On September 12, 1958, American physicist Jack S. Kilby presented the first integrated circuit, or microchip, in the United States, an invention that became the foundation of modern electronics.
Kilby's work at the time was carried out at Texas Instruments. He later shared the 2000 Nobel Prize in Physics for his role in developing the integrated circuit, a device whose miniaturised design paved the way for the modern computers, phones and countless other electronics that depend on microchips today.
Other Events on This Day
September 12 carries a long list of other historical milestones. In 1910, Austrian composer and conductor Gustav Mahler premiered his Symphony No. 8 in Munich, Germany. In 1943, a German SS commando freed Italian dictator Benito Mussolini from his prison on Mount Gran Sasso, about 100 kilometres from Rome.
In 1949, Theodor Heuss was elected president of the newly formed Federal Republic of Germany, the West German state established after the Nazi defeat in World War Two. In 1953, US Senator John F. Kennedy married Jacqueline Bouvier at St. Mary's Church in Newport, Rhode Island. Kennedy went on to become the 35th president of the United States.
In 1959, the television series Bonanza premiered in the United States. In 1972, Japanese artist Go Nagai published the manga Mazinger Z, which was later adapted into a popular television series. In 1974, Haile Selassie, Ethiopia's last emperor, was overthrown in a military coup and imprisoned in Addis Ababa. In 1975, British rock band Pink Floyd released their ninth studio album, Wish You Were Here, one of the best-selling albums in history.
From Poland's First Post-War Government to Bolsonaro's Conviction
In 1989, Polish Prime Minister Tadeusz Mazowiecki formed the country's first non-communist government since World War Two. In 1992, the space shuttle Endeavour launched with a crew that included the first married couple to fly together in space, the first African American woman in space, and the first Japanese astronaut to fly on a US shuttle.
In 2005, Israel completed the full withdrawal of its military personnel from the Gaza Strip, ending a presence there dating back to 1967. In 2014, South African Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius was found guilty of culpable homicide over the shooting death of his girlfriend, model Reeva Steenkamp.
In 2023, Cyclone Daniel killed at least 11,300 people and left more than 10,000 missing in northeastern Libya. In 2024, US billionaire Jared Isaacman carried out the first commercial spacewalk, exiting SpaceX's Polaris Dawn spacecraft. In 2025, Brazil's Supreme Court sentenced former President Jair Bolsonaro to 27 years in prison for conspiring against the democratic order following his 2022 election defeat, the first time a former Brazilian president has been convicted over a coup attempt.
Notable Births
- 1888 - Maurice Chevalier, French singer and actor
- 1913 - Jesse Owens, American athlete who won four gold medals at the Berlin Olympics
- 1944 - Barry White, American singer
- 1954 - Vicente Belda, Spanish cyclist
- 1980 - Yao Ming, Chinese basketball player
- 1981 - Jennifer Hudson, American actress and singer
- 1994 - Kim Nam-joon, known as RM, South Korean musician
Notable Deaths
- 1977 - Steve Biko, South African anti-apartheid activist
- 1992 - Anthony Perkins, American actor
- 2001 - Carmen Rico-Godoy, Spanish journalist and writer
- 2003 - Johnny Cash, American singer
- 2008 - David Foster Wallace, American writer
- 2009 - Norman Borlaug, American scientist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate
- 2010 - Claude Chabrol, French filmmaker
- 2013 - Ray Dolby, American engineer and inventor of the Dolby sound system
- 2014 - Ian Paisley, Northern Irish reverend and politician
