In History, Today on August 12

NASA launched the Parker Solar Probe, a mission to study the outer corona of the Sun.

The 2016 Summer Olympics were held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, marking the first time the Games were hosted in South America.

A series of explosions occurred at a container storage station at the Port of Tianjin in China, resulting in 173 deaths and hundreds of injuries.

The closing ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics took place in London, United Kingdom, concluding the games that featured 10,768 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees.

The 2004 Summer Olympics officially opened in Athens, Greece, marking the return of the Games to their birthplace after 108 years.

The Russian submarine Kursk sank in the Barents Sea during a naval exercise, resulting in the deaths of all 118 crew members.

Major League Baseball players go on strike, leading to the eventual cancellation of the 1994 World Series. This strike was largely due to disputes over salary caps and revenue sharing between owners and players.

Canada-Mexico sports relations are strengthened as Mexico's soccer team wins the final of the Canada Cup, held in Burnaby, British Columbia, by defeating the host nation, Canada, 2-1. This tournament served as a precursor to the establishment of more regular international competitions in the region.

The largest and most complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton, known as 'Sue,' was discovered in South Dakota by paleontologist Sue Hendrickson. It provided significant insights into the species.

IBM introduced its first personal computer, the IBM 5150, which played a pivotal role in the development and popularization of personal computing.

South Africa was banned from the Olympic Games due to its apartheid policies, marking a significant moment in the international sports community's stance against racial segregation.

Echo 1A, the first successful communications satellite, was launched by NASA, marking a significant advancement in telecommunications technology.

The Soviet Union conducted its first successful test of a hydrogen bomb, codenamed RDS-6s, at the Semipalatinsk Test Site, escalating the nuclear arms race during the Cold War.

The Geneva Conventions, establishing the standards of international law for humanitarian treatment in war, are signed.

J. Robert Oppenheimer meets with US President Harry Truman to brief him on the atomic bomb project.

Nazi Germany began the systematic deportation of 70,000 people from the Lodz Ghetto to the Auschwitz concentration camp, part of the Holocaust's Final Solution.

The first Model T Ford was built at the Piquette Plant in Detroit, Michigan, marking a significant milestone in automotive history and the beginning of mass automobile production.

The Hawaiian Islands were formally annexed by the United States, following the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii in 1893 and the establishment of the Republic of Hawaii.

Thomas Edison completed the first model of the phonograph, a device that could both record and reproduce sound, marking a significant advancement in audio technology.

Joseph Lister, a British surgeon, successfully conducted the first antiseptic surgery using carbolic acid at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary, significantly reducing post-operative infections.

Isaac Singer was granted a patent for his sewing machine, which revolutionized the garment industry by significantly increasing the efficiency of sewing.

The city of Chicago was incorporated as a town. At its incorporation, the population was around 350, and it was located in what was then part of the Michigan Territory. Chicago would eventually develop into one of the largest cities in the United States.

The Louvre Museum in Paris is officially opened as a public museum, with an exhibition of 537 paintings.

The first performance of Isaac Newton's Principia Mathematica is made at a meeting of the Royal Society.

King Philip's War comes to an end with the death of the Wampanoag leader Metacomet, also known as King Philip, near Mount Hope, Rhode Island.

Florence capitulates to the army of Charles V after the Siege of Florence.

Rodrigo Borgia is elected as Pope Alexander VI.

The second Mongol invasion of Japan is thwarted by the kamikaze typhoon, which destroyed much of the Mongol fleet.

The Battle of Ascalon took place, marking the final engagement of the First Crusade. Crusader forces led by Godfrey of Bouillon defeated the Fatimid army, securing the Crusaders' hold on Jerusalem.

The Battle of Yarmouk began, a major battle between the Byzantine Empire and the Rashidun Caliphate. It was a decisive victory for the Rashidun forces and marked a significant turning point in the Muslim conquest of the Levant.

The Battle of Adda River took place, where Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths, defeated Odoacer, the first King of Italy, leading to the eventual establishment of the Ostrogothic Kingdom in Italy.

Cleopatra VII, the last active ruler of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt, is believed to have died on this date. Her death marked the end of the Hellenistic period and the beginning of Roman Egypt.