On this day
Revisit the news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.
In 2012, the world population was approximately 7,201,202,485 people[†]
2012Phyllis Diller, American actress and comedian (born 1917)[†]
Phyllis Ada Diller was an American stand-up comedian, actress, author, musician, and visual artist, best known for her eccentric stage persona, self-deprecating humor, wild hair and clothes, and exaggerated, cackling laugh.
2012Daryl Hine, Canadian-American poet and academic (born 1936)[†]
William Daryl Hine was a Canadian poet and translator. A MacArthur Fellow for the class of 1986, Hine was the editor of Poetry from 1968 to 1978. He graduated from McGill University in 1958 and then studied in Europe, as a Canada Council scholar. He earned a PhD. in comparative literature at the University of Chicago (UChicago) in 1967. During his career, Hine taught at UChicago, the University of Illinois at Chicago, and Northwestern University.
2012Dom Mintoff, Maltese journalist and politician, 8th Prime Minister of Malta (born 1916)[†]
Dominic Mintoff was a Maltese socialist politician, architect, and civil engineer who was leader of the Labour Party from 1949 to 1984, and was 8th Prime Minister of Malta from 1955 to 1958, when Malta was still a British colony, and again, following independence, from 1971 to 1984. His tenure as Prime Minister saw the creation of a comprehensive welfare state, nationalisation of large corporations, a substantial increase in the general standard of living and the establishment of the Maltese republic, but was later on marred by a stagnant economy, a rise in authoritarianism and outbreaks of political violence.
2012Len Quested, English footballer and manager (born 1925)[†]
Wilfred Leonard Quested was an English footballer. Quested played one match for England B as well as being selected as a travelling reserve for a Full International for England. In 1957 he moved to Australia where he played for the Sydney clubs Auburn and Hakoah. He also played in an unofficial match for Australia.
2012Mika Yamamoto, Japanese journalist (born 1967)[†]
Mika Yamamoto was an award-winning Japanese video and photojournalist for the news agency Japan Press. Yamamoto was killed on 20 August 2012 while covering the ongoing Syrian Civil War in Aleppo, Syria. She was the first Japanese and fourth foreign journalist killed in the Syrian Civil War that began in March 2011. She was the fifteenth journalist killed in Syria in 2012. Yamamoto was a recipient of the Vaughn-Uyeda Memorial Prize of the Japanese Newspaper Publishers and Editors Association for her reporting of international affairs in 2004.
2012Meles Zenawi, Ethiopian soldier and politician, Prime Minister of Ethiopia (born 1955)[†]
Meles Zenawi Asres, born Legesse Zenawi Asres was an Ethiopian politician and former rebel militant commander who served as president of Ethiopia from 1991 to 1995 and as prime minister from 1995 until his death in 2012.
2012A prison riot in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, kills at least 20 people.[†]
On 20 August 2012, armed prisoners in the Yare I prison complex, an overcrowded prison in Miranda state near Caracas, Venezuela, rioted. A shootout between two groups resulted in the deaths of 25 people, one of them a visitor. Among those injured during the incident were 29 inmates and 14 visitors.
Open Road Films is a joint venture between the nation’s two largest theater chains that was created to bridge the gap between those who distribute pictures and those who sell tickets.
Under pressure to expand, media companies are capitalizing on the changes that technology is bringing to classrooms.
Catholic schools have been bleeding enrollment for years, but some have attracted a new clientele by offering services normally found in expensive private schools.
Apps that can assess data like blood glucose levels, diet and drug regimen — and can be reimbursed by insurance — will soon be prescribed by doctors to help treat patients.
F.C. Sheriff Tiraspol is a soccer club from Transnistria, a corner of the former Soviet empire where smuggling is rampant and the fans are often violent.
President Obama’s response to the housing crisis was deliberately subdued, and some economists believe stronger action could have softened the economic impact.
Billy Hamilton of the Pensacola Blue Wahoos is nearing the record for steals in a minor league season with 143. The record is 145, set by Vince Coleman, a former Cardinals and Mets outfielder.
In Saudi Arabia, gentle social satire about Saudi life is permissible and even welcome during Ramadan, a festive season that also serves as a sweeps month.
Gu Kailai, the wife of Bo Xilai, received a suspended death sentence for the poisoning death of a British business associate. In the Chinese legal system, such a sentence is often commuted to life in prison.
Mitt Romney’s campaign has recruited professionals to manage his appearance at the Republican convention, hoping to overcome his image of being stiff and aloof.
Condoleezza Rice and Darla Moore have accepted invitations to become the first female members at Augusta, home of the Masters.
In “Paterno,” the sportswriter Joe Posnanski traces the rise and fall of the Penn State football coach.