This is a list of selected December 12 anniversaries that appear in the "On this day" section of the Main Page. To suggest a new item, in most cases, you can be bold and edit this page. Please read the selected anniversaries guidelines before making your edit. However, if your addition might be controversial or on a day that is or will soon be on the Main Page, please post your suggestion on the talk page instead.
Please note that the events listed on the Main Page are chosen based more on relative article quality and to maintain a mix of topics, not based solely on how important or significant their subjects are. Only four to five events are posted at a time and thus not everything that is "most important and significant" can be listed. In addition, an event is generally not posted this year if it is also the subject of the scheduled featured article or picture of the day.
To report an error when this appears on the Main Page, see Main Page errors. Please remember that this list defers to the supporting articles, so it is best to achieve consensus and make any necessary changes there first.
December 12: L'Escalade begins (2008); Independence Day in Kenya
- 1531 – The Apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe: According to traditional Catholic accounts, the image of the Blessed Virgin Mary miraculously appeared imprinted on the cloth of Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin's tilma during his last vision of her on the Hill of Tepeyac outside of modern-day Mexico City.
- 1897 – Belo Horizonte, the first planned city of Brazil, was inaugurated as Cidade de Minas.
- 1915 – President Yuan Shikai (pictured) of the Republic of China reinstated the monarchy and declared himself Emperor.
- 1988 – In one of the worst railway accidents in the United Kingdom in recent times, a total of 35 people died and 500 others were injured during two collisions between three commuter trains near the Clapham Junction railway station in London.
- 2000 – The U.S. Supreme Court delivered its 5–4 decision in Bush v. Gore, ordering the election recount of the ballots cast in Florida for the 2000 presidential election to stop, which effectively ended the election in favor of George W. Bush.