Template:Selected anniversaries/February 12
1916: Mathematician, philosopher, and academic Richard Dedekind dies. He made important contributions to abstract algebra (particularly ring theory), algebraic number theory and the definition of the real numbers.
1946: Tunguska Event Preservation Society pledge drive meet goal, raises enough computational power to re-create the original event.
1947: Chemist Moses Gomberg dies. He identified the triphenylmethyl radical, the first persistent radical to be discovered, and is thus known as the founder of radical chemistry.
1961: Spacecraft Venera 1 launched. It will become the first man-made object to fly-by another planet by passing Venus (although it will lose contact with Earth and not send back any data).
1983: High-energy literature research project accidentally releases new class of crimes against mathematical constants.