September 12

Pre-1600

• 490 BC – Battle of Marathon: The conventionally accepted date for the Battle of Marathon. The Athenians and their Plataean allies defeat the first Persian invasion force of Greece.^[1]
• 372 – Sixteen Kingdoms: Jin Xiaowudi, age 10, succeeds his father Jin Jianwendi as Emperor of the Eastern Jin dynasty.
• 1213 – Albigensian Crusade: Simon de Montfort, 5th Earl of Leicester, defeats Peter II of Aragon at the Battle of Muret.
• 1229 – Battle of Portopí: The Aragonese army under the command of James I of Aragon disembarks at Santa Ponça, Majorca, with the purpose of conquering the island.
• 1309 – The First Siege of Gibraltar takes place in the context of the Spanish Reconquista pitting the forces of the Kingdom of Castile against the Emirate of Granada resulting in a Castilian victory.

1601–1900

• 1609 – Henry Hudson begins his exploration of the Hudson River while aboard the Halve Maen.
• 1634 – A gunpowder factory explodes in Valletta, Malta, killing 22 people and damaging several buildings.
• 1683 – Austro-Ottoman War: Battle of Vienna: Several European armies join forces to defeat the Ottoman Empire.
• 1762 – The Sultanate of Sulu ceded Balambangan Island to the British East India Company
• 1814 – Battle of North Point: an American detachment halts the British land advance to Baltimore in the War of 1812.
• 1846 – Elizabeth Barrett elopes with Robert Browning.
• 1847 – Mexican–American War: the Battle of Chapultepec begins.
• 1848 – A new constitution marks the establishment of Switzerland as a federal state.
• 1857 – The SS Central America sinks about 160 miles east of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, drowning a total of 426 passengers and crew, including Captain William Lewis Herndon. The ship was carrying 13–15 tons of gold from the California Gold Rush.
• 1885 – Arbroath 36–0 Bon Accord, a world record scoreline in professional Association football.
• 1890 – Salisbury, Rhodesia, is founded.
• 1897 – Tirah Campaign: In the Battle of Saragarhi, ten thousand Pashtun tribesmen suffer several hundred casualties while attacking 21 Sikh soldiers in British service.

