Famous people born on August 12 — and what else happened that day
If your birthday is August 12, you share it with Cecil B. DeMille, Pete Sampras, Cara Delevingne — and you were born under Leo, the sign of the warm, confident, and born for the spotlight.
Birthday basics for August 12
Leo ♌
Zodiac sign
Peridot
Birthstone
Gladiolus
Birth flower
224th
Day of the year
August 12 is the 224th day of the year (225th in leap years), with 141 days still to come.
Famous people born on August 12
Cecil B. DeMille — American filmmaker who directed The Ten Commandments (born 1881).
Pete Sampras — American tennis champion who won 14 Grand Slam singles titles (born 1971).
Cara Delevingne — English model and actress (born 1992).
Also sharing the day:
Erwin Schrödinger (b. 1887) — Austrian physicist, Nobel laureate, and namesake of the famous cat paradox.
Mark Knopfler (b. 1949) — Scottish-born guitarist and frontman of Dire Straits.
Casey Affleck (b. 1975) — American actor who won an Oscar for Manchester by the Sea.
August 12 in history
1851 — Isaac Singer was granted a patent for his practical home sewing machine.
1960 — NASA launched Echo 1, the first successful communications satellite.
1981 — IBM released its first personal computer, launching the PC era.
1883 — The last quagga, a partially striped relative of the zebra, died at the Amsterdam Zoo.
1898 — The Hawaiian flag was lowered at ʻIolani Palace as Hawaii was formally transferred to the United States.
1990 — Fossil hunter Sue Hendrickson discovered "Sue," the most complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton ever found.
August 12 birthday questions
What zodiac sign is August 12?
Anyone born on August 12 is a Leo — warm, confident, and born for the spotlight.
What is the birthstone for August 12?
The birthstone for a August 12 birthday is Peridot, and the birth flower is the Gladiolus.
Who is the most famous person born on August 12?
Cecil B. DeMille is among the best known — American filmmaker who directed The Ten Commandments (born 1881).
What happened on August 12?
In 1851, Isaac Singer was granted a patent for his practical home sewing machine.
What day of the year is August 12?
August 12 is the 224th day of the year (225th in leap years), with 141 days still to come.
Make their day unforgettable
Know someone born on August 12? See the full story of their exact birthday — the headlines, the #1 song, what things cost — and turn it into a personalized front-page newspaper they can keep.