A birthday on the globe
12 June on the globe: what happened in the world on this day, and who was born
For 12 June, the English Wikipedia lists 79 events and 207 births. Nine of the events stand at their places as rays of light. The taller the ray, the longer ago it happened. The people born that day come further down, as blue points.
A birthday, yours or someone else’s:
Turn it into a greetingScroll: the globe turns to each place
The day you were born, on the globe.
Three things from your day
Scroll: your day first, then 12 June through the years
The Earth on 12 June
The picture on the globe was assembled by NASA from satellite photographs taken in June 2004: the snow, the ice and the green are those of the month.
On 12 June the Sun passes straight overhead at noon along the parallel of 23.2° north. In London, the day lasts about 16 hours 35 minutes.
Beyond 67° north the Sun no longer sets; beyond 67° south it no longer rises.
The line between day and night is tilted on the globe exactly as on this day of the year. On the dark side you can see the lights of towns.
North America · Supreme Court of the United States
1967
The U.S. Supreme Court struck down laws restricting interracial marriage in the landmark civil rights case Loving v. Virginia.
On the map: Supreme Court of the United States.
12 June
Born on 12 June#
The English Wikipedia lists 207 births for this day. The blue points are the birthplaces of 60 of these people: those written about in the most Wikipedia editions, where Wikidata gives a place of birth.
Born on 12 June
1929
Anne Frank, German-Dutch diarist; victim of the Holocaust (died 1945)
Place of birth: Maingau Clinic of the Red Cross.
Born on 12 June
1962
Jordan Peterson, Canadian psychologist, professor and cultural critic
Place of birth: Edmonton.
Born on 12 June
1981
Adriana Lima, Brazilian model and actress
Place of birth: Salvador.
Born on 12 June
1827
Johanna Spyri, Swiss author, best known for Heidi (died 1901)
Place of birth: Hirzel.
Born in Britain and Ireland
1802
Harriet Martineau, English sociologist and author (died 1876)
Place of birth: Norwich.
Born in Britain and Ireland
1819
Charles Kingsley, English priest, historian, and author (died 1875)
Place of birth: Devon.
Born in Britain and Ireland
1851
Oliver Lodge, English physicist and academic (died 1940)
Place of birth: Stoke-on-Trent.
12 June
Number one in the charts that week
At the cinema
An animal recorded that day
The record can be seen in GBIF, which brings together wildlife records from around the world.
All your birthdays
The weather that day
Data: Met Office Hadley Centre (HadCET); NOAA (GHCN-Daily, Mauna Loa).
Above the Earth
Sources: Jonathan McDowell, GCAT (launches); GFZ Potsdam (Kp index). Days are counted in Universal Time.
Football that day
International matches played that day:
Source: the “International football results” dataset kept by Mart Jürisoo (CC0).
Also that day
The earthquake’s page at the USGS
Source: the USGS catalogue. The day is counted in Universal Time (UTC).
In those days
Make a link for someone
Type the name, pick the day and the year of birth. The link opens straight on their day, with their name in the greeting.
The link carries the name, date and place typed here; anyone who gets it can see them.
Put another birthday beside it
Your mother’s, your child’s, a friend’s: the two days appear side by side.
Below: 12 June through the years.
The whole globe of the day
Drag the globe to turn it. Touch a ray or a point to read what happened there.
Everything Wikipedia lists for 12 June
The list is the English Wikipedia’s, in its own wording, as it stood in October 2026. 70 events have no place on the map: the sentence links to no place with coordinates, only to places too wide to mark, or to several countries.