1901–present

• 1906 – The Newport Transporter Bridge is opened in Newport, South Wales by Viscount Tredegar.
• 1910 – Premiere performance of Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 8 in Munich (with a chorus of 852 singers and an orchestra of 171 players. Mahler's rehearsal assistant conductor was Bruno Walter).
• 1915 – French soldiers rescue over 4,000 Armenian genocide survivors stranded on Musa Dagh.
• 1923 – Southern Rhodesia, today called Zimbabwe, is annexed by the United Kingdom.
• 1933 – Leó Szilárd, waiting for a red light on Southampton Row in Bloomsbury, conceives the idea of the nuclear chain reaction.
• 1938 – Adolf Hitler demands autonomy and self-determination for the Germans of the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia.
• 1940 – Cave paintings are discovered in Lascaux, France.
• 1940 – The Hercules Powder Plant Disaster in the United States kills 51 people and injures over 200.
• 1942 – World War II: RMS Laconia, carrying civilians, Allied soldiers and Italian POWs is torpedoed off the coast of West Africa and sinks with a heavy loss of life.
• 1942 – World War II: First day of the Battle of Edson's Ridge during the Guadalcanal Campaign. U.S. Marines protecting Henderson Field are attacked by Imperial Japanese Army troops.
• 1943 – World War II: Benito Mussolini is rescued from house arrest by German commando forces led by Otto Skorzeny.
• 1944 – World War II: The liberation of Yugoslavia from Axis occupation continues. Bajina Bašta in western Serbia is among the liberated cities.
• 1948 – Chinese Civil War: Marshal Lin Biao, commander-in-chief of the Chinese communist Northeast Field Army, launched a massive offensive toward Jinzhou, Liaoshen Campaign has begun.
• 1953 – U.S. Senator and future President John Fitzgerald Kennedy marries Jacqueline Lee Bouvier at St. Mary's Church in Newport, Rhode Island.
• 1958 – Jack Kilby demonstrates the first working integrated circuit while working at Texas Instruments.
• 1959 – The Soviet Union launches a large rocket, Lunik II, at the Moon.
• 1959 – Bonanza premieres, the first regularly scheduled TV program presented in color.
• 1961 – The African and Malagasy Union is founded.
• 1961 – Air France Flight 2005 crashes near Rabat–Salé Airport, in Rabat, Morocco, killing 77 people.^[2]
• 1962 – President John F. Kennedy delivers his "We choose to go to the Moon" speech at Rice University.
• 1966 – Gemini 11, the penultimate mission of NASA's Gemini program, and the current human altitude record holder (except for the Apollo lunar missions).
• 1969 – Philippine Air Lines Flight 158 crashes in Antipolo, near Manila International Airport in the Philippines, killing 45 people.^[3]
• 1970 – Dawson's Field hijackings: Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine terrorists blow up three hijacked airliners in Zarqa, Jordan, continuing to hold the passengers hostage in various undisclosed locations in Amman.
• 1974 – Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia, 'Messiah' of the Rastafari movement, is deposed following a military coup by the Derg, ending a reign of 58 years.
• 1977 – South African anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko dies in police custody.
• 1980 – The 43rd government of Turkey is overthrown in a coup d'état led by General Kenan Evren.
• 1983 – A Wells Fargo depot in West Hartford, Connecticut, United States, is robbed of approximately US$7 million by Los Macheteros.
• 1983 – The USSR vetoes a United Nations Security Council Resolution deploring the Soviet destruction of Korean Air Lines Flight 007.
• 1984 – Dwight Gooden sets the baseball record for strikeouts in a season by a rookie with 276, previously set by Herb Score with 246 in 1954. Gooden's 276 strikeouts that season, pitched in 218 innings, set the current record.
• 1988 – Hurricane Gilbert devastates Jamaica; it turns towards Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula two days later, causing an estimated $5 billion in damage.
• 1990 – The two German states and the Four Powers sign the Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany in Moscow, paving the way for German reunification.
• 1990 – The Red Cross organizations of mainland China and Taiwan sign Kinmen Agreement on repatriation of illegal immigrants and criminal suspects after two days of talks in Kinmen, Fujian Province in response to the two tragedies in repatriation in the previous two months. It is the first agreement reached by private organizations across the Taiwan Strait.^[4]
• 1991 – NASA launches Space Shuttle Discovery on STS-48 to deploy the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite.^[5]
• 1992 – NASA launches Space Shuttle Endeavour on STS-47 which marked the 50th shuttle mission. On board are Mae Carol Jemison, the first African-American woman in space, Mamoru Mohri, the first Japanese citizen to fly in a US spaceship, and Mark Lee and Jan Davis, the first married couple in space.
• 1992 – Abimael Guzmán, leader of the Shining Path, is captured by Peruvian special forces; shortly thereafter the rest of Shining Path's leadership fell as well.
• 1994 – Frank Eugene Corder fatally crashes a single-engine Cessna 150 into the White House's south lawn, striking the West wing. There were no other casualties.
• 2001 – Ansett Australia, Australia's first commercial interstate airline, collapses due to increased strain on the international airline industry, leaving 10,000 people unemployed.
• 2003 – The United Nations lifts sanctions against Libya after that country agreed to accept responsibility and recompense the families of victims in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103.
• 2003 – Iraq War: In Fallujah, U.S. forces mistakenly shoot and kill eight Iraqi police officers.
• 2003 – Typhoon Maemi, the strongest recorded typhoon to strike South Korea, made landfall near Busan.^[6]
• 2005 – Israeli-Palestinian conflict: the Israeli disengagement from Gaza is completed, leaving some 2,530 homes demolished.^[7]
• 2007 – Former Philippine President Joseph Estrada is convicted of plunder.
• 2007 – Two earthquakes measuring 8.4 and 7.9 on the Richter Scale hits the Indonesian island of Sumatra, killing 25 people and injuring 161.^[8]
• 2008 – The 2008 Chatsworth train collision in Los Angeles between a Metrolink commuter train and a Union Pacific freight train kills 25 people.
• 2011 – The National September 11 Memorial & Museum in New York City opens to the public.
• 2012 – Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky Air Flight 251 crashes on approach to Palana Airport, killing 10 and injuring four.^[9]
• 2013 – NASA confirms that its Voyager 1 probe has become the first manmade object to enter interstellar space.^[10]
• 2014 – Synagogue Church building collapse saw the deaths of 115 people and several injured, in the Church run by Nigeria's, T. B. Joshua.^[11]
• 2015 – A series of explosions involving propane triggering nearby illegally stored mining detonators in the Indian town of Petlawad in the state of Madhya Pradesh kills at least 105 people with over 150 injured.
• 2021 – Siberian Light Aviation Flight 51 crashes short of the runway at Kazachinskoye Airport, killing four.^[12]

Pre-1600

• 1415 – John de Mowbray, 3rd Duke of Norfolk (d. 1461)^[13]
• 1494 – Francis I of France (d. 1547)^[14]
• 1590 – María de Zayas, Spanish writer (d. 1661)^[15]

