WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2012

Today is Wednesday, December 12, the 347th day of 2012. There are 19 days left in the year.

1098 ― First Crusaders capture and plunder Mara, Syria

1792 ― In Vienna, Ludwig van Beethoven (21) receives first lesson in music composition from Franz Joseph Haydn

1878 ― Joseph Pulitzer begins publishing "St Louis Dispatch"

1901 ― Marconi receives first transatlantic radio signal, England to U.S.

1913 ― "Mona Lisa", recovered after being stolen from the Louvre Museum in 1911

1963 ― Argentina asks for extradition of ex-President Peron

1965 ― Beatles last Great Britain concert (Capitol Theatre in Cardiff, Wales)

1988 ― PLO leader Yasser Arafat accepts Israel's right to exist

1991 ― Maastricht Treaty signed to create a European Community

1997 ― Japanese train builders (Maglev) claim world speed record at 332 mph