- 910
Battle of Augsburg: The Hungarians defeat the East Frankish army under King Louis the Child, using the famous feigned retreat tactic of the nomadic warriors.
no place on the map - 1042
Constantine IX Monomachos is crowned as Byzantine Emperor, one day after his marriage to Empress Zoe Porphyrogenita.
no place on the map - 1206
The Ghurid general Qutb ud-Din Aibak founds the Delhi Sultanate.
no place on the map - 1240
At the instigation of Louis IX of France, an inter-faith debate, known as the Disputation of Paris, starts between a Christian monk and four rabbis.
no place on the map - 1240
The Disputation of Paris, in which four rabbis defended the Talmud against Nicholas Donin's accusations of blasphemy, began in the court of King Louis IX.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Disputation of Paris - 1381
Peasants' Revolt: In England, rebels assemble at Blackheath, just outside London.
no place on the map - 1418
Armagnac–Burgundian Civil War: Parisians slaughter sympathizers of Bernard VII, Count of Armagnac, along with all prisoners, foreign bankers, and students and faculty of the College of Navarre.
no place on the map - 1429
Hundred Years' War: On the second day of the Battle of Jargeau, Joan of Arc leads the French army in their capture of the city and the English commander, William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk.
no place on the map - 1550
The city of Helsinki, Finland (belonging to Sweden at the time) is founded by King Gustav I of Sweden.
no place on the map - 1643
The Westminster Assembly is convened by the Parliament of England, without the assent of Charles I, in order to restructure the Church of England.
no place on the map - 1653
First Anglo-Dutch War: The Battle of the Gabbard begins, lasting until the following day.
no place on the map - 1665
Thomas Willett is appointed the first mayor of New York City.
no place on the map - 1758
French and Indian War: Siege of Louisbourg: James Wolfe's attack at Louisbourg, Nova Scotia, commences.
no place on the map - 1772
French explorer Marc-Joseph Marion du Fresne and 25 of his men are killed by Māori in New Zealand.
no place on the map - 1775
American War of Independence: British general Thomas Gage declares martial law in Massachusetts. The British offer a pardon to all colonists who lay down their arms. There would be only two exceptions to the amnesty: Samuel Adams and John Hancock, if captured, were to be hanged.
no place on the map - 1775
Thomas Gage, the governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, offered a general pardon to colonists who remained loyal to Britain.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Thomas Gage - 1776
The Fifth Virginia Convention adopted a declaration of rights, an influential document that proclaimed the inherent rights of men.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Fifth Virginia Convention - 1776
The Virginia Declaration of Rights is adopted.
no place on the map - 1798
Following the successful French invasion of Malta, the Knights Hospitaller surrendered Malta to Napoleon, initiating two years of occupation.
Europe · French invasion of MaltaWikipedia: French invasion of Malta - 1798
Irish Rebellion of 1798: Battle of Ballynahinch.
no place on the map - 1813
War of 1812: Capture of USRC Surveyor.
no place on the map - 1817
The earliest form of bicycle, the dandy horse, is driven by Karl von Drais.
no place on the map - 1821
Badi VII, king of Sennar, surrenders his throne and realm to Isma'il Pasha, general of the Ottoman Empire, ending the existence of that Sudanese kingdom.
no place on the map - 1830
Beginning of the Invasion of Algiers: Thirty-four thousand French soldiers land 27 kilometers west of Algiers, at Sidi Ferruch.
no place on the map - 1864
American Civil War, Overland Campaign: Battle of Cold Harbor: Ulysses S. Grant gives the Confederate forces under Robert E. Lee a victory when he pulls his Union troops from their position at Cold Harbor, Virginia and moves south.
no place on the map - 1864
Union general Ulysses S. Grant pulled his troops out of the Battle of Cold Harbor in Hanover County, Virginia, ending one of the bloodiest, most lopsided battles in the American Civil War.
North America · Battle of Cold HarborWikipedia: American Civil War - 1898
Philippine Declaration of Independence: General Emilio Aguinaldo declares the Philippines' independence from Spain.
no place on the map - 1899
New Richmond tornado: The ninth deadliest tornado in U.S. history kills 117 people and injures around 200.
no place on the map - 1900
The Reichstag approves new legislation continuing Germany's naval expansion program, providing for construction of 38 battleships over a 20-year period. Germany's fleet would be the largest in the world.
no place on the map - 1914
As part of the Ottoman Empire's policies of ethnic cleansing, Turkish irregulars began a six-day massacre in the predominantly Greek town of Phocaea.
Asia · Massacre of PhocaeaWikipedia: Massacre of Phocaea - 1914
Massacre of Phocaea: Turkish irregulars slaughter 50 to 100 Greeks and expel thousands of others in an ethnic cleansing operation in the Ottoman Empire.
no place on the map - 1921
Mikhail Tukhachevsky orders the use of chemical weapons against the Tambov Rebellion, bringing an end to the peasant uprising.
no place on the map - 1921
Soviet politician Vladimir Antonov-Ovseenko authorised the use of chemical weapons against a peasant rebellion in the Tambov Governorate.
Europe · Tambov RebellionWikipedia: Tambov Rebellion - 1935
A ceasefire is negotiated between Bolivia and Paraguay, ending the Chaco War.
no place on the map - 1939
Shooting begins on Paramount Pictures' Dr. Cyclops, the first horror film photographed in three-strip Technicolor.
no place on the map - 1939
The Baseball Hall of Fame opens in Cooperstown, New York.
no place on the map - 1940
World War II: Thirteen thousand British and French troops surrender to General Erwin Rommel at Saint-Valery-en-Caux.
no place on the map - 1942
Anne Frank receives a diary for her thirteenth birthday.
no place on the map - 1942
On her thirteenth birthday, Anne Frank began keeping a diary during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands in World War II.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Anne Frank - 1943
The Holocaust: Germany liquidates the Jewish Ghetto in Brzeżany, Poland (now Berezhany, Ukraine). Around 1,180 Jews are led to the city's old Jewish graveyard and shot.
no place on the map - 1944
World War II: Battle of Carentan: American paratroopers of the 101st Airborne Division secure the town of Carentan, Normandy, France.
no place on the map - 1950
An Air France Douglas DC-4 crashes near Bahrain International Airport, killing 46 people.
no place on the map - 1954
Dominic Savio, who was 14 years old at his death in 1857, was canonized by Pope Pius XII, making him one of the youngest non-martyred saints in the Catholic Church.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Dominic Savio - 1954
Pope Pius XII canonises Dominic Savio, who was 14 years old at the time of his death, as a saint, making him at the time the youngest unmartyred saint in the Roman Catholic Church. In 2017, Francisco and Jacinta Marto, aged ten and nine at the time of their deaths, are declared as saints.
no place on the map - 1963
NAACP field secretary Medgar Evers is murdered in front of his home in Jackson, Mississippi, by Ku Klux Klan member Byron De La Beckwith during the civil rights movement.
no place on the map - 1963
The film Cleopatra, starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, is released in US theaters. It was the most expensive film made at the time.
no place on the map - 1963
The premiere was held in New York of the historical drama film Cleopatra, the most expensive film made to that point.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Cleopatra - 1964
Anti-apartheid activist and ANC leader Nelson Mandela's original 5-year sentence is extended to life sentence for high treason together with Denis Goldberg, Ahmed Kathrada, Govan Mbeki, Raymond Mhlaba, Andrew Mlangeni, Elias Motsoaledi and Walter Sisulu in the Rivonia Trial for sabotage in South Africa.
no place on the map - 1967
The U.S. Supreme Court struck down laws restricting interracial marriage in the landmark civil rights case Loving v. Virginia.
