12 April in Indian and World History is celebrated, observed, and remembered for various reasons. 12 April is the birth anniversary of Rakhaldas Bandyopadhyay, Kedar Sharma, Vinoo Mankad, and Sumitra Mahajan.
12 April is also observed as the death anniversary of Taj Bhopali,
Birth Anniversary
12 April in Indian history is celebrated as the birth anniversary of the following personalities:
Rakhaldas Bandyopadhyay (12 April 1885 – 23 May 1930) was an Indian historian and archaeologist. He was one of a group of Indian archaeologists, most of whom gained a special reputation in the first phase of the 20th century as an associate of the then Director General of the Archaeological Survey of India, John Marshall, in the archaeological excavation, research and conservation of monuments. He was born on 12 April 1885 in Murshidabad, Bengal.
Kedar Sharma (12 April 1910 – 29 April 1999) was an Indian film director, producer, screenwriter and lyricist in Hindi films. He is remembered in Bollywood as a filmmaker who played an important role in establishing Raj Kapoor, Bharat Bhushan, Madhubala, Mala Sinha and Tanuja in the film industry. Kedar Sharma also won the hearts of the audience with his performance in many films. These films include Inquilab, Pujarin, Vidyapati, Badi Didi, Neki and Badi. He was born on 12 April 1910 in Punjab.
Vinoo Mankad (12 April 1917 – 21 August 1978) was one of the greatest cricketers of India. His full name was Moolwantrai Himmatlal Mankad. In 1956, he shared an opening partnership of 413 runs with Pankaj Rai. This record was broken after 52 years. His son Ashok Mankad also represented the India cricket team. He was born on 12 April 1917 in Gujarat.
Sumitra Mahajan, the prominent female politician of the Bharatiya Janata Party. She has been the Speaker of the 16th Lok Sabha. He is popularly known as ‘Sumitra Tai’ among his workers. For the first time in the year 1982-1985, Sumitra Mahajan became the Deputy Mayor of Indore Municipal Corporation. She has been winning the Lok Sabha elections continuously since 1989. Lok Sabha MP Sumitra Mahajan is also a member of the ninth, tenth, eleventh, twelfth, thirteenth, fourteenth, fifteenth and now sixteenth Lok Sabha. She was born on 12 April 1943.
Read More: 11 April in Indian and World History
Death Anniversary
12 April in Indian history is observed as the death anniversary of the following personalities:
Taj Bhopali (1926 – 12 April 1978) was a well-known poet.Taj Bhopali’s poetry often reflected themes of love, longing, and the beauty of nature, which are common in ghazals. His works are appreciated for their depth of emotion and lyrical beauty. Taj Bhopali’s poetry continues to be celebrated and recited by enthusiasts of Urdu literature. He died on 12 April 1978.
Read More: 10 April in Indian and World History
Notable events on 12 April in Indian and World History
12 April 1482 – Rana Sanga, a prominent Rajput ruler who lived in India during the late 15th and early 16th centuries, was born.
12 April 1621 – Sikh Guru Tegh Bahadur was born.
12 April 1801 – William Cray was appointed Professor of Bengali Language at Fort William College in Calcutta (now Kolkata).
12 April 1801 – Ranjit Singh declared himself the Maharaja of Punjab.
12 April 1861 – Civil war started in America on this day.
12 April 1884 – Otto Fritz Meyerhof, was a German physician and biochemist. In 1922, Otto Fritz Meyerhof was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was Born.
12 April 1903– Jan Tinbergen, a Dutch economist, and Nobel Prize Laureate was born.
12 April 1927 – the British cabinet supported giving women 21 years of age the right to vote.
12 April 1928 – The German aircraft Bremen made the first successful flight from east to west across the Atlantic Ocean.
12 April 1933 – Montserrat Caballé, a Spanish operatic soprano from Catalonia and widely considered to be one of the best sopranos of the 20th century, was born.
12 April 1938 – Fyodor Shalyapin, a Russian opera singer who was one of the most celebrated basses of the 20th century, died.
12 April 1945 – US President Franklin D. Roosevelt died in office.
12 April 1945 – Petrona Eyle, an Argentine physician and feminist who campaigned for Latin American women’s rights, died.
12 April 1946 – The French occupation of Syria ended.
12 April 1955 – The polio vaccine developed by Dr. Jones Sack was declared safe and effective.
12 April 1961 – the Soviet Union sent the first man, Yuri Gagarin, into space.
12 April 1971 – Igor Tamm, a prominent Soviet physicist and Nobel Prize Laureate died.
12 April 1973 – Sudan made its constitution.
12 April 1975 – Josephine Baker – an American-born French dancer, singer and actress – died.
12 April 1997 – George Wald, an American biochemist and Nobel Prize Laureate died.
12 April 1978 – To commemorate the completion of 125 years of Indian Railways, the country’s first double-decker train Sinhagad Express was run from Victoria Terminal in Bombay (now Mumbai) to Pune.
12 April 1981 – The space shuttle Columbia was launched for the first time.
12 April 1988– Alan Paton, a South African writer, and anti-apartheid activist, died.
12 April 1991 – The Gulf War formally ended.
12 April 1992 – A giant Buddha statue was installed in the Hussain Sagar Lake in Hyderabad.
12 April 1998 – Girija Prasad Koirala was appointed the new Prime Minister of Nepal.
12 April 2005 – Rodolfo corky gonzales – Mexican-American boxer, poet, political organizer, and activist – died.
12 April 2006 – The President of Cyprus, Tasos Papadolas, arrived in India on a six-day visit.
12 April 2006 – Rajkumar, an Indian actor, and singer who worked in Kannada cinema, died.
12 April 2007 – Pakistan granted India clearance on the Iran Gas Pineline.
12 April 2008 – Three people, including two Indian engineers, were killed suicide attack on a convoy of Indians in Afghanistan.
12 April 2010 – the Indian Kabaddi team defeated the Pakistan team 58–24 to win the first World Cup Kabaddi tournament at the Guru Nanak Dev Stadium in Ludhiana, Punjab (India).
12 April 2013 – The French Senate recognized same-sex marriage.
12 April 2014 – Noted lyricist Gulzar was given the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for the year 2013.
Important Days
Here are a few significant events and observances that have occurred on April 12th:
- International Day of Human Space Flight: This day commemorates the first human space flight by Yuri Gagarin on April 12, 1961, aboard the Vostok 1 spacecraft.
- Cosmonautics Day (Russia): Similar to the International Day of Human Space Flight, Cosmonautics Day is celebrated in Russia to honor Yuri Gagarin’s historic space flight.
These are just a few examples, but there may be other regional or cultural observances specific to certain countries or communities on April 12th as well.