NATIONAL GIVING HEARTS DAY
Big hearts give big on National Giving Hearts Day! On the second Thursday in February each year, the celebration offers one of the best opportunities to donate to your favorite charity. Not only that, this is the longest-running giving day in the United States. So many hearts and so much to give! #GivingHeartsDay
NATIONAL PLUM PUDDING DAY
Also known as Christmas pudding, National Plum Pudding Day celebrates a traditional holiday dessert. On February 12th, learn about this tasty treat with an interesting history. #NationalPlumPuddingDay
Coming on February 13, 2026
National Days
GALENTINE'S DAY
NATIONAL CHEDDAR DAY
NATIONAL TORTELLINI DAY
NO ONE EATS ALONE DAY
Notable Birthdays for February 12
Peter Cooper (1791-1883) - Founder of Cooper Union.
Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) - The 16th President of the U.S.
Robert Ransom Jr (1828-1892) - Major General for the Confederate Army.
Stephen Wilcox (1830-1893) - Inventor of steam generators for power stations and ships.
John L. Lewis (1880-1969) - A highly influential figure in the coal mining industry.
James Scott (1885-1938) - Acclaimed Ragtime composer.
Lincoln LaPaz (1897-1985) - Astronomer and known UFO investigator.
Olivia Hooker (1915-2018) - The first Black woman to enter the Coast Guard.
Dom DiMaggio (1917-2009) - Known as "the Little Professor" in MLB and the little brother of Joe DiMaggio.
Norman Farberow (1918-2015) - Psychologist who is one of the founding fathers of modern suicidology and co-founder of the Los Angeles Suicide Prevention Center.
Judy Blume (1938-Still Living) - Author of children and young adult books, including Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.
Ray Manzarek (1939-2013) - Singer-songwriter and co-founder of the rock band the Doors.
Phil Zimmermann (1954-Still Living) - Computer scientist who created PGP (Pretty Good Privacy), the most widely used email encryption software in the world.
Cliff Bleszinski (1975-Still Living) - Video game designer (Gears of War).
Memorable Events for February 12
1878 - Frederick Thayer (Harvard player) patents baseball catcher's mask.
1908 - Anna Jeanes bequeaths $1 million to Swarthmore for it to become an all female higher education institution.
1909 - The NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) is founded.
1948 - Nancy Leftenant becomes first Black in Army Nursing Corps.
1965 - Malcolm X visits Smethwick, England, following their racially-charged general election.
2001 - The NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft becomes the first spacecraft to land on an asteroid.
