2012

• International Year of Cooperatives
• International Year of Sustainable Energy for All

  Events

January

• January 7 - A hot air balloon crashes near Carterton, New Zealand, killing all 11 people on board.
• January 10 - A bombing in Khyber Agency, Pakistan, kills at least 30 people and 78 others injured.
• January 12 - Violent protests occur in Bucharest, Romania, as two-day-old demonstrations continue against President Traian Băsescu's economic austerity measures. Clashes are reported in numerous Romanian cities between protesters and law enforcement officers.
• January 13 - The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia sinks off the coast of Italy due to the captain Francesco Schettino's negligence and irresponsibility. There are 32 confirmed deaths.
• January 19 - The Hong Kong-based file-sharing website Megaupload is shut down by the FBI.
• January 23 - Iran–European Union relations: the European Union adopts an embargo against Iran in protest of its continued effort to enrich uranium.

  February

• February 6 - The Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II marks the 60th anniversary of her accession to the thrones of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, and the 60th anniversary of her becoming Head of the Commonwealth.
• February 19 - Iran suspends oil exports to Britain and France, following sanctions put in place by the European Union and the United States in January.
• February 21 - Greek government-debt crisis: Eurozone finance ministers reach an agreement on a second, €130-billion Greek bailout.

  March

• March 4 - Brazzaville arms dump blasts A series of explosions is reported at a munitions dump in Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of the Congo, with at least 250 people dead.
• March 13 - After 246 years since its first publication, the Encyclopædia Britannica discontinues its print edition.
• March 22 - The President of Mali, Amadou Toumani Touré, is ousted in a coup d'état after mutinous soldiers attack government offices.

  April

• April 6 - The National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad unilaterally declares the independence of Azawad from Mali.
• April 12 - Mutinous soldiers in Guinea-Bissau stage a coup d'état and take control of the capital city, Bissau. They arrest interim President Raimundo Pereira and leading presidential candidate Carlos Gomes Júnior in the midst of a presidential election campaign.
• April 13 - Kwangmyŏngsŏng-3, a North Korean Earth observation satellite, explodes shortly after launch. The United States and other countries had called the impending launch a violation of United Nations Security Council demands. The launch was planned to mark the centenary of the birth of Kim Il-sung, the founder of the republic.
• April 26 - Former Liberian President Charles Taylor is found guilty on 11 counts of aiding and abetting war crimes and crimes against humanity during the Sierra Leone Civil War.

  May

• May 2 - A pastel version of The Scream, by the Norwegian painter Edvard Munch, sells for US$120 million in a New York City auction, setting a new world record for an auctioned work of art.
• May 7 - Vladimir Putin is elected President of Russia.
• May 12 - August 12 - The 2012 World Expo takes place in Yeosu, South Korea.
• May 20 - An annular solar eclipse was visible from Asia and North America, and was the 58th solar eclipse from 73 solar eclipses of Solar Saros 128.
• May 22 - Tokyo Skytree, the tallest self-supporting tower in the world at 634 metres high, is opened to the public.
• May 22–26 – The Eurovision Song Contest 2012 takes place in Baku, Azerbaijan, and is won by Swedish entrant Loreen with the song "Euphoria".

  June

• June - 2012 Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus outbreak begins.
• June 5-6 - The century's second and last solar transit of Venus occurs. The next pair are predicted to occur in 2117 and 2125.
• June 8-July 1 - Poland and Ukraine jointly host the UEFA Euro 2012 football tournament, which is won by Spain.
• June 18 - Shenzhou 9, a Chinese spacecraft carrying three Chinese astronauts, including the first-ever female, docks manually with orbiting module Tiangong-1, making them the third country, after the United States and Russia, to successfully perform the mission.
• June 24 - Lonesome George, the last known individual of the Pinta Island tortoise subspecies, dies in Galápagos National Park, thus making the subspecies extinct.
• June 30 - Mohamed Morsi, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, is elected 5th President of Egypt, sparking mixed reactions and protests throughout the country.