North America · Supreme Court of the United StatesWikipedia: Supreme Court of the United States - 1967
The United States Supreme Court in Loving v. Virginia declares all U.S. state laws that prohibit interracial marriage to be unconstitutional.
no place on the map - 1975
State of Uttar Pradesh v. Raj Narain: Judge Jagmohanlal Sinha rules against Indira Gandhi in a case on her election to the Indian Parliament, and that she should be banned from holding any public office, triggering a political crisis.
no place on the map - 1978
American serial killer David Berkowitz, popularly known as the "Son of Sam", was sentenced to 25-years-to-life in prison for each of six killings.
no place on the mapWikipedia: David Berkowitz - 1979
Bryan Allen wins the second Kremer prize for a man-powered flight across the English Channel in the Gossamer Albatross.
no place on the map - 1981
Raiders of the Lost Ark, the first film in the Indiana Jones franchise, was released.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Raiders of the Lost Ark - 1981
The first of the Indiana Jones film franchise, Raiders of the Lost Ark, is released in theaters.
no place on the map - 1982
A nuclear disarmament rally and concert is held in New York City.
no place on the map - 1987
Cold War: At the Brandenburg Gate, U.S. President Ronald Reagan publicly challenges Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall.
no place on the map - 1987
Cold War: During a speech at the Brandenburg Gate by the Berlin Wall, US president Ronald Reagan challenged Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to "tear down this wall!" (speech featured).
Europe · Berlin WallWikipedia: Tear down this wall! - 1987
The Central African Republic's former emperor Jean-Bédel Bokassa is sentenced to death for crimes he had committed during his 13-year rule.
no place on the map - 1988
Austral Líneas Aéreas Flight 046, a McDonnell Douglas MD-81, crashes short of the runway at Libertador General José de San Martín Airport, killing all 22 people on board.
no place on the map - 1990
Russia Day: The parliament of the Russian Federation formally declares its sovereignty.
no place on the map - 1991
In modern Russia's first democratic election, Boris Yeltsin is elected as the President of Russia.
no place on the map - 1991
Kokkadichcholai massacre: The Sri Lankan Army massacres 152 minority Tamil civilians in the village of Kokkadichcholai near the Eastern Province town of Batticaloa.
no place on the map - 1991
More than 150 Sri Lankan Tamil civilians were massacred by members of the military in the village of Kokkadichcholai.
Asia · 1991 Kokkadichcholai massacreWikipedia: 1991 Kokkadichcholai massacre - 1993
An election takes place in Nigeria and is won by Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola. Its results are later annulled by the military government of Ibrahim Babangida.
no place on the map - 1994
The Boeing 777, the world's largest twinjet, made its maiden flight.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Boeing 777 - 1999
In the aftermath of the bombing of Yugoslavia and the Kosovo War, the NATO-led Kosovo Force entered the territory with a mandate of establishing a secure environment.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Kosovo War - 1999
Kosovo War: Operation Joint Guardian begins when a NATO-led United Nations peacekeeping force, Kosovo Force (KFor), enters the province of Kosovo in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
no place on the map - 2009
A disputed presidential election in Iran leads to wide-ranging local and international protests.
no place on the map - 2010
Sixteen-year-old Abby Sunderland was rescued after her boat was dismasted in the Indian Ocean while trying to become the youngest sailor around the world.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Abby Sunderland - 2014
Between 1,095 and 1,700 Shia Iraqi people are killed in an attack by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant on Camp Speicher in Tikrit, Iraq. It is the second deadliest act of terrorism in history, only behind 9/11.
no place on the map - 2016
An Islamic terrorist killed 49 people in a mass shooting at the gay nightclub Pulse in Orlando, Florida.
North America · Pulse nightclub shootingWikipedia: Pulse nightclub shooting - 2016
Forty-nine civilians are killed and 58 others injured in an attack on a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, United States; the gunman, Omar Mateen, is killed in a gunfight with police.
no place on the map - 2018
United States President Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un of North Korea hold the first meeting between leaders of their two countries in Singapore.
no place on the map - 2019
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev is inaugurated as the second president of Kazakhstan.
no place on the map - 2024
A fire in a residential building in Mangaf, Kuwait City kills at least 50 people.
no place on the map - 2025
Air India Flight 171 crashed shortly after take-off in Ahmedabad, India, killing 260 people.
