On This Day - What happened 12 February

Dowager Queen Elizabeth spent the last five years of her life living at Bermondsey Abbey, to which she retired on 12 February 1487.

On 12 February 1912, after being pressured by Yuan and other ministers, Puyi (age six) and Empress Dowager Longyu accepted Yuan's terms of abdication.

Wong appeared alongside Marlene Dietrich as a self-sacrificing courtesan in Sternberg's Shanghai Express.

Franco and Serrano Suñer held a meeting with Mussolini and Ciano in Bordighera, Italy on 12 February 1941. Mussolini affected not to be interested in Franco's help due to the defeats his forces had suffered in North Africa and the Balkans, and he even told Franco that he wished he could find any way to leave the war.

On 12 February, the non-Communists in the cabinet demanded punishment for the offending Communists in the government and an end to their supposed subversion.

Christopher Johnson McCandless was born in El Segundo, California. He was the first child of Wilhelmina "Billie" McCandless (née Johnson) and Walter "Walt" McCandless. The couple subsequently had one more child, a daughter named Carine. McCandless also had six half-siblings from Walt McCandless' first marriage, who lived with their mother in California. Author Jon Krakauer later speculated that Walt's transition between these two marriages may have deeply affected and profoundly shaped McCandless' world-view.

On February 12, with insufficient cash to pay his overdue rent and a growing suspicion that police were closing in on him, Bundy stole a car and fled Tallahassee, driving westward across the Florida Panhandle.

The sudden capture of al-Faw took the Iraqis by shock, since they had thought it impossible for the Iranians to cross the Shatt al-Arab. On 12 February 1986, the Iraqis began a counter-offensive to retake al-Faw, which failed after a week of heavy fighting.

The new constitution entered into force on 12 February 1992. In addition to establishing Mongolia as an independent, sovereign republic and guaranteeing a number of rights and freedoms, the new constitution restructured the legislative branch of government, creating a unicameral legislature, the State Great Khural (SGK).

On 12 February, Sarajevo enjoyed its first casualty free day since April 1992.

On February 12, the Senate emerged from its closed deliberations and voted on the articles of impeachment. A two-thirds vote, 67 votes, would have been necessary to convict and remove the President from office.

All Democrats voted not guilty (45 Votes), the majority of Republicans voted guilty (45 votes) and 10 Republicans voted not guilty.

All Democrats voted not guilty (45 Votes), the majority of Republicans voted guilty (50 votes) and 5 Republicans voted not guilty.

"UNCTAD X" was held in Bangkok, Thailand.

The trial began at The Hague on 12 February 2002, with Milošević defending himself.

After Carrey starred in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. The film received overwhelming acclaim upon release. Critics highly praised Carrey's portrayal of Joel Barish, in addition to the performance of his co-star Kate Winslet, who received an Oscar nomination. According to CNN's reviewer Paul Clinton, Carrey's performance was the actor's "best, most mature and sharply focused performance ever" received another Golden Globe nomination and his first ever BAFTA Award nomination for Best Actor.

On February 12, 2008, then Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia may target its missiles at Ukraine if its neighbour joins NATO and accepts the deployment of a US missile defence shield.Russia

On 12 February, the Hubei government adopted a broader definition of confirmed cases, which now includes clinically diagnosed patients diagnosed by their symptoms and CT scans but without a nucleic acid test, which can take days to process and delay treatment. "Using CT scans that reveal lung infection would help patients receive treatment as soon as possible and improve their chances of recovery," the provincial health commission said. This new methodology accounts for the sharp increase in Hubei's daily confirmed cases: 13,332 of the 14,840 newly confirmed cases in the province on 12 February were diagnosed clinically under the new definition.

Muslims in Granada were forced to convert to Catholicism.

On his second voyage to India, Vasco da Gama left Lisbon, Portugal.

On his third trip to the Pacific Ocean, Captain James Cook arrived at Queen Charlotte Sound, New Zealand.

Martinique is occupied by the British fleet.