This Day in History: 7.9-magnitude earthquake kills nearly 70,000 in Sichuan, China in 2008

The following are some of the major events to have occurred on May 12:

1926 – Jozef Pilsudski led a successful military coup in Poland.

1943 – The German commander in North Africa, General von Arnim, surrendered in World War Two.

2001 – The American singer Perry Como died. His relaxed vocal style endured through six decades with such easy-listening ballads as “Catch a Falling Star” and “It’s Impossible”.

2002 – Former U.S. president Jimmy Carter landed in Havana on a private visit, the highest-profile American to visit since Fidel Castro came to power in 1959.

2006 – Around 200 people died when an oil pipeline exploded on the outskirts of Nigeria’s capital Lagos after thieves tapped into it to steal fuel.

2006 – Justin Gatlin of the U.S. sets new 100m world record with a time of 9.76 seconds.

2008 – A 7.9 magnitude earthquake centred in Sichuan province devastated southwestern China, killing nearly 70,000 people.

2008 – The American artist Robert Rauschenberg, labelled a “Titan” of American art by the New York Times, died aged 82.

2008 – Irena Sendler, a Polish woman who saved thousands of Jewish children during World War Two by smuggling them out of the Warsaw Ghetto, died.

2014 – Narendra Modi wins world’s largest-ever election in India.

2015 – Amtrak train derails in Philadelphia.

(Reuters)