  July

• July 4 - CERN announces the discovery of a new particle with properties consistent with the Higgs boson after experiments at the Large Hadron Collider.
• July 20 - 2012 Aurora, Colorado shooting: Twelve people die and 58 are injured in a mass shooting at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado. The shooter, James Holmes, opens fire on a crowd during a screening of The Dark Knight Rises. He is found behind the theater claiming to be "The Joker".
• July 21 - Turkish adventurer Erden Eruç becomes the first person in history to complete a solo human-powered circumnavigation of the Earth.
• July 27 - August 12 - The 2012 Summer Olympics are held in London, England, United Kingdom.
• July 30-31 - In the worst power outage in world history, the 2012 India blackouts leave 620 million people without power.

  August

• August 6 - Curiosity, the Mars Science Laboratory mission's rover, successfully lands on Mars.
• August 24 - The House of Representatives of Japan passes a resolution criticizing the President of South Korea Lee Myung-bak's visit to the disputed Liancourt Rocks.
• August 31 – Armenia severs diplomatic relations with Hungary, following the extradition to Azerbaijan and subsequent pardoning of Ramil Safarov, who was convicted of killing an Armenian soldier in Hungary in 2004. The move is also met with fierce criticism from other countries.

  September

• September 7 - Canada officially cuts diplomatic ties with Iran by closing its embassy in Tehran, and orders the expulsion of Iranian diplomats from Ottawa, over support for Syria, nuclear plans and human rights abuses.
• September 11-27 - A series of terrorist attacks are directed against United States diplomatic missions worldwide, as well as diplomatic missions of Germany, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. In the US, opinions are divided over whether the attacks are a reaction to a YouTube trailer for the film Innocence of Muslims. In Libya, among the dead is US ambassador J. Christopher Stevens.

  October

• October 14 - Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner becomes the first person to break the sound barrier without any machine assistance during a record space dive out of the Red Bull Stratos helium-filled balloon from 128,000 ft equaling over Roswell, New Mexico in the United States.
• October 16 - Seven paintings worth $25 million are stolen from the Kunsthal in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
• October 22 – November 2 - Hurricane Sandy the largest Atlantic hurricane on record wreaks havoc resulting in 233 total deaths and $68.7 billion damage.
• October 28 - Casey Stoner Becomes the World Champion of the 2012 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season after 5 years!

  November

• November 6 - Barack Obama is reelected President of the United States.
• November 13 - A total solar eclipse occurred in parts of Australia and the South Pacific. It was the 45th of 72 solar eclipses of Solar Saros 133.
• November 14-21 - Israel launches Operation Pillar of Defense against the Palestinian-governed Gaza Strip, killing Hamas military chief Ahmed Jabari. In the following week 140 Palestinians and five Israelis are killed in an ensuing cycle of violence. A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is announced by Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton after the week-long escalation in hostilities in Southern Israel and the Gaza Strip.
• November 18 - The Wii U was released.
• November 25-December 9 - Typhoon Bopha, known as "Pablo" in the Philippines, kills at least 1,067 with around 838 people still missing. The typhoon causes considerable damage in the island of Mindanao.
• November 29 - The UN General Assembly approves a motion granting Palestine non-member observer state status.

  December

• December 8 - In Qatar, the UN Climate Change Conference agrees to extend the Kyoto Protocol until 2020.
• December 14 - Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting: Twenty-eight people, including the gunman, are killed in Sandy Hook, Connecticut.
• December 18 - At least 55 people drowned after an overcrowded boat capsizes off the coast of Somalia.

  Births

• January 24 - Princess Athena of Denmark
• February 23 - Princess Estelle, Duchess of Östergötland
• April 4 – Grumpy Cat, American internet celebrity cat

  Deaths

January

• January 1 - Kiro Gligorov, 1st President of the Republic of Macedonia
• January 3
• * Josef Škvorecký, Czech writer
• * Bob Weston, British musician
• January 9 - Malam Bacai Sanhá, 4th President of Guinea-Bissau
• January 10 – Gevork Vartanian, Soviet intelligence officer
• January 13
• * Rauf Denktaş, 1st President of Northern Cyprus
• * Miljan Miljanić, Yugoslavian-born footballer
• January 15 - Manuel Fraga Iribarne, Spanish politician
• January 19 - Sarah Burke, Canadian Freestyle skier
• January 20
• * Etta James, American singer
• * Jiří Raška, Czech ski jumper
• January 22 - Joe Paterno, American football player and coach
• January 24
• * Theo Angelopoulos, Greek filmmaker
• * James Farentino, American actor
• January 29
• * François Migault, French racing driver
• * Oscar Luigi Scalfaro, 9th President of Italy
• January 31 - Leslie Carter, American pop singer

