1492 believing he had reached the east indies christopher columb 10 12
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1492 534 years ago Selected Events October 12 4 sources

Believing he had reached the East Indies, Christopher Columbus made landfall on an island in the Caribbean, sparking a series of events that led to the European colonization of the Americas.

On October 12, in the year 1492, Believing he had reached the East Indies, Christopher Columbus made landfall on an island in the Caribbean, sparking a series of events that led to the European colonization of the Americas. This event is recorded as a Selected Events event in the history of October 12, one of 496 recorded events on this date across all of history.

The East Indies is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The Indies broadly referred to various lands in the East or the Eastern Hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainlands found in and around the Indian Ocean by Portuguese explorers, soon after the Cape Route was discovered. In a narrow sense, the term was used to refer to the Malay Archipelago, which today comprises the Indonesian Archipelago, New Guinea, and the Philippine Archipelago. Historically, the term was used in the Age of Discovery to refer to the coasts of the landmasses comprising the Indian subcontinent and the Indochinese Peninsula along with the Malay Archipelago.

Key Facts

  • This event took place on October 12, 1492 (AD era).
  • It is categorised as a Selected Events event in recorded history.
  • Referenced in 4 Wikipedia articles.
  • The event is associated with a specific geographical location (see map below).
  • Wikipedia source last updated on 9 September 2026.

On This Date in History 496

Type Year Date Event
Notable Deaths 2025 Oct 12 Jackie Burch, American casting director (born 1951)
Notable Deaths 2024 Oct 12 Jackmaster, Scottish DJ and record producer (born 1986)
Notable Deaths 2024 Oct 12 Ka, American rapper (born 1972)
Notable Deaths 2024 Oct 12 Lilly Ledbetter, American activist (born 1938)
Notable Deaths 2024 Oct 12 Tito Mboweni, South African politician (born 1959)
Notable Deaths 2024 Oct 12 Alvin Rakoff, Canadian film and television director (born 1927)
Notable Deaths 2024 Oct 12 Alex Salmond, Scottish economist and politician, First Minister of Scotland (born 1954)
Notable Deaths 2024 Oct 12 Baba Siddique, Indian politician (born 1958)
Notable Deaths 2023 Oct 12 Luis Garavito, Colombian serial killer (born 1957)
Historical Events 2022 Oct 12 2022 Bratislava shooting, killing 3 (including the perpetrator) and injuring one. The shooting occurred outside of a…
Notable Deaths 2020 Oct 12 Conchata Ferrell, American actress (born 1943)
Notable Deaths 2020 Oct 12 Roberta McCain, American socialite and oil heiress (born 1912)
Historical Events 2019 Oct 12 Typhoon Hagibis makes landfall in Japan, killing 10 and forcing the evacuation of one million people.
Historical Events 2019 Oct 12 Eliud Kipchoge from Kenya becomes the first person to run a marathon in less than two hours with a time of 1:59:40 in…
Historical Events 2019 Oct 12 The Hard Rock Hotel in New Orleans, which is under construction, collapses, killing three workers and injuring 30…
Historical Events 2018 Oct 12 Princess Eugenie marries Jack Brooksbank at St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle.
Historical Events 2017 Oct 12 The United States announces its decision to withdraw from UNESCO. Israel immediately follows.
Notable Deaths 2017 Oct 12 Margarita D'Amico, Venezuelan journalist (born 1938)
Notable Deaths 2015 Oct 12 Abdallah Kigoda, Tanzanian politician, 8th Tanzanian Minister of Industry and Trade (born 1953)
Notable Deaths 2015 Oct 12 Joan Leslie, American actress, dancer, and vaudevillian (born 1925)
Notable Deaths 2014 Oct 12 Ali Mazrui, Kenyan-American political scientist, philosopher, and academic (born 1933)
Notable Deaths 2014 Oct 12 Graham Miles, English snooker player (born 1941)
Notable Deaths 2014 Oct 12 Roberto Telch, Argentinian footballer and coach (born 1943)
Historical Events 2013 Oct 12 An apartment building collapse in Medellín, Colombia results in the deaths of twelve people.
Notable Deaths 2013 Oct 12 George Herbig, American astronomer and academic (born 1920)
Notable Deaths 2013 Oct 12 Oscar Hijuelos, American author and academic (born 1951)
Notable Deaths 2013 Oct 12 Hans Wilhelm Longva, Norwegian diplomat (born 1942)
Notable Deaths 2013 Oct 12 Malcolm Renfrew, American chemist and academic (born 1910)
Selected Events 2013 Oct 12 Twelve people were killed in an apartment-building collapse in Medellín, leading to new construction laws being passed…
Historical Events 2012 Oct 12 The European Union wins the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize.
Notable Deaths 2012 Oct 12 James Coyne, Canadian lawyer and banker, 2nd Governor of the Bank of Canada (born 1910)
Notable Deaths 2012 Oct 12 Norm Grabowski, American hot rod builder and actor (born 1933)
Notable Deaths 2012 Oct 12 Sukhdev Singh Kang, Indian judge and politician, 14th Governor of Kerala (born 1931)
Notable Deaths 2012 Oct 12 Torkom Manoogian, Iraqi-Armenian patriarch (born 1919)
Notable Deaths 2012 Oct 12 Erik Moseholm, Danish bassist, composer, and bandleader (born 1930)
Notable Deaths 2012 Oct 12 Břetislav Pojar, Czech animator, director, and screenwriter (born 1923)
Notable Deaths 2011 Oct 12 Patricia Breslin, American actress (born 1931)
Notable Deaths 2011 Oct 12 Dennis Ritchie, American computer scientist, created the C programming language (born 1941)
Historical Events 2010 Oct 12 The Finnish Yle TV2 channel's Ajankohtainen kakkonen current affairs program airs controversial Homoilta episode…
Notable Deaths 2010 Oct 12 Austin Ardill, Northern Irish soldier and politician (born 1917)
Notable Deaths 2010 Oct 12 Woody Peoples, American football player (born 1943)
Notable Deaths 2010 Oct 12 Belva Plain, American author (born 1919)
Notable Deaths 2009 Oct 12 Dickie Peterson American singer-songwriter and bass player (born 1948)
Notable Deaths 2009 Oct 12 Frank Vandenbroucke, Belgian cyclist (born 1974)
Notable Deaths 2008 Oct 12 Karl Chircop, Maltese physician and politician (born 1965)
Notable Deaths 2007 Oct 12 Kisho Kurokawa, Japanese architect, designed the Nakagin Capsule Tower (born 1934)
Notable Deaths 2006 Oct 12 Angelika Machinek, German glider pilot (born 1956)
Notable Deaths 2006 Oct 12 Eugène Martin, French race car driver (born 1915)
Notable Deaths 2006 Oct 12 Gillo Pontecorvo, Italian director and screenwriter (born 1919)
Notable Deaths 2006 Oct 12 Carlo Acutis, Italian programmer, known for his devotion to the Eucharist (born 1991)

This article draws on content from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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