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* [[May 10]] – [[Carroll Shelby]], American automotive designer, racing driver and entrepreneur (b. [[1923]]) |
* [[May 10]] – [[Carroll Shelby]], American automotive designer, racing driver and entrepreneur (b. [[1923]]) |
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* [[May 15]] – [[Carlos Fuentes]], Panamanian-born Mexican writer (b. [[1928]]) |
* [[May 15]] – [[Carlos Fuentes]], Panamanian-born Mexican writer (b. [[1928]]) |
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* [[May 17]] – [[Donna Summer]], American singer (b. [[1948]]) |
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== Major religious holidays == |
== Major religious holidays == |
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Revision as of 17:01, 17 May 2012
| Millennium: | 3rd millennium |
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| 2012 by topic |
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2012 (MMXII) is a leap year that started on a Sunday in the Gregorian calendar, and it is the current year. It is the 2012th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 12th year of the 3rd millennium and of the 21st century, and the 3rd of the 2010s.
There are a variety of popular beliefs about the year 2012. These beliefs range from the spiritually transformative to the apocalyptic, and center upon various contemporary interpretations of the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar. Scientists have disputed the apocalyptic versions.[1]
Events
January
- January 20 – January 28 – A series of co-ordinated bombing attacks in Kano, Nigeria, results in 185 deaths. The attacks are blamed on the radical Islamist group Boko Haram,[2] 11 members of which are killed in a shootout in the northeastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri.[3]
- January 23 – The European Union formally adopts an embargo against Iran in protest of that nation's continued effort to enrich uranium.[4]
February
- February 6 – The Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II marks the 60th anniversary of her accession to the thrones of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, and the 60th anniversary of her becoming Head of the Commonwealth.[5][6]
- February 15 – A fire at a prison in Comayagua, Honduras kills 360.[7]
- February 19 – Iran suspends oil exports to Britain and France following sanctions put in place by the European Union and the United States in January.[8]
- February 21 – Greek government debt crisis: Eurozone finance ministers reach an agreement on a second, €130-billion Greek bailout.[9]
- February 25 – Arab Spring: As a result of ongoing protests, Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh is succeeded by his vice-president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Al-Hadi.[10]
March
- March 4 – 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.[11][12]
- March 13 – After 244 years since its first publication, the Encyclopædia Britannica discontinues its print edition.[13]
- March 22 – The President of Mali, Amadou Toumani Touré, is ousted in a coup d'état after mutinous soldiers attacked government offices.[14]
April
- April 6 – The National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad unilaterally declares the independence of Azawad from Mali.[15]
- April 12 – Mutinous soldiers in Guinea-Bissau stage a coup d'état and take control of the capital and arrest the interim President Raimundo Pereira and leading presidential candidate Carlos Gomes Júnior, in the midst of a upcoming presidential election.[16]
- April 13 – Kwangmyŏngsŏng-3, a North Korean Earth observation satellite, explodes shortly after launch. The international community later condemns the failed launch. The launch was planned to mark the centenary of the birth of Kim Il-sung, the founder of the republic.[17]
- April 26 – 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.[citation needed]
- April 29 – International Chemical Weapons Convention deadline for chemical weapon stockpiles comes into effect.[citation needed]
May
- May 2 – A version of The Scream by Edvard Munch done in pastel, sells for a record US$120 million in an auction in New York City, setting a new world record for a work of art sold at auction.[18][19]
Predicted and scheduled events
May
- May 12 – August 12 – The 2012 World Expo is to be held in Yeosu, South Korea.[20]
June
- June 6 – The century's second and last solar transit of Venus occurs. The next pair are predicted to occur in 2117 and 2125.[21]
July
- July 27 – August 12 – 2012 Summer Olympics is scheduled to be held in London.[22]
August
- August 6–20 – Mars Science Laboratory, also known as the Curiosity rover, is scheduled to land on Mars.[23]
December
- December 21 – The Mesoamerican Long Count calendar, notably used by the pre-Columbian Mayan civilization among others, completes a "great cycle" of thirteen b'ak'tuns (periods of 144,000 days each) since the mythical creation date of the calendar's current era.[24][25]
- December 31 – The first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol ends.[26]
Date unknown
- China will launch the Kuafu spacecraft.
- Pleiades, a proposed supercomputer built by Intel and SGI for NASA's Ames Research Center, will be completed, reaching a peak performance of 10 Petaflops (10 quadrillion floating point operations per second).[27]
- Sequoia, a proposed super computer built by IBM for the National Nuclear Security Administration will be completed, reaching a peak performance of 20 Petaflops.[28]
- On the Sun, the solar maximum of Solar Cycle 24 in the 11-year sunspot cycle is forecast to occur. Solar Cycle 24 is regarded to have commenced January 2008, and on average will reach its peak of maximal sunspot activity around 2012.
