Portal:Belgium/Anniversaries/May/May 12

• 1330: birth of William I, Duke of Bavaria (pictured), Count of Hainaut
• 1626: birth of Father Louis Hennepin, missionary, the first European to describe the Niagara Falls
• 1964: birth of Bart Somers, politician, former Minister-President of Flanders between 2003 and 2004, and as of 2006 chairman of the VLD, one of the main Flemish political parties
• 1978: in Zaïre, rebels occupy the city of Kolwezi, the mining center of the province of Shaba. The government of Zaïre asks the U.S., France and Belgium to restore order.
• 1983: birth of Axel Hervelle, basketball player with Real Madrid and drafted in the NBA by the Denver Nuggets