On this day in history - May 12

What Happened On This Day – May 12

• 2008 A massive earthquake rocks China

  The magnitude 7.9 quake left some 69,000 people dead, 18,000 missing, and 4.8 million homeless. It was the deadliest earthquake in China since 1976 when the Tangshan earthquake killed over 240,000 people.

• 1998 Violent clashes follow the killing of four protesters in Jakarta, Indonesia

  The riots eventually led to the resignation of President Suharto.

• 1994 The Nagorno-Karabakh war ends officially

  With the signing of the Bishkek Protocol a week earlier, Armenian and Azerbaijani diplomats had formalized the ceasefire that went into effect on May 12. The conflict itself remains unsolved.

• 1982 A Spanish priest attempts to assassinate Pope John Paul II

  Juan María Fernández y Krohn opposed the reforms initiated by the Second Vatican Council and believed that the Pope was a Communist agent. John Paul II escaped with minor injuries.

• 1941 The world's first programmable, fully automatic computer is presented

  The Z3 was designed by German inventor, Konrad Zuse. The original machine was destroyed in an air raid. A replica can be seen at the Deutsches Museum in Munich.