12 History Lessons + 7 Births & 7 Deaths for September 12, 2025
Today’s History:
- 1848 – Switzerland adopts its Federal Constitution, creating a modern federal state.
- 1919 – Adolf Hitler attends a meeting of the German Workers’ Party, soon joining and reshaping it into the Nazi Party.
- 1933 – Leó Szilárd conceives the idea of a nuclear chain reaction in London.
- 1940 – Teenagers discover the prehistoric cave paintings at Lascaux, France.
- 1953 – John F. Kennedy marries Jacqueline Bouvier in Newport, Rhode Island.
- 1958 – Jack Kilby demonstrates the first working integrated circuit at Texas Instruments.
- 1959 – The USSR launches Luna 2, later the first human-made object to reach the Moon.
- 1962 – President Kennedy delivers the “We choose to go to the Moon” speech at Rice University.
- 1974 – Ethiopia’s Emperor Haile Selassie is deposed by the Derg military junta.
- 1980 – Military coup d’état seizes power in Turkey.
- 1990 – The Two Plus Four Treaty is signed, paving the way for German reunification.
- 2005 – Israel completes its withdrawal from the Gaza Strip under the disengagement plan.
Today’s Birthdays:
- 1957 – Hans Zimmer, Oscar-winning film composer (The Lion King; Dune) (68).
- 1967 – Louis C.K., comedian, writer, and filmmaker (Louie) (58).
- 1981 – Jennifer Hudson, EGOT-winning singer and actor (44).
- 1980 – Yao Ming, Basketball Hall of Famer and former Houston Rockets center (45).
- 1986 – Emmy Rossum, actor and singer (Shameless; The Phantom of the Opera) (39).
- 1994 – RM (Kim Nam-joon), rapper and leader of BTS (31).
- 1977 – 2 Chainz (Tauheed Epps), Grammy-winning rapper (48).
Today’s Deaths:
- 1977 – Steve Biko, South African anti-apartheid leader (30).
- 1992 – Anthony Perkins, actor (Psycho) (60).
- 1993 – Raymond Burr, actor (Perry Mason; Ironside) (76).
- 2003 – Johnny Cash, country music icon (“Man in Black”) (71).
- 2009 – Norman Borlaug, Nobel Peace Prize–winning agronomist (95).
- 2010 – Claude Chabrol, French New Wave film director (80).
Our revenue comes from a combination of direct subscriptions from users and commissions earned by affiliate commissions from sponsors’ links and banners. Some of the links you click may be affiliate links that generate that revenue.