1601–1900

• 1605 – William Dugdale, English genealogist and historian (d. 1686)
• 1690 – Peter Dens, Flemish theologian and academic (d. 1775)^[16]
• 1725 – Guillaume Le Gentil, French astronomer (d. 1792)^[17]
• 1736 – Hsinbyushin, Burmese king (d. 1776)
• 1739 – Mary Bosanquet Fletcher, Methodist preacher and philanthropist (d. 1815)
• 1740 – Johann Heinrich Jung, German author and academic (d. 1817)
• 1768 – Benjamin Carr, English-American singer-songwriter, educator, and publisher (d. 1831)
• 1797 – Samuel Joseph May, American activist (d. 1871)
• 1812 – Edward Shepherd Creasy, English historian and jurist (d. 1878)
• 1812 – Richard March Hoe, American engineer and businessman, invented the Rotary printing press (d. 1886)
• 1818 – Richard Jordan Gatling, American inventor, invented the Gatling gun (d. 1903)
• 1818 – Theodor Kullak, German pianist, composer, and educator (d. 1882)
• 1828 – William Morgan, English-Australian politician, 14th Premier of South Australia (d. 1883)
• 1829 – Anselm Feuerbach, German painter (d. 1880)
• 1829 – Charles Dudley Warner, American essayist and novelist (d. 1900)^[18]
• 1830 – William Sprague, American businessman and politician, 27th Governor of Rhode Island (d. 1915)
• 1837 – Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse (d. 1892)
• 1852 – H. H. Asquith, English lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1928)^[19]
• 1855 – Simon-Napoléon Parent, Canadian lawyer and politician, 12th Premier of Quebec (d. 1920)
• 1856 – Johann Heinrich Beck, American composer and conductor (d. 1924)
• 1857 – Manuel Espinosa Batista, Colombian pharmacist and politician (d. 1919)
• 1862 – Carl Eytel, German-American painter and illustrator (d. 1925)
• 1866 – Freeman Freeman-Thomas, 1st Marquess of Willingdon, English cricketer and politician, 13th Governor General of Canada (d. 1941)
• 1869 – Paweł Owerłło, Polish actor (d. 1957)
• 1875 – Matsunosuke Onoe, Japanese actor and director (d. 1926)
• 1880 – H. L. Mencken, American journalist and critic (d. 1956)
• 1882 – Ion Agârbiceanu, Romanian journalist, politician, and archbishop (d. 1963)
• 1884 – Martin Klein, Estonian wrestler and coach (d. 1947)
• 1885 – Heinrich Hoffmann, German photographer and art dealer (d. 1957)
• 1888 – Maurice Chevalier, French actor, singer, and dancer (d. 1972)^[20]
• 1889 – Ugo Pasquale Mifsud, Maltese politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Malta (d. 1942)
• 1891 – Pedro Albizu Campos, Puerto Rican lawyer and politician (d. 1965)
• 1891 – Jean-François Martial, Belgian actor (d. 1977)
• 1891 – Arthur Hays Sulzberger, American publisher (d. 1968)
• 1892 – Alfred A. Knopf, Sr., American publisher, founded Alfred A. Knopf Inc. (d. 1984)
• 1894 – Kyuichi Tokuda, Japanese lawyer and politician (d. 1953)
• 1894 – Dorothy Maud Wrinch, Argentinian-English mathematician, biochemist and philosopher (d. 1976)^[21]
• 1895 – Freymóður Jóhannsson, Icelandic painter and composer (d. 1973)
• 1897 – Irène Joliot-Curie, French chemist and physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1956)^[22]
• 1897 – Walter B. Gibson, American magician and author (d. 1985)
• 1898 – Salvador Bacarisse, Spanish composer (d. 1963)
• 1898 – Alma Moodie, Australian violinist and educator (d. 1943)
• 1898 – Ben Shahn, Lithuanian-American painter and photographer (d. 1969)
• 1900 – Martha Atwell, American radio director (d. 1949)^[23]
• 1900 – Haskell Curry, American mathematician, logician, and academic (d. 1982)

