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.
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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.
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