December 12, 1972 (Tuesday)
- A boatload with 65 Haitian refugees, mostly black, landed in Florida, the first "boat people" to flee from Haiti to the United States. Landings were sporadic until 1978, when thousands of Haitians, fleeing the Duvalier regime, began seeking sanctuary in the U.S.
- MCA Inc. unveiled Disco-Vision, a videodisc system to rival RCA's SelectaVision. The picture quality was poor and the system never went on sale.
- Born: Chris Senn, professional skateboarder, in Grass Valley, CA
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