  February

• February 1
• * Don Cornelius, American television show host and producer
• * Angelo Dundee, American boxing trainer and cornerman
• * Wisława Szymborska, Polish Nobel poet
• February 3
• * Toh Chin Chye, 1st Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore
• * John Christopher, English writer
• * Ben Gazzara, American actor
• * Samuel Youd, British author
• February 4 - Florence Green, English supercentenarian
• February 6
• * Peter Breck, American actor
• * Antoni Tàpies, Spanish artist
• February 11 - Whitney Houston, American singer and actress
• February 18 - George Brizan, 8th Prime Minister of Grenada
• February 19 - Renato Dulbecco, Italian-born American Nobel virologist
• February 25 - Maurice André, French trumpeter
• February 29 - Davy Jones, English singer and actor

  March

• March 1
• * Andrew Breitbart, American writer and publisher
• * Lucio Dalla, Italian singer-songwriter
• March 6
• * Francisco Xavier do Amaral, 1st President of East Timor
• * Robert B. Sherman, American songwriter
• March 7 - Włodzimierz Smolarek, Polish footballer
• March 10
• * Jean Giraud, French comics artist
• * F. Sherwood Rowland, American Nobel chemist
• March 14 - Ċensu Tabone, 4th President of Malta
• March 16 - Estanislau Basora, Spanish footballer
• March 17
• * John Demjanjuk, Ukrainian-American Nazi war crimes defendant
• * Pope Shenouda III of Alexandria
• March 18 - George Tupou V, King of Tonga
• March 21 - Tonino Guerra, Italian screenwriter
• March 23
• * Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, President of Somalia
• * Chico Anysio, Brazilian actor, comedian, writer, and composer
• * Naji Talib, 52nd Prime Minister of Iraq
• March 25 – Antonio Tabucchi, Italian writer
• March 27
• * Adrienne Rich, American writer and feminist
• * Warren Stevens, American actor
• March 28
• * Alexander Arutiunian, Armenian composer
• * Earl Scruggs, American bluegrass musician

  April

• April 1
• * Lionel Bowen, Australian politician
• * Giorgio Chinaglia, Italian footballer
• * Miguel de la Madrid, 52nd President of Mexico
• April 2 - Elizabeth Catlett, African-American/Mexican artist
• April 5 - Bingu wa Mutharika, 3rd President of Malawi
• April 7 - Mike Wallace, American journalist
• April 9 - Takeshi Aono, Japanese voice actor
• April 11 - Ahmed Ben Bella, 1st President of Algeria
• April 14 - Jonathan Frid, Canadian actor
• April 15 - Murray Rose, Australian swimmer
• April 16 - Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller, Danish shipping magnate
• April 18 - Dick Clark, American television host and producer
• April 19 - Levon Helm, American musician
• April 20 - Valeri Vasiliev, Russian ice hockey player
• April 21 - Charles Colson, American evangelist
• April 23 - Roland Dale, American football player
• April 28 - Ervin Zádor, Hungarian water polo player
• April 29
• * Shukri Ghanem, Prime Minister of Libya
• * Joel Goldsmith, American composer
• April 30 - Alexander Dale Oen, Norwegian swimmer