- The Kars–Tbilisi–Baku railway across the Caucasus is scheduled to be completed sometime in 2012.[29]
Deaths
January
- January 1 – Kiro Gligorov, 1st President of the Republic of Macedonia (b. 1917)
- January 3 – Josef Škvorecký, Czech writer (b. 1924)
- January 9 – Malam Bacai Sanhá, 6th and 12th President of Guinea-Bissau (b. 1947)
- January 13 – Rauf Denktaş, Cypriot-born politician (b. 1924)
- January 15 – Manuel Fraga Iribarne, Spanish politician (b. 1922)
- January 20
- Etta James, American singer (b. 1938)
- Jiří Raška, Czech ski jumper (b. 1941)
- January 24 – Theodoros Angelopoulos, Greek filmmaker (b. 1935)
- January 29 – Oscar Luigi Scalfaro, 9th President of Italy (b. 1918)
February
- February 1 – Wisława Szymborska, Polish poet and Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1923)
- February 3
- Ben Gazzara, American actor (b. 1930)
- Samuel Youd, British author (b. 1922)
- February 11 – Whitney Houston, American singer and actress (b. 1963)
- February 19 – Renato Dulbecco, Italian-born American Nobel virologist (b. 1914)
- February 29 – Davy Jones, British singer and actor (b. 1945)
March
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- March 6 – Francisco Xavier do Amaral, 1st President of East Timor (b. 1937)
- March 7 – Włodzimierz Smolarek, Polish Footballer (b. 1957)
- March 10
- Jean Giraud, French comics artist (b. 1938)
- Frank Sherwood Rowland, American Nobel chemist (b. 1927)
- March 14 – Ċensu Tabone, 4th President of Malta (b. 1913)
- March 17
- John Demjanjuk, Ukrainian-American Nazi war crimes defendant (b. 1920)
- Pope Shenouda III of Alexandria (b. 1923)
- March 18 – George Tupou V, King of Tonga (b. 1948)
- March 21 – Tonino Guerra, Italian screenwriter (b. 1920)
- March 23
- Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, Somali President (b. 1934)
- Naji Talib, 52nd Prime Minister of Iraq (b. 1917)
- March 27 – Adrienne Rich, American writer (b. 1929)
- March 28
- Alexander Arutiunian, Armenian composer (b. 1920)
- Earl Scruggs, American bluegrass musician (b. 1924)
April
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- April 1
- Miguel de la Madrid, 52nd President of Mexico (b. 1934)
- Giorgio Chinaglia, Italian Footballer (b. 1947)
- April 5 – Bingu wa Mutharika, 3rd President of Malawi (b. 1934)
- April 7 – Mike Wallace, American journalist (b. 1918)
- April 11 – Ahmed Ben Bella, 1st President of Algeria (b. 1918)
- April 15 – Murray Rose, Australian swimmer (b. 1939)
- April 16 – Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller, Danish shipping magnate (b. 1913)
- April 18 – Dick Clark, American television host and producer (b. 1929)
- April 19 – Levon Helm, American musician (b. 1940)
- April 20 – Valeri Vasiliev, Russian ice hockey player (b. 1949)
- April 29 – Shukri Ghanem, Libyan Prime Minister (2003–2006) (b. 1942)
- April 30 – Alexander Dale Oen, Norwegian swimmer (b. 1985)
May
- May 4 – Rashidi Yekini, Nigerian footballer (b. 1963)
- May 8 – Maurice Sendak, American author (b. 1928)
- May 9 – Vidal Sassoon, British hairdresser (b. 1928)
- May 10 – Carroll Shelby, American automotive designer, racing driver and entrepreneur (b. 1923)
- May 15 – Carlos Fuentes, Panamanian-born Mexican writer (b. 1928)
- May 17 – Donna Summer, American singer (b. 1948)
Major religious holidays
- January 6 – Christmas Day (Celebrated by the Armenian Church)
- January 7 – Christmas Day (December 25 in the Julian Calendar, celebrated by Eastern Orthodoxy)
- February 1 – Imbolc, a Cross-quarter day (Celebrated on February 2 in some places)
- February 22 – Ash Wednesday – Western Christianity
- March 8
- March 20 – Spring Equinox, Persian New Year, also known as Ostara
- April 1 – Ramanavami – Hinduism
- April 6
- Good Friday – Western Christianity
- Hanuman Jayanti – Hinduism
- April 7 – Passover – Judaism
- April 8 – Easter – Western Christianity
- April 13 – Vaisakhi – Sikhism
- April 15 – Easter – Eastern Christianity
- May 1 – Beltane, a Cross-quarter day
- May 27 – Shavuot – Judaism
- June 4 – Vesak – Buddhism[30]
- June 20 – Summer solstice, also known as Midsummer
- July 20 – Ramadan begins – Islam
- August 1 – Lammas, a Cross-quarter day
- August 2 – Raksha Bandhan – Hinduism
- August 10 – Janmashtami – Hinduism
- August 19 – Eid al Fitr – Islam
- September 17 – Rosh Hashanah – Judaism
- September 21 – Autumn Equinox, also known as Mabon
- September 26 – Yom Kippur – Judaism
- October 1 – Sukkot – Judaism
- October 2 – Mehregan – Zoroastrianism and Persian Culture
- October 24 – Vijaya Dashami/Dusshera – Hinduism
- October 26 – Eid al-Adha, a religious festival in Islam
- November 1 – Samhain, a Cross-quarter day, Neopagan new year and Christian All Saints' Day
- November 13 – Diwali – Sikhism - Hinduism
- November 15 – Islamic New Year
- December 9 – Hanukkah – Judaism
- December 25 – Christmas – Western Christianity
In fiction
See also
References
- ^ "2012: Beginning of the End or Why the World Won't End?". NASA.
