Today's Calendar Thursday, October 12: Columbus Day begins in the United States

It happened today

On October 12, 1792, the 300th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’s arrival in the New World was celebrated in New York: the Genoese explorer reached the first island – renamed San Salvador – on October 12, 1492, after weeks of navigation. This first Columbus Day was followed by others: during the second half of the 19th century, the day began to be celebrated in cities with large Italian-American communities, and in 1937 Roosevelt declared it a national holiday in the United States. In recent years, the anniversary has become very controversial, and in some parts of the United States (as in many South American countries) it has been decided not to celebrate it: in Los Angeles, for example, October 12 was the less controversial Indigenous Peoples’ Day. The division is another celebration that took place for the first time on October 12, 1810: on that day King Ludwig I of Bavaria married Queen Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen. On this occasion, he invited people to celebrate (especially to drink) in the meadows outside Munich. Oktoberfest was born.

Born today

edith Stein, October 12, 1891, Christian nun

Eugenio Montale, born October 12, 1896, poet, writer, translator and journalist

Arthur ClokeyOctober 12, 1921, American animator

Luciano Pavarotti, October 12, 1935, tenor

Lucia Poli, October 12, 1940, actress

Massimo Gini, October 12, 1954, actor and director

Roberto GiacopoOctober 12, 1961, television broadcaster, journalist, and writer

Luca Carbone, born October 12, 1962, is a singer, songwriter and musician

Adele AmendolaOctober 12, 1963, journalist

Hugh Jackman, born October 12, 1968, is an Australian actor

Adam Rich, born October 12, 1968, is an American actor

Josh Hutcherson, born October 12, 1992, is an American actor

Deaths today

Piero della Francesca, October 12, 1492, painter, art theorist, and mathematician.

Edith CavellOctober 12, 1915, British nurse

Anatole France(October 12, 1924), French writer

René Lacoste, born October 12, 1996, is a French tennis player, businessman and designer

Gillo Pontecorvo, October 12, 2006, director, screenwriter and actor

Saint of the day

Saint Edistomartyr. According to tradition, he was Nero’s attendant, accompanied the emperor to Laurentum, and converted to Christianity. After his baptism at the hands of the Apostle Peter, he was killed on the Via Laurentina.