  May

• May 2 - Junior Seau, American football player
• May 3 - Jorge Illueca, 25th President of Panama
• May 4
• * Adam Yauch, American rapper and musician
• * Rashidi Yekini, Nigerian footballer
• May 5 - Carl Johan Bernadotte, Swedish prince
• May 6 - George Lindsey, American actor
• May 8 - Maurice Sendak, American author
• May 9
• * Danilo De Girolamo, Italian voice actor
• * Geoffrey Henry, 2-Time Prime Minister of Cook Islands
• * Vidal Sassoon, British hairdresser
• May 10 - Carroll Shelby, American automotive designer, racing driver, and entrepreneur
• May 13 - René Orta Salgado, Mexican journalist and politician
• May 14 - Taruni Sachdev, Indian actress
• May 15
• * Carlos Fuentes, Panamanian-born Mexican writer
• * Zakaria Mohieddin, Egyptian general and politician
• May 17 - Donna Summer, American singer
• May 18 - Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, German lyric baritone and conductor
• May 20 - Robin Gibb, British-Australian musician
• May 27 - Anahit Perikhanian, Russian-born Armenian Iranologist
• May 29
• * Kaneto Shindo, Japanese film director
• * Doc Watson, American guitarist and songwriter
• May 30 - Andrew Huxley, British Nobel physiologist

  June

• June 2
• * Richard Dawson, British-American actor, comedian, game show host and panelist
• * Kathryn Joosten, American actress
• June 3 - Roy Salvadori, British racing driver
• June 4 - Eduard Khil, Soviet and Russian baritone singer
• June 5 - Ray Bradbury, American author
• June 6 - Manuel Preciado, Spanish footballer and coach
• June 7 - Bob Welch, American musician
• June 11
• * Ann Rutherford, Canadian-born American actress
• * Teófilo Stevenson, Cuban Olympic boxer
• June 12 - Elinor Ostrom, American Nobel economist
• June 13 - William Standish Knowles, American Nobel chemist
• June 14 - Yvette Wilson, American actress and comedian
• June 16
• * Nayef bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia
• * Susan Tyrrell, American actress
• June 17 - Rodney King, American criminal and victim of police brutality
• June 19 – Richard Lynch, American actor
• June 26 - Nora Ephron, American film director and screenwriter
• June 30 - Yitzhak Shamir, 7th Prime Minister of Israel

  July

• July 1 - Alan G. Poindexter, American astronaut
• July 3
• * Andy Griffith, American actor
• * Sergio Pininfarina, Italian automobile designer
• * Hollie Stevens, American pornographic actress and model
• July 8 - Ernest Borgnine, American actor
• July 9 - Terepai Maoate, 6th Prime Minister of the Cook Islands
• July 10 - Dolphy, Filipino actor and comedian
• July 12 - Dara Singh, Indian wrestler, actor, and politician
• July 13
• * Richard D. Zanuck, American film producer
• * Sage Stallone, American actor, film director, producer, and distributor
• July 14 - Sixten Jernberg, Swedish cross-country skier
• July 15 - Celeste Holm, American actress
• July 16
• * Stephen Covey, American author
• * Jon Lord, British musician and composer
• * Kitty Wells, American country music singer
• July 18 - Rajesh Khanna, Indian actor, producer and politician
• July 19 - Omar Suleiman, Egyptian general, diplomat, and intelligence officer
• July 23 - Sally Ride, American astronaut and physicist
• July 24
• * Chad Everett, American actor
• * Sherman Hemsley, American actor
• * John Atta Mills, President of Ghana
• July 26 - Lupe Ontiveros, American actress
• July 27 - Jack Taylor, English football referee
• July 29 - Chris Marker, French writer and documentary filmmaker
• July 30 - Maeve Binchy, Irish author
• July 31 - Gore Vidal, American author, playwright, screenwriter, and political activist

  August

• August 5 - Chavela Vargas, Costa Rican-born Mexican singer
• August 6
• * Marvin Hamlisch, American composer and conductor
• * Bernard Lovell, British physicist and astronomer
• August 9 - Al Freeman Jr., American actor
• August 14
• * Svetozar Gligorić, Serbian chess grandmaster
• * Ron Palillo, American actor and teacher
• August 15 - Harry Harrison, American author
• August 16 - William Windom, American actor
• August 18 - Scott McKenzie, American singer and songwriter
• August 19 – Tony Scott, English film director
• August 20
• * Phyllis Diller, American comedian
• * Dom Mintoff, 8th Prime Minister of Malta
• * Meles Zenawi, 3rd President and 10th Prime Minister of Ethiopia
• August 21 - William Thurston, American mathematician
• August 23 - Jerry Nelson, American puppeteer
• August 24
• * Pauli Ellefsen, 6th Prime Minister of Faroe Islands
• * Félix Miélli Venerando, Brazilian footballer
• August 25 - Neil Armstrong, American astronaut
• August 31
• * Carlo Maria Martini, Cardinal Archbishop of Milan
• * Sergey Leonidovich Sokolov, Soviet military commander

  September

• September 1
• * Hal David, American lyricist
• * Smarck Michel, 6th Prime Minister of Haiti
• September 3
• * Michael Clarke Duncan, American actor
• * Sun Myung Moon, Korean religious leader
• September 5 – Joe South, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer
• September 8 - Thomas Szasz, Hungarian-American psychiatrist
• September 12
• * J. Christopher Stevens, American diplomat and lawyer
• * Sid Watkins, British neurosurgeon
• September 14 - Stephen Dunham, American actor
• September 16 - Ragnhild Alexandra Lorentzen, Princess of Norway
• September 18 - Santiago Carrillo, Spanish politician
• September 23
• * Pavel Grachev, Russian military commander
• * Corrie Sanders, South African boxer
• September 25 - Andy Williams, American singer
• September 26 - Johnny Lewis, American actor
• September 27 - Herbert Lom, Czech-born actor
• September 28 - Michael O'Hare, American actor
• September 30 - Barbara Ann Scott, Canadian Olympic figure skater

  October

• October 1 - Eric Hobsbawm, British Marxist historian
• October 6 - Chadli Bendjedid, 3rd President of Algeria
• October 10 - Alex Karras, American football player, professional wrestler and actor
• October 11 - Helmut Haller, German footballer
• October 13 – Gary Collins, American actor and television host
• October 14 - Arlen Specter, American politician
• October 15 - King Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia
• October 17 - Sylvia Kristel, Dutch actress
• October 20 - E. Donnall Thomas, American Nobel physician
• October 21
• * Yash Chopra, Indian film director and producer
• * George McGovern, American politician, historian, and author
• October 22 - Russell Means, American Sioux actor and activist
• October 24 - Margaret Osborne duPont, American tennis player
• October 27 - Hans Werner Henze, German composer

  November

• November 1 - Mitch Lucker, American singer
• November 2 – Milt Campbell, American decathlete
• November 5 - Elliott Carter, American composer
• November 8 – Lucille Bliss, American actress
• November 17 - Bal Thackeray, Indian politician
• November 23 - Larry Hagman, American actor
• November 25
• * Lars Hörmander, Swedish mathematician
• * Dave Sexton, English footballer and coach
• November 26 - Joseph Murray, American Nobel surgeon
• November 30 - I. K. Gujral, 12th Prime Minister of India

  December

• December 4 - Miguel Calero, Colombian footballer
• December 5
• * Dave Brubeck, American pianist
• * Oscar Niemeyer, Brazilian architect
• December 6 - Miguel Abia Biteo Boricó, 5th Prime Minister of Equatorial Guinea
• December 9
• * Jenni Rivera, Mexican-American singer-songwriter, producer and actress
• * Patrick Moore, British astronomer and broadcaster
• December 10 - Iajuddin Ahmed, 13th President of Bangladesh
• December 11
• * Ravi Shankar, Indian sitarist
• * Galina Vishnevskaya, Russian soprano
• December 17 - Daniel Inouye, American politician
• December 24
• * Charles Durning, American actor
• * Jack Klugman, American actor
• December 26 - Gerry Anderson, British puppeteer and TV producer
• December 27
• * Harry Carey Jr., American actor
• * Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr., American general
• December 30 - Rita Levi-Montalcini, Italian Nobel neurologist

  Nobel Prizes

• Chemistry - Robert Lefkowitz and Brian Kobilka
• Economics - Alvin E. Roth and Lloyd Shapley
• Literature - Mo Yan
• Peace - European Union
• Physics - Serge Haroche and David J. Wineland
• Physiology or Medicine - John B. Gurdon and Shinya Yamanaka