Event:
Following the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster, Japan raises the crisis level to 7, equal to the disaster in Chernobyl
More Notable Events on April 12: 1981 Maiden voyage of space shuttle Columbia
1961 Yuri Gagarin becomes 1st person to orbit Earth in Vostok 1
1946 Syria gains independence from France
1844 Texas became a U.S. territory
1654 England, Ireland and Scotland united
