February 12 Through History

Explanation: This episode, known as the 'Battle of the Herrings', saw the French attempt to intercept a supply convoy destined for the English besieging Orléans. The convoy carried mainly dried fish for Lent. Joan of Arc would arrive a few months later to lift the siege of Orléans in May 1429.

Explanation: Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin was premiered at a concert called 'An Experiment in Modern Music' organized by conductor Paul Whiteman at Aeolian Hall in New York. Gershwin had composed the piece in just five weeks, and it remains one of the most performed works in the American repertoire.

Explanation: Christian Dior presented this revolutionary collection at 30 avenue Montaigne in Paris. The term 'New Look' was coined by Carmel Snow, editor-in-chief of Harper's Bazaar. This collection marked a return to elegant femininity after the years of clothing restrictions during World War II, with long skirts and cinched waists.

Explanation: Puyi ascended to the throne at just 2 years old, in 1908. After his abdication in 1912, he remained in the Forbidden City until 1924. His extraordinary life was told in Bernardo Bertolucci's film 'The Last Emperor', which won Oscars in 1988. Puyi later became a gardener in Beijing after the communist revolution.

Explanation: The Treaty of Canterbury, signed in Lille, made the Channel Tunnel project official. Construction began in 1988 and the tunnel was inaugurated on 6 May 1994. At 50.5 km long, of which 38 km run under the sea, it consists of two rail tunnels and a central service tunnel. This titanic project cost around 15 billion euros.

Explanation: Mary White Ovington, a white journalist and socialist activist, was one of the main founders of the NAACP, along with W.E.B. Du Bois. The date of February 12 was chosen symbolically to coincide with the 100th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth. The NAACP is today one of the oldest civil rights organizations in the United States.

Explanation: Jean-Claude Killy achieved a historic hat-trick at the Grenoble Games by winning the downhill, the giant slalom, and the slalom. He is one of the rare skiers to have pulled off this feat at the Olympics. After his sporting career, Killy got involved in organizing the 1992 Albertville Olympics as co-president of the organizing committee.

Explanation: Alexander Solzhenitsyn was arrested and expelled from the USSR the following day, February 13, 1974, to West Germany. He had received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1970 but had been unable to travel to Stockholm to accept it, fearing he would no longer be allowed back into the USSR. He lived in exile in the United States until 1994, when he returned to Russia.

Explanation: This study was among the first to scientifically establish the link between smoking and lung cancer, paving the way for decades of research and public health policies. However, it would take until the 1960s-1970s for significant regulatory measures to begin being adopted in Western countries to limit tobacco advertising.

Explanation: Yves Joseph de Kerguelen de Trémarec discovered these islands on 12 February 1772 in the Indian Ocean, at 49° south latitude. He called them 'France australe', convinced he had found a great continent. Now a French overseas territory, the Kerguelen Islands are home to a permanent scientific base, Port-aux-Français, but no permanent civilian population.