
1606: The Union Flag became the official flag of Britain. It combined the flags of St. George (England) and St. Andrew (Scotland). As Wales was not a Kingdom but a Principality it could not be included on the flag. In 1801 the cross of St. Patrick (Ireland) was incorporated to create the flag that has been flown ever since.

1838: English settlers in South Africa defeated the Zulus at the Battle of Tugela. The settlers had guns whereas the Zulus only had spears.
1861: The American Civil War begins
The U.S. Civil War began as Confederate forces opened fire on Fort Sumter in South Carolina. The bombardment of Fort Sumter near Charleston, South Carolina marked the beginning of hostilities.
The conflict was sparked by deepening economic, social, and political differences between the southern and northern states, which were most palpably embodied by the dispute about the legitimacy of slavery. The southern (pro-slavery) states, surrendered in 1865, ending the war.
1937: The first aircraft jet engine is successfully tested
Sir Frank Whittle invented and tested the engine, only a few months before German engineer Hans von Ohain ran his jet engine, which was to power the first ever all-jet aircraft.
1945: President Franklin D. Roosevelt died of a cerebral hemorrhage in Warm Springs, Georgia, at age 63; he was succeeded by Vice President Harry S. Truman.

1961: Aboard the spacecraft Vostok 1, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin becomes the first human being to travel into space. During the flight, the 27-year-old test pilot and industrial technician also became the first man to orbit the planet, a feat accomplished by his space capsule in 89 minutes. Vostok 1 orbited Earth at a maximum altitude of 187 miles and was guided entirely by an automatic control system. The only statement attributed to Gagarin during his one hour and 48 minutes in space was, โFlight is proceeding normally; I am well.โ

1980: On this day in 1980, the Black Consciousness Movement of Azania was formed in Londonโฆ
1981: American Joe Louis, world heavyweight boxing champion from 1937 to 1949, died at age 66.

1981: The space shuttle Columbia is launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, becoming the first reusable manned spacecraft to travel into space. Piloted by astronauts Robert L. Crippen and John W. Young, the Columbia undertook a 54-hour space flight of 36 orbits before successfully touching down at Californiaโs Edwards Air Force Base on April 14.

1988: The Last Emperor receives nine Academy Awards.
Bernardo Bertolucci’s biopic about Puyi, the last Emperor of China, was the first film to be awarded all the Oscars it was nominated for.
1990: In its first meeting, East Germanyโs first democratically elected parliament acknowledged responsibility for the Nazi Holocaust, and asked for the forgiveness of Jews and others who had suffered.
1992: After five years in the making, Euro Disneyland (now called Disneyland Paris) opened in Marne-La-Vallee, France, amid controversy as French intellectuals bemoaned the invasion of American pop culture.

2023: Ghana is the first country to approve a new vaccine for Malaria, the Mosquirixโ RTS, S, made at Oxford University. The first time a major new vaccine is first approved in Africa.

Births on This Day, April 12
Herbie Hancock, 84 years old
Herbie Hancock was an instrumental part of the Miles Davis Quintet from 1964 to 1968. In this role, he served as one of the primary founders of the post-bob jazz sound. Hancock’s 2007 album “River: The Joni Letters”, conceived as a jazz tribute to Joni Mitchell, won the Grammy for Album of the Year, one of only two jazz albums to ever do so. Born: April 12, 1940
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, USA

Jacob Zuma, 82 years
Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma was born on 12 April 1942, at Inkandla, in KwaZulu Natal. At the age of 17, he joined the African National Congress (ANC), becoming an active member of its military wing, uMkhonto weSizwe (MK), in 1962. As a politician, he served as the fourth president of South Africa from 2009 to 2018. He is also referred to by his initials JZ and clan names Nxamalala and Msholozi.

Fatima Abubakar, 73 years
Fatima Lami Abubakar CON, a Nigerian jurist was born in Minna in 1951. She was the First Lady of Nigeria during the term of Abdulsalami Abubakar from June 1998 to May 1999. After her reign as First Lady, Abubakar was the Chief Judge of Niger State from 2013 to 2016.

Bobby Moore (12 April 1941- 24 February 1993)
Bobby Moore, an English footballer was born. He captained West Ham for more than ten years and was captain of the England team that won the 1966 World Cup. He is widely regarded as one of the all-time greats of world football and was cited by Pelรฉ as the greatest defender that he had ever played against. He died at the age of 51.
