What Happened on August 12

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On August 12 in 1990, 36 years ago, Sue's Discovery Rewrites T. rex History. This page reports 13 stories from the date, 25 people born on this day.

The stories in full

Science Desk

1990 — Sue's Discovery Rewrites T. rex History

A nearly complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton, discovered on August 12, 1990, is about 85 percent complete.

A nearly complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton discovered in South Dakota is giving scientists their most detailed look yet at the predator. Paleontologist Sue Hendrickson spotted the remains while examining a cliff-side with a team from the Black Hills Institute. The find occurred on August 12, 1990, on the Cheyenne River Reservation, about 15 miles northeast of Faith. Nicknamed Sue in her honor, the skeleton is approximately 85 percent complete, the most complete T. rex known. Now displayed at the Field Museum in Chicago, it promises extensive study and public wonder.

• Sue Hendrickson discovered the T. rex skeleton on August 12, 1990, in the Cheyenne River Reservation.
• The skeleton, nicknamed Sue, was found approximately 15 miles northeast of Faith, South Dakota.
• Sue is the most complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton known to science, approximately 85% complete.
• Hendrickson was examining a cliff-side with a team from the Black Hills Institute when she discovered the specimen.
• The skeleton is now on display at the Field Museum in Chicago, Illinois.

National Desk

2000 — Kursk Disaster Exposes Submarine's Silent Toll

The Kursk sank in 2000 at 108 meters, 135 km off Severomorsk, with a second blast equivalent to 3-7 tons of TNT, leaving 24 bodies and 23 survivors, until raised by Giant 4.

The Kursk sank in August 2000 during a military exercise in the Barents Sea, at a depth of 108 meters, about 135 km off Severomorsk. A second explosion 135 seconds after the initial blast, equivalent to 3-7 tons of TNT, tore the submarine apart. Rescue efforts were hampered by secrecy, with President Vladimir Putin waiting five days before ending his holiday. Divers later found 24 bodies in the ninth compartment, and a note from Captain-Lieutenant Dmitri Kolesnikov listed 23 survivors. The navy's final report blamed a faulty weld in a hydrogen peroxide-fueled torpedo. A Dutch consortium eventually raised the Kursk using the modified barge Giant 4.

• The Kursk sank in the Barents Sea at a depth of 108 meters, about 135 km off Severomorsk.
• A second explosion 135 seconds after the initial blast was equivalent to 3-7 tons of TNT.
• Norwegian and Russian divers found 24 bodies in the ninth compartment, and Captain-Lieutenant Dmitri Kolesnikov wrote a note listing 23 survivors.
• The Russian Navy's final report attributed the disaster to a hydrogen peroxide-fueled Type 65 torpedo explosion caused by a faulty weld.
• President Vladimir Putin waited five days before ending his holiday in Sochi, drawing criticism for his delayed response.

Natural History

1883 — Last Quagga Dies in Amsterdam

The last known quagga, a subspecies of plains zebra, died at Amsterdam's Artis zoo on August 12, 1883.

The last known quagga, a distinctive subspecies of the plains zebra, died at the Natura Artis Magistra zoo in Amsterdam on August 12, 1883. The animal, pictured here in its enclosure, was a unique specimen that had been displayed for years, but because all zebras were often referred to as quagga, no one realized it was the last of its kind until much later.

• The last quagga died at Artis zoo in Amsterdam on 12 August 1883.
• Because all zebras were referred to as quagga, nobody realized this was the last quagga alive until years later.
• Only two quaggas were ever photographed alive, and 23 skins and seven skeletons exist today.
• The quagga was the first extinct animal to have its DNA analyzed, in a 1984 study.
• The quagga was hunted to extinction in the wild by 1878, with the last wild population in the Orange Free State.

Science Desk

1990 — Sue Hendrickson Finds Largest T. rex Skeleton in South Dakota

The biggest and most complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton ever found was unearthed in South Dakota.

Sue Hendrickson discovered the largest and most complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton found to date in South Dakota on August 12, 1990. The specimen, nicknamed Sue, promises new insight into the king of dinosaurs. Paleontologists say the skeleton's size and completeness could reshape understanding of T. rex growth and anatomy. The fossil is bound for museum display, where the public will see Sue in full.

• Sue, the largest and most complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton found to date, is discovered by Sue Hendrickson in South Dakota.

Foreign Desk

1985 — JAL 747 Crashes Into Mount Takamagahara, 520 Dead in Worst

A Japan Air Lines Boeing 747 slammed into a mountain in Gunma Prefecture, killing 520 of 524 aboard.

The wreckage of Japan Air Lines Flight 123 still smoldered on Mount Takamagahara in Gunma Prefecture on August 12, 1985, after the Boeing 747 crashed, killing 520 of the 524 people on board. The flight from Tokyo to Osaka carried singer Kyu Sakamoto, who died in the crash. The disaster is the world's worst single-aircraft aviation tragedy. Rescue crews reached the remote site, where four survivors were pulled from the debris.

• Japan Air Lines Flight 123 crashed into Mount Takamagahara, killing 520 people.
• The crash occurred on August 12, 1985.

