Today in history, February 12: Key events that happened

February 12 has repeatedly marked defining turning points in the American story. From presidential legacies to civil rights milestones and achievements in science, the date carries a remarkable concentration of events that helped shape the nation.

Georgia founded at the site of Savannah (1733)
British Army officer James Oglethorpe landed with settlers and established the colony of Georgia, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The settlement at Savannah was designed as a strategic buffer between British South Carolina and Spanish-controlled Florida.


Abraham Lincoln is born (1809)
One of the most consequential figures in US history, Abraham Lincoln was born in a log cabin in Hardin County, Kentucky (now LaRue County).

Lincoln would go on to become the 16th President of the United States and lead the country through the Civil War, preserving the Union and issuing the Emancipation Proclamation, which set the path toward ending slavery in America. His leadership and legacy remain central to the nation’s political and moral identity.

NAACP founded (1909)
Another transformative milestone occurred on February 12, 1909, with the founding of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Established on Lincoln’s 100th birthday, the organization aimed to combat racial injustice and advance civil rights for African Americans.

The NAACP became a driving force behind major legal victories, including Brown v. Board of Education, which ended school segregation, and continues to influence civil rights advocacy today.

Intel unveils the i740 graphics chip (1998)
Intel introduced the i740, its first dedicated graphics chip, marking the company’s early push into the rapidly growing consumer graphics market.

The release signaled the increasing importance of PC gaming and multimedia computing and foreshadowed the rise of powerful graphics hardware that would later drive modern gaming, design, and artificial intelligence technologies.

First presidential impeachment acquittal of Bill Clinton (1999)
The US Senate acquitted President Bill Clinton following his impeachment trial. Clinton had been charged with perjury and obstruction of justice, but the Senate failed to reach the two-thirds majority needed for conviction.

This event marked only the second presidential impeachment trial in American history at the time and remains a major moment in modern US political history.

NEAR Shoemaker orbits an asteroid (2001)
In 2001, NASA achieved a groundbreaking space milestone when the NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft became the first spacecraft to orbit an asteroid, Eros.

This achievement opened new possibilities for studying asteroids up close and deepened scientific understanding of the early solar system.