1901–present

• 1901 – Shmuel Horowitz, Israeli agronomist and academic (d. 1999)
• 1902 – Juscelino Kubitschek, Brazilian physician and politician, 21st President of Brazil (d. 1976)
• 1902 – Marya Zaturenska, Ukrainian-American poet and author (d. 1982)^[24]
• 1904 – István Horthy, Hungarian fighter pilot and deputy regent (d. 1942)
• 1904 – John Courtney Murray, American priest and theologian (d. 1967)
• 1904 – Lou Moore, American race car driver (d. 1956)
• 1905 – Linda Agostini, English-Australian murder victim (d. 1934)^[25]
• 1907 – Louis MacNeice, Irish poet and playwright (d. 1963)
• 1908 – Werner Flume, German jurist (d. 2009)^[26]
• 1909 – Donald MacDonald, Canadian trade union leader and politician (d. 1986)
• 1913 – Jesse Owens, American sprinter and long jumper (d. 1980)^[27]
• 1914 – Rais Amrohvi, Pakistani psychoanalyst, poet, and scholar (d. 1988)
• 1914 – Desmond Llewelyn, Welsh-English soldier and actor (d. 1999)
• 1916 – Tony Bettenhausen, American race car driver (d. 1961)
• 1917 – Pierre Sévigny, Canadian colonel, academic, and politician (d. 2004)
• 1917 – Han Suyin, Chinese-Swiss physician and author (d. 2012)
• 1920 – Irene Dailey, American actress (d. 2008)
• 1921 – Frank McGee, American journalist (d. 1974)
• 1921 – Stanisław Lem, Polish philosopher and author (d. 2006)
• 1921 – Turgut Cansever, Turkish architect, city planner, and thinker (d. 2009)
• 1922 – Antonio Cafiero, Argentinian accountant and politician, Governor of Buenos Aires Province (d. 2014)
• 1922 – Jackson Mac Low, American poet, playwright, and composer (d. 2004)
• 1922 – Mark Rosenzweig, American psychologist and academic (d. 2009)
• 1924 – Amílcar Cabral, Guinea-Bissauan political leader (d. 1973)
• 1925 – Stan Lopata, American baseball player (d. 2013)
• 1925 – Dickie Moore, American actor (d. 2015)
• 1927 – Mathé Altéry, French soprano and actress
• 1928 – Robert Irwin, American painter and gardener
• 1928 – Muriel Siebert, American businesswoman and philanthropist (d. 2013)
• 1928 – Ernie Vandeweghe, Canadian-American basketball player and physician (d. 2014)
• 1928 – Joseph John Gerry, American Roman Catholic prelate (d. 2023)^[28]
• 1929 – Harvey Schmidt, American composer and illustrator (d. 2018)
• 1930 – Larry Austin, American composer and educator
• 1931 – Ian Holm, English actor (d. 2020)^[29]
• 1931 – George Jones, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2013)^[29]
• 1932 – Atli Dam, Faroese engineer and politician, 5th Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands (d. 2005)
• 1934 – Glenn Davis, American hurdler, sprinter, and football player (d. 2009)
• 1934 – Jaegwon Kim, South Korean-American philosopher and academic (d. 2019)
• 1934 – Nellie Wong, Chinese American poet and activist^[30]
• 1935 – Richard Hunt, American sculptor (d. 2023)
• 1937 – George Chuvalo, Canadian boxer
• 1937 – Wes Hall, Barbadian cricketer and politician
• 1938 – Judy Clay, American soul and gospel singer (d. 2001)^[31]
• 1938 – Claude Ruel, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2015)
• 1938 – Tatiana Troyanos, American operatic soprano (d. 1993)
• 1939 – Pablo McNeil, Jamaican track and field sprinter and sprinting coach (d. 2011)
• 1939 – Phillip Ramey, American pianist and composer
• 1939 – Henry Waxman, American lawyer and politician
• 1940 – Linda Gray, American model and actress^[32]
• 1942 – Michel Drucker, French journalist
• 1942 – Tomás Marco, Spanish composer
• 1942 – Maria Muldaur, American folk and blues singer^[32]
• 1942 – François Tavenas, Canadian engineer and academic (d. 2004)
• 1943 – Ralph Neely, American football player (d. 2022)^[33]
• 1943 – Michael Ondaatje, Sri Lankan-Canadian author and poet^[29]
• 1943 – Leonard Peltier, American political activist and convicted criminal
• 1944 – Lonnie Mayne, American wrestler (d. 1978)
• 1944 – Vladimir Spivakov, Russian violinist and conductor
• 1944 – Barry White, American singer-songwriter (d. 2003)^[29]
• 1945 – Russell "Jungle Jim" Liberman, American drag racer (d. 1977)^[34]