Asia · Air India Flight 171Wikipedia: Air India Flight 171 - 2025
Air India Flight 171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, crashes shortly after takeoff into the B. J. Medical College, Ahmedabad, India, killing 241 out of 242 onboard as well as 19 on the ground. This marked the first fatal crash and hull loss of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
no place on the map - 2026
South African-American businessman Elon Musk becomes the first US$ trillionaire with the initial public offering of SpaceX.
no place on the map
Who was born on 12 June
In order of how many Wikipedia editions have an article about each. The first 60 of 207 are shown.
- 1924
George H. W. Bush, American lieutenant and politician, 41st President of the United States (died 2018)
- 1929
Anne Frank, German-Dutch diarist; victim of the Holocaust (died 1945)
Maingau Clinic of the Red CrossWikipedia: Anne Frank - 1897
Anthony Eden, English soldier and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (died 1977)
DurhamWikipedia: Anthony Eden - 1962
Jordan Peterson, Canadian psychologist, professor and cultural critic
EdmontonWikipedia: Jordan Peterson - 1981
Adriana Lima, Brazilian model and actress
SalvadorWikipedia: Adriana Lima - 1890
Egon Schiele, Austrian soldier and painter (died 1918)
Tulln an der DonauWikipedia: Egon Schiele - 1827
Johanna Spyri, Swiss author, best known for Heidi (died 1901)
HirzelWikipedia: Johanna Spyri - 1979
Diego Milito, Argentine footballer
BernalWikipedia: Diego Milito - 1908
Otto Skorzeny, German SS officer (died 1975)
ViennaWikipedia: Otto Skorzeny - 1915
David Rockefeller, American banker and businessman (died 2017)
ManhattanWikipedia: David Rockefeller - 1941
Chick Corea, American pianist and composer (died 2021)
ChelseaWikipedia: Chick Corea - 1899
Fritz Albert Lipmann, German-American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1986)
KönigsbergWikipedia: Fritz Albert Lipmann - 1802
Harriet Martineau, English sociologist and author (died 1876)
NorwichWikipedia: Harriet Martineau - 1985
Dave Franco, American actor
Palo AltoWikipedia: Dave Franco - 1892
Djuna Barnes, American novelist, journalist, and playwright (died 1982)
Cornwall-on-HudsonWikipedia: Djuna Barnes - 1819
Charles Kingsley, English priest, historian, and author (died 1875)
- 1988
Mauricio Isla, Chilean footballer
- 1519
Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (died 1574)
FlorenceWikipedia: Cosimo I de' Medici - 1922
Margherita Hack, Italian astrophysicist and author (died 2013)
FlorenceWikipedia: Margherita Hack - 1969
Heinz-Christian Strache, Austrian politician
- 1983
Christine Sinclair, Canadian soccer player
- 1979
Robyn, Swedish singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer
StockholmWikipedia: Robyn - 1984
Bruno Soriano, Spanish footballer
ArtanaWikipedia: Bruno Soriano - 1976
Thomas Sørensen, Danish footballer
FredericiaWikipedia: Thomas Sørensen - 1990
Jrue Holiday, American basketball player
ChatsworthWikipedia: Jrue Holiday - 1930
Jim Nabors, American actor and singer (died 2017)
SylacaugaWikipedia: Jim Nabors - 1851
Oliver Lodge, English physicist and academic (died 1940)
Stoke-on-TrentWikipedia: Oliver Lodge - 1921
Luis García Berlanga, Spanish director and screenwriter (died 2010)
ValenciaWikipedia: Luis García Berlanga - 950
Reizei, Japanese emperor (died 1011)
Heian-kyōWikipedia: Emperor Reizei - 1919
Uta Hagen, German-American actress and educator (died 2004)
GöttingenWikipedia: Uta Hagen - 1994
Don Toliver, American rapper and singer-songwriter
