On this day 12th February

Some notable facts about this date, for more, visit http://www.onthisday.com

Facts

1700 The Great Northern War begins in Northern Europe between Denmark–Norway, Saxony and Russia and the Swedish Empire.

1912 Last Ch'ing (Manchu) Emperor of China, Hsuan T'ung, abdicates

1947 French fashion designer Christian Dior presents his first influential collection, named the "New Look"

1999 US President Bill Clinton acquitted by the Senate in his impeachment trial

2001 NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft touchdown in the "saddle" region of 433 Eros becoming the first spacecraft to land on an asteroid.

2013 North Korea allegedly conducts its third nuclear test, saying it was a nuclear device that could be weaponized

Deaths

1554 Jane Grey, Queen of England for 9 days, beheaded for treason at 16

1684 Pietro Andrea Ziani, composer, dies at 67

1789 Ethan Allen, American Revolutionary War patriot (lead the Green Mountain Boys), dies of an apoplectic fit at 51

1799 Lazzaro Spallanzani, Italian biologist (b. 1729)

1896 Isaac Murphy, jockey, 628 wins on 1,412 mounts (44.5%), dies at 35

1929 Lillie Langtry, British singer and actress (b. 1853)

1933 Henri Duparc, French composer, dies at 85

1960 Bobby Clark, vaudevillan (World's funniest circus clown), dies at 71

1971 James Cash Penney, US founder (J C Penney), dies at 95

1986 Sid Stone, comedian (Milton Berle Show), dies at 82

1993 James Bulger, English child abducted, tortured and beaten to death at 2, by 10 year old boys

2000 Charles M. Schulz, American cartoonist, dies at 77

2015 Gary Owens, American disc jockey/TV host (Laugh In, Gong Show), dies at 80

Sport

1909 Robert Fowler runs world record marathon (2:46:52.6)

1958 Celtic Bill Russell grabs 41 rebounds to beat Syracuse 119-101

1964 End of Richie Benaud's 63-Test Cricket career

1980 Richard Hadlee becomes NZ's top wicket-taker with 117

1994 17th Winter Olympic games opens in Lillehammer, Norway

2010 21st Winter Olympic Games open at Vancouver, Canada

Films and TV

1914 "The Squaw Man", 1st feature-length film shot in Hollywood, directed by Cecil B. DeMille and Oscar Apfel, is released in the US

1968 25th Golden Globes: "In the Heat of the Night", Rod Steiger, & Edith Evans win

2009 40th NAACP Image Awards: "The Secret Life of Bees" wins Outstanding Motion Picture

Born on this day

1954 Philip Zimmermann, US cryptographer, born in Camden, New Jersey

1968 Josh Brolin, US actor (Johnny-Private Eye, Jimmy Hickok-Young Riders), born in Santa Monica, Canada

A Couple of Pics from those no longer with us

Charles M. Schulz

Gary Owens