WHAT ALL HAPPENED JANUARY TO MAY 1812
Find out what all happened January to May 1812

Poet Lord Byron gives his first address as a member of the House of Lords, in defense of Luddite violence against Industrialism in his home county of Nottinghamshire. (27. February 1812)

Manuel Belgrano raises the Flag of Argentina in the city of Rosario for the first time. (27. February 1812)

The strongest in a series of earthquakes strikes New Madrid, Missouri. (7. February 1812)

British forces under the command of the Duke of Wellington assault the fortress of Badajoz. This would be the turning point in the Peninsular War against Napoleon-led France. (6. April 1812)

U.S. President James Madison enacts a ninety-day embargo on trade with the United Kingdom. (4. April 1812)

Peninsular War: After a ten-day siege, Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, orders British soldiers of the Light and third divisions to storm Ciudad Rodrigo. (19. January 1812)

Massachusetts governor Elbridge Gerry "gerrymanders" for the first time. (11. February 1812)

The Territory of Orleans becomes the 18th U.S. state under the name Louisiana. (30. April 1812)

An earthquake destroys Caracas, Venezuela. (26. March 1812)

The Bishop of Durham, Shute Barrington, orders troops from Durham Castle to break up a miners strike in Chester-le-Street, Co. Durham (1. January 1812)

A political cartoon in the Boston Gazette coins the term "gerrymander" to describe oddly shaped electoral districts designed to help incumbents win reelection. (26. March 1812)

John Bellingham is found guilty and sentenced to death by hanging for the assassination of British Prime Minister Spencer Perceval. (18. May 1812)

The Cádiz Cortes promulgates the Spanish Constitution of 1812. (19. March 1812)

Battle of Badajoz (March 16 – April 6) – British and Portuguese forces besieged and defeated French garrison during Peninsular War. (16. March 1812)

Russian Field Marshal Mikhail Kutuzov signs the Treaty of Bucharest, ending the Russo-Turkish War, 1806-1812. Bessarabia is illegitimately annexed by Imperial Russia. (16. May 1812)

Hugh McGary Jr. establishes what is now Evansville, Indiana on a bend in the Ohio River. (27. March 1812)

Prime Minister Spencer Perceval is assassinated by John Bellingham in the lobby of the House of Commons, London. (11. May 1812)