On This Day for October 12 - New World sighted , Luciano Pavarotti is featured, and more

This message contains graphics. If you do not see the graphics, click here to view. October 12 FEATURED BIOGRAPHY Luciano Pavarotti READ MORE   FEATURED EVENT 1492 New World sighted READ MORE   Advertisement Advertisement   MORE EVENTS ON THIS DAY 2001: The centennial Nobel Prize for Peace was awarded to the United Nations and the organization's secretary-general, Kofi Annan. [ How much do you know about the Nobel Prize?] 2000: While preparing to refuel in the Yemeni port of Aden, the USS Cole , a U.S. naval destroyer, was attacked by suicide bombers associated with al-Qaeda; 17 sailors were killed and 39 wounded. 1999: American basketball player Wilt Chamberlain, who was considered one of the greatest offensive players in the history of the game, died at age 63. [Take our basketball quiz.] 1998: American college student Matthew Shepard died in Fort Collins, Colorado, several days after being beaten by two men and left in the cold in Laramie, Wyoming; Shepard's homosexuality was believed to have motivated the attack, and his death contributed to the expansion of federal hate-crime legislation. 1968: Equatorial Guinea gained its independence from Spain. [Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about Africa.] 1915: During World War I, English nurse Edith Cavell was executed for assisting Allied soldiers in escaping from German-occupied Belgium. [Test your knowledge of World War I.] SEE ALL EVENTS ON THIS DAY ALSO BORN ON THIS DAY 1968 Hugh Jackman Australian performer 1798 Pedro I emperor of Brazil 1537 Edward VI king of England and Ireland 1935 Luciano Pavarotti Italian opera singer 1975 Marion Jones American athlete 1872 Ralph Vaughan Williams British composer SEE ALL BIOS ON THIS DAY   Advertisement   FOLLOW: To unsubscribe from Britannica e-mails, click here. Encyclopædia Britannica 325 N. LaSalle Street, Suite 200 Chicago, Illinois 60654 United States © 2020 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. Privacy Policy • Help