HoustonWikipedia: Don Toliver - 1107
Gao Zong, Chinese emperor (died 1187)
- 1933
Eddie Adams, American photographer and journalist (died 2004)
New KensingtonWikipedia: Eddie Adams - 1577
Paul Guldin, Swiss astronomer and mathematician (died 1643)
St. GallenWikipedia: Paul Guldin - 1843
David Gill, Scottish-English astronomer and author (died 1914)
AberdeenWikipedia: David Gill - 1915
Priscilla Lane, American actress (died 1995)
IndianolaWikipedia: Priscilla Lane - 1926
Amadeo Carrizo, Argentine footballer (died 2020)
- 1932
Mamo Wolde, Ethiopian runner (died 2002)
Oromia RegionWikipedia: Mamo Wolde - 1965
Gwen Torrence, American sprinter
AtlantaWikipedia: Gwen Torrence - 1985
Kendra Wilkinson, American model, actress, and author
San DiegoWikipedia: Kendra Wilkinson - 1949
John Wetton, English singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer (died 2017)
WillingtonWikipedia: John Wetton - 2002
Koni De Winter, Belgian footballer
AntwerpWikipedia: Koni De Winter - 1806
John A. Roebling, German-American engineer, designed the Brooklyn Bridge (died 1869)
Mühlhausen/ThuringiaWikipedia: John A. Roebling - 1908
Marina Semyonova, Russian ballerina and educator (died 2010)
Saint PetersburgWikipedia: Marina Semyonova - 1999
CarryMinati, Indian YouTuber
HaryanaWikipedia: CarryMinati - 1899
Weegee, Ukrainian-American photographer and journalist (died 1968)
ZolochivWikipedia: Weegee - 1975
Stéphanie Szostak, French-American actress
- 1161
Constance, Duchess of Brittany (died 1201)
BrittanyWikipedia: Constance of Brittany - 1858
Harry Johnston, English botanist and explorer (died 1927)
- 1914
Go Seigen, Chinese-Japanese Go player (died 2014)
Minhou CountyWikipedia: Go Seigen - 1653
Maria Amalia of Courland, Landgravine of Hesse-Kassel (died 1711)
- 1864
Frank Chapman, American ornithologist, photographer, and author (died 1945)
TeaneckWikipedia: Frank Chapman - 1930
Innes Ireland, Scottish racing driver and engineer (died 1993)
MytholmroydWikipedia: Innes Ireland - 1905
Ray Barbuti, American sprinter and football player (died 1988)
BrooklynWikipedia: Ray Barbuti - 1928
Vic Damone, American singer-songwriter and actor (died 2018)
BrooklynWikipedia: Vic Damone - 1928
Richard M. Sherman, American composer and director (died 2024)
New York CityWikipedia: Richard M. Sherman - 1858
Henry Scott Tuke, English painter and photographer (died 1929)
- 1916
Irwin Allen, American director and producer (died 1991)
New York CityWikipedia: Irwin Allen - 1989
Ibrahim Jeilan, Ethiopian runner
Bale ProvinceWikipedia: Ibrahim Jeilan - 1877
Thomas C. Hart, American admiral and politician (died 1971)
DavisonWikipedia: Thomas C. Hart
What is celebrated on 12 June
- Chaco Armistice Day (Paraguay)
- Christian feast day: 108 Martyrs of World War II
- Christian feast day: Basilides
- Christian feast day: Blessed Hildegard Burjan
- Christian feast day: Enmegahbowh (Episcopal Church)
- Christian feast day: Eskil
- Christian feast day: Blessed Florida Cevoli
- Christian feast day: First Ecumenical Council (Lutheran)
- Christian feast day: Gaspar Bertoni
- Christian feast day: Blessed Maria Candida of the Eucharist
- Christian feast day: Blessed Mercedes de Jesús Molina
- Christian feast day: Onuphrius
- Christian feast day: Pope Leo III
- Christian feast day: Ternan
A greeting link for someone
Type a name and, if you like, the year of birth. The link opens with a greeting, and beside each event it says how old the person turned that day, or how many years before their birth it happened.