• 1945 – Milo Manara, Italian author and illustrator
• 1945 – John Mauceri, American conductor and producer
• 1946 – Tony Bellamy, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2009)
• 1946 – Neil Lyndon, British journalist and writer
• 1947 – David Grant, English engineer and academic
• 1947 – Gerald Howarth, English soldier, pilot, and politician, Minister for International Security Strategy
• 1947 – Christopher Neame, English actor^[35]
• 1948 – Steve Turre, American trombonist and educator
• 1948 – Max Walker, Australian footballer, cricketer, sportscaster, and architect (d. 2016)
• 1948 – Caio Fernando Abreu, Brazilian writer (d. 1996)
• 1949 – Charles Burlingame, American captain and pilot (d. 2001)
• 1949 – Irina Rodnina, Russian figure skater and politician
• 1949 – Tony Stevens, English rock bassist and songwriter
• 1950 – Marguerite Blais, Canadian journalist and politician
• 1950 – Gustav Brunner, Austrian engineer
• 1950 – Bruce Mahler, American actor and screenwriter
• 1950 – Mike Murphy, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1951 – Bertie Ahern, Irish accountant and politician, 11th Taoiseach of Ireland
• 1951 – Norm Dubé, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1951 – Ray Gravell, Welsh rugby player and actor (d. 2007)
• 1951 – Joe Pantoliano, American actor and producer^[32]
• 1951 – Ali-Ollie Woodson, American singer-songwriter and keyboard player (d. 2010)
• 1952 – Gerry Beckley, American singer-songwriter and guitarist^[32]
• 1952 – Neil Peart, Canadian drummer, songwriter, and producer (d. 2020)^[36]
• 1953 – Nan Goldin, American photographer
• 1954 – Robert Gober, American sculptor
• 1954 – Scott Hamilton, American saxophonist
• 1954 – Peeter Volkonski, Estonian singer-songwriter and actor
• 1955 – Peter Scolari, American actor (d. 2021)^[29]
• 1955 – Brian Smith, English footballer (d. 2013)
• 1956 – Barry Andrews, English singer and keyboard player
• 1956 – Leslie Cheung, Hong Kong singer-songwriter and actor (d. 2003)
• 1956 – David Goodhart, English journalist and author
• 1956 – BA Robertson, Scottish songwriter.^[37]
• 1956 – Walter Woon, Singaporean lawyer and politician, 7th Attorney-General of Singapore
• 1957 – Paul M. Sharp, British academic and educator
• 1957 – Jan Egeland, Norwegian politician, diplomat and humanitarian
• 1957 – Rachel Ward, English-Australian actress^[32]
• 1957 – Hans Zimmer, German composer and producer^[29]
• 1958 – Wilfred Benítez, American boxer
• 1958 – Gregg Edelman, American actor and singer
• 1959 – Scott Brown, American colonel and politician
• 1959 – Deron Cherry, American football player and sportscaster
• 1959 – Sigmar Gabriel, German educator and politician, 17th Vice-Chancellor of Germany
• 1960 – Road Warrior Animal, American wrestler (d. 2020)^[38]
• 1960 – Evan Jenkins, American academic and politician
• 1960 – Stefanos Korkolis, Greek pianist and composer
• 1961 – Mylène Farmer, Canadian-French singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
• 1962 – Sunay Akın, Turkish poet, journalist, and philanthropist
• 1962 – Amy Yasbeck, American actress^[32]
• 1964 – Greg Gutfeld, American television journalist and author
• 1964 – Dieter Hecking, German footballer and manager
• 1965 – Einstein Kristiansen, Norwegian animator and producer
• 1965 – Vernon Maxwell, American basketball player
• 1965 – Midnight, Jamaican wrestler
• 1966 – Darren E. Burrows, American actor^[32]
• 1966 – Ben Folds, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer^[32]
• 1966 – Vezio Sacratini, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1967 – Louis C.K., American comedian, actor, producer, and screenwriter^[32]
• 1967 – Pat Listach, American baseball player, coach, and manager
• 1968 – Larry LaLonde, American guitarist and songwriter^[32]
• 1968 – Nicholas Russell, 6th Earl Russell, English politician (d. 2014)
• 1968 – Richard Snell, South African cricketer and physiotherapist
• 1968 – Paul F. Tompkins, American comedian, actor, and writer
