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