February 12
1554
Lady Jane Grey, queen of England for nine days (in 1553), was executed for high treason.
1733
Led by philanthropist James Edward Oglethorpe, the first English colonists arrived in Georgia, at the site of Savannah.
1818
Chile formally proclaimed its independence from Spain.
1870
The Utah Territory granted women the right to vote (revoked in 1887).
1909
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was founded.
1912
Pu Yi, the last emperor of the Manchu (Ch’ing) dynasty in China, renounced his throne following the establishment of a republic under Sun Yat-sen.
1973
The first release of American prisoners of war from the Vietnam war took place.
1999
The Senate voted to acquit President Clinton on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice.
2002
Yugoslavian ex-president Slobodan Milosevic went on trial for war crimes.
2010
The 2010 Winter Olympics opened in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The games got off to a tragic start when a luger from the Republic of Georgia, Nodar Kumaritashvili, dies tragically in a crash during a training run.
Birthdays
Abraham Lincoln
1809–1865, 16th American President.
Cotton Mather
clergyman and writer (1663)
Charles Darwin
naturalist (1809)
John L. Lewis
labor leader (1880)
Anna Pavlova
ballerina (1881)
Omar Bradley
general (1893)
Costa-Gavras
director (1933)
Bill Russell
basketball player (1934)
Judy Blume
writer (1938)
Christina Ricci
actor (1980)