October 12^th in history

Encyclopædia Britannica presents people and events from this day in history:

Luciano Pavarotti: Biography of the Day

Luciano Pavarotti

Born on this day in Modena, Italy, in 1935, Luciano Pavarotti, an operatic lyric tenor noted for his mastery of the highest notes of a tenor's range, is considered one of the finest bel canto singers of recent times.

 

New World sighted : 12 October 1492 - This Day in History

The New World was “discovered” this day in 1492 when land (most likely San Salvador) was sighted in the Caribbean from the Pinta, one of the three ships that participated in Christopher Columbus's historic first voyage.

More Events on this day:

1898: A landmark in labour union history, a coal-mine riot took place in Virden, Illinois, when strikebreakers were brought in.

1896: Eugenio Montale, Italian poet, prose writer, editor, and translator who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1975, was born in Genoa.

1810: The first Oktoberfest was celebrated in Munich, Germany, in the form of a horse race held in honour of the marriage of the crown prince of Bavaria (who later became King Louis I) to Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen.