April 12.
A whopper of a day. Be sure to avoid this one for trying to get into the record books for doing something notable on any given day. The competition is intense.
1204. In a cruel twist of irony, the Christian city of Constantinople falls to the Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade. The Crusade was organized under the aegis of Pope Innocent III, and by general agreement was to make directly for the Muslim city of Cairo. Pope Innocent solemnly banned attacks by the Crusaders upon Christian states. Venice, however, under her ancient and blind Doge, Enrico Dandolo, intentionally steered the Crusading fleet to Constantinople which was one of, if not THE, foremost cities among Christiandom.
Speros Vryonis in
Byzantium and Europe gives a vivid account of the sack of Constantinople by the Frankish and Venetian Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade:
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The Latin soldiery subjected the greatest city in Europe to an indescribable sack. For three days they murdered, raped, looted and destroyed on a scale which even the ancient Vandals and Goths would have found unbelievable. Constantinople had become a veritable museum of ancient and Byzantine art, an emporium of such incredible wealth that the Latins were astounded at the riches they found. Though the Venetians had an appreciation for the art which they discovered (they were themselves semi-Byzantines) and saved much of it, the French and others destroyed indiscriminately, halting to refresh themselves with wine, violation of nuns, and murder of Orthodox clerics. The Crusaders vented their hatred for the Greeks most spectacularly in the desecration of the greatest Church in Christendom. They smashed the silver iconostasis, the icons and the holy books of Hagia Sophia, and seated upon the patriarchal throne a whore who sang coarse songs as they drank wine from the Church's holy vessels. The estrangement of East and West, which had proceeded over the centuries, culminated in the horrible massacre that accompanied the conquest of Constantinople. The Greeks were convinced that even the Turks, had they taken the city, would not have been as cruel as the Latin Christians. The defeat of Byzantium, already in a state of decline, accelerated political degeneration so that the Byzantines eventually became an easy prey to the Turks. The Crusading movement thus resulted, ultimately, in the victory of Islam, a result which was of course the exact opposite of its original intention.
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1606. Great Britain adopts the Union Jack as it's official flag.
1861. The American Civil War begins with the firing by Confederate Forces on Fort Sumter.
1945. FDR dies. Harry Truman is sworn in.
1955. The Polio Vaccine, developed by Dr. Jonas Salk, is declared safe and effective.
1961. Soviet Cosmonaut Yuri Gargarin becomes the first human to travel into outer space.
1981. The first space shuttle is launched. Columbia launches on the STS-1 mission.