The name and the year go only into the link you send.
All 366 days
How the globe is made
Where the events come from
Each edition of this page uses the day’s list from Wikipedia in its own language: Romanian, English, Spanish, Chinese. The lists are written by volunteers and differ from one edition to the next; the text of each event is Wikipedia’s, with a link to the article. A row that appears twice in a list is shown once. The lists have not been checked event by event: they are Wikipedia’s, mistakes included.
For events before 1582, and for countries that moved to the Gregorian calendar later (Britain in 1752, Russia in 1918), the same day may be counted Old Style in one list and New Style in another.
The chapter “What the other Wikipedias remember” adds up to five events a day from the lists of the other three editions, only for years in which the English list has nothing on that day. They were translated for this page, passed the same filters as the tour, and are not counted among the events of the English list.
How an event gets onto the map
The place comes from Wikidata. If the sentence links to the article about the event itself (a battle, an opening, an earthquake), dated to the same year, the ray stands on its coordinates or on those of its location. Otherwise it stands on the first place the sentence links to: a town, a building, a mountain, an island. This second step can be wrong: sometimes the sentence only mentions the place. That is why the page says, under each event, which place the ray stands on.
When the sentence links to a single state or province, or to a single sea, lake or desert larger than 5,000 km², the globe shows a dashed circle, not a ray. The circle has the area Wikidata gives, with its radius kept between 1.2° and 16°, or a radius of 4.5° when Wikidata gives no area; it says only that the sentence links to that place. Organisations, ships, spacecraft, museum objects, rivers, mountain ranges, languages and continents are never used as places. When a sentence names several states and no exact place, the event stays in the list only.
What the height means
The height of a ray shows how many years have passed, on a logarithmic scale: 10 years, 100 years and 1,000 years are equal steps apart; anything older than about 2,600 years has the tallest ray. The colour runs from pale yellow for recent years to violet for antiquity.
Where the tour stops
In each region the tour stops at up to three events (five in Britain and Ireland), chosen mainly by three things: whether Wikipedia’s editors put the event in the “On this day” box of their main page (the English, Spanish and Chinese editions), how many Wikipedia editions have an article about it, and how many of the four lists include it. Events whose sentence or article is about a war, an attack, a crime or a disaster are left out of the tour; they stay in the whole list, in Wikipedia’s wording. The filter is a list of words and a list of Wikidata types, so it can miss some.
The tour of births names the people with articles in the most editions and leaves aside those whom the list or Wikidata describes as rulers, politicians, commanders, leaders of movements or criminals; they stay in the list.
The Earth and the Sun
The daytime images are NASA’s Blue Marble Next Generation mosaics, one for each month of 2004; the night side is Black Marble 2016. The tilt of the line between day and night is computed for the day; the hour is chosen so that the place being read is in daylight. The latitude where the Sun stands overhead is the average of the four years of the leap cycle; in a given year it can differ by up to 0.4°.
The day you were born
The number ones come from the weekly lists on Wikipedia: Billboard for the United States (from 1940; the Hot 100 from August 1958), the UK Singles Chart (from November 1952), Los 40 Principales for Spain (from July 1966) and, for Romania, the Romanian Top 100 and Airplay 100 (2001–2021, with missing weeks). The page shows the chart of the week in which the day of birth falls, with its date; Billboard and the UK chart are dated at the end of their week. For Romania before 2001 and for China these sources have no weekly chart.
The films are those that reached cinemas in the United States up to ten days before or three days after that day (some of them in a few cinemas at first), from the English Wikipedia’s yearly lists (from 1968), in order of how many editions have an article about them. The events “in those days” are the ones on the neighbouring days’ lists that carry the year of birth, passed through the same filter as the tour.
