From the archives
Classic headlineMonday 12 October 2026
What happened, who was born, who we lost — plus today's horoscope for every sign.
Birthday twins
Sacha Baron Cohen1971
Paul Simon1941
Margaret Thatcher1925Events, inventions, discoveries and releases. Looking for people or sport? See , and below.
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What happened on this day · Odd history for today
Edward Emerson Barnard is first to discover a comet by photographic means.
Read more →Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
British suffragette Margaret Travers Symons became the first woman to speak in the House of Commons when she escaped from her escort into the chamber and shouted at the assembly.
Read more →Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
The Boston Red Sox win the first modern World Series, defeating the Pittsburgh Pirates in the eighth game.
Read more →Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
First known conversation in modern Hebrew by Eliezer Ben-Yehuda and friends.
Read more →Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
French Revolutionary Wars: Austro-Prussian victory over Republican France at the First Battle of Wissembourg.
Read more →Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
From The Guardian Archives — On This Day

Evidence points to Iran, says unpublished report, after initial suspicion of Russia and North Korea dismissed
Read on The Guardian →
The revival of Edward Bond's 1965 play is terrifying, shocking and painful – but beautifully realised, says Michael B…
Read on The Guardian →UNION CITY, N.J., Oct. 12-- Emerson High School's eleven gained first place in the Hudson County scholastic football…
Read on NYTimes.com →Headlines via The Guardian Open Platform · Historic front pages via the NYT Archive API
Facts from Wikipedia On This Day API (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Wikimedia. Thumbnails CC BY-SA. Headlines via The Guardian Open Platform and the NYT Archive API. Historic pages via Library of Congress Chronicling America. Curated by OddlyTrue.
Strange but true headlines of the day
From the archives
Classic headlineDid you guess the year?
When was “Edward Emerson Barnard is first to discover a comet by photographic means.” happening? Slide to your guess.
Edward Emerson Barnard is first to discover a comet by photographic means.
Read more →Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
British suffragette Margaret Travers Symons became the first woman to speak in the House of Commons when she escaped from her escort into the chamber and shouted at the assembly.
Read more →Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
The Boston Red Sox win the first modern World Series, defeating the Pittsburgh Pirates in the eighth game.
Read more →Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
Hall of Fame headlines are manually verified clippings (source linked); nothing is scraped from Newspapers.com. Facts from Wikipedia On This Day API (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Wikimedia. Clippings from the Library of Congress, Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers site.
Viewing 13 October — today is 12 October.
Margaret Thatcher was born. UK prime minister, known as the Iron Lady.
Paul Simon was born. American singer-songwriter, half of Simon and Garfunkel.
Sacha Baron Cohen was born. English comedian known for Borat and Ali G.
Five infamous ends — executed, assassinated or murdered — drawn at random from the archive. All infamous ends →

Mahatma Gandhi, political ethicist, died on this day in 1948. Assassinated. Remembered as: Leader of the Indian independence movement.

Diana, Princess of Wales, member of british royal family, died on this day in 1997. Car crash in Paris. Remembered as: Global humanitarian and celebrated royal figure.

Robin Williams, actor and comedian, died on this day in 2014. Suicide. Remembered as: Known for his improvisational skills and wide variety of roles.

Kurt Cobain, musician, died on this day in 1994. Suicide by gunshot. Remembered as: Frontman of Nirvana, voice of a generation.

Cleopatra, queen of the ptolemaic kingdom, died on this day in 30 BC. Suicide (historically debated, asp bite). Remembered as: The last active ruler of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt.
Today · 13 October
Coming up this week
Promotes a global culture of risk awareness and disaster preparedness.
Music · No.1 on this day
The official No.1 singles and albums in the UK and the USA on this date, decade by decade.
2016 10 yrs ago
2006 20 yrs ago
1996 30 yrs ago
1986 40 yrs ago
1976 50 yrs ago
1966 60 yrs ago
1956 70 yrs ago
Finals, medals and records decided on 13 October.
No recorded sporting finals on this date yet.
Sporting almanac
World Cups, Olympics, Wimbledon, the Masters, Super Bowl and more — year by year since 1877.
2016 10 yrs ago
2001 25 yrs ago
1976 50 yrs ago
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