Aerospace Beat

1977 — Space Shuttle Enterprise Soars Free in First Atmospheric Test

The prototype orbiter Enterprise completed its first free flight, gliding to a landing after release from a carrier jet.

The era of reusable spacecraft took a giant leap on August 12, 1977, when the Space Shuttle Enterprise completed its first free flight, released from a modified Boeing 747 carrier jet to glide to a landing in the California desert. The prototype orbiter, named for the starship in "Star Trek," proved the shuttle's ability to fly and land unpowered. The successful test cleared the way for the shuttle program's orbital missions.

• The first free flight of the Space Shuttle Enterprise.

What the papers printed that morning

Real front pages from 12 August 1883, scanned by the Library of Congress. These are archival documents, not our work.

August 12 in culture

Decade	Number one song	Top film that week	Number one bestseller that week
1960s 1967	“Light My Fire”, The Doors	Barefoot in the Park	The Arrangement, Elia Kazan
1970s 1972	“Alone Again (Naturally)”, Gilbert O'Sullivan	The Godfather	Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Richard Bach
1980s 1989	“Right Here Waiting”, Richard Marx	Parenthood	Polar Star, Martin Cruz Smith
1990s 1995	“Waterfalls”, TLC	Dangerous Minds	Memnoch the Devil, Anne Rice
2000s 2000	“Incomplete”, Sisqo	Hollow Man	The House on Hope Street, Danielle Steel
2010s 2017	“Despacito”, Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee Featuring Justin Bieber	Annabelle: Creation	The Late Show, Michael Connelly
2020s 2023	“Last Night”, Morgan Wallen	Barbie	The Collector, Daniel Silva

Famous birthdays on August 12

• 1971 Pete Sampras (55 this year) Pete Sampras is an American former professional tennis player.
• 1931 William Goldman William Goldman was an American novelist, screenwriter and playwright who wrote 16 novels and numerous screenplays in a career spanning seven decades.
• 1978 Hayley Wickenheiser (48 this year) Hayley Wickenheiser is a Canadian former ice hockey player, physician, and former assistant general manager for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
• 1998 Stefanos Tsitsipas (28 this year) Stefanos Tsitsipas is a Greek professional tennis player.
• 1918 Guy Gibson Wing Commander Guy Penrose Gibson, was a British bomber pilot in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War.
• 1919 Margaret Burbidge Eleanor Margaret Burbidge, (née Peachey; 12 August 1919 – 5 April 2020) was a British-American observational astronomer and astrophysicist.
• 1935 John Cazale John Holland Cazale was an American actor.
• 1604 Tokugawa Iemitsu Tokugawa Iemitsu was a Japanese samurai, daimyo and the third shōgun of the Tokugawa dynasty.
• 1867 Edith Hamilton Edith Hamilton was an American educator and internationally known author who was one of the most renowned classicists of her era in the United States.
• 1876 Mary Roberts Rinehart Mary Roberts Rinehart was an American writer, often called the American Agatha Christie.
• 1880 Christy Mathewson Christopher Mathewson, nicknamed "Big Six," "the Christian Gentleman," "Matty," and "the Gentleman's Hurler," was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Giants.
• 1881 Cecil B. DeMille Cecil Blount DeMille, often known in popular culture as Mr. DeMille, was an American filmmaker and actor.
• 1887 Erwin Schrödinger Erwin Rudolf Josef Alexander Schrödinger, sometimes anglicised as Schroedinger or Schrodinger, was an Austrian theoretical physicist who developed fundamental results in quantum theory.
• 1902 Mohammad Hatta Mohammad Hatta was an Indonesian statesman, nationalist, and independence activist who served as the country's first vice president as well as the third prime minister.
• 1909 Bruce Matthews Major General Albert Bruce Matthews was a senior Canadian Army officer and businessman.
• 1911 Cantinflas Mario Fortino Alfonso Moreno Reyes, known by the stage name Cantinflas, was a Mexican comedian, actor, and filmmaker.
• 1933 Parnelli Jones Rufus Parnell "Parnelli" Jones was an American professional racing driver and racing team owner.
• 1936 John Poindexter (90 this year) John Marlan Poindexter is a retired United States naval officer and Department of Defense official.
• 1937 Walter Dean Myers Walter Dean Myers was an American writer best known for young adult literature.
• 1941 Dana Ivey (85 this year) Dana Ivey is an American retired actress.
• 1945 Ron Mael (81 this year) Ronald David Mael is an American musician, songwriter, composer, record producer, music programmer, and film director.
• 1949 Rick Ridgeway (77 this year) Rick Ridgeway is an American mountaineer and adventurer, who during his career has also been an environmentalist, writer, filmmaker and businessman.
• 1950 George McGinnis George F. McGinnis was an American professional basketball player who played 11 seasons in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA).
• 1950 Jim Beaver (76 this year) James Norman Beaver Jr. is an American actor, writer, and film historian.
• 1964 Michael Hagan (62 this year) Michael Hagan is an Australian professional rugby league football coach and former player.

Quote of the Day

“We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.” — Oscar Wilde, Lady Windermere's Fan

August 12 History Quiz

August 12 leans Science Desk: 2 of the 13 events we hold for this date come from it.

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