The day of birth, year included
The Moon, the star sign and the constellation are worked out by the page itself, for noon Universal Time on the day. The lit part of the Moon is rounded and can differ by a few per cent from that at the hour of birth. The sign follows the usual zodiac of twelve equal parts starting at the March equinox; the constellation is the one the Sun actually stood in front of, by the borders set by the International Astronomical Union, and within a day of a border the page does not name it. When the Sun changes sign while it is that day anywhere on Earth, the page gives the moment of crossing, rounded to ten minutes and accurate to within about a quarter of an hour, and the clock time in a few cities, with the time zone and summer time of that year.
The year in the Chinese calendar is the one your device’s own calendar gives for the date, checked against the Hong Kong Observatory’s tables. “All your birthdays” uses the same sources as the rest of the chapter for the same day in every year since the birth: the temperature, well-known launches that took place on that very day, matches of the teams the edition follows, snow deeper than 10 cm and strong geomagnetic storms. The three things at the top and the four on the picture are chosen in a fixed order (the song, the animal, a full Moon, a well-known launch before an ordinary earthquake); on the picture you can change them.
When the link carries a year of birth, the page adds a few things about that exact day. The weather is the Met Office’s Central England temperature record and the readings from New York’s Central Park; the “usual high” is the average of the daily highs of 1961–1990 for that date, with two days either side. The carbon dioxide figure is the monthly mean at the Mauna Loa observatory, where measurements begin in March 1958.
The earthquake is the one with the largest magnitude in the USGS catalogue for that day, counted in Universal Time. Before the 1960s the catalogue has gaps even above magnitude 5.5, so in the older years many days have no earthquake. The page gives only the magnitude and the place: the country the epicentre falls in or, when the epicentre is at sea within 300 km of a coast, the nearest country; farther out, only the ocean.
The launches are those that reached orbit or left for the Moon and the planets, from Jonathan McDowell’s GCAT catalogue. If nothing left that day, the page shows the nearest launch within three days before or after, and says how many days away it was. The geomagnetic storm appears only when the Kp index reached at least 5 in one of the day’s eight three-hour intervals.
The animal comes from GBIF: an observation made by a person (the animal seen or heard, or its tracks), dated to that exact day, with coordinates and a CC0 or CC BY licence. Only a few hundred well-known species are searched (mammals, birds, turtles, butterflies); of those noted that day, mammals and species with articles in many Wikipedia editions come first; birds noted almost every day, and species used recently, wait their turn. Observations dated 1 January are left out, because records without a day are often filed there. An observation shows that the animal was recorded there, not how many animals there were.
The matches are those between national teams. Only matches of England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, Canada and Australia are shown, along with those at the big final tournaments. The picture to send is drawn in the page from the day’s globe and the facts above, and stays on your device until you send it.
Sources
- Events, births and holidays: the day’s page on Wikipedia, text under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Coordinates, places of birth and the number of editions: Wikidata (CC0).
- The Earth by day: NASA Blue Marble Next Generation. The Earth by night: NASA Black Marble 2016.
- Borders and regions: Natural Earth.
- World population and births per year: UN World Population Prospects 2024.
- Charts and films: Wikipedia’s lists for Billboard, the UK Singles Chart, Los 40 Principales, Romanian Top 100, Airplay 100 and American films by year (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Weather: Met Office Hadley Centre, HadCET (Open Government Licence) and NOAA GHCN-Daily, New York Central Park. Carbon dioxide: NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory, Mauna Loa.
- Earthquakes: the USGS catalogue. Launches: Jonathan McDowell, GCAT (CC BY). Kp index: GFZ Potsdam (CC BY 4.0). Matches: International football results, Mart Jürisoo (CC0).
- Animal observations: GBIF, with a link to each record; species names come from Wikidata.