WHAT HAPPENED ON 12. NOVEMBER
Want to find out what all happened on 12. November

World War II: The Soviet cruiser Chervona Ukraina is destroyed during the Battle of Sevastopol. (12. November 1941)

World War II: The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal between Japanese and American forces begins near Guadalcanal. The battle lasts for three days and ends with an American victory. (12. November 1942)

World War II: The Royal Air Force launches 29 Avro Lancaster bombers and sinks the German battleship Tirpitz, with 12,000 lb Tallboy bombs off Tromsø, Norway. (12. November 1944)

Sudirman is elected the first commander-in-chief of the Indonesian Armed Forces. (12. November 1945)

In Tokyo, an international war crimes tribunal sentences seven Japanese military and government officials, including General Hideki Tojo, to death for their roles in World War II. (12. November 1948)

Morocco, Sudan and Tunisia join the United Nations. (12. November 1956)

In the midst of the Suez Crisis, Palestinian refugees are shot dead in the village of Rafah by Israeli soldiers following the invasion of the Gaza Strip. (12. November 1956)

A team of rock climbers led by Warren Harding completes the first ascent of The Nose on El Capitan in Yosemite Valley. (12. November 1958)

Equatorial Guinea joins the United Nations. (12. November 1968)

Vietnam War: My Lai Massacre – Independent investigative journalist Seymour Hersh breaks the My Lai story. (12. November 1969)

The Oregon Highway Division attempts to destroy a rotting beached Sperm whale with explosives, leading to the now infamous "exploding whale" incident. (12. November 1970)

The 1970 Bhola cyclone makes landfall on the coast of East Pakistan becoming the deadliest tropical cyclone in history. (12. November 1970)

Vietnam War: As part of Vietnamization, US President Richard M. Nixon sets February 1, 1972 as the deadline for the removal of another 45,000 American troops from Vietnam. (12. November 1971)

The Comoros joins the United Nations. (12. November 1975)

Pope John Paul II takes possession of his Cathedral Church, the Basilica of St. John Lateran, as the Bishop of Rome. (12. November 1978)

Iran hostage crisis: In response to the hostage situation in Tehran, US President Jimmy Carter orders a halt to all petroleum imports into the United States from Iran. (12. November 1979)

The NASA space probe Voyager I makes its closest approach to Saturn and takes the first images of its rings. (12. November 1980)

Space Shuttle program: Mission STS-2, utilizing the Space Shuttle Columbia, marks the first time a manned spacecraft is launched into space twice. (12. November 1981)

In the Soviet Union, Yuri Andropov becomes the general secretary of the Soviet Communist Party's Central Committee, succeeding Leonid I. Brezhnev. (12. November 1982)

Crown Prince Akihito is formally installed as Emperor Akihito of Japan, becoming the 125th Japanese monarch. (12. November 1990)