September 12: Holidays, Historical Events, Famous Birthdays & Zodiac Sign

About September 12

September 12 carries an unusually rich freight of history. In 490 BC, the conventional date for the Battle of Marathon, a smaller force of Athenians and Plataeans repelled the first Persian invasion of Greece, preserving a fledgling democratic culture that would ripple through Western civilization. Fast-forward over two millennia and the date still brims with firsts: Henry Hudson began exploring the river that now bears his name in 1609, and in 1940 teenagers in Lascaux, France, stumbled into a cave system adorned with Paleolithic paintings that had survived roughly 17,000 years.

The twentieth century added its own milestones. In 1933, Hungarian physicist Leó Szilárd, idling at a traffic light in Bloomsbury, conceived the nuclear chain reaction—an idea that would remake warfare and energy alike. Thirty years later, an American president stood at Rice University and declared, "We choose to go to the Moon," committing a nation to a lunar landing within the decade. In 2013, NASA confirmed that Voyager 1 had crossed into interstellar space—the first human-made object to do so, extending September 12's reach well beyond Earth.

Culturally, the day has much to offer as well: in 1494 Francis I of France was born, destined to become one of the Renaissance's great royal patrons. Maurice Chevalier arrived in 1888, Jesse Owens in 1913, and Hans Zimmer in 1957—proof that September 12 has been generous to performers and composers across centuries.

Holidays & Observances on September 12

• Commemoration of the mass hanging of the Saint Patrick's Battalion (Mexico)
• Day of Conception (Russia)
• Defenders Day (Maryland, United States)
• Enkutatash falls on this day if it is a leap year. Celebrated on the first day of Mäskäräm. (Ethiopia, Eritrea, Rastafari)
• Nayrouz (Coptic Orthodox Church) (leap years only, September 11 on normal years)
• National Day (Cape Verde)
• National Day of Encouragement (United States)
• Saragarhi Day (Sikhism)

Fun & National Days on September 12

• National Chocolate Milkshake Day — There is literally no wrong time of day to blend ice cream, milk, and chocolate syrup.
• National Hug and High Five Day — Spread goodwill with a warm hug or a crisp high five—or both, if the moment calls for it.
• Aunt's Day — Call the aunt who always remembered your birthday and slip in a heartfelt thank-you.
• German Language Day — Learn a compound word like Schadenfreude and deploy it at least once in conversation.
• International Drive Your Studebaker Day — If you own one of these vintage beauties, take it for a spin and let admirers marvel.
• Carl Garner Federal Lands Cleanup Day
• Farmers' Consumer Awareness Day
• International Day for South-South Cooperation
• National Blackberry Day (UK)