1852)

1805 – Henry Wells, American businessman, co-founded Wells Fargo and American Express (d. 1878)

1806 – Stand Watie, American general (d. 1871)

1812 – John Sandfield Macdonald, Canadian lawyer and politician, 1st Premier of Ontario (d. 1872)

1821 – Gustave Flaubert, French novelist (d. 1880)

1830 – Joseph Orville Shelby, Confederate general (d. 1897)

1842 – Adolf Bötticher, German journalist and historian (d. 1901)

1845 – Bruce Price, American architect, designed the American Surety Building and Bank of the Metropolis (d. 1903)

1866 – Alfred Werner, Swiss chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1919)

1870 – Walter Benona Sharp, American businessman, co-founded Hughes Tool Company (d. 1912)

1876 – Alvin Kraenzlein, American hurdler and runner (d. 1928)

1881 – Louise Thuliez, French school teacher, resistance fighter during World War I and World War II and author (d. 1966)

1893 – Edward G. Robinson, American actor (d. 1973)

1901 – Harald Kaarmann, Estonian footballer (d. 1942)

1907 – Roy Douglas, English pianist and composer (d. 2015)

1912 – Henry Armstrong, American boxer (d. 1988)

1915 – Frank Sinatra, American singer, actor, and producer (d. 1998)

1918 – Joe Williams, American singer and pianist (d. 1999)

1920 – Josef Doležal, Czech race walker (d. 1999)

1923 – Bob Barker, American game show host and producer

1923 – Bob Dorough, American musician, composer, and producer (d. 2018)

1925 – Ted Kennedy, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2009)

1925 – Dattu Phadkar, Indian cricketer (d. 1985)

1925 – Vladimir Shainsky, Ukrainian-Russian pianist and composer (d. 2017)

1927 – Robert Noyce, American inventor and businessman, co-founded the Intel Corporation (d. 1990)

1928 – Helen Frankenthaler, American painter and academic (d. 2011)

1929 – Toshiko Akiyoshi, Japanese pianist and composer

1932 – Bob Pettit, American basketball player and coach

1933 – Christa Stubnick, German sprinter

1934 – Miguel de la Madrid, Mexican lawyer and politician, 52nd President of Mexico (d. 2012)

1936 – Iolanda Balaș, Romanian high jumper and educator (d. 2016)

1937 – Philip Ledger, English pianist, composer, and academic (d. 2012)

1940 – Sharad Pawar, Indian politician, Indian Minister of Agriculture

1943 – Grover Washington, Jr., American singer-songwriter, saxophonist, and producer (d. 1999)

1945 – Tony Williams, American drummer, composer, and producer (d. 1997)

1947 – Chris Mullin, English journalist and politician

1948 – Colin Todd, English football player and coach

1949 – Bill Nighy, English actor

1949 – Marc Ravalomanana, Malagasy businessman and politician, President of Madagascar

1950 – Pedro Ferriz de Con, Mexican journalist

1950 – Heiner Flassbeck, German economist and academic

1950 – Gorman Thomas, American baseball player

1950 – Rajinikanth, Indian actor

1950 – Billy Smith, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager

1951 – Rehman Malik, Pakistani politician, Pakistani Minister of Interior

1952 – Cathy Rigby, American gymnast

1953 – Martin Ferguson, Australian lawyer and politician

1953 – Rafael Septién, Mexican-American football player

1955 – Eddy Schepers, Belgian cyclist

1956 – Johan van der Velde, Dutch cyclist

1960 – Martina Hellmann, German discus thrower

1961 – Andrey Perlov, Russian race walker

1962 – Tracy Austin, American tennis player and sportscaster

1962 – Arturo Barrios, Mexican-American runner

1962 – Mike Golic, American football player and radio host

1963 – Eduardo Castro Luque, Mexican businessman and politician(d. 2012)

1964 – Haywood Jeffires, American football player and coach

1967 – John Randle, American football player

1968 – Sašo Udovič, Slovenian footballer

1969 – Wilfred Kirochi, Kenyan runner

1969 – Fiona May, English-Italian long jumper

1969 – Michael Möllenbeck, German discus thrower

1971 – Sammy Korir, Kenyan runner

1972 – Nicky Eaden, English footballer and coach

1972 – Craig Field, Australian rugby league player

1972 – Wilson Kipketer, Kenyan-Danish runner

1972 – Georgios Theodoridis, Greek sprinter

1974 – Bernard Lagat, Kenyan-American runner

1974 – Nolberto Solano, Peruvian footballer and manager

1975 – Craig Moore, Australian footballer and manager

1977 – Yoel Hernández, Cuban hurdler

1977 – Dean Macey, English decathlete and bobsledder

1977 – Colin White, Canadian ice hockey player

1979 – Nate Clements, American football player

1979 – John Salmons, American basketball player

1980 – Dejene Berhanu, Ethiopian runner (d. 2010)

1980 – Dorin Goian, Romanian footballer

1981 – Pedro Ríos, Spanish footballer

1981 – Yuvraj Singh, Indian cricketer

1981 – Stephen Warnock, English footballer

1982 – Dmitry Tursunov, Russian tennis player

1983 – Roni Porokara, Finnish footballer

1984 – Daniel Agger, Danish footballer

1985 – Pat Calathes, Greek-American basketball player

1986 – Daddy Birori, Rwandan footballer

1986 – Përparim Hetemaj, Finnish footballer

1986 – Nina Kolarič, Slovenian long jumper

1986 – T. J. Ward, American football player

1988 – Isaac John, New Zealand rugby league player

1990 – Nixon Chepseba, Kenyan runner

1990 – Dawin, American singer-songwriter

1991 – Joseph Leilua, Australian-Samoan rugby league player

1993 – Zeli Ismail, English footballer

1994 – Otto Warmbier, American student imprisoned in North Korea (d. 2017)

Deaths
1296 – Isabella of Mar, first wife of Robert Bruce VII (b. 1277)

1572 – Loredana Marcello, Dogaressa of Venice, botanist, author

1751 – Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke, English philosopher and politician, Secretary at War (b. 1678)

1766 – Johann Christoph Gottsched, German philosopher, author, and critic (b. 1700)

1794 – Meshullam Feivush Heller, Ukrainian author (b. 1742)

1803 – Prince Frederick Adolf of Sweden  (b. 1750)

1858 – Jacques Viger, Canadian archeologist and politician, 1st Mayor of Montreal (b. 1787)

1889 – Viktor Bunyakovsky, Ukrainian-Russian mathematician and theorist (b. 1804)

1894 – John Sparrow David Thompson, Canadian lawyer, judge, and politician, 4th Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1845)

1913 – Menelik II, Ethiopian emperor (b. 1844)

1921 – Henrietta Swan Leavitt, American astronomer and academic (b. 1868)

1923 – Raymond Radiguet, French author and poet (b. 1903)

1934 – Thorleif Haug, Norwegian skier (b. 1894)

1939 – Douglas Fairbanks, Sr., American actor, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1883)

1941 – César Basa, Filipino lieutenant and pilot (b. 1915)

1951 – Mildred Bailey, American singer (b. 1907)

1958 – Albert Walsh, Canadian lawyer and politician, 1st Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland (b. 1900)

1966 – Karl Ruberl, Austrian-American swimmer (b. 1880)

1968 – Tallulah Bankhead, American actress (b. 1902)

1970 – Doris Blackburn, Australian politician (b. 1889)

1975 – Richard Baggallay, English colonel and cricketer (b. 1884)

1980 – Jean Lesage, Canadian lawyer and politician, 19th Premier of Quebec (b. 1912)

1985 – Anne Baxter, American actress (b. 1923)

1993 – József Antall, Hungarian historian and politician, 35th Prime Minister of Hungary (b. 1932)

1994 – Stuart Roosa, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1933)

1996 – Vance Packard, American journalist, author, and critic (b. 1914)

1997 – Evgenii Landis, Ukrainian-Russian mathematician and academic (b. 1921)

1998 – Lawton Chiles, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 41st Governor of Florida (b. 1930)

1998 – Morris Udall, American captain and politician (b. 1922)

1999 – Paul Cadmus, American painter and illustrator (b. 1904)

1999 – Joseph Heller, American novelist, short story writer, and playwright(b. 1923)

2001 – Ardito Desio, Italian geologist and explorer (b. 1897)

2002 – Dee Brown, American historian and author (b. 1908)

2003 – Heydar Aliyev, Azerbaijani general and politician, 3rd President of Azerbaijan  (b. 1923)

2005 – Robert Newmyer, American actor and producer (b. 1956)

2005 – Annette Stroyberg, Danish actress (b. 1936)

2005 – Gebran Tueni, Lebanese journalist and politician (b. 1957)

2006 – Paul Arizin, American basketball player (b. 1928)

2006 – Peter Boyle, American actor (b. 1935)

2006 – Alan Shugart, American engineer and businessman, co-founded Seagate Technology (b. 1930)

2007 – François al-Hajj, Lebanese general (b. 1953)

2007 – Ike Turner, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1931)

2008 – Avery Dulles, American cardinal and theologian (b. 1918)

2008 – Van Johnson, American actor (b. 1916)

2010 – Tom Walkinshaw, Scottish race car driver, founded Tom Walkinshaw Racing (b. 1946)

2012 – Joe Allbritton, American banker, publisher, and philanthropist, founded the Allbritton Communications Company (b. 1924)

2012 – David Tait, English rugby player (b. 1987)

2013 – Abdul Quader Molla, Bangladeshi journalist and politician (b. 1948)

2013 – Audrey Totter, American actress (b. 1917)

2014 – Norman Bridwell, American author and illustrator, created Clifford the Big Red Dog (b. 1928)

2014 – Ivor Grattan-Guinness, English mathematician, historian, and academic (b. 1941)

2014 – Herb Plews, American baseball player (b. 1928)

2015 – Frans Geurtsen, Dutch footballer (b. 1942)

2015 – Evelyn S. Lieberman, American politician, White House Deputy Chief of Staff (b. 1944)

2016 – Shirley Hazzard, Australian-American novelist, short story writer, and essayist (b. 1931)

2017 – Ed Lee, American politician and attorney, 43rd Mayor of San Francisco (b. 1952)

2017 – Pat DiNizio, American singer and songwriter (b. 1955)