What Happened on June 12?

June 12 is World Day Against Child Labour — promoting safe childhoods worldwide — on the same date Ronald Reagan challenged Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall, the Philippines declared independence, and Anne Frank received her diary.

• 1898 — The Philippines declares independence from Spain

  Filipino leader Emilio Aguinaldo proclaimed Philippine independence on June 12, 1898, after Spain's defeat in the Spanish-American War. Read the full story →

• 1942 — Anne Frank receives her diary for her thirteenth birthday

  On June 12, 1942, Anne Frank's parents gave her a red-and-white checkered diary — she would fill it while hiding from the Nazis in Amsterdam. Read the full story →

• 1963 — Civil rights leader Medgar Evers is assassinated in Mississippi

  NAACP field secretary Medgar Evers was shot dead in his driveway on June 12, 1963, hours after President Kennedy's civil rights address. Read the full story →

• 1964 — Nelson Mandela sentenced to life in prison

  South African anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela received a life sentence on June 12, 1964, for sabotage against the racist apartheid regime. Read the full story →

• 1979 — The Gossamer Albatross flies across the English Channel using human power alone

  Pilot Bryan Allen pedaled the gossamer-light Gossamer Albatross from England to France on June 12, 1979, completing the first human-powered aircraft crossing of the English Channel. Read the full story →

Famous birthdays

Anne Frank (1929–1945) · George H.W. Bush (1924–2018) · Jim Nabors (1930–2017) · Chick Corea (1941–2021)

Days & observances

World Day Against Child Labour · National Peanut Butter Cookie Day · National Red Rose Day · Independence Day (Philippines)