October 12th

The army of Cyrus the Great of Persia takes Babylon.

A bomb destroyed a nightclub in Bali, killing 202, mostly tourists.

17 U.S. sailors killed with the terrorist attack on the USS Cole in Yemen.

The Day of Six Billion: the proclaimed 6 billionth living human in the world is born.

Douglas Adam’s Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Hits the Bookstores. The first in a “trilogy of five”, the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, or H2G2, is a popular comedy science fiction novel that was first created as a radio show in 1978 for BBC Radio 4. The show and the book follow the intergalactic adventures of Arthur Dent, who escapes the Earth’s destruction. He is accompanied by several other characters including an alien called Ford Prefect, Marvin the depressed robot, and the Vogons who are responsible for destroying the Earth.

Equatorial Guinea Gains Independence. The African republic was part of the Spanish Empire since the late 1700s. Known as Spanish Guinea, the country became independent and changed its name to Equatorial Guinea under the leadership of President Francisco Macías Nguema. In 1972, Nguema proclaimed himself president for life.

The Soviets launched Voskhod I, the first space capsule to carry three people into orbit.

Soviet premier Nikita Krushchev created a disturbance at the U.N. General Assembly by pounding his desk with his shoe.

Ford Motor Company under Henry Ford manufactures its 1 millionth Model T automobile.

Gen. Robert E. Lee died in Lexington, Va., at age 63.

Christopher Columbus's expedition makes landfall on Caribbean island he names San Salvador (likely Watling Island, Bahamas). The explorer believes he has reached East Asia (OS 21 Oct).

Nichiren, a Japanese Buddhist monk, founder of Nichiren Buddhism, inscribes the Dai-Gohonzon.