- ^ David Batty and Monica Mark in Lagos. "''The". Guardian. Retrieved May 6, 2012.
- ^ "AFP: Nigerian troops 'kill 11 Islamists' in northeast". Google.com. January 28, 2012. Retrieved February 8, 2012.
- ^ Jonathan Marcus (January 23, 2012). "''BBC News''". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved May 6, 2012.
- ^ The Government of Canada (January 23, 2012). "Official Canadian website for the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II". Retrieved January 23, 2012.
- ^ "Diamond Jubilee: Queen celebrating 60-year reign". BBC News UK. bbc.co.uk. February 6, 2012. Retrieved February 6, 2012.
- ^ "Honduras Prison Fire Kills Hundreds Of Inmates". Sky News. February 15, 2012. Retrieved February 15, 2012.
- ^ CNN Wire Staff (February 19, 2012). "Iran suspends oil exports to Britain and France". CNN News. cnn.com. Retrieved February 19, 2012.
{{cite web}}:|author=has generic name (help) - ^ "Euro zone strikes deal on Greece bailout". Reuters. www.smh.com.au. February 21, 2012. Retrieved February 25, 2012.
- ^ "Obama hails 'new beginning' for Yemen". BBC News. bbc.co.uk. February 25, 2012. Retrieved February 26, 2012.
- ^ "Reuters". In.reuters.com. March 4, 2012. Retrieved May 6, 2012.
- ^ "BBC". BBC. March 4, 2012. Retrieved May 6, 2012.
- ^ McCarthy, Tom (March 13, 2012). "Encyclopedia Britannica halts print publication after 244 years". The Guardian. Retrieved March 14, 2012.
- ^ Adam Nossiter (March 22, 2012). "Soldiers Declare Coup in Mali". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved March 22, 2012.
- ^ "Tuareg rebels declare independence in north Mali". France 24. April 6, 2012. Retrieved April 6, 2012.
- ^ "The Associated Press: Military: Guinea-Bissau prime minister arrested". Google.com. April 13, 2012. Retrieved May 6, 2012.
- ^ Sang-hun, Choe (March 16, 2012). "North Korea Says It Will Launch Satellite Into Orbit". Nytimes.com. Retrieved March 16, 2012.
- ^ "Edvard Munch's iconic artwork The Scream sold for $120m". BBC. May 3, 2012. Retrieved May 3, 2012.
- ^ Michaud, Chris (May 3, 2012). ""The Scream" sells for record $120 million at auction". Reuters. Retrieved May 3, 2012.
- ^ "2012 World Expo (English)". Retrieved January 23, 2012.
- ^ NASA. "NASA Transit of Venus". Retrieved January 23, 2012.
- ^ "London 2012". Retrieved January 23, 2012.
- ^ "NASA's Next Mars Rover Hoisted Atop Rocket". Space.com. Retrieved November 4, 2011.
- ^ Susan Milbrath, Curator of Latin American Art and Archaeology, Florida Museum of Natural History, quoted in USA Today, Wednesday, March 28, 2007, p. 11D
- ^ "The Sky Is Not Falling" New Wave, Tulane University, June 25, 2008.
- ^ Grubb, M. and J. Depledge (2001). "The Seven Myths of Kyoto" (PDF). Climate Policy. 1 (2): 169. Retrieved April 18, 2011.
- ^ "NASA, Intel, SGI Plan to 'Soup Up' Supercomputer". Nas.nasa.gov. Archived from the original on May 28, 2010. Retrieved June 2, 2010.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ Gonsalves, Antone. "IBM Tapped For 20-Petaflop Government Supercomputer". Informationweek.com. Retrieved June 2, 2010.
- ^ National Geographic, August 2010, page 62.
- ^ "2012 Calendar of Uposatha Days".