World history and facts
February 12 is the 43rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. 322 days remain until the end of the year. 1404 The Italian professor Galeazzo di Santa Sophie performed the first post-mortem autopsy for the purposes of teaching and demonstration at the Heiligen–Geist Spital in Vienna. 1855 Michigan State University established. 1870 Official proclamation sets April 15 as last day of grace for US silver coins to circulate in Canada. 1870 Utah becomes the second territory in the United States to pass a law allowing women the vote, after Wyoming in 1869. 1877 US railroad builders strike against wage reduction. 1878 Harvard player Frederick Thayer patents baseball catcher's mask (pat # 200,358). 1879 1st artificial ice rink in North America (Madison Square Garden, NYC). 1908 NY to Paris auto race (via Alaska & Siberia) begins in NYC George Schuster wins after 88 days behind the wheel. 1909 National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) forms. 1914