On this day in history - September 12

What Happened On This Day – September 12

• 1992 First African American Woman goes into Space

  Mae C. Jemison, a physician, was a Mission Specialist on STS-47 which was the 50th space flight of NASA’s Space Shuttle Program. It was the space shuttle Endeavour’s second flight. During over 190 hours she spent in space, she conducted experiments on weightlessness and motion sickness.

• 1974 A Coup in Ethiopia ousts Emperor Haile Selassie

  The coup was led by a group of the Ethiopian armed forces and other law enforcement agencies of the country called the Derg. After the coup, Selassie was imprisoned. He died two years later, on August 28, 2015. Selassie is also often considered to be a Messiah by those who follow Rastafarianism, a religious belief that originated in Jamaica.

• 1970 The Soviet Union launches the Luna 16

  It was the first robotic probe to land on the Moon and return to Earth with rock samples. Luna 16 landed on Earth on September 24.

• 1953 Jacqueline Bouvier Marries John Fitzgerald Kennedy

  The much talked about wedding of the season took place in Newport, Rhode Island. At the time of the wedding, John F. Kennedy was a Senator in the US Congress from the state of Massachusetts. In 1960, Kennedy won the presidency after beating Republican candidate Richard Nixon.

• 1943 The Gran Sasso Raid is conducted by the German paratroopers at the behest of Hitler

  The purpose of the airborne operation, also known as Operation Eiche, was to free Italian dictator Benito Mussolini from a ski resort where he was being held on the orders of the Italian king, Victor Emmanuel III. Using gliders, German troops entered the ski resort and successfully rescued Mussolini.