• 1969 – Max Boot, Russian-American historian and author
• 1969 – Ángel Cabrera, Argentinian golfer
• 1969 – James Frey, American author and screenwriter
• 1969 – Shigeki Maruyama, Japanese golfer
• 1970 – Will Chase, American actor, director, and singer^[32]
• 1970 – Nathan Larson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1971 – Younes El Aynaoui, Moroccan tennis player
• 1971 – Shocker, Mexican wrestler
• 1972 – Gideon Emery, English-American actor, producer, and screenwriter
• 1972 – Paul Green, Australian rugby league player and coach (d. 2022)^[39]
• 1972 – Sidney Souza, Brazilian footballer
• 1973 – Tarana Burke, American civil rights activist
• 1973 – Kara David, Filipino journalist and documentarian
• 1973 – Martina Ertl-Renz, German skier
• 1973 – Martin Lapointe, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1973 – Paul Walker, American actor (d. 2013)^[40]
• 1974 – Caroline Aigle, French soldier and pilot (d. 2007)
• 1974 – Jennifer Nettles, American singer-songwriter^[32]
• 1974 – Guy Smith, English race car driver
• 1974 – Kenichi Suzumura, Japanese voice actor and singer-songwriter
• 1974 – Nuno Valente, Portuguese footballer and coach
• 1975 – Luis Castillo, Dominican baseball player
• 1975 – Bill Kirby, Australian swimmer and coach
• 1976 – Lauren Stamile, American actress^[32]
• 1976 – Maciej Żurawski, Polish footballer
• 1977 – Nathan Bracken, Australian cricketer
• 1977 – 2 Chainz, American rapper^[32]
• 1977 – Grant Denyer, Australian race car driver and journalist
• 1977 – Jeff Irwin, American singer-songwriter and producer
• 1977 – David Thompson, English footballer
• 1978 – Elisabetta Canalis, Italian model and actress
• 1978 – Benjamin McKenzie, American actor^[32]
• 1978 – Ruben Studdard, American R&B, pop, and gospel singer^[32]
• 1980 – Sean Burroughs, American baseball player
• 1980 – Fernando César de Souza, Brazilian footballer
• 1980 – Yao Ming, Chinese basketball player^[29]
• 1980 – Hiroyuki Sawano, Japanese composer
• 1980 – Kevin Sinfield, English rugby player
• 1980 – Josef Vašíček, Czech ice hockey player (d. 2011)^[41]
• 1981 – Marty Adams, Canadian actor and screenwriter
• 1981 – Alan Arruda, Brazilian footballer
• 1981 – Jennifer Hudson, American singer and actress^[32]
• 1981 – Staciana Stitts, American swimmer
• 1982 – Zoran Planinić, Croatian basketball player
• 1982 – Sal Rinauro, American wrestler
• 1983 – Tom Geißler, German footballer
• 1983 – Rami Haikal, Jordanian guitarist
• 1983 – Sebastian Hofmann, German footballer
• 1983 – Daniel Muir, American football player
• 1983 – Sergio Parisse, Argentinian-Italian rugby player
• 1983 – Clayton Richard, American baseball player
• 1983 – Carly Smithson, Irish singer-songwriter
• 1984 – Nashat Akram, Iraqi footballer
• 1984 – Chelsea Carey, Canadian curler
• 1984 – Petra Marklund, Swedish singer^[42]
• 1986 – Alfie Allen, English actor^[43]
• 1986 – Kamila Chudzik, Polish heptathlete
• 1986 – Akwasi Fobi-Edusei, English footballer
• 1986 – Joanne Jackson, English swimmer
• 1986 – Yuto Nagatomo, Japanese footballer
• 1986 – Dimitrios Regas, Greek sprinter
• 1986 – Emmy Rossum, American singer and actress^[32]
• 1988 – Amanda Jenssen, Swedish singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1989 – Freddie Freeman, American-Canadian baseball player
• 1989 – Andrew Luck, American football player
• 1991 – Thomas Meunier, Belgian footballer
• 1991 – Mike Towell, Scottish professional boxer (d. 2016)^[44]
• 1991 – Scott Wootton, English footballer
• 1992 – Sviatlana Pirazhenka, Belarusian tennis player
• 1993 – Kelsea Ballerini, American country pop singer^[45]
• 1994 – Gideon Jung, German footballer
• 1994 – RM, South Korean rapper, songwriter and record producer^[46]
• 1994 – Elina Svitolina, Ukrainian tennis player^[47]
• 1995 – Steven Gardiner, Bahamian sprinter^[48]
• 1996 – Colin Ford, American actor^[32]
• 1997 – Sydney Sweeney, American actress^[49]
• 1997 – Almida de Val, Swedish curler^[50]
• 2001 – Ziaire Williams, American basketball player^[51]

