Timeline May 2012

Events in May 2012 13

• 1928 – 2012 Maurice Sendak (1928-2012) Died 8 May 2012, aged 83 American writer and illustrator best known for the children's book "Where the Wild Things Are." His work reshaped what children's literature could depict emotionally.
• 1949 – 2012 Robin Gibb (1949-2012) Died 20 May 2012, aged 62 British singer and songwriter, a member of the Bee Gees alongside his brothers. He died after a long illness involving cancer.
• 1964 – 2012 Adam Yauch (1964-2012) Died 4 May 2012, aged 47 American musician known as MCA, a founding member of the pioneering hip-hop group the Beastie Boys. He died of cancer of a salivary gland after a years-long battle with the disease.
• 2008 – 2012 Medvedev presidency Putin's placeholder president — 2008 to 2012 Medvedev served as President from May 7, 2008 to May 7, 2012 while Putin served as Prime Minister — widely seen as a constitutional workaround to preserve Putin's grip on power. Medvedev oversaw Russia's war with Georgia in 2008.
• 2012 2012 World Snooker Championship O’Sullivan Dominance Winner: Ronnie O’Sullivan; Runner-up: Ali Carter. Score: 18–11.
• 2012 Not Your Kind of People -- the comeback Garbage returns with 'Not Your Kind of People' (May 2012) -- released on their own STUNVOLUME label, bypassing the major label system entirely. The album is self-financed and self-released, funded partly through a PledgeMusic campaign. Its sound is recognisably Garbage but with renewed energy: 'Blood for Poppies,' 'Automatic Systematic Habit' and the title track demonstrate that the six-year hiatus has refreshed rather than diminished the band's creative power. Releasing independently gives Garbage complete creative control and a direct relationship with their audience.
• 2012 The Avengers #1 film of 2012 — $1.52bn worldwide Directed by Joss Whedon. Earth's mightiest heroes must come together to stop Loki and his alien army from enslaving humanity.
• 2012 Francois Hollande elected President of France Socialist candidate defeats incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy Francois Hollande won the French presidential runoff election, becoming the country's first Socialist president since Francois Mitterrand. His victory came amid deep public frustration over austerity measures during the eurozone debt crisis.
• 2012 – present Putin 2nd & 3rd presidencies Third term onwards — 2012 to present Putin returned to the presidency on May 7, 2012, and was re-elected in 2018 and 2024 following constitutional changes extending term limits. He ordered the annexation of Crimea in 2014, interference in the 2016 US election, and launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
• 2012 Facebook IPO Largest tech IPO in history at the time Facebook went public on May 18, 2012, raising $16 billion in the largest technology IPO in history at the time, valuing the company at $104 billion.
• 2012 SpaceX Dragon docks with ISS First private spacecraft to reach the station SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft became the first commercial vehicle to dock with the International Space Station on May 22, 2012, marking a new era of private space transportation.
• 2012 Houla massacre in Syria More than 100 killed, many of them children Government forces and allied militias were blamed for the killing of over 100 civilians in the town of Houla during the Syrian civil war. The massacre drew international condemnation and further isolated the Assad government diplomatically.
• 2012 Bob Dylan receives the Presidential Medal of Freedom From Barack Obama Awarded the highest US civilian honour.