May 12 in history — What Happened Today in History

The San Bernardino train disaster kills four people, only to be followed a week later by an underground gasoline pipeline explosion, which kills two more people.

During a procession outside the shrine of the Virgin Mary in Fátima, Portugal, security guards overpower Juan María Fernández y Krohn before he can attack Pope John Paul II with a bayonet.

In Zaire, rebels occupy the city of Kolwezi, the mining center of the province of Shaba (now known as Katanga); the local government asks the US, France and Belgium to restore order.

Indochina Wars: Democratic Kampuchea naval forces capture the SS Mayaguez.

Vietnam War: North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces attack Australian troops defending Fire Support Base Coral.

The Soviet spacecraft Luna 5 crashes on the Moon.

Cold War: The Soviet Union lifts its blockade of Berlin.

World War II: Second Battle of Kharkov: In eastern Ukraine, Red Army forces under Marshal Semyon Timoshenko launch a major offensive from the Izium bridgehead, only to be encircled and destroyed by the troops of Army Group South two weeks later.

World War II: The U.S. tanker SS Virginia is torpedoed in the mouth of the Mississippi River by the German submarine U-507.

Konrad Zuse presents the Z3, the world's first working programmable, fully automatic computer, in Berlin.

King George VI and Queen Elizabeth of the United Kingdom are crowned in Westminster Abbey.

The Agricultural Adjustment Act, which restricts agricultural production through government purchase of livestock for slaughter and paying subsidies to farmers when they remove land from planting, is signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

President Roosevelt signs legislation creating the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, the predecessor of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Ten weeks after his abduction, Charles Jr., the infant son of Charles Lindbergh, is found dead near Hopewell, New Jersey, just a few miles from the Lindberghs' home.

The Italian-built airship Norge becomes the first vessel to fly over the North Pole.

The 1926 United Kingdom general strike ends.

North-West Rebellion: The four-day Battle of Batoche, pitting rebel Métis against the Canadian government, comes to an end with a decisive rebel defeat.

In North Africa, Tunisia becomes a French protectorate.

The Manitoba Act is given the Royal Assent, paving the way for Manitoba to become a province of Canada on July 15.

American Civil War: The Battle of Palmito Ranch: The first day of the last major land action to take place during the Civil War, resulting in a Confederate victory.

American Civil War: The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House: Union troops assault a Confederate salient known as the "Mule Shoe", with some of the fiercest fighting of the war, much of it hand-to-hand combat, occurring at "the Bloody Angle" on the northwest.

American Civil War: Battle of Raymond: Two divisions of James B. McPherson's XVII Corps turn the left wing of Confederate General John C. Pemberton's defensive line on Fourteen Mile Creek, opening up the interior of Mississippi to the Union Army during the Vicksburg Campaign.

American Civil War: Union Army troops occupy Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

The Donner Party of pioneers departs Independence, Missouri for California, on what will become a year-long journey of hardship and cannibalism.

The first major battle of the Greek War of Independence against the Turks is fought in Valtetsi.

British contingents under Arthur Wellesley force a French army under general Soult to retreat in the battle of Oporto.

Finnish War: Swedish-Finnish troops, led by Captain Karl Wilhelm Malmi, conquer the city of Kuopio from Russians after the Battle of Kuopio.

War of the First Coalition: Napoleon Bonaparte conquers Venice.

Eleftheria Eleftheriou, Greek Cypriot singer, musician, and actress

Marcelo, Brazilian footballer

Lance Lynn, American baseball player

Kieron Pollard, Trinidadian cricketer

Darren Randolph, Irish footballer

Emily VanCamp, Canadian actress

Domhnall Gleeson, Irish actor

Yujiro Kushida, Japanese wrestler and mixed martial artist

Rami Malek, American actor

Rishi Sunak, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

Steve Smith Sr., American football player

Malin Åkerman, Swedish-Canadian model, actress, and singer

Jason Biggs, American actor and comedian

Sarat Pujari, Indian actor, director, and screenwriter (born 1934)

Lorenzo Zambrano, Mexican businessman and philanthropist (born 1944)

Gerd Langguth, German political scientist, author, and academic (born 1946)

Jan Bens, Dutch footballer and coach (born 1921)

Eddy Paape, Belgian illustrator (born 1920)

Antonio Vega, Spanish singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1957)

Robert Rauschenberg, American painter and illustrator (born 1925)

Irena Sendler, Polish nurse and humanitarian (born 1910)

Hussein Maziq, Libyan politician, Prime Minister of Libya (born 1918)

Ömer Kavur, Turkish director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1944)

Martin Lings, English author and scholar (born 1909)

Kai Setälä, Finnish physician and professor (born 1913)

Monica Zetterlund, Swedish actress (born 1937)