Pre-1600

• 640 – Sak K'uk', Mayan queen
• 973 – Nefingus, bishop of Angers
• 1185 – Andronikos I Komnenos, Byzantine emperor (b. 1118)^[52]
• 1213 – Peter II of Aragon (b. 1174)
• 1362 – Pope Innocent VI (b. 1295)
• 1368 – Blanche of Lancaster (b. 1345/1347)
• 1439 – Sidi El Houari, Algerian imam (b. 1350)
• 1500 – Albert III, Duke of Saxony (b. 1443)
• 1544 – Clément Marot, French poet (b. 1496)

1601–1900

• 1612 – Vasili IV of Russia (b. 1552)
• 1642 – Henri Coiffier de Ruzé, Marquis of Cinq-Mars, French conspirator (b. 1620)
• 1660 – Jacob Cats, Dutch poet, jurist, and politician (b. 1577)
• 1665 – Jean Bolland, Belgian priest and hagiographer (b. 1596)
• 1672 – Tanneguy Le Fèvre, French scholar and author (b. 1615)
• 1674 – Nicolaes Tulp, Dutch anatomist and politician (b. 1593)
• 1683 – Afonso VI of Portugal (b. 1643)
• 1712 – Jan van der Heyden, Dutch painter and illustrator (b. 1637)
• 1764 – Jean-Philippe Rameau, French composer and theorist (b. 1683)
• 1779 – Richard Grenville-Temple, 2nd Earl Temple, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire (b. 1711)
• 1810 – Sir Francis Baring, 1st Baronet, English banker and politician (b. 1740)
• 1814 – Robert Ross, Irish general (b. 1766)
• 1819 – Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, Prussian general (b. 1742)
• 1836 – Christian Dietrich Grabbe, German playwright (b. 1801)
• 1869 – Peter Mark Roget, English physician, theologian, and lexicographer (b. 1779)
• 1870 – Eleanora Atherton, English philanthropist (b. 1782)^[53]
• 1870 – Fitz Hugh Ludlow, American journalist, explorer, and author (b. 1836)
• 1874 – François Guizot, French historian and politician, 22nd Prime Minister of France (b. 1787)

1901–present

• 1903 – Duncan Gillies, Scottish-Australian businessman and politician, 14th Premier of Victoria (b. 1834)
• 1907 – Ilia Chavchavadze, Georgian poet, journalist, and lawyer (b. 1837)
• 1912 – Pierre-Hector Coullié, French cardinal (b. 1829)
• 1918 – George Reid, Australian accountant and politician, 4th Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1845)
• 1919 – Leonid Andreyev, Russian author and playwright (b. 1871)
• 1923 – Jules Violle, French physicist and academic (b. 1841)
• 1927 – Sarah Frances Whiting, American physicist and astronomer (b. 1847)
• 1942 – Valentine Baker, Welsh co-founder of the Martin-Baker Aircraft Company (b. 1888)
• 1945 – Hajime Sugiyama, Japanese field marshal and politician, 44th Japanese Minister of War (b. 1880)
• 1949 – Erik Adolf von Willebrand, Finnish physician (b. 1870)
• 1953 – James Hamilton, 3rd Duke of Abercorn, English politician, Governor of Northern Ireland (b. 1869)
• 1953 – Hugo Schmeisser, German engineer (b. 1884)
• 1953 – Lewis Stone, American actor (b. 1879)
• 1956 – Sándor Festetics, Hungarian politician, Hungarian Minister of War (b. 1882)
• 1961 – Carl Hermann, German physicist and academic (b. 1898)
• 1962 – Spot Poles, American baseball player and soldier (b. 1887)
• 1962 – Rangeya Raghav, Indian author and playwright (b. 1923)
• 1967 – Vladimir Bartol, Italian-Slovene author and playwright (b. 1903)
• 1968 – Tommy Armour, Scottish-American golfer and journalist (b. 1894)
• 1971 – Walter Egan, American golfer (b. 1881)
• 1972 – William Boyd, American actor and producer (b. 1895)
• 1977 – Steve Biko, South African activist (b. 1946)
• 1977 – Les Haylen, Australian journalist and politician (b. 1898)
• 1977 – Robert Lowell, American poet (b. 1917)
• 1978 – William Hudson, New Zealand-Australian engineer (b. 1896)
• 1981 – Eugenio Montale, Italian writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1896)^[54]
• 1982 – Federico Moreno Torroba, Spanish composer and conductor (b. 1891)
• 1986 – Jacques Henri Lartigue, French painter and photographer (b. 1894)
• 1986 – Charlotte Wolff, German-English psychotherapist and physician (b. 1897)
• 1987 – John Qualen, Canadian-American actor (b. 1899)
• 1990 – Athene Seyler, English actress (b. 1889)
• 1991 – Bruce Matthews, Canadian general and businessman (b. 1909)
• 1992 – Ruth Nelson, American actress^[55]
• 1992 – Anthony Perkins, American actor, singer, and director (b. 1932)
• 1993 – Raymond Burr, Canadian-American actor and director (b. 1917)
• 1994 – Tom Ewell, American actor (b. 1909)
• 1994 – Boris Yegorov, Russian physician and astronaut (b. 1937)
• 1995 – Jeremy Brett, English actor (b. 1933)
• 1995 – Yasutomo Nagai, Japanese motorcycle racer (b. 1965)
• 1996 – Ernesto Geisel, Brazilian general and politician, 29th President of Brazil (b. 1907)
• 1997 – Judith Merril, American-Canadian science fiction writer, editor and political activist (b. 1923)
• 1999 – Bill Quackenbush, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach (b. 1922)
• 2000 – Stanley Turrentine, American saxophonist, composer, and bandleader (b. 1934)
• 2003 – Johnny Cash, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (b. 1932)
• 2005 – Serge Lang, French-American mathematician, author and academic (b. 1927)
• 2007 – Bobby Byrd, American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1934)
• 2008 – Bob Quinn, Australian footballer and coach (b. 1915)
• 2008 – David Foster Wallace, American novelist, short story writer, and essayist (b. 1962)
• 2009 – Norman Borlaug, American agronomist and humanitarian, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1914)
• 2009 – Jack Kramer, American tennis player and sportscaster (b. 1921)
• 2009 – Willy Ronis, French photographer and author (b. 1910)
• 2010 – Claude Chabrol, French actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1930)
• 2010 – Giulio Zignoli, Italian footballer (b. 1946)
• 2011 – Alexander Galimov, Russian ice hockey player (b. 1985)
• 2012 – Arkadii Dragomoshchenko, Russian poet and author (b. 1946)
• 2012 – Jon Finlayson, Australian actor and screenwriter (b. 1938)
• 2012 – Derek Jameson, English journalist and broadcaster (b. 1929)
• 2012 – Tom Sims, American skateboarder and snowboarder, founded Sims Snowboards (b. 1950)
• 2013 – Ray Dolby, American engineer and businessman, founded Dolby Laboratories (b. 1933)
• 2013 – Warren Giese, American football player, coach, and politician (b. 1924)
• 2013 – Erich Loest, German author and screenwriter (b. 1926)
• 2013 – Candace Pert, American neuroscientist and pharmacologist (b. 1946)
• 2014 – Atef Ebeid, Egyptian academic and politician, 47th Prime Minister of Egypt (b. 1932)
• 2014 – John Gustafson, English singer-songwriter and bass player (b. 1942)
• 2014 – Ian Paisley, Northern Irish evangelical pastor (Free Presbyterian Church) and politician, 2nd First Minister of Northern Ireland (b. 1926)
• 2014 – Joe Sample, American pianist and composer (b. 1939)
• 2014 – Hugh Royer, Jr., American golfer (b. 1936)
• 2015 – Claudia Card, American philosopher and academic (b. 1940)
• 2015 – Frank D. Gilroy, American playwright and screenwriter (b. 1925)
• 2015 – Al Monchak, American baseball player and coach (b. 1917)
• 2015 – Aronda Nyakairima, Ugandan general and politician (b. 1959)
• 2017 – Allan MacEachen, Canadian economist and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1921)^[56]
• 2017 – Edith Windsor, American LGBT rights activist and technology manager at IBM (b. 1929)^[57]
• 2018 – Shen Chun-shan, Taiwanese academic (b. 1932)^[58]
• 2019 – ʻAkilisi Pōhiva, Tongan politician and activist, Prime Minister of Tonga (b. 1941)^[59]

• Christian feast day:
  • Ailbe (Elvis, Eilfyw) of Emly^[60]
  • Ebontius
  • Guy of Anderlecht
  • The Most Holy Name of the Blessed Virgin Mary
  • John Henry Hobart (Episcopal Church (USA))
  • Laisrén mac Nad Froích
  • Sacerdos of Lyon
  • September 12 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Commemoration of the mass hanging of the Saint Patrick's Battalion (Mexico)
• Day of Conception (Russia)
• Defenders Day (Maryland, United States)
• Enkutatash falls on this day if it is a leap year. Celebrated on the first day of Mäskäräm. (Ethiopia, Eritrea, Rastafari)
• Nayrouz (Coptic Orthodox Church) (leap years only, September 11 on normal years)
• National Day (Cape Verde)
• National Day of Encouragement (United States)
• Saragarhi Day (Sikhism)
• United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation (International)^[61]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to September 12.

• "On This Day". BBC.
• The New York Times: On This Day
• "Historical Events on September 12". OnThisDay.com.