May 12, 1900 (Saturday)
- Lin Shao-mao, who had led a rebellion on the island of Taiwan against its Japanese rulers, surrendered along with his men in a formal ceremony held at Ahou (now Pingtung City). Lin and his men were allowed to live peaceably at Houpilin, but he was eventually killed in a battle on May 30, 1902.
- Born: Helene Weigel, East German actress, wife of Bertolt Brecht, in Vienna, (d. 1971)
- Field Cornet S. Eloff led a force of 240 Boers in an assault on the town of Mafeking, during the Siege of Mafeking which